Allen: Exhibit highlights Abraham Lincoln's Oakland thumbprint - Oakland Tribune
An exhibit on view at the Oakland Main Library uses materials from the collections to illustrate how key policies of the Lincoln presidency during the 1860s led to Oakland's emergence as a key regional metropolis on the West Coast.
This coming week marks the 200th anniversary of Lincoln's birth, Feb. 12, 1809. The exhibit, "A bond of perpetuity, Abraham Lincoln's Legacy in Oakland," runs through March 20.
Although Lincoln never came to the Bay Area, his decisions during his term in office had an impact on the region, this exhibit shows.
According to the history files, Lincoln's run for the presidency began in 1858 and his nomination by the newly constituted Republican Party was in 1860.
Oakland was barely 6 years old in 1858. Pony Express riders brought news of Lincoln's victory to California, a week following the general election, which was held in November of that year.
Records show that in California there were 1,027 votes cast for Lincoln and the Republican ticket and 514 votes for Stephen Douglas, of the pro-Union Democrat faction. John C. Breckinridge of the Secession Democrats received 492 votes, and the Whig Party's nominee, John Bell, received 61 votes.