The Wide Awakes was a paramilitary campaign organization affiliated with the Republican Party during the United States presidential election of 1860. Similar organizations affiliated with the Democratic Party were called the "Douglas Invincibles", "Young Hickories" or "Earthquakes". Southern organizations were called the "Minute Men".
In the mid-1850s, an entirely separate group called the "Wide Awakes" existed in New York City. This was a political club loosely associated with the Know Nothing movement.
Read more about Wide Awakes: Overview, Stone's Prairie Riot, Southern Reaction, Wartime Activities, Defense of St. Louis
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