Today (February 13) in 1861 Abraham Lincoln was officially declared winner of the 1860 Presidential election; of course, he was elected in November 1860.
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| Lincoln in 1860 |
Lincoln went to the telegraph office [at Springfield, IL] to hear the returns over the wires. The news from Pennsylvania and New York confirmed his victory came around midnight. Lincoln rushed back to his wife home, saying, “Mary, Mary! We are elected!”
Upon hearing the news that he was nominated as the Presidential candidate by the Republican Party convention in Chicago, Lincoln [who was then waiting in Springfield] told the crowd that he was going home to tell his wife; one heard him say, “I reckon there’s a little short woman down at our house that would like to hear the news.” Another heard him say, “There is a lady over yonder on Eighth Street [where Lincoln lived] who is deeply interested in this news; I will carry it to her.” (photo is Lincoln in 1860 at the time of nomination for President, photo credit to Sandburg's Lincoln)
Mary’s unwavering and inflexible devotion/confidence on Abe’s political ability and prospect is what drove Lincoln to the top of the political arena. When his melancholy struck, it was the ambitious Mary, who aroused Abe out of sluggishness. For those came to the house after hours or on weekends, Mary would open the window upstairs asking “business or politics?” and would open the door only for politics. It is safe to say that Mary is the “Cheerleader-in-Chief”.
(The photo is Lincoln's home in Springfield, IL, during 1860 campaign. Lincoln in white coat stands at the right of the doorway. Photo credit to Sandburg's Lincoln: The Prairie Years Vol. II. I visited this house in the spring of 1972. One of these days I'll bring Katy to see it; it'll be a holy trip.)
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