rail splitter
Log-halving lumber worker
A rail splitter is someone who splits logs into fence rails—the long wooden pieces used in zigzag or split-rail fencing.
The term is most associated with Abraham Lincoln, who did this work as a young man in Illinois.
His 1860 presidential campaign used "The Rail Splitter" as a nickname to emphasize his humble frontier origins and physical labor credentials.
- axeBladed tool for chopping
- maulAttack with brutal force
- carpentryWood construction trade
- Abraham LincolnCivil War era leader
- tall taleWildly exaggerated story
presidential campaign · frontier · pioneer spirit · froe · wedge · Illinois · log cabin · perseverance · Whig · Great Emancipator · emancipation · humility · Civil War · heritage · adze · chisel · laborer · hard work
rail splitteraristocrat
Person of noble birth
patrician · landed gentry · blue blood · blueblood · silver spoon
rail splittergentleman of leisure
Wealthy man who needn't work
white-collar worker · office worker · banker · professional · intellectual
rail, splitter, rails, railed, railing, railings, railway, railways, railroad