The congressional elections of 1858 gained importance due to the growing sectional crisis.
June 1858: Lincoln became the Illinois Republican candidate for U.S. Senate.
Lincoln delivered his "House Divided" speech, emphasizing the issue of sectionalism and slavery.
The Illinois Senate race garnered national attention.
Stephen Douglas, a prominent Democrat, ran against Abraham Lincoln, a relatively unknown Republican.
Lincoln challenged Douglas to seven debates in July 1858, attracting crowds and media attention (Lincoln-Douglas Debates).
The debates focused on different approaches to slavery in the West.
Douglas did not take a moral stand on slavery.
Douglas introduced the Freeport Doctrine: territories could not prevent the expansion of slavery but could pass laws making it more difficult.
Lincoln argued against the expansion of slavery into the territories.
Lincoln lost the election but gained a growing following.
Democrats lost their majority in the House in the 1858 election, signaling the rise of Republicans.
The 1860 Nominations
The presidential election of 1860 revealed deepening divisions.
At the Democratic Convention, Southerners protested the nomination of Stephen Douglas due to his Freeport Doctrine.
The Democratic party split: Northerners nominated Douglas, while Southerners nominated John C. Breckinridge of Kentucky.
Republicans nominated Abraham Lincoln, based on:
A protective tariff
Homesteads for citizens in the West
A transcontinental railroad
Southern Democrats warned they would leave the Union if Lincoln were elected.
Some former Whigs and moderates formed the Constitutional Union Party and nominated John Bell of Tennessee.
Bell promised neutrality on slavery to prevent secession but later joined the Confederacy.
The Election
In the Election of 1860, Lincoln won 40% of the popular vote, 18 free states, and 180 electoral votes.
Breckinridge carried the South with 11 slave states but only 72 electoral votes.
Bell captured 3 border states for 39 votes.
Douglas won only one state (Missouri) and votes from New Jersey, totaling 12 electoral votes.
With Lincoln as president-elect, secession appeared inevitable.
Secession & War
After the election results, South Carolina declared its intention to secede on December 20, 1860.
Other states followed: Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, and Louisiana in January, and Texas in February.
In February 1861, representatives adopted a constitution establishing the Confederate States of America.
Established state sovereignty
Outright protection of slavery in states and territories
No protective tariffs
One 6-year term for president
Jefferson Davis was elected as the first President of the Confederacy in Montgomery, AL.
Southerners argued secession was necessary because Republicans threatened their states’ rights to control slavery.
In his inaugural address on March 4, 1861, Lincoln reassured Southerners that he would protect their rights, including the right to hold slaves, while stating that secession was insurrectionary.
In April 1861, Fort Sumter, a Federal fort in South Carolina, needed supplies, and Lincoln sent a relief expedition.
Confederates bombarded the fort until it was surrendered on April 14, 1861.
The Civil War began.
Shortly after, Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee, and North Carolina seceded by May 1861.
Maryland, Delaware, Kentucky, and Missouri remained in the Union as slave states.
Western Virginia supported the Union and formed West Virginia, which became a state in December 1862.
The battle lines were drawn.
Key Takeaways
Abraham Lincoln's victory in the 1860 election was achieved without any Southern electoral votes.
Following debates about secession, most slave states voted to secede from the Union, leading to the Civil War.