Lincoln was supported in politics by very powerful business interests in this country -- mainly because he had an extensive background in railroad and maritime cases in his career as a lawyer.
A great book on this subject -- from both a historical and an engineering standpoint -- is Stephen Ambrose's Nothing Like It in the World: The Men Who Built the Transcontinental Railroad, 1863-1869
He was actually a political heavy-weight in Illinois. He served a number of terms in the legislature and was twice candidate for the Senate. He was one of the founders of the Republican party in the state and one of the leading attorneys. His speeches made nationwide between his second Senatorial bid and his presidential bid gave him a national follwoing. He was not a 'political nobody.'
Lincoln was supported in politics by very powerful business interests in this country -- mainly because he had an extensive background in railroad and maritime cases in his career as a lawyer.
Who were those supporters and how did that support manifest itself?
A great book on this subject -- from both a historical and an engineering standpoint -- is Stephen Ambrose's Nothing Like It in the World: The Men Who Built the Transcontinental Railroad, 1863-1869
I've read it. But I'm still puzzled over your statement about the national rail system, something many would argue we still don't have today, and your statements about the improvements for the Ohio River valley. Are you saying that the improvements the federal government made along the Mississippi did not also benefit the South?