Today marks the day that Abraham Lincoln was nominated for the 1860 presidential election for the newly formed Republican party in Chicago.
Harper’s Weekly May 12, 1860
There were eleven candidates going into Chicago with the front runner being former Governor of New York, William Seward. Of course, Lincoln was the favored son candidate for the Republicans from Illinois. Lincoln’s Cooper Union speech in February of 1860 had made him a favorite alternative to Seward for some Republicans.
A New Yorker’s candidacy for the presidency would bring the rich electoral votes of 35 into the Republican fold. But Seward had been on the national stage longer than Lincoln and his vehement anti-slavery stance was well known. Against Seward’s “Irreversible Conflict” speech given in 1858 that proclaimed a decision needed to be made over slavery “even at the cost of civil war,” Lincoln’s views seemed more moderate as he argued for the constitutionality of slavery in the areas it had existed at the nation’s creation but not in the territories.
William Seward
Ironically, the reception of New York Republicans led to Lincoln becoming a viable candidate. It did not help Seward that he began to disagree with Horace Greeley, the editor of the influential New York Tribune. The media played an important role in presidential campaigns and Greeley was staunchly for a Republican candidate. Like Hamilton in the election of 1800, Greeley stated “anyone but Seward” giving momentum to the growing clamor for the “rail splitter” from Illinois. Although extremely disappointed, Seward promised to support the Republican ticket.
Thus began the momentous presidential election of 1860.
Bowery & Canal 