“No one will tell you that the Civil War began in Hartford, Connecticut. … But if you want to explain how ordinary democratic practices led to fratricidal war, how political conflicts became military ones, and why the war came in 1861 rather than 1850, or 1820, or 1619, Hartford may be a wise place to start,” Jon Grinspan writes in his latest book Wide Awake: The Forgotten Force That Elected Lincoln and Spurred the Civil War. While the capital of Connecticut today may be better known as the home of pencil-pushing insurance executives, in 1860, the city served as the birthplace of one of America’s most successful and shortest-lived mass movements in politics.
Grinspan has written an excellent book about true believers, those who, in the words of Eric Hoffer in his brilliant discussion of mass movements, held a “readiness to die and a proclivity for united action.” The curator of political history at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History argues that the Wide Awake movement bridged the political cold war between the free and slave states as it eventually deteriorated into the deadliest conflict in American history.
Initially formed by those working in shops and textile mills, the Wide Awakes were driven by a desire for recognition, a yearning to participate in something meaningful, and a penchant for looking cool. In many respects, the group, formed by local clubs across the United States, laid the groundwork for the first modern political campaign. Their disciplined military drills and distinctive attire, black glazed hats and oilcloth capes illuminated by lanterns during nighttime assemblies, enabled them to open public space, often through physical intimidation, for antislavery politicians to win converts. The fashionable uniform made anyone a Wide Awake, whether you were in Springfield, Illinois, or Springfield, Massachusetts. It made a national phenomenon more tangible, and in the end, an estimated 500,000 joined their ranks.
Taking a view from the ground level, Wide Awake guides readers through the tumultuous campaign of 1860, focusing on local and regional figures whose collective efforts precipitated the largest political transformation in American history. Breaking his work into three parts, Grinspan shows how a ragtag group of mostly young, white laborers built a diverse political force that struck fear in the hearts of the supporters of the Slave Power who had gotten comfortable silencing critics through threats of violence. When it came time to wrangle votes, the Wide Awakes also fortified the Republican Party at the grassroots level before becoming the backbone of Lincoln’s military force against the Confederacy.
Grinspan observes that the “martial rigor could face down the disorder of mobbings and lynchings, stolen elections, and vigilante chaos.” The paramilitary group provided the muscle needed by the fledgling Republicans during the often hectic and violent politics of the antebellum period. He believes their work foreshadowed the imminent military conflict between the proslavery and antislavery movements and does a good job proving. The Smithsonian is in good hands.
Wide Awake serves as an engaging and well-crafted narrative that reveals a group of young people whose motivations and actions bear resemblance to contemporary movements. Grinspan says that “joining the Wide Awakes felt like doing something in an age of political gridlock, dread, and fear.” When considering that sense of urgency, young adults putting on a cape, lighting a torch, and parading against the Slave Power seem less distant from those wearing keffiyehs, carrying tiki torches, marching in a Black Lives Matter protest, wearing pink hats, or carrying AR-15s and donning Kevlar vests.
In fact, Grinspan notes that the recent protests on both the Right and the Left served as motivation for turning his previous study of the Wide Awakes into a book. He writes, “Still, most audiences I spoke to about the Wide Awakes expressed a halting sense that this story did not fit with what they expected from American history. Someone would always comment that the slides of uniformed men marching in lockstep reminded them more of Nazi Germany than of Honest Abe. … These days, fewer people see Nuremberg when I show slides of the Wide Awakes. More see Charlottesville. They comment on how ‘relevant’ the Wide Awakes seem.”
There’s comfort in realizing we’re not living through unprecedented times, but that’s where Wide Awake could have delved further. The contrasting beliefs between Nazi Germany and Honest Abe made all the difference. Ideas matter. What set the Wide Awakes apart in history was having a leader to support who could articulate a broad, principled purpose on their behalf — one eying the future while rooted in the ideals of human freedom, equality under the law, and democracy. No American has ever done that better than Abraham Lincoln.
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The Wide Awakes did not try to wag the dog by its tail, either. Unlike some of his fellow Republicans, Lincoln did not feel the need, except for one time out of politeness, to stand in front of his young, ardent supporters pretending to lead the parade. He and they both grasped a fundamental truth often overlooked: Successful mass movements are propelled by principles rooted in liberty that resonate widely, not the other way around.
Unlike many contemporary mass movements that seem to prioritize protesting as their central objective, the Wide Awake movement did not march simply to march. They wanted to do more than merely be heard and dissolved once the political battleground shifted to war and the organization no longer served the cause. Nearly every member of the Wide Awakes enlisted in the U.S. Army, answering Lincoln’s call to defend the Union with their lives. The principles they championed while wearing their distinctive capes remained worth dying for when bullets and cannonballs began to fly. True believers, indeed.
Carl Paulus is a historian from Michigan and author of The Slaveholding Crisis: The Fear of Insurrection and the Coming of the Civil War.