Virtual Trivia
Question 16: Seeking Orators
April 16, 2021
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| Photograph portrait of Lincoln at his speech at Cooper Union in February 1860. The hour-long anti-slavery speech is considered by some historians as the one that secured Lincoln the presidential nomination. From the Library of Congress |
Fearing Buckingham (running for governor in 1860) would lose to Democrat Thomas Seymour, Republicans called on one of the leading orators of the day to speak on his behalf.
Who agreed to campaign for Buckingham?
- William Lloyd Garrison
- Frederick Douglas
- Abraham Lincoln
- George Caleb Bingham
Lincoln made five speeches, telling audiences that slavery was the great question of the nation. Buckingham won by 541 votes. Lincoln’s speeches had been instrumental in the success and his name was repeatedly mentioned as the party’s next presidential nominee.