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Like other candidates of his time, Lincoln stayed home in Springfield, Illinois, while party leaders spoke on his behalf. Political clubs decorated their headquarters with fence rails and organized massive rallies throughout the North. The imagery of “Old Abe the Railsplitter” presented Lincoln as a down-to-earth common man and served as a powerful symbol of free labor and individual enterprise.
The Republican Party platform called for a prohibition of the extension of slavery, defense of the union, and government support of roads, canals, and other internal improvements.
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Gift of Ralph E. Becker, 1961 |
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Railsplitter’s Campaign Parade Axe
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Gift of George L. and Mary E. Compton, 1980 |
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Campaign Torches, 1860
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| Gifts of Carl Haverlin, 1962 |
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| Gift of Ralph E. Becker, 1961 |
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Gift of Mrs. Robert A. Hubbard, 1961 |
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Parade Transparency
This three-sided transparency was originally illuminated from inside by a small oil lamp and carried in campaign parades.
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Gift of George L. and Mary E. Compton, 1980 |
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Campaign Banner, Belfast, Maine
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