The Republican Party in Illinois courted the votes of German Americans during the 1856 Federal Election. Ray believed the Republicans stood a chance of winning the votes of 20,000 anti-slavery Germans in the state if the party distanced itself from the nativist stance and policies of the American Party, which it ultimately did via an anti-nativist plank it its 1856 platform that Lincoln helped draft. During the 1856 election campaign, Lincoln not only organized the distribution of pro-Republican German-language newspapers; he also advocated for German speakers such as Friedrich K. F. Hecker to deliver addresses at Republican political meetings. After Hecker’s home was destroyed in a fire that Hecker and others suspected was intentionally set in retribution for his political activism on behalf of the Republican Party, Lincoln even raised funds for Hecker both as a show of support and in the hopes that such funds would enable Hecker to continue speaking at Republican events. Lincoln personally pledged $100 to Hecker as part of this fundraising.

Although Democrat James Buchanan won the presidency, carrying Illinois with 44.1 percent of the vote, the Republican Party won more than half of the state’s German vote and swept the races for every state office.