Tom Said:

the election of 1860???

We Answered:

The U.S. presidential election of 1860 set the stage for the American Civil War, as the political system split four ways and all of them proved unable to hold the nation together as a Union. The nation had been divided throughout most of the 1850s on questions of states' rights and slavery in the territories. In 1860, this issue finally came to a head, bringing Abraham Lincoln and the Republican Party to power without the support of a single Southern State, while simultaneously fracturing the formerly dominant Democratic Party into Southern and Northern factions.

The immediate result of Lincoln's victory was the secession of South Carolina and other states, which was rejected as illegal by the then-current President, James Buchanan and President-elect Abraham Lincoln.
Since 1857, the nation had been deeply divided along sectional lines by the Dred Scott decision, the Kansas-Nebraska Act, the Lecompton Constitution, and John Brown's 1859 raid on Harper's Ferry.

See also: Origins of the American Civil War

[edit] Nominations

[edit] Constitutional Union Party nomination

Constitutional Union posterDie-hard former Whigs and Know-Nothings who felt they could support neither the Democratic Party nor the Republican Party formed the Constitutional Union Party, nominating John C. Bell of Tennessee for president and Edward Everett for vice president in Baltimore on May 9, 1860 (one week before Lincoln was nominated).

John Bell was a former Whig who had opposed the Kansas-Nebraska Act and the Lecompton constitution. Edward Everett had been president of Harvard University and Secretary of State in the Fillmore administration. The party platform advocated compromise to save the Union, with a slogan of "the Union as it is, and the Constitution as it is."


[edit] Democratic Party nominations
The Democratic Party was divided over the issue of slavery. At the convention in Charleston in April 1860, 50 southern Democrats walked out over a platform dispute.

Six candidates were nominated: Stephen A. Douglas of Illinois, Andrew Johnson of Tennessee, Daniel S. Dickinson of New York, Joseph Lane of Oregon, James Guthrie of Kentucky, and Robert Mercer Taliaferro Hunter of Virginia. Douglas, a moderate on the slavery issue who favored "popular sovereignty", was ahead on the first ballot, needing 57 more votes. On the 57th ballot, Douglas was still ahead, but still 50 votes short of nomination. In desperation, on May 3 the delegates agreed to stop voting and adjourn the convention.

The Democrats convened again in Baltimore in June 18. This time 110 southern delegates (led by “Fire-Eaters”) walked out when the convention would not adopt a resolution supporting slavery in the territories. After many ballots, the remaining Democrats nominated the ticket of Stephen A. Douglas of Illinois for President and Herschel Vespasian Johnson of Georgia for Vice President.

The Southern Democrats reconvened in Richmond, Virginia, and on June 28 nominated the pro-slavery incumbent Vice President, John Cabell Breckenridge of Kentucky, for President and Joseph Lane of Oregon for Vice President.


[edit] Republican Party nomination
The Republican National Convention met in mid-May, after the Democrats had been forced to adjourn their convention in Charleston. With the Democrats in disarray and with a sweep of the Northern states possible, the Republicans were confident going into their convention in Chicago. William H. Seward of New York was considered the front runner, followed by Abraham Lincoln of Illinois, Salmon P. Chase of Ohio, and Missouri's Edward Bates.

As the convention developed, however, it was revealed that Seward, Chase, and Bates had each alienated factions of the Republican Party. Delegates were concerned that Seward was too closely identified with the radical wing of the party, and his moves toward the center had alienated the radicals. Chase, a former Democrat, had alienated many of the former Whigs by his coalition with the Democrats in the late 1840s, and had opposed tariffs demanded by Pennsylvania. Bates outlined his positions on extension of slavery into the territories and equal constitutional rights for all citizens, positions that alienated his supporters in the border states and southern conservatives. German-Americans in the party opposed Bates because of his past association with the Know-Nothings.

Since it was essential to carry the West, and because Lincoln had a national reputation from his debates and speeches as the most articulate moderate, he won the party's nomination on the third ballot on May 16, 1860.

The party platform clearly stated that slavery would not be allowed to spread any further, and it also promised that tariffs protecting industry would be imposed. The party promised a homestead law granting free farm land in the west to settlers. These provisions were highly unpopular in the South.


[edit] General election

Political cartoon depicting Douglas, Bell, and Breckenridge trying to enter the White House
[edit] Campaign
The contest in the North was between Lincoln and Douglas, but only the latter took to the stump and gave speeches and interviews. In the South, John Breckenridge and John Bell were the main rivals, but Douglas had an important presence in southern cities, especially among Irish Americans. Fusion tickets of the non-Republicans developed in New York and Rhode Island, and partially in New Jersey and Pennsylvania (the northern state in which Breckenridge made the best showing).

Stephen Douglas became 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. The dispute over the Dred Scott case helped the Republicans easily dominate US Congress, through the Northern states, in the 1858 Congressional election as well, and could now easily spread popular influence.

The 1860 campaign was less frenzied than 1856, when the Republicans had crusaded zealously, and their opponents counter-crusaded with warnings of civil war. In 1860, every observer calculated the Republicans had an almost unbeatable advantage in the electoral college, since they dominated almost every northern state. Republicans felt victory at hand, and used campaign clubs like the Wide Awakes to rally their supporters. See American election campaigns in the 19th century for campaign techniques.

Abraham Lincoln's December 1, 1859 visit to Kansas has been recorded by the [1]Kansas History Online service.


[edit] Results
The election was held on November 6. It was noteworthy for the exaggerated sectionalism of the vote, with Lincoln not even on the ballot in nine Southern states - and winning only two (St. Louis County, Missouri and Gascony's County, Missouri [2] ) of 996 counties in the entire South. [3]

This election was a textbook example of how to win an electoral majority without a popular majority. 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. Although the three-way split of the non-Republican vote confuses the issue, the vote split was irrelevant to Lincoln's victory, because he would have won an outright majority in the electoral vote, 169-134, even if the 60% of voters who supported other candidates united behind a single candidate. Except for California, Oregon, and New Jersey, Lincoln won a popular majority in every state that cast its electoral votes for him. [4] Only in California, Oregon, and Illinois was Lincoln's victory margin less than seven percent. Meanwhile, Stephen Douglas finished second in the popular vote, but due to the north-south split garnered only Missouri's nine electoral votes and three of seven electoral votes in New Jersey, good for fourth place. Bell won Kentucky, Tennessee, and Virginia's electors, while Breckenridge won every other slave state except Missouri.

The voter turnout rate in 1860 was the second-highest on record (81.2%, second only to 1876, with 81.8%). The Fusion ticket of non-Republicans drew 595,846 votes [5].

Presidential Candidate Party Home State Popular Vote(a) Electoral Vote Running Mate Running Mate's
Home State Running Mate's
Electoral Vote
Count Percentage
Abraham Lincoln Republican Illinois 1,865,908 39.8% 180 Hannibal Hamlin Maine 180
John Cabell Breckinridge Southern Democratic Kentucky 848,019 18.1% 72 Joseph Lane Oregon 72
John Bell Constitutional Union/Whig Tennessee 590,901 12.6% 39 Edward Everett Massachusetts 39
Stephen Arnold Douglas Northern Democratic Illinois 1,380,202 29.5% 12 Herschel Vespasian Johnson Georgia 12
Other 531 0.0% 0 Other 0
Total 4,685,561 100.0% 303 Total 303
Needed to win 152 Needed to win 152

Source (Popular Vote): Leip, David. 1860 Presidential Election Results. Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections (July 27, 2005).

Source (Electoral Vote): Electoral College Box Scores 1789–1996. Official website of the National Archives. (July 31, 2005).

(a) The popular vote figures exclude South Carolina where the Electors were chosen by the state legislature rather than by popular vote.


[edit] Consequences
The election of 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, “the Union now subsisting between South Carolina and other states under the name of the ‘United States of America’ is hereby dissolved,” precipitating the American Civil War.


[edit] Results by state

Abraham Lincoln

Republican Stephen Douglas

(Northern) Democrat John Breckinridge

Southern Democrat John Bell

Constitutional Union State Total
State electoral
votes # % electoral
votes # % electoral
votes # % electoral
votes # % electoral
votes #

Alabama 9 not on ballot 13,618 15.1 - 48,669 54.0 9 27,835 30.9 - 90,122 AL
Arkansas 4 not on ballot 5,357 9.9 - 28,732 53.1 4 20,063 37.0 - 54,152 AR
California 4 38,733 32.3 4 37,999 31.7 - 33,969 28.4 - 9,111 7.6 - 119,812 CA
Connecticut 6 43,488 58.1 6 15,431 20.6 - 14,372 19.2 - 1,528 2.0 - 74,819 CT
Delaware 3 3,822 23.7 - 1,066 6.6 - 7,339 45.5 3 3,888 24.1 - 16,115 DE
Florida 3 not on ballot 223 1.7 - 8,277 62.2 3 4,801 36.1 - 13,301 FL
Georgia 10 not on ballot 11,581 10.9 - 52,176 48.9 10 42,960 40.3 - 106,717 GA
Illinois 11 172,171 50.7 11 160,215 47.2 - 2,331 0.7 - 4,914 1.4 - 339,631 IL
Indiana 13 139,033 51.1 13 115,509 42.4 - 12,295 4.5 - 5,306 1.9 - 272,143 IN
Iowa 4 70,302 54.6 4 55,639 43.2 - 1,035 0.8 - 1,763 1.4 - 128,739 IA
Kentucky 12 1,364 0.9 - 25,651 17.5 - 53,143 36.3 - 66,058 45.2 12 146,216 KY
Louisiana 6 not on ballot 7,625 15.1 - 22,681 44.9 6 20,204 40.0 - 50,510 LA
Maine 8 62,811 62.2 8 29,693 29.4 - 6,368 6.3 - 2,046 2.0 - 100,918 ME
Maryland 8 2,294 2.5 - 5,966 6.4 - 42,482 45.9 8 41,760 45.1 - 92,502 MD
Massachusetts 13 106,684 62.9 13 34,370 20.3 - 6,163 3.6 - 22,331 13.2 - 169,548 MA
Michigan 6 88,481 57.2 6 65,057 42.0 - 805 0.5 - 415 0.3 - 154,758 MI
Minnesota 4 22,069 63.4 4 11,920 34.3 - 748 2.2 - 50 0.1 - 34,787 MN
Mississippi 7 not on ballot 3,282 4.7 - 40,768 59.0 7 25,045 36.2 - 69,095 MS
Missouri 9 17,028 10.3 - 58,801 35.5 9 31,362 18.9 - 58,372 35.3 - 165,563 MO
New Hampshire 5 37,519 56.9 5 25,887 39.3 - 2,125 3.2 - 412 0.6 - 65,943 NH
New Jersey 7 58,346 48.1 4 62,869 51.9 3 partial fusion ticket with Douglas 121,215 NJ
New York 35 362,646 53.7 35 312,510 46.3 - fusion ticket with Douglas 675,156 NY
North Carolina 10 not on ballot 2,737 2.8 - 48,846 50.5 10 45,129 46.7 - 96,712 NC
Ohio 23 231,709 52.3 23 187,421 42.3 - 11,406 2.6 - 12,194 2.8 - 442,730 OH
Oregon 3 5,329 36.1 3 4,136 28.0 - 5,075 34.4 - 218 1.5 - 14,758 OR
Pennsylvania 27 268,030 56.3 27 16,765 3.5 - 178,871 37.5 - 12,776 2.7 - 476,442 PA
Rhode Island 4 12,244 61.4 4 7,707 38.6 - fusion ticket with Douglas 19,951 RI
South Carolina 8 - - 8 - - SC
Tennessee 12 not on ballot 11,281 7.7 - 65,097 44.6 - 69,728 47.7 12 146,106 TN
Texas 4 not on ballot 18 0.0 - 47,454 75.5 4 15,383 24.5 - 62,855 TX
Vermont 5 33,808 75.7 5 8,649 19.4 - 218 0.5 - 1,969 4.4 - 44,644 VT
Virginia 15 1,887 1.1 - 16,198 9.7 - 74,325 44.5 - 74,481 44.6 15 166,891 VA
Wisconsin 5 86,110 56.6 5 65,021 42.7 - 887 0.6 - 161 0.1 - 152,179 WI
TOTALS: 303 1,865,908 39.8 180 1,380,202 29.5 12 848,019 18.1 72 590,901 12.6 39 4,685,030


TO WIN: 152

Tommy Said:

Good info on 1860 candidate position on issues?

We Answered:

Try James McPherson's "Battle Cry of Freedom" about the Civil War era. He discusses the 1860 election in detail, especially the reasons behind the split in the Democratic party and the nomination of Bell, which lead to a grand total of four candidates. McPherson says that the slavery issue was so important to this election that many other important issues got swept under the rug. The link to the book on Barnes & Noble's website is here: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksea…

Roberto Said:

? President Abraham Lincoln: Any experts that can tell me whether there were 4 candidates in the 1860?

We Answered:

Was...

Abraham Lincoln- Hannibal Hamlin- Republican
John Breckenridge- Joseph Lane- S. Democrat
John Bell- Edward Everett- Const. Union
Stephen Douglas- Herschel Johnson- Democrat

American Foreign Policy...

http://books.google.com/books?id=1ovHPK0…

Best

Martha Said:

What are each candidates's views in the presidential election of 1860? ?

We Answered:

Lincoln was anti-slavery

Douglas supported popular sovereignty (each state should decide for themselves if they are slave or not)

Breckinridge was pro-south

And Bell supported a strict interpretation of the Constitution

Mathew Said:

Election of 1832, who were the major candidates?

We Answered:

Please let me do your homework for you,.....please?