The Election Of 1860

ASU HST 200 (Historical Themes) Troubled Times: the Tumultuous 1850s The Election Of 1860 (Key Notes and Summary) Key Notes - Southern separatist movements were sparked by Lincoln's presidency in 1860, putting American democracy in jeopardy. - Lincoln's win was largely attributed to disarray among the Democratic Party. - The Freeport Doctrine and the Dred Scott judgment caused rifts among Democrats. - Tensions between Democrats in the north and south increased after John Brown's raid. - In order to support a southern Democrat for president, Fire-Eaters sought to obstruct Democrats from the north. Disagreements about the existence of slavery in some regions led to the dissolution of the Democratic convention in Charleston. - The Democrats nominated Stephen Douglas in the north and John Breckinridge in the south, dividing the party into two parts according to geographic areas. - The Democratic Party's two presidential candidates gave the Republican Party an edge. - Supporters of unions founded the Constitutional Union Party and put John Bell up as their nominee, but they had no concrete strategy to counter advocacy for slavery. - Lincoln barely garnered 40% of the popular vote, yet he nonetheless won the presidency. - Although Lincoln won the Electoral College with a majority, the Fire-Eaters did not recognize the result. - Following Lincoln's election, Southern states, led by South Carolina, started the formal process of secession. - A lot of Southerners were afraid that Lincoln's administration would bring further upheaval similar to the raid on John Brown. Summary Fearing that Lincoln would become president in 1860, Southerners began to organize for secession. This caused the Democratic Party to split and resulted in the nomination of two different candidates, Stephen Douglas and John Breckinridge, from the northern and southern factions, respectively. This division guaranteed a fractured opposition, which helped Lincoln win even though he received a smaller percentage of the popular vote. With the Southern states, led by South Carolina, starting to separate in reaction to Lincoln's win, the election brought to light the widening differences over slavery and local interests. As seen by Mary Boykin Chesnut's journal entry, a country on the verge of civil war, Southern mood was tinged with doubt and apprehension about possible unrest, reminiscent of the John Brown raid. The Election Of 1860 Notes Abraham Lincoln's ascent to the president in 1860 encouraged Southern secessionists to secede their states from the Union, posing a threat to American democracy. The chaos inside the Democratic Party had a major role in Lincoln's victory. There were now severe divides between Democratic groups due to the Dred Scott ruling and the Freeport Doctrine. Despite Brown's best intentions, his raid had widened the gulf between Democrats in the north and south. The Fire-Eaters pledged to stop any northern Democrat from running for president, particularly Stephen Douglas of Illinois. These ardent supporters of slavery demanded a southern Democrat. In Charleston, South Carolina, in April 1860, the Democratic nominating convention convened. It disintegrated, although, when Democrats from the north, who accounted for the majority of delegates, opposed Jefferson Davis's attempts to maintain slavery in the territories. These Democratic delegates from the north were aware that their state's citizens would strongly disagree with them if they supported Davis on this matter. The differences within the Democratic Party were further shown at a second meeting that took place in Baltimore. Democrats in the north nominated Stephen Douglas, while Democrats in the south, who convened separately, proposed Kentucky's John Breckinridge for vice president. The Democratic Party had split into two rival groups based on geographic regions. The Republicans gained a significant edge since the Democrats had two candidates for president. Pro-Union voters in the border states also formed the Constitutional Union Party in an attempt to thwart a Republican triumph. They fielded John Bell as their fourth presidential candidate, promising to maintain the Union and put an end to agitation for slavery, though he never provided a clear plan for how he would do so. A political cartoon from that era (Figure 14.20), which supported Lincoln, depicts the presidential election as a baseball game. Lincoln is positioned at home plate. Skunks wag their tails at other contenders. The Republicans nominated Lincoln, who received just 40% of the popular vote in November despite winning every northern state save New Jersey. Southern Democrat John Breckinridge, holding his nose, grabs a bat labeled "Slavery Extension" and says, "I guess I'd better leave for Kentucky, for I smell something strong around here, and begin to think, that we are completely skunk'd." (Southern Democrats prevented Lincoln's name from even appearing on the ballots in several southern states.) More significantly, Lincoln did secure a majority in the Electoral College. But the Fire-Eaters would not accept the outcome. In 1860, Fire-Eaters in the southern states started to legally leave the country, with South Carolina setting the example. Mary Boykin Chesnut, a South Carolinian, recorded her thoughts in her diary on the response to Lincoln's election. Many Southerners were afraid that with Lincoln as President, the South might expect more mayhem like to the John Brown raid. "Now that the Black radical Republicans have the power," she wrote, "I suppose they will Brown us all."