Obama not the first Pres.-elect to take train through Baltimore
Barack Obama has never been one to shy away from Lincoln symbolism in his presidential run (for example, making his campaign announcement on the steps of the old state house in Springfield, where the 16th president served). Like Lincoln, Obama plans to arrive in Washington by train. (Lincoln rode the rails all the way from Illinois; Obama's just picking up a train out of Philly.) But he's looking for a somewhat more triumphant stop in Baltimore than Lincoln got in 1861.
The Illinois Republican's election precipitated major secessionist uprisings throughout the south; six states seceeded before inauguration day, but border states, including in Maryland, stayed in the Union. But Baltimore was still a hotbed of anti-Lincoln sentiment, and the president-elect's chief of security, Allan Pinkerton, went to extraordinary lenghts to get him through the city safely. There's some dispute among historians about whether the plot to kill Lincoln in Baltimore was real, but Pinkerton evidently thought so. Lincoln's security forces cut telegraph lines between Baltimore and Pennsylvania to cut off communications among potential conspirators, and the president-elect left Harrisburg on a secret night train. To avoid running afoul of a city law prohibiting the running of trains through downtown at night, Lincoln's cars were drawn through by horses.
When crowds gathered to greet Lincoln's train the next day, they discovered he was already gone.
Comments
and Lincoln's body laid in state here for a day after his assasination
Posted by: Jeff | December 15, 2008 11:54 AM
Bill Clinton rode a specially-augmented MARC commuter train from DC to Baltimore on April 5, 1993 to head to Oriole Park at Camden Yards to toss out the "first ball" for the 1993 baseball season. There have been numerous other presidential visits by train, including a 1952 Eisenhower campaign train and Truman's 1948 campaign train.
Posted by: Alexander D. Mitchell IV | December 15, 2008 1:40 PM
Who will ever forget the slow moving train carrying Bobby Kennedy's body to Washington. People were lined up along the tracks through Maryland. Very sad day
Posted by: Jan | December 15, 2008 4:27 PM
the president elect has shown more leadership and thoughtfulness in the last month then the current president has shown in the last 8 yrs,
Posted by: fkterp | December 15, 2008 5:14 PM
To reduce costs and energy, Jimmy Carter rode a train to Baltimore from DC. That caused extra cars to be put on the train for security and the train was preceded and followed be helicopters. Not much savings there.
Posted by: Jay | December 15, 2008 6:06 PM