The title of this illustration is Abraham Lincoln as a rail-splitter, a term used when he campaigned for president.

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A rail-splitter is a person who splits logs, for fences and the like. The phrase was used as a nickname for Abraham Lincoln at the Illinois State Republican Convention in May 1860. Richard Oglesby, who later became governor of the state, and John Hanks, who had lived with the Lincoln family, marched into the convention with a sign on two fence rails that read - Abraham Lincoln, the Rail Candidate for President in 1860. Among Lincoln jobs before studying law was as a rail splitter. This illustration dates to 1898.

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Size: 3776px × 4842px
Photo credit: © Ivy Close Images / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No

Keywords: 1860, abe, abraham, axe, book, candidate, convention, hanks, illinois, john, lincoln, man, nickname, oglesby, president, rail, reading, republican, richard, splitter, state, states, united, young