The election of 1860
Background
Since the 1850’s, the United States had become divided over the expansion of slavery and rights of slave owners. Most northerners felt that slavery should be banned because it was immoral, cruel, and it caused white people to lose their jobs. However, plantation owners relied on their slaves to grow and harvest their cash crops in order to minimize costs and maximize profits. As a result, southerners argued that banning slavery and preventing its expansion would have a crippling effect on the southern economy of the United States. Also, both the incumbent president, James Buchanan had wanted Justice Robert Grier to vote pro-slavery in the Dred Scott vs. Sanford case, which ruled that a black person is not an American citizen if their ancestors were slaves. Buchanan’s actions was so unpopular that it caused his presidency to fail and for the newly formed Republican party to gain a majority in the House of Representatives by 1858 and then a full control of Congress by 1860. Buchanan refused to campaign for a reelection and the combined pressures from all the issues regarding slavery broke the Democratic Party into a Northern group and a Southern group. In addition, the Constitutional Union Party during this time and it sought to remain neutral on the issue of slavery.
The election
In the election of 1860, there were 4 parties who submitted their nominees for the presidential election. The newly formed Republican Party had chosen ex-U.S. representative Abraham Lincoln of Illinois, the Constitutional Union Party submitted John Bell, the southern faction of the Democratic Party had chosen Vice President John Breckinridge, and the northern faction of the Democratic Party had chosen ex-U.S. representative and senator Stephen A. Douglas. Lincoln had prior experience with campaigning against Douglas when he ran for the Illinois senate. Although Lincoln would lose to Douglas in the election for senator, his famous Lincoln-Douglas debates helped to push him into national politics. Lincoln’s stance on the slavery issue was somewhat moderate because he wanted to contain slavery to where it already existed and to prohibit it in any territories. Lincoln later mentioned this in his inauguration speech on March 4, 1861 by saying, “I have no purpose, directly or indirectly, to interfere with the institution of slavery in the States where it exists. I believe I have no lawful right to do so, and I have no inclination to do so.” Douglas opposed the federal laws that determined the rights of slaves to be used in territories whereas his southern Democratic counterpart, John Breckinridge supported it. Constitutional Union Party nominee John Bell believed in avoiding the slavery issue and to focus on keeping the nation united. In the end of it all, Abraham Lincoln won the election by winning 180 out of 303 electoral votes (approx. 59%) despite winning only 39.9% of the popular vote. Lincoln’s success could be attributed to the fragmentation of the Democratic party at the time, causing it to have two nominations instead of one and because of his moderate yet functional view on the issue of slavery in the country.
What was the significance of Lincoln's election as president?
Learn about the impact of Lincoln's election as president in 1860 by clicking on the link below:
|