Wide Awake Campaign Ribbon, 1860

Lincoln, Abraham

When Abraham Lincoln ran for president as a Republican in 1860, he had the support of an unprecedented movement known as the Wide Awakes. This organization was made up of young northern men, mostly in their teens and twenties, who supported the Republican party in opposing the expansion of slavery. Wide Awakes held massive rallies at night, across the north, in which they paraded in military uniforms, and helped Abraham Lincoln win the presidency in 1860. The movement helped Lincoln defeat defeated John Breckenridge, Stephen A Douglas, and John Bell in a complicated four-way race.