The United States is rich in historic photographs. Some photos, like the scene when Lee Harvey Oswald was killed, are vivid in many of our minds, even though it happened decades ago. Although many photos are famous, only one, I think, actually changed American history.
It was taken on February 27, 1860 in New York City. It was on the day that a little known politician came to New York to speak at Cooper Union (a college). Before he went to make the speech, a photo was taken by Mathew Brady. Accounts of the speech were sent to many newspapers. They were accompanied by the photo, because at that time, few had ever seen what Abraham Lincoln looked like.
Lincoln said that he thought that Cooper Union and Brady’s portrait helped make him President of the United States.
