Download The Election of 1860

The Election of
1860
Why does this election matter?
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The United States presidential election of 1860 set the stage for the
American Civil War. The nation had been divided throughout most
of the 1850s. What were these issues?
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In 1860 these issues finally came to a head,
fracturing the formerly dominant Democratic
Party into Southern and Northern factions and
bringing Abraham Lincoln and the Republican
Party to power without the support of a single
Southern state.
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The immediate result of Lincoln's victory was declarations of
secession by South Carolina and other states, which were rejected
as illegal by the then-current President, James Buchanan and
President-elect Abraham Lincoln.
Meet the Candidates
Abraham Lincoln
Republican
Illinois
John C. Breckinridge
Southern Democrat
Kentucky
John Bell
Stephen Douglas
Constitutional Union
Northern Democrat
Tennessee
Tennessee
The Campaign
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The contest in the North was between Lincoln and Douglas,
but only Douglas took to the stump and gave speeches and
interviews. In the South, John C. Breckinridge and John Bell
were the main rivals, but Douglas had an important presence
in southern cities, especially among Irish Americans.
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Stephen A. Douglas was the first presidential
candidate in history to undertake a nationwide
speaking tour. He traveled to the South where
he did not expect to win many electoral votes,
but he spoke for the maintenance of the Union.
Lincoln’s Campaign
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There was little effort to convert non-Republicans, and there was virtually
no campaigning in the South except for a few border cities such as St.
Louis, Missouri, and Wheeling, Virginia; indeed, the party did not even run
a slate in most of the South.
In the North, there were thousands of Republican speakers, tons of
campaign posters and leaflets, and thousands of newspaper editorials.
These focused first on the party platform, and second on Lincoln's life story,
making the most of his boyhood poverty, his pioneer background, his native
genius, and his rise from obscurity.
His nicknames, "Honest Abe" and "the Rail-Splitter," were exploited to the
full. The goal was to emphasize the superior power of "free labor," whereby
a common farm boy could work his way to the top by his own efforts
How was this campaign tactic similar to the most recent election?
The Results
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The election was held on November 6. Lincoln won an electoral majority
without an absolute majority of total popular votes. While Lincoln captured
less than 40% of the popular vote, the divisions of the nation allowed him to
capture 17 states plus four electoral votes in New Jersey, for a total of 180
electoral votes.
The exaggerated sectionalism of the vote is evident, as Lincoln was not
even on the ballot in nine Southern states - and won only two of 996
counties in the entire South.
In the six states still permitting slavery where he was on the ballot, he came
in fourth in every state except Delaware
The voter turnout rate in 1860 was the second-highest on record (81.2%,
second only to 1876, with 81.8%).
When else in history has a president won an electoral majority
without an absolute majority of popular votes?
Electoral Map
In your notesheet….
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Who were the main candidates?
Who won the election?
What will Lincoln’s election as president do
to the nation?
Lincoln is PresidentElect
Now what happens?
NOVEMBER 6, 1860
Lincoln elected president
December 20, 1860
South Carolina secedes
January 9, 1861
Mississippi secedes
January 10, 1861
Florida secedes
January 11, 1861
Alabama secedes
January 19, 1861
Georgia secedes
January 26, 1861
Louisiana secedes
February 1, 1861
Texas secedes
February 4, 1861
Southern states meet in
Birmingham, Alabama
February 8, 1861
Confederate Constitution
adopted
February 9, 1861
Jefferson Davis becomes
President of the
Confederacy
March 4, 1861
Lincoln inaugurated
April 12, 1861
Ft. Sumter fired upon
April 17, 1861
Virginia secedes
May 6, 1861
Arkansas secedes
May 6, 1861
Tennessee secedes
May 21, 1861
North Carolina secedes
June, 1861
Four slave states vote to stay
in the union
June, 1861
West Virginia is formed
August 16, 1861
Lincoln prohibits trade with
CSA