Editing Wide Awakes (section)

==Rituals==
[[File:Wide Awakes Banner.tif|thumb|Wide Awakes banner, on display at the [[Old State Capitol State Historic Site|Old Capitol building]], Springfield, Illinois]]

===Uniform and tactics===

The Wide Awakes were a marching club. Their uniform was a full robe or cape and a military style hat, both made of black, shiny fabric. They carried a torch six feet in length to which a large flaming pivoting whale-oil container was mounted. Some carried rail-splitter [[axe]]s strapped to their backs. The axes and split rails symbolized Abraham Lincoln, "the rail splitter."<ref name=Goodheart2011>{{cite book |title=1861: The Civil War Awakening |first=Adam |last=Goodheart |publisher=Alfred A. Knopf |location=New York |year=2011 |isbn=9781400040155 |oclc=676726649 }}</ref>{{rp|47}}

They marched without speaking, eyes fixed straight ahead. Their only sound was the rhythm of a [[Marching percussion|marching drum]] and the noise of their boots striking the ground in unison. Their marches were at night, lit by torches, in outdoor public places in cities in the American northeast. The gatherings of the Wide Awakes were very different from all previous American political rallies, which featured boisterous daytime parades, songs, and brass bands.<ref name=Goodheart2011 />{{rp|48}}

A Boston Wide Awake rally in October 1860 was one of the last before Lincoln was elected and the Civil War began. In this rally, Wide Awakes lit their torches all at the same moment, synchronized by the sound of a single gunshot. They marched in a zig-zag pattern imitating a [[split-rail fence]]. They held banners with anti-slavery messages, such as ''The Pilgrims Did Not Found an Empire for Slavery''. The rally included both black and white people. A company of 200 Black men, the West Boston Wide Awakes, held a banner reading ''God Never Made a Tyrant or a Slave''.<ref name=Goodheart2011 />{{rp|52}}

===Chapter organization===
Little is known about the national organization of the Wide Awakes, if indeed any formal governing body existed at all. The clubs seem to have been organized by city into local chapters. Surviving minutes of the [[Waupun, Wisconsin]], chapter restrict membership to males 18 and older. The member had to "furnish himself with the style of uniform adopted by this Club." The chapter had a military-style officer system consisting of a captain and the 1st to 4th lieutenants.

<blockquote>The Captain shall have command of the Club at all times; in his absence the Lieutenants shall have command in the order of their rank. Every member of this club shall attend all the meetings whether regular or special; and when on duty or in attendance at the meetings, shall obey the officers in command, and shall at all times perform such duties as shall be required of him by the officers in command.<ref>''The Waupun Times'', August 1, 1860</ref></blockquote>

===Social dimensions===
Whatever their names, marching clubs of both parties often had bands and fancy uniforms. The social dimensions have been described:<ref>Glenn C. Altschuler and Stuart M. Blumin; ''Rude Republic: Americans and Their Politics in the Nineteenth Century'' Princeton University Press (2000), p.&nbsp;63.</ref>

<blockquote>The young men and boys who joined the Wide-Awakes, Invincibles, and other marching clubs were sold inexpensive uniforms and taught impressive march maneuvers. In Marion the Wide-Awake uniform consisted of an [[oilcloth|oil cloth]] cape and cap and a red sash, which along with a lamp or torch cost $1.33. Their "[[split-rail fence|worm fence]] march" can be imagined, as can a nice connection to Lincoln as rail splitter—a connection that does remind us of the log-cabin and hard cider symbolism of earlier days [of 1840]. The more important connection to be made, however, is to the "militia fever" of the 1850s. Many Americans north and south delighted in military uniforms and titles, musters and parades, and the formal balls their companies sponsored during the winter social season. Their younger brothers no doubt delighted in aping them, so far as $1.33 would allow, while their parents were provided with a means by which youthful rowdyism was, for a time, channeled into a military form of discipline. The regular campaign clubs, meanwhile, were given a different attraction. One of the first items of business, once the club was organized, was to invite "the ladies" to meetings. Many members were single young men, and the campaign occurred during a relatively slow social season following the picnics, steamboat excursions, and other outings of the summer, and preceding the balls sponsored by militia companies, fire companies, and fraternal lodges during the winter. Campaign clubs helped to extend and connect the social seasons for single young men and women, and gave both an occasion for high-spirited travel. "Coming home there was fun," wrote the Democratic editor of a [[Dubuque, Iowa|Dubuque]] Republican club excursion to a rally in [[Galena, Illinois|Galena]]. "There were frequent 'three cheers for Miss Nancy Rogers.' ... Captain Pat Conger was the best looking man on the ground and we can only say that it is a pity he is not a Democrat."</blockquote>

===Mission statement===
Typical Wide Awakes chapters also adopted an unofficial mission statement. The following example comes from the [[Chicago]] chapter:<ref>[[Franklin, Pennsylvania]] ''Repository and Transcript''</ref>

# To act as a political police.
# To do escort duty to all prominent Republican speakers who visit our place to address our citizens.
# To attend all public meetings in a body and see that order is kept and that the speaker and meeting is not disturbed.
# To attend the polls and see that justice is done to every legal voter.
# To conduct themselves in such a manner as to induce all Republicans to join them.
# To be a body joined together in large numbers to work for the good of the Republican Ticket.

=== Membership certificate ===
[[File:Free speech, free soil, free men. This is to certify that (blank) is a member of the (blank) Wide-awake Club LCCN2004665362.jpg|thumb|A membership certificate for the Wide-Awake Club: "Free speech, free soil, free men. This is to certify that... is a member of the... Wide-Awake Club."]]
This particular membership certificate of the Wide Awakes has a central vignette showing crowds and troops before the US Capitol. Some of the troops march in long parade lines, others fire cannons into the air toward the Capitol. Crowds line the Capitol steps, flanking a lone figure, probably [[Abraham Lincoln]], who ascends toward the building's entrance. The certificate is framed by an American flag draped over a rail fence, with olive branches at the top. In the upper corners are oval medallions of Lincoln (left) and his running mate, [[Hannibal Hamlin]] (right). Rail-splitter's mallets appear in the corners. A vigilant eye peers from a halo of clouds at the center. On either side stand uniformed members of the society, wearing their characteristic short capes and visored caps. One holds a staff and a lantern (left), and the other holds a burning torch. Below, an eagle on a shield holds arrows, an olive branch, and an [[E pluribus unum]] streamer. Broken shackles lie before him. In the left distance, the sun rises over a mountainous landscape and a locomotive chugs across the plains. On the right is a more industrial scene: an Eastern city with its harbor full of boats. In the foreground a man hammers a wedge into a wooden rail.<ref>Library of Congress: [https://catalog.loc.gov/vwebv/search?searchCode=LCCN&searchArg=2004665362&searchType=1&permalink=y ''Free speech, free soil, free men This is to certify that ... is a member ...'']</ref>