This summer, Democrats met in Philadelphia to hold their national nominating convention. In 1848, the Whigs did the same with Congressman Abraham Lincoln in attendance. Despite a long career in partisan politics, it was Lincoln’s first –and only– direct experience at a national party convention. Yet the story of this moment in June 1848 offers a very teachable window into Lincoln’s own rise to power as well as some key aspects concerning the general evolution of American electoral politics. For the full story, go the “Muster” blog at the Journal of the Civil War Era:
