Download The Election of 1860 and Secession, With SMART Response Post

The Election of 1860 and
Secession
Mr. White’s US History 1
State of the Country


United States was divided into two
parts, a slave-holding South, and the
free-soil North
In the west, most of the territory was
unorganized – the question of whether
these would be slave or free was
important to many people
Election of 1860



Republicans ran on a
platform of halting the
spread of slavery
Lincoln promised not to
touch slavery where it
existed, but would stop
its expansion
Abraham Lincoln, the
Republican candidate,
was elected president
Slavery in 1860



When Lincoln was elected, many southerners
thought that they had lost their political voice
Southerners viewed black slaves as their
property, and thought that nobody had the
right to take that property
Many southerners thought that Lincoln and
others like him would try to get rid of slavery
Secession of the lower South



South Carolina seceded shortly after
Lincoln was elected – but Lincoln hadn’t
even taken office
Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia,
Louisiana, and Texas also seceded
They formed the Confederate States of
America – President Jefferson Davis
was inaugurated before Lincoln
Fort Sumter Dilemma


Southerners took
over most of the
forts from the US,
except for Fort
Sumter, in South
Carolina
Confederates
demanded the fort
surrender, or they
would take it
Fort Sumter – Lincoln’s
Decision

Lincoln faced a dilemma




Surrender the fort? US looks weak
Send more troops to the fort? US looks
aggressive
However, time was short, as the fort was
running out of food
Lincoln decides to send just food to the fort –
if anyone fires first, it will be the Confederacy
War!


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Confederacy chooses to fire on the fort,
as opposed to letting it be resupplied.
On April 12, 1861, Confederates fired
on the fort – fort surrendered
The war had begun, and the
Confederacy had fired first.
Lincoln’s Call for Troops



With this violence,
Lincoln knew it
meant war
He called for 75,000
troops to help put
down the rebellion
Lincoln’s goal was to
preserve the Union
Secession of the Upper South



With Lincoln’s call for
troops, the upper
southern states seceded
Virginia, North Carolina,
Tennessee, and
Arkansas secede
General Robert E. Lee,
of Virginia, was offered
command of US armies,
but refused it
The Beginning of the War



Stage was now set for the Civil War.
Many, at the beginning, on both sides,
thought the war would be short – first
recruits only signed up for 90 days.
Few knew what would be coming.
SMART Response Quiz!

Here’s your SMART Response quiz for
this section! You may use your notes to
answer these questions.
Question #1

The Republican party’s main goal was
to:
A.
B.
C.
D.
End slavery in the United States
Stop the spread of slavery into the
western territories
Allow individual states to decide on the
issues of slavery
Avoid the slavery issue in politics
Question #2

The event that prompted the secession
of the lower southern states (South
Carolina, Georgia, Mississippi, Alabama,
Louisiana, and Texas) was:
A.
B.
C.
D.
Lincoln’s
Lincoln’s
Lincoln’s
Lincoln’s
election
call for 75,000 troops
Emancipation Proclamation
decision to resupply Fort Sumter
Question #3

In regards to the Fort Sumter crisis,
Lincoln chose to:
A.
B.
C.
D.
Abandon Fort Sumter
Negotiate with the Confederacy for peace
Resupply Fort Sumter
Attack the Confederate batteries near
Sumter
Question #4

The event that prompted the secession
of the upper southern states (Virginia,
Tennessee, North Carolina, and
Arkansas) was:
A.
B.
C.
D.
Lincoln’s
Lincoln’s
Lincoln’s
Lincoln’s
election
call for 75,000 troops
Emancipation Proclamation
decision to resupply Fort Sumter