Election of 1860

Election of 1860 Summary

One of the most significant events in America history, the Presidential Election of 1860 was a four-candidate contest between Republic Abraham Lincoln, Democrat Stephen Douglas, Constitutional Unionist John Bell, and Southern Democrat John Breckinridge. The election was heavily contested on issues of slavery, secession, and states' rights. Despite gaining under 40% of the vote, the election was won by Republican Abraham Lincoln.

Fig. 1 - Map of the US in 1860.¹

Election of 1860 Facts

Here is a quick table briefly outlining the Election of 1860:

The Issues of the 1860 Presidential Election

During the 1860s, the North and South were deeply divided by not only the issue of slavery but also the organization of new territories in the West. After the ending of the Mexican American War in 1848, the country now had new territory to expand into, and many were in favor of a transcontinental railroad. The First Transcontinental Railroad would run from the country's East coast to the West coast and enhance the opportunity for public travel and expand business and trade.

The railroad route had to be established, so the Western territory must be organized; what would define new state borders? Would the new states be slave states or free states? Much debate was put into these questions, sometimes leading to violent confrontations like Bleeding Kansas.

The North also began pushing its Abolitionist sentiments into the South by electing anti-slavery government representatives for both Congressional seats and the presidency. The North had become filled with European immigrants searching for better work and a new life, so the need for slavery was almost completely erased whether one was an Abolitionist or not. The South did not have the same influx of workers, so they began to rely more heavily on their economy built on slavery and would do everything they could to protect it.

The Political Parties and Candidates in the Election of 1860

The main political parties during this era were suffering crucial transformations. This can be seen in the unorganized way they build up their tickets.

The Republican Party

The Republican Party was founded in 1854 to combat the Kansas-Nebraska Act created by Democrat Stephen A. Douglas. Many members of the Republican Party had initially been a part of the now-dissolved Whig Party. Douglas' Kansas-Nebraska Act had started extreme amounts of violence in the new state of Kansas, as well as the complete disregard of the Missouri Compromise of 1821. The Missouri Compromise had been set in place to ensure that slavery was strictly kept in the American South, below the 36º30' line; once territory in the West opened up, pro-slavery settlers wanted to bring the people they enslaved with them. Douglas decided in his Act that it would be up to Kansas to decide whether or not to permit slavery. This not only undermined the Missouri Compromise but also Congress, as they were the overall decision makers of free and slave states.

An Abolitionist Candidate

To keep up with Northern industrialization and modernization, the Republican Party wished to nominate a person who would provide that and preserve the Union as best as possible, despite the South's dissatisfaction with the ever-developing, free North. Originally, the front-runner for the Republican nomination was William H. Seward of New York, though, in the third ballot count, Abraham Lincoln overtook his position in the first place.

Fig. 2 - Photo of Abraham Lincoln.

The Republican Convention of 1860 was held at the Wigwam in Chicago, Illinois, and lasted from May 16th to the 18th. With a great effort from Lincoln supporters, they swayed enough delegates away from voting on other candidates such as Simon Cameron, Salmon P. Chase, and Edward Bates. In the first round, William Seward led in numbers significantly; in the second, he almost tied with Lincoln, and in the third, he was finally overtaken. Abraham Lincoln's performance while debating Stephen A. Douglas in Illinois for the Senate seat had given him a good enough reputation to now possibly win the presidency along with his running mate, Hannibal Hamlin.

Fig. 3 - Photo of William Seward.

The Democratic Party

The Democratic Party was fractured into four factions, each presenting a candidate. Here is an overview of each of them:

A Pro-state Sovereignty Candidate

The long-standing Democratic Party held its first Convention of 1860 from April 23rd to May 3rd in Charleston, South Carolina, with Stephen A. Doulas as their front-runner. As the Party tried to decide what its official platform would be, the tensions amongst delegates intensified. Despite being the front-runner, Douglas refused to have the Democratic Party be exclusively pro-slavery. Douglas strongly believed in the states' right to choose and that the people of other states and Congress did not have control over that decision. Many walkouts ensued, with some believing that slavery should spread West without question, while some thought it should not leave the South at all and that the states did not have the right to that sort of decision. Because of this, there were not enough delegates to nominate Douglas, and the convention was forced to close and meet later.

Stephen A. Douglas Nomination

The Democratic Party reconvened at Front Street Theatre in Baltimore, Maryland, on June 18th; again, the tensions led to fierce debates and walkouts. Upon placing ballot votes 59 times, it was finally decided that Stephen A. Douglas would be the Democratic nominee. There were not enough delegates for Douglas to reach the necessary 202 votes, but because they had lost so many other delegates, they unanimously voted to rescind the rule and let him win with 194.5.

The "Real Democratic Party"

Two branches of the Democratic Party were formed from the walkouts; one was a group that undyingly supported slavery's expansion and states' rights; they nominated John C. Breckinridge as their candidate for the presidency. They believed that they were the "real" Democratic Party and campaigned as such.

Fig. 5 - Photo of John Breckinridge

The Constitutional Union Party

The second branch of the broken Democratic Party was named the "Constitutional Union Party" they were made up of angered Democrats, former Whig members, and members who claimed to be creating a "Party of Law." The Constitutional Union Party took no official stance on slavery and its possible extension but promised to fiercely defend the Constitution and the Union, whatever that may mean. On May 9th, 1860, they nominated Tennessee slaveholder John Bell and former Harvard University President Edward Everett as his running mate. Bell wished to make a compromise between the North and South by extending the Missouri Compromise across the continent. This way, slavery was not an issue upon spreading into Westward territory, as it was not technically leaving the borders of the South.

The 1860 Presidential Election Results

The results of the Presidential Election of 1860 were controversial and contested. The election took place on November 6th, 1860. Abraham Lincoln was not printed on ten Southern state ballots; for the South, it was not an option to have a Republican president. Regardless of this, the North was more densely populated, so their electoral votes had a much more significant impact than those of the South. Abraham Lincoln barely pulled 40% of the popular vote but won the presidency with 180 electoral votes.

On the other hand, Douglas gained some support from his opposing side in the North, but not nearly enough to compete with Lincoln. Many of the Southern votes were between Breckinridge and Bell (at 72 and 39 electoral votes), though the split in the Democratic Party kept both candidates from standing a chance against Lincoln.

Fig. 7 - Map of the 1860 Presidential Election results by Electoral College votes

The Election of 1860 Significance

Upon Lincoln's win, Southern states began to promptly remove themselves from the Union during what became known as "Secession Winter." In his inauguration speech, Lincoln promised to preserve the Union and attempted to appeal to the South, offering them an amendment to the Constitution that would allow them to keep enslaved people in all of the territories it was already legal. This offer was not good enough to sway the South, and they continued in their secession. The Civil War soon broke out in April 1861 with the Confederate attack on Fort Sumter.

The election of 1860 remains to be one of the most influential turning points in US history. Not only did it begin a crucial war, but it also set in place the two most important political parties that remain today.