On this day in 1860 Abraham Lincoln made a speech at the Cooper Union in New York City. This speech is considered by many to be largely responsible for his election to the Presidency in November of that same year. In this famous speech Lincoln opposed “The Little Giant” Stephen Douglas on the question of federal power to regulate and limit the spread of slavery to the federal territories and the new states. The speech was widely reported in the newspapers and would be reprinted thoughout the North in pamphlet form. The speech led to Lincoln getting the Republican Party nomination for POTUS and the Presidency itself.
Lincoln scholar Harold Holzer wrote an excellent book on the speech “Lincoln At Cooper Union: The Speech That Made Abraham Lincoln President.”
The picture above was taken on the day Abraham Lincoln gave that speech-by Mathew Brady.