"Lincoln and Liberty Too" was a

campaign song Campaign songs are songs used by candidates or political campaigns. Most modern campaign songs are upbeat popular songs or original compositions that articulate a positive message about a campaign or candidate, usually appealing to patriotism, o ...

supporting Republican

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...

in the 1860 United States presidential election.

History

Attributed to Jesse Hutchinson Jr. of the Hutchinson Family Singers the song adapted from the tune of " Old Rosin the Beau" and was originally called "Liberty Ball." The title echoes earlier songs with the same melody as " Adams and Liberty" and repeated in later campaign songs. Shortly after Jesse's death in 1853, the song was modified to support Lincoln's presidency. The song was last sung by the Hutchinson Family at the 1892 dedication for the statue of John P. Hale.

Frederick Douglass Frederick Douglass (born Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey, February 1817 or 1818 – February 20, 1895) was an American social reformer, abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman. After escaping from slavery in Maryland, he became ...

also was present and sang with the Hutchinson Family. The song expresses themes of abolitionism and log cabin virtues, with the chorus also expansively establishing Lincoln as a

favorite son Favorite son (or favorite daughter) is a political term. * At the quadrennial American national political party conventions, a state delegation sometimes nominates a candidate from the state, or less often from the state's region, who is not a ...

of three states (

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

and

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

). The Hutchinson family traveled through the country singing the song at Lincoln campaign rallies and even in the White House. Another version of the song, sung by

Ronnie Gilbert Ruth Alice "Ronnie" Gilbert (September 7, 1926 – June 6, 2015), was an American folk singer, songwriter, actress and political activist. She was one of the original members of the music quartet the Weavers, as a contralto with Pete Seeger, Le ...

and ostensibly written by Jesse Hutchinson, praises abolitionism and emancipation, and condemns racism. In the novel ''Paradise Alley'' by Kevin Baker, young Republicans sang the song in a political rally (see pg. 422). The song became the official campaign song for President Lincoln's campaign. Rallies supporting Lincoln sang the song, and it was also published in ''The Hutchinson's Republican Songster.''

Lyrics

Verses concerning the

abolition of slavery Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people. The British ...

which have sometimes been added to performances of "Lincoln and Liberty" belong more properly to "The Liberty Ball," an earlier song written by George W. Clark to the same tune and published in 1845:

References

External links

{{Authority control 1860 songs Political party songs Songs about freedom Songs about Abraham Lincoln 1860 United States presidential election Abraham Lincoln Republican Party (United States) presidential campaigns

History

Lyrics

See also

References

Further reading

External links