1860 United States presidential election

1860 United States presidential election
November 6, 1860
303 members of the Electoral College
152 votes needed to win
 
Nominee Abraham Lincoln John C. Breckinridge
Party Republican Southern Democratic
Home state Illinois Kentucky
Running mate Hannibal Hamlin Joseph Lane
Electoral vote 180 72
States carried 18 11
Popular vote 1,855,276 672,601
Percentage 39.7% 14.4%
 
Nominee John Bell Stephen A. Douglas
Party Constitutional Union Democratic Party (United States)
Home state Tennessee Illinois
Running mate Edward Everett Herschel V. Johnson
Electoral vote 39 12
States carried 3 1
Popular vote 590,980 1,004,042
Percentage 12.6% 21.5%
Events leading to
the American Civil War

The 1860 United States presidential election was the 19th election in the history of the United States. It occurred on November 8, 1860. This election was a four way race between the Republican nominee, former Congressman Abraham Lincoln of Illinois, the Northern Democratic nominee, Senator Stephen A. Douglas of Illionis, the Southern Democratic nominee, Vice President John C. Breckinridge of Kentucky and the Constutitonal Union nominee, former Senator John Bell of Tennessee. Lincoln won the election with 180 electoral votes, while Breckinridge got 72 electoral votes, Bell got 37 electoral votes and Douglas got only 12 electoral votes.

The election of President Abraham Lincoln served as a trigger for the outbreak of the American Civil War. The United States had been divided during the 1850s on questions surrounding the expansion of slavery and the rights of slave owners. In 1860, these issues broke the Democratic Party into three factions.[1] Each group felt they could best defeat the Republican Party candidate.[1]

This would be the first ever election and the first of six elections in the history of the United States where both major candidates share the same home state.

Democratic party split

In April 1860, The Democrats would meet in Charleston, South Carolina to select a candidate for the upcoming presidential election.[2] The convention was in complete chaos, as Northern Democrats wanted to nominate Stephen A. Douglas.[2] Southern Democrats would not support him because he supported new states having the popular sovereignty right to choose whether they would allow slavery.[2]

The convention could not agree on a candidate and would adjourn with no candidate nominated. Later, in a separate convention, the Northern Democrats met again and chose Douglas. The Southern Democrats chose John C. Breckinridge.[2] He was the Vice President of the United States under President James Buchanan.

Later, a third group, The newly formed Constitutional Union Party chose John Bell as their candidate.[2] The party included a few southern democrats who were against slavery. It also included members of the Whig Party and the Know Nothing party. The Constitutional Union Party was against secession and neutral on the issue of slavery.[2] Bell himself was an ex-democrat.

The Republican convention

The Republican party saw an opportunity when the Democrats were split.[2] They met in Chicago on May 16–18.[3] William H. Seward was the favorite among many.[4] Abraham Lincoln had become known as a result of his debates with Stephen A. Douglas. He had the advantage the convention was held in Chicago, the center of his support.[3] After two ballots, there was no clear choice. On the third ballot the republicans chose Lincoln.[4]

Nominations

Republican Party

1860 Republican Party ticket
Abraham Lincoln Hannibal Hamlin
for President for Vice President
U.S. Representative
from Illionis
(1847-1849) 		U.S. Senator
from Maine
(1848-1857, 1857-1861)

Presidential

Vice presidential

Democratic (Northern Democratic) Party

1860 Democratic Party ticket
Stephen A. Douglas Herschel V. Johnson
for President for Vice President
U.S. Senator
from Illionis
(1847-1861) 		41st
Governor of Georgia
(1853–1857)

Presidential

Vice Presidential

  • Herschel V. Johnson, 41st Governor of Georgia (1844-1851)
  • Benjamin Fitzpatrick, U.S. Senator from Alabama (1848-1849, 1853-1861) (declined nomination)[c]
  • William C. Alexander, former president of the New Jersey Senate (1853-1856)

Southern Democratic Party

1860 Southern Democratic Party ticket
John C. Breckinridge Joseph Lane
for President for Vice President
14th
Vice President of the United States
(1857-1861) 		U.S. Senator
from Oregon
(1859-1861)

Presidential

Vice Presidential

  • Joseph Lane, U.S. Senator from Oregon (1859-1861) (Vice presidential nominee)
  • William L. Yancey, former Congressman from Alabama (1844-1846) (Not nominated)

Constitutional Union Party

1860 Constitutional Union Party ticket
John Bell Edward Everett
for President for Vice President
U.S. Senator
from Tennessee
(1849-1857) 		U.S. Senator
from Massachusetts
(1853-1854)

Presidential

Vice Presidential

  • Joseph Lane, U.S. Senator from Oregon (1859-1861) (Vice presidential nominee)
  • Washington Hunt, 17th Governor of New York (1851-1852) (withdrawn)

Campaign

Lincoln's position on the issue of slavery was known from his senatorial debates with Stephen Douglas in 1858.[5] In one debate he said, "I believe this government cannot endure permanently half slave and half free." One of his most memorable quotes he stated, "A house divided against itself cannot stand."[5] Even so, he was considered a moderate on the issue of slavery. He knew he could not end slavery in the south in one step. Instead he only spoke out against slavery in new American territories.[5]

Outcome

Lincoln won the election with 1,866,452 votes. Douglas received 1,376,957 votes. John Breckinridge and John Bell shared the remaining 1,438,660 votes cast.[5] Lincoln won the majority of the electoral college giving him the presidency. But he won without carrying a single Southern state. Before Lincoln's inauguration as president, seven Southern states declared their secession. In his inaugural address, Lincoln spoke to the Southern states. He said, "In your hands, my dissatisfied fellow countrymen, and not in mine, is the momentous issue of civil war".[5] He went on to say, "The government will not assail you. You can have no conflict without being yourselves the aggressors. You have no oath registered in heaven to destroy the government, while I shall have the most solemn one to 'preserve, protect, and defend' it."[5] Lincoln called them friends and told them we are not enemies. Unfortunately by this time Jefferson Davis was already the president of the Confederacy. They were later joined by Virginia, North Carolina, Arkansas, and Tennessee.[5] Two states, Kentucky and Missouri, attempted to remain neutral.

On April 12, 1861, the first shots of the Civil War were fired at Fort Sumter, South Carolina.[6]

Notes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Hunter would later be selected as the 2nd Confederate States Secretary of State and would serve from July 25, 1861 to February 18, 1862. He would later serve in the Conferadate Senate from February 18, 1862 until the end of the CSA, and, in addition, the Confederate Senate on May 10, 1865
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Lane previously served as a Shadow Senator for the Territory of Oregon in the US Senate from July 5, 1858 until Oregon's statehood on February 14, 1859
  3. ↑ Fitzpatrick was the second candidate to decline the nomination and was the first to decline their nomination since Silas Wright was nominated as James K. Polk's running mate in 1844. This would be the last time a candidate declined the VP nomination until Frank O. Lowden declined his nomination to serve as Calvin Coolidge's running mate in 1924
  4. ↑ Davis would later be elected for a one-year term as the President of the Confederate States of America on February 18, 1861. On February 22, 1862, Davis was elected full time to the position, which he held until the end of the CSA on May 5, 1865
  5. ↑ Houston is the only person to serve as the president of a Foriegn Nation and run for President of the United States as he served as the 1st and 3rd President of Texas from 1836-1838 and then from 1841 until 1844. He later served as 1 of Texas' first 2 U.S. Senators starting in February 1846 and served until March 1859. He later became the 7th Governor of Texas in July 1859, three months after leaving the Senate

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "The Election of 1860 and Secession". Terra Foundation for American Art. Retrieved 27 April 2015.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 "32d. The Election of 1860". The Independence Hall Association in Philadelphia. Retrieved 27 April 2015.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "1860 Republican Convention". The Blue and Gray Trail. Archived from the original on 5 May 2015. Retrieved 27 April 2015.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Kenan Heise. "The 1860 Republican Convention". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 27 April 2015.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 Kenneth T. Walsh (23 July 208). "The Most Consequential Elections in History: Abraham Lincoln and the Election of 1860". U.S. News & World Report LP. Retrieved 27 April 2015.
  6. ↑ "First Shots of the Civil War Fired at Fort Sumter". VOA Learning English. 11 September 2014. Retrieved 27 April 2015.
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