Giant Republican rally in Springfield, Illinois

What the Republican-supporting Chicago Tribune called the largest political meeting ever to be held in the United States took place at the Fair Grounds just outside of Springfield, Illinois. The gathering ended with a massive torch-lit procession past Abraham Lincoln's Springfield home.  Many at the rally took advantage of the mild summer weather to sleep outdoors around the city that night.  (By John Osborne) 
Source Citation
"The Rally at Springfield, Ill," New York Times, August 14, 1860. 
    Date Certainty
    Exact
    Type
    Campaigns/Elections
    How to Cite This Page: "Giant Republican rally in Springfield, Illinois," House Divided: The Civil War Research Engine at Dickinson College, https://hd.housedivided.dickinson.edu/node/33530.