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At the Institute’s core is the Gilder Lehrman Collection, one of the great archives in American history. More than 85,000 items cover five hundred years of American history, from Columbus’s 1493 letter describing the New World through the end of the twentieth century.

[Wide-awake election of 1860 campaign ribbon]

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC05865 Author/Creator: Place Written: s.l. Type: Object Date: 1860 Pagination: 1 ribbon Height: 12.5 cm, Width: 6.3 cm Order a Copy

Republican campaign ribbon supporting Abraham Lincoln for President printed with "Wide Awake," and a large eye. Printed on white silk. Thousands of young men turned out in "Wide Awake" torchlight parades in support of Lincoln. The Wide Awakes are credited with helping Lincoln win the Republican presidential nomination at the Wigwam convention Hall in Chicago. Their stand against slavery helped bring the party to greater national attention.

Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865

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