Summary
The election of 1860 is widely considered to be a realigning election.
The United States had been divided through most of the 1850's on the issue of slavery, with abolitionists arguing that slavery should end and Northerners fighting Southerners every time a new state was admitted to the Union: the Southerners wanting slavery permitted in each, the Northerners wanting it abolished.
The election was also noteworthy in that it is the only one in which both major parties broke into factions, supporting different candidates (see below for details). Two Illinois politicians, Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas competed extensively in the north, while incumbent Vice President John Breckinridge and John Bell stumped throughout the southern states.
While Lincoln captured less than 40% of the popular vote, the four-way split allowed him to easily win the presidency by capturing 18 states and 180 electoral votes. Douglas, meanwhile, finished second in the popular vote but due to the north-south split garnered only Missouri's 9 electoral votes and three electoral votes in New Jersey, good for fourth place. Bell would win Kentucky, Tennessee and Virginia's electors, while Breckinridge would win every other slave state save Missouri.
The election of Abraham Lincoln made South Carolina's secession from the United States a foregone conclusion. The state was long waiting for an excuse to secede and unite the southern states against the anti-slavery forces. Upon confirming that the results were final, South Carolina declared "that the Union now subsisting between South Carolina and other states under the name of the 'United States of America' is hereby dissolved." The march to the Civil War was on.
Republican Party Nomination
Going into the 1860 Republican National Convention in Chicago, William H. Seward of New York, Salmon P. Chase of Ohio and Pennsylvania's Simon Cameron were considered the leading contenders for the presidential nomination. However, through shrewd maneuvering at the convention and politically astute moves by his managers, it was Abraham Lincoln who would receive the party's nomination on May 16, 1860. Maine's Hannibal Hamlin was chosen as the Vice Presidential nominee.
The party platform clearly stated that slavery could spread no farther, and further promised that tariffs protecting industry would be imposed. A law granting free homesteads in the west to settlers was also part of the platform.
Constitutional Union Party
Diehard former Whigs who felt they could not stand behind Lincoln split from the Republicans and formed the Constitutional Union Party, nominating John C. Bell of Tennessee and adopting a platform promoting compromise to save the union. .
Democratic Party Nomination and Split
The Democratic Party was similarly divided. Northern democrats nominated the ticket of Stephen A. Douglas of Illinois and Herschel Vespasian Johnson of Georgia, while Southern democrats nominated incumbent Vice President John Cabell Breckinridge of Kentucky for President, and Joseph Lane of New Jersey for Vice President.
This divide was, of course, caused by the issue of slavery. Those in the South nominated a solidly pro-slavery candidate, while those in the North nominated a weak candidate who maintained a middle field when discussing slavery.
Election Results
For More Information
President of the United States, U.S. presidential election, 1860, History of the United States (1776-1865), Origins of the American Civil War,
External resources:
- Election of 1860 http://www.tulane.edu/~latner/Background/BackgroundElection.html
- Electoral Map from 1860 http://fisher.lib.virginia.edu/elections/maps/1860.gif
- U.S. Department of State infoUSA site http://usinfo.state.gov/usa/infousa/facts/history/ch6.htm
Other Elections
Last updated: 02-04-2005 18:34:29
