The "Secession Movement"

Artist Louis Maurer (American, born in Germany, 1832–1932)

Publisherpublished by Currier & Ives (American, 1824–1895)

Date1861

Mediumlithograph on cream wove paper

Dimensionsimage: 34.1 x 45.8 cm (13 7/16 x 18 1/16 in.)

ClassificationsPrints

Credit LineMuseum Acquisition

Terms

Object number1988.292

Label TextKnown as the father of the modern American West, Abraham Lincoln built on his image as a rail-splitter during his presidential campaign in 1860. During this year, sectionalism saturated the political field. While the South fought to uphold the institution of slavery, Lincoln and much of the North campaigned against its expansion. The Rail Candidate is a caricature depicting Lincoln straddling a rail which represents his party’s antislavery platform. The United States map illustrates the political division of the country immediately prior to the outbreak of the Civil War. The attempt by the southern states to secede from the Union over the issue of slavery is caricaturized in The “Secession Movement.” All three images from the same period reflect the intimate connection between American politics and geography.ProvenanceSource unknown

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