Posted on 02/12/2007 11:55:38 AM PST by presidio9
The leading Republican candidate for president in 1860 was Senator Seward of New York, distinguished by decades of experience in state and national government. But there was another candidate, relatively unknown nationally, but a recognized anti-slavery lawyer from Illinois. Some of his opponents delighted in calling Abraham Lincoln a "black Republican."
Lincoln's government experience consisted of one congressional term, preceded by four terms in the Illinois House of Representatives. Still, the darkhorse candidate had earned a reputation for leadership of the Illinois anti-slavery coalition of former Whigs and free soil Democrats. In debates and major speeches of the 1850s, he had formulated a compelling, eloquent, often original case for prohibiting the extension of slavery to the territories. Invited to New York by city leaders not committed to Seward, Lincoln gave an extraordinary anti-slavery speech at Cooper Union on February 27, 1860.
After years in the national spotlight, Seward of New York had engendered much opposition even in his home base, but still he was the favorite. In addition to being a hard worker with a national following, he had an elite education, elite connections, political skills, a savvy political wife, a powerful political manager, and a well-oiled, well-financed political machine. Even Seward opponents, such as the mercurial New York Tribune editor Horace Greeley, thought Seward's nomination all but certain at the coming Republican National Convention.
Nevertheless, on the third ballot, to an astonishing uproar, Lincoln broke through the deadlock in the convention at Chicago and became the party's presidential candidate. The New York delegation
(Excerpt) Read more at nysun.com ...
ny history ping
Happy birthday, Abe !!
I thought this story might be about Obama.
Lincoln ping
I kept thinking the same thing--where's the punchline on Obama.
LOL!
Thank goodness it was about the first Lincoln. Thanks for posting an interesting story.
BTW, legend has it that after the speech he stopped off here for some liquid refreshment.
I hope the bathrooms weren't as disgusting when he was there.
Here's a link to Lincoln's famous Cooper Union speech that brought him to national prominence:
http://showcase.netins.net/web/creative/lincoln/speeches/cooper.htm
Long, but historical & well worth the read.
This simply cannot be true. Everyone knows Clinton was the first black President.
I'm guessing that the were a lot worse, because horsecrap in the streets was kosher in those days. IMO, you're not a man until you've used the ginormous urinals at McSorley's.
When he visited his son, Robert, who was attending Exeter Academy in Exeter, NH, Lincoln stayed at the Tuthill Tavern, (now a private home). One night when he was there, a mob gathered outside, yelling and making a racket. They weren't complaining about slavery or the war between the states...but about the price of gin!
Was he clean?
I don't like sticking up for Joe Biden, bout Sharpton and Jackson are far from clean. I don't see what all of the fuss was about.
Actually, they had just been cleaned. For the last time.
What were Lincoln's poll numbers like during the war? (If they had polls back then). I know that he was pretty unpopular with the war dragging on, etc. There was a story about who does President Bush, with his low poll numbers, compare to and there was Harding, Nixon, etc. I sort of think Lincoln might have been a good comparison.
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