Lincoln at Home in Springfield Ill with his youngest two sons.
This photo by John Adams Whipple of Abraham Lincoln and his home was taken, probably in 1860, when he still lived in Springfield, Illinois. A cropped portion of the image shows a clean shaven Lincoln, whose beard was full developed by the time he left Springfield in February 1861.
The presidential campaign of 1860 saw four major candidates vying for the presidency. The oldest party, the Democrats, had literally split over the issue of slavery in the territories, with Stephen Douglas eventually gaining the party nomination and furious Southern delegates reconvening, including many who had boycotted the convention, to nominate John C. Breckinridge as the candidate of the Southern Democratic Party for the presidency. The Republicans later nominated Lincoln and a third group of political leaders formed the Constitutional Union Party, nominating John Bell of Tennessee.
Political tradition held that the candidate for president stayed off of the public stump. Lincoln stayed home in Springfield receiving delegations who came to pay their respect. Breckinridge gave only one speech and Bell said nothing, but Douglas broke with tradition and campaigned all over the nation. Each party sent hundreds of activists out on the campaign trail.