Tintype of Parade Marcher, 1860
notes: label: Description
content: Tintype picturing Lincoln “Wide Awake” marcher wearing oilcloth cape and cap, holding pole and torch, 1860.
label: Description
content: The successful presidential campaign of Republican Abraham Lincoln perfected the nighttime torchlight parade as an entertainment of unprecedented scale that attracted the attention of men, women, and children. The concept originated in Hartford, Connecticut, in 1858, and was revived for Lincoln’s campaign by the city’s young Republicans. Tailored oil-resistant enameled cloth capes distinguished the marchers, some of whom were too young to vote. Their example spread from Hartford to cities in the northeastern United States, which contributed traveling companies totaling some ten thousand uniformed men with torches to a Grand Procession in New York City on October 3, 1860. The martial spectacle—including fireworks, Lincoln “Wide Awake” transparencies, and floats—created envy among the city’s Democrats, and panic among southern sympathizers who regarded the torch-lit parade as a provocation.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
topic: label: used
content: Political Campaigns
setName: label: See more items in
content: Political History: Political History, General History Collection
label: See more items in
content: Government, Politics, and Reform
label: See more items in
content: American Democracy: A Great Leap of Faith
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Americana Mail Auction
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 1982.0180.01
label: catalog number
content: 1982.0180.01
label: accession number
content: 1982.0180
objectType: label: Object Name
content: Photograph, Tintype
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: paper (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 4 3/4 in x 3 1/4 in; 12.065 cm x 8.255 cm