ABSTRACT
Abraham Lincoln symbols were to be found aplenty everywhere in the North, especially axes and Lincoln rails. Manufacturing "authentic" Lincoln rails for a ready market had become a lucrative business in Springfield. There was parading, flag waving, booming of cannon. There were barbecues, rallies, and special political forays into farming areas. Leading politicians took to the stump. Republican orators drew mammoth crowds as they pressed their attacks against their adversaries, primarily against Douglas and all he stood for. In New York, New Jersey and Rhode Island, Lincoln's adversaries presented a single electoral slate in a joint attempt to defeat him. Reaction to Trumbull's speech proved Lincoln right in refusing to issue any public declaration on the policy he planned to pursue as President. In the White House, James Buchanan, old and weary, struggled to maintain Federal authority in a country gripped by the tension and anxiety inherent in a growing awareness of impending crisis.
