Lincoln’s Legacy: Historic Americana from the Life of Abraham Lincoln

Silk campaign ribbon, featuring an illustrated portrait of Lincoln at center with "Wide Awakes. / Republican Candidates," above and "For President, / Abraham Lincoln. / Vice President, / Hannibal Hamlin." below. 7 1/2 x 2 1/2 in. (192 x 64 mm). Light scattered soiling; very light fraying at bottom; small stain to lower right edge.

THE WIDE AWAKES THROW THEIR SUPPORT BEHIND THE LINCOLN-HAMLIN TICKET.

The Wide Awakes movement was a grassroots Republican campaign organization that would grow to become a major factor in the 1860 presidential election. It originated with a handful of young men in Connecticut during the hotly-contested gubernatorial election there in 1858; its members carried flaming torches as they escorted Republican speakers through the streets of Hartford. As the Republican candidate for President of the United States, Lincoln earned the support of the group, whose members responded to his opposition to slavery and support of workers' rights to strike. Soon, Wide Awake groups sprang up in other locations with uniformed adherents marching in cities from Bangor to Baltimore, and from Philadelphia to San Francisco, carrying their distinctive torches. Not in Sullivan and Fischer.

Provenance:

Louise Taper, Beverly Hills, California