As election day draws near, signs appear in yards, candidates debate the issues, and the people of Connecticut prepare to cast their votes. Campaigning has been utilized by candidates for years, including those running in the Presidential election of 1860.
The most remembered candidates from 1860 are Republican Abraham Lincoln and Democrat Stephen Douglas. Due to regional tensions, however, there was a split within the Democratic Party and John Breckinridge was nominated by the Southern Democrats. The Constitutional Union Party also formed and chose John Bell as its nominee. With four candidates vying for the presidency, campaigning played a vital role.
In Connecticut, newspapers followed the candidates’ debates and speeches. Editorials provided colorful descriptions and nicknames for the nominees. Prominent individuals voiced their candidate preferences (Samuel Colt was a Douglas supporter). Lincoln appeared at Hartford’s City Hall as part of his nation-wide campaign. The Kellogg brothers, who owned a lithography business in Hartford, mass produced prints of candidates Lincoln and Douglas, which allowed supporters on either side to inexpensively promote and display their personal favorites.
Abraham Lincoln was elected the 16th President of the United States in November 1860, receiving 180 electoral votes, including all six from Connecticut. According to the 1860 Connecticut Register, Lincoln also won the majority of the popular votes in Connecticut, collecting 43,798 of the votes. Breckinridge received 16,106 votes, Douglas received 15,333 votes, and Bell received 2,263 votes. Bridgewater, Killingworth, Monroe, Portland, Weston, and Wolcott were the only Connecticut towns where Lincoln did not carry the popular vote. After the election, Edmund and Elijah Kellogg issued the first of at least six portraits of President Lincoln. The three Kellogg prints included in this article are part of the Connecticut Historical Society’s extensive collection of Kellogg prints. To see more, go to http://emuseum.chs.org:8080/emuseum/view/objects/asimages/241?t:state:flow=3ba458ac-a620-4fa2-ba4e-032a60940b54
