Object Details
- associated person
- Lincoln, Abraham
- Description
- The idea of creating the image of Abraham Lincoln as “the rail splitter” was the inspiration of Illinois politician Richard J. Oglesby. He sought to find “one thing in Mr. Lincoln’s unsuccessful career as a worker that could be made an emblem … [to] make enthusiastic the working people.”
- Like other candidates of his time, Lincoln stayed home in Springfield, Illinois, while party leaders spoke on his behalf. Political clubs decorated their headquarters with fence rails and organized massive rallies throughout the North. The imagery of “Old Abe the Rail Splitter” presented Lincoln as a down-to-earth common man and served as a powerful symbol of free labor and individual enterprise.
- Gift of Ralph E. Becker, 1961
- Credit Line
- Ralph E. Becker Collection of Political Americana
- 1860
- ID Number
- PL.227739.1860.X01
- catalog number
- 227739.1860.X01
- accession number
- 242604
- Object Name
- axe
- Physical Description
- wood (overall material)
- Measurements
- overall: 1 in x 15 1/2 in x 49 in; 2.54 cm x 39.37 cm x 124.46 cm
- Related Publication
- Rubenstein, Harry R.. Abraham Lincoln: An Extraordinary Life
- See more items in
- Political History: Political History, Campaign Collection
- Government, Politics, and Reform
- Selections from the Abraham Lincoln Collection
- American Democracy: A Great Leap of Faith
- Exhibition
- American Democracy
- Exhibition Location
- National Museum of American History
- National Museum of American History
- used
- Elections
- general subject association
- Political Campaigns
- Record ID
- nmah_529193
- GUID (Link to Original Record)
- https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746a3-6026-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa
