Team of Rivals (182 page)

Lincoln forged lasting friendships while riding the “circuit” with fellow lawyers, including William Herndon
(24)
and Ward Lamon
(25)
. In these convivial settings
(26)
, Lincoln’s never-ending stream of stories made him the center of attention, while he, in turn, gained firsthand knowledge of the voters throughout Illinois.

Neither Lyman Trumbull
(27)
nor Norman Judd
(28)
would ever forget Lincoln’s magnanimity when conceding defeat in his 1855 bid for the Senate. Both men would help Lincoln at the 1860 Republican National Convention in Chicago
(29)
.

Thurlow Weed
(31)
failed to win the Republican nomination for his protégé, William Seward. An act of betrayal by Horace Greeley
(30)
, who bore an old political grudge against Seward, contributed to the defeat. Editorial humor of the day cast Seward in the role of an assassinated Julius Caesar and depicted Greeley as a vengeful Brutus
(32)
.

“A profound stillness fell upon the Wigwam”
(33)
as the results of the crucial third ballot hung in the balance. Seward awaited the news from Chicago in the garden of his Auburn home
(34)
.

Residents of Springfield congregated before Lincoln’s home for a campaign rally after his unexpected capture of the Republican nomination over Seward, Chase, and Bates.

Assassination threats prompted President-elect Lincoln to enter Washington at the crack of dawn. A scurrilous rumor that he had disguised himself in a Scotch plaid cap and military cloak circulated widely in the media, causing him much embarrassment.

President Abraham Lincoln, photographed by Mathew Brady in 1862.