Election of 1860 and Secession

• Candidates:

  • Abraham Lincoln - Republican Party

  • Stephen Douglas - Northern Democrat

  • John Breckenridge Southern Democrat

  • John Bell - Constitutional Union Party

Results

• Two elections: one in the North and one in the South

• Lincoln wins

• Presidential election held on November 6, 1860

• Lincoln did well in the Northern states: 40% in the popular vote, a landslide victory in the Electoral College 

• Lincoln didn't carry Southern states (fear of removal of slavery)

Southern Secession Begins

• South Carolina begins the exodus in December 1860

• President Buchanan does nothing; leaves the problem to the next president

Jefferson Davis

• Elected president of the Confederate States of America

• Rather command troops than serve as President 

Abraham Lincoln

• Seven States had left the Union when he took office on March 4, 1861

• Felt slavery was immoral, but only wanted to stop the spread of slavery

• Intended to preserve the Union