peared, and,
encouraged by their enthusiastic devotion, he returned satisfied with
the place he held in the hearts of Republicans. His followers, too,
indicated their disappointment by no public word or sign. To the end
of the convention its proceedings were marked by harmony and
unanimity. Edwin D. Morgan was renominated for governor by
acclamation; the platform of Chicago principles was adopted amidst
prolonged cheers, and the selection of electors approved without
dissent. The happy combination of the two electors-at-large, William
Cullen Bryant and James O. Putnam, evidenced the spirit of loyalty to
Abraham Lincoln that inspired all participants. Bryant had been an
oracle of the radical democracy for more than twenty years, and had
stubbornly opposed Seward; Putnam, a Whig of the school of Clay and
Webster, had, until recently, zealously supported Millard Fillmore and
the American party. In its eagerness to unite every phase of
anti-slavery sentiment the convention buried the past in its desire to
know, in the words of Seward, "whether this is a constitutional
government under which we live."

During the campaign, Republican demonstrations glorified Lincoln's
early occupation of rail-splitting, while the Wide-awakes, composed
largely of young men who had studied the slavery question since 1852
solely as a moral issue, illuminated the night and aroused enthusiasm
with their torches and expert marching. As early as in September, the
New York _Herald_ estimated that over four hundred thousand were
already uniformed and drilled. In every town and village these
organisations, unique then, although common enough nowadays, were
conscious appeals for sympathy and favour, and undoubtedly contributed
much to the result by enlisting the hearty support of first voters.
Indeed, on the Republican side, it was largely a campaign of young
men. "The Republican party," said Seward at Cleveland, "is a party
chiefly of young men. Each successive year brings into its ranks an
increasing proportion of the young men of this country."[583]

[Footnote 583: F.W. Seward, _Life of W.H. Seward_, Vol. 2, p. 462.
_Seward's Works_, Vol. 4, p. 384.]

Aside from the torch-light processions of the Wide-awakes, the almost
numberless speeches were the feature of the canvass of 1860. There
had, perhaps, been more exciting and enthusiastic campaigns, but the
number of meetings was without precedent. The _Tribune_ estimated that
ten thousand set addre