"The Genuine Rail"
Social Media Share Tools
Object Details
- associated person
- Lincoln, Abraham
- Hanks, John
- Description
- Piece of fence rail with affidavit from John Hanks, Abraham Lincoln’s cousin. The affidavit reads: “This is to certify that this is one of the genuine rails split by A Lincoln and myself in 1829 and 30.”
- In May 1860 Illinois Republicans met to select their presidential nominee. Lincoln’s supporters staged a demonstration in the meeting hall, which they capped off with John Hanks, Lincoln’s cousin, carrying in two fence rails split by Lincoln and Hanks. Suspended from the rails was a banner that read, “Abraham Lincoln the Rail Candidate for President in 1860.”
- The delegates wildly cheered the theatrics, and Lincoln handily won the nomination. One observer noted, “That banner was to be the ‘Battle flag’ in the coming contest between ‘labor free’ and ‘labor slave,’ between democracy and aristocracy.” In that moment, Lincoln became a symbol of the self-made frontiersman and representative of honest, enterprising labor.
- John Hanks returned to the fences and gathered additional rails. During the campaign he sold pieces of the fence to Lincoln supporters that were used to decorate campaign headquarters and carried in parades. This piece, cut from a larger rail, was later sold to raise money for Union soldiers.
- Gift of Sen. Leverett Saltonstall, 1984
- Credit Line
- William L. Saltonstall in memory of Senator Leverett Saltonstall
- 1829-1830
- ID Number
- 1983.0418.01
- accession number
- 1983.0418
- catalog number
- 1983.0418.01
- Object Name
- fence rail piece
- fence rail
- Physical Description
- wood (overall material)
- Measurements
- overall: 4 in x 9 in x 4 in; 10.16 cm x 22.86 cm x 10.16 cm
- Related Publication
- Rubenstein, Harry R.. Abraham Lincoln: An Extraordinary Life
- See more items in
- Political and Military History: Political History, General History Collection
- Government, Politics, and Reform
- Selections from the Abraham Lincoln Collection
- American Democracy: A Great Leap of Faith
- Exhibition
- American Democracy
- Exhibition Location
- National Museum of American History
- National Museum of American History
- used
- Presidents
- Record ID
- nmah_532112
- Metadata Usage (text)
- CC0
- GUID (Link to Original Record)
- http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746a3-589d-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa
There are restrictions for re-using this image. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page .
International media Interoperability Framework
IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and media viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. Visit the IIIF page to learn more.