As the United States kicks off a new political year, it's a good time to look at how Americans experienced the election of 1860, when Abraham Lincoln won the White House.At the beginning of 1860, Lincoln was still a regional figure. A visit to New York City and his February 1860 speech at Cooper Union raised his profile among shrewd political observers.
Yet when he became the Republican nominee in May 1860, most Americans were just getting to know about this man from the West who was called "Honest Abe" and whose campaign trademark was a fence rail.
As word traveled, enthusiastic supporters called Wide-Awakes took Lincoln's message to the streets of American cities.
And while the technology did not yet exist to print photographs in newspapers or magazines, a number of printed images of Lincoln still connected with a very curious public.
An image gallery of Lincoln's 1860 campaign shows how the public got to know Lincoln as a candidate.
Illustration: The Wide-Awakes Marching in New York City/Getty Images
View the Image Gallery: Lincoln's 1860 Campaign for President
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