The Photograph That Helped Make a President

Abraham Lincoln was elected the 16th president of the United States on November 6, 1860, 166 years ago, during one of the most consequential presidential elections in American history. The nation was deeply divided over slavery, its expansion into western territories, and the future of the Union.

But Lincoln’s journey to the White House had included an important stop in Peoria, Illinois. And a photograph taken here would become part of the story of how a relatively little-known Illinois politician became one of the most recognizable men in America.

A TURNING POINT IN PEORIA

On October 16, 1854, Abraham Lincoln delivered a remarkable speech in Peoria, challenging the Kansas-Nebraska Act and the expansion of slavery into western territories. Lincoln argued that slavery contradicted the principles expressed in the Declaration of Independence, particularly its assertion that all men are created equal.

The Peoria Speech marked an important turning point in Lincoln's political career. After several years away from active politics, he was emerging as a leading voice against the expansion of slavery.

Four years later, in 1858, Lincoln challenged Stephen A. Douglas for a seat in the United States Senate. The two men engaged in seven debates across Illinois, attracting enormous public attention and bringing Lincoln national recognition. Lincoln lost the Senate contest. At the time, U.S. senators were selected by state legislatures rather than directly elected by voters, and the Illinois legislature chose Douglas.

But the campaign helped prepare Lincoln for a much larger political stage. And during that campaign, a photographer in Peoria captured an image that would help introduce Lincoln to the nation.

THE PEORIA PORTRAIT RETURNS HOME

In 1858, photographer Roderick M. Cole created an extraordinary portrait of Abraham Lincoln at his studio near the corner of Main and Washington Streets in downtown Peoria, the very same block where the Oberhelman Caterpillar Visitors Center and the Peoria Riverfront Museum now stand.

Using a photographic process known as an ambrotype, Cole captured Lincoln’s image on a glass plate. The portrait shows a clean-shaven Lincoln, before the beard that would become one of his most recognizable features.

When Cole invited him to sit for a portrait, Lincoln reportedly quipped, “I cannot see why all you artists want a likeness of me unless it is because I am the homeliest man in the State of Illinois.” Despite this, Lincoln reportedly considered the Peoria portrait one of his favorite early photographs. He frequently signed copies for friends and admirers, and the image was reproduced and distributed during his political career.

The “Peoria Portrait,” as it is known, appeared in his unsuccessful 1858 Senate campaign and later appeared on presidential campaign materials in 1860. And now, more than 165 years later, the original photograph has returned to Peoria.

On October 20, 2026, the Peoria Riverfront Museum announced the acquisition of the original Peoria ambrotype of Abraham Lincoln, made possible through the generosity of the museum’s America 250 donors.

After decades in private hands, this remarkable piece of American history has become part of the Museum’s permanent collection. It is not simply a reproduction of a famous photograph. It is the original glass image, created in Peoria, that helped shape how Americans came to recognize Abraham Lincoln.

WHEN PHOTOGRAPHY CHANGED PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGNS

Today, it is difficult to imagine a presidential campaign without photographs, television appearances, videos, and social media. But in the early years of the American republic, most citizens had never seen their president or the candidates seeking the office. Images of political leaders were circulated through paintings, engravings, and printed illustrations. Photography, introduced in 1839, began to change that.

By the 1850s, photographic processes were becoming more affordable and accessible. Portraits could be reproduced and distributed to people who might never have an opportunity to see a candidate in person. The presidential election of 1860 marked an important turning point. Photographic images of candidates circulated widely, helping voters recognize the men whose names appeared on the ballot.

Lincoln understood the power of this new technology.

In February 1860, he traveled to New York City to deliver an important address at Cooper Union, where he argued against the expansion of slavery. That same day, photographer Mathew Brady took what would become one of Lincoln’s most famous portraits. Brady’s photograph was reproduced on campaign buttons, posters, and other materials, introducing Lincoln’s face to voters throughout the country.

Lincoln later reportedly credited both the Cooper Union speech and Brady’s portrait with helping him win the presidency. But the photograph taken in Peoria two years earlier was also part of this transformation. The Peoria Portrait appeared in campaign materials and was widely reproduced, allowing Americans to become familiar with Lincoln’s appearance before he entered the White House.

For perhaps the first time in American presidential politics, photography was becoming an essential tool for creating a candidate’s public image. It was an early chapter in a story that continues today, as each new communication technology changes how Americans encounter, understand, and evaluate their political leaders.

THE ELECTION THAT CHANGED AMERICA: NOVEMBER 6, 1860

On November 6, 1860, Lincoln won the presidency with approximately 40 percent of the popular vote but a clear majority in the Electoral College. The election exposed the deep divisions within the country. Lincoln opposed the expansion of slavery into new territories, but his election did not immediately mean the abolition of slavery where it already existed. Nevertheless, Southern states viewed his victory as a threat to the institution of slavery.

Before Lincoln took office in March 1861, seven Southern states had declared their secession from the Union. The Civil War began the following April. Over the next four years, Lincoln would lead the nation through its greatest constitutional and military crisis, issue the Emancipation Proclamation, and help move the country toward the abolition of slavery.

The man whose image had been captured in a small Peoria photography studio would become one of the most consequential presidents in American history.

LINCOLN AND THE PROMISE OF LIBERTY

The connection between Lincoln and the Declaration of Independence runs throughout his political career. In his 1854 Peoria Speech, Lincoln challenged Americans to confront the contradiction between the nation’s founding ideals and the continued existence and expansion of slavery. He returned to that principle repeatedly, including in the Gettysburg Address of 1863, when he described the United States as a nation conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

For Lincoln, the Declaration was more than a historical document announcing independence from Great Britain. It expressed a principle that the nation had not yet fully realized. The Civil War would test whether a nation founded upon those principles could survive. And Lincoln’s leadership would help reshape the meaning of American liberty for generations to come.

REDISCOVER LINCOLN IN THE PROMISE OF LIBERTY

In The Promise of Liberty, visitors can encounter extraordinary documents and objects that illuminate the history of America’s founding ideals and the generations who have struggled to fulfill them.

Among them are a historic Stone printing of the Declaration of Independence, the United States Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and the Emancipation Proclamation.

And now, visitors can see the original Peoria ambrotype of Abraham Lincoln, one of the most important photographs ever taken in our community. Consider what this object represents. A young politician, not yet president, sits for a photograph in a small Illinois city. He has lost elections. His political future is uncertain. The nation is becoming increasingly divided. But the ideas he championed, and the image captured that day, would soon become part of a national story.

This week, as we commemorate the anniversary of Lincoln’s election, we invite you to visit The Promise of Liberty and see the photograph that helped introduce Abraham Lincoln to America. And consider how images influence our understanding of leaders today.