The making of a President

Abraham Lincoln came to New York City on February 27, 1860 and delivered his Cooper Union address, the most important speech of his 1860 presidential campaign.

Photographer Mathew Brady was there and captured the image that re-invented Lincoln to the public.

Lincoln bowled over his audience, got the Republican nomination and won the general election.

When Lincoln, now president-elect, encountered Brady in Washington the following year, he volunteered: "Brady and Cooper Union made me president.”