His rise to power was the result of many factors: the impact of the Depression, the weaknesses of Weimar democracy and the strengths of the Nazi party.
Lincoln was trying to appeal to Southern voters by picking Andrew Johnson as his running mate. These two men were actually very different politically speaking. Lincoln was a Republican, Andrew Johnson was a Democrat. Lincoln was from the Midwest US, Andrew Johnson was from Tennessee.
Lincoln knew that having a Democratic Vice President who once represented a Confederate state (Tennessee) would allow his presidency to appeal to a wider range of voters.
Other words that go with the same meaning of common knowledge include Ongoing, existence, widespread, popular, etc.
