Overview of the Election of 1860

• Crucial event that precipitated secession and the Civil War.

• Key question: What were the effects of Abraham Lincoln's election in 1860?

Presidential Candidates

• Republican Party:

  • Nominated Abraham Lincoln.

  • Ran on a free soil platform aiming to restrict slavery’s expansion into new territories.

• Democratic Party:

  • Nominated Stephen Douglas (Northern Democrats) and John Breckinridge (Southern Democrats).

  • Divided over the issue of slavery:

    • Northern faction wanted popular sovereignty.

    • Southern faction wanted a federal slave code to protect slavery in new territories.

Election Results

• Lincoln received 40% of the popular vote but won the electoral vote without support from Southern states.

• Significant because it highlighted the South's diminishing political power.

• Southern perceptions were that even with all efforts, they could not prevail politically.

Immediate Aftermath of the Election

• Lincoln’s victory signaled the end of slavery’s expansion, although he promised not to interfere with slavery in states where it already existed.

• Rising discontent in the South regarding Northern political dominance.

• December 1860: South Carolina seceded from the Union, followed by six more states within six weeks: Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Texas, Mississippi, and Louisiana.

• Later, Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee, and North Carolina also seceded, forming the Confederate States of America.

The Confederate Constitution

• Similar to the U.S. Constitution but emphasized limited federal power and guaranteed the institution of slavery.

• This act of secession effectively led to the Civil War.

Reasons for Secession Debate

• Two main competing narratives:

  • To protect slavery: Many states articulated this as their reasoning.

  • States’ rights argument: Commonly used but less emphasized.

States’ Articles of Secession

1. Texas:

   • Claimed Lincoln’s election represented a sectional party attacking slavery.

   • Criticized principles of racial equality and fearful of Republican abolition agendas.

2. South Carolina:

   • Argued that their constitutional rights were violated by Republican anti-slavery sympathies.

   • Warned of exclusion from territories and aggression against slavery.

3. Mississippi:

   • Stated clearly that their position was inherently tied to the institution of slavery.

Perspectives from Confederacy Leadership

• Jefferson Davis, first president of the Confederacy, made no mention of slavery in his inauguration speech.

• Alexander Stephens, vice president, emphasized in his Cornerstone Speech that the Confederacy’s foundation was the triumph of the white race through slavery.

Conclusion

• The expressed reasoning for secession by Southern states indicates a clear focus on protecting slavery as a central issue.