NationMaster - Encyclopedia: 1860 presidential election

The U.S. presidential election of 1860 is widely considered to be a realigning election. The United States presidential elections determine who becomes the President of the United States for the next four years. ... 1860 is the leap year starting on Sunday. ... Realigning election is a term from political science. ...

The United States had been divided through most of the 1850's on the issue of slavery, with Northern abolitionists arguing that slavery should end, and Northerners and Southerners fighting for each new state admitted to the Union (see:Bleeding Kansas), and disputes over whether to allow slavery in the territories. Slavery is any of a number of related conditions involving control of a person against his or her will, enforced by violence or other clear forms of coercion. ... This article is about the abolition of slavery. ... Bleeding Kansas, sometimes referred to as Bloody Kansas and/or the Border War, was a sequence of violent events involving abolitionists and pro- Slavery elements that took place in Kansas Territory between roughly 1854 and 1856. ...

The election of Abraham Lincoln made South Carolina's secession from the United States a foregone conclusion. The state was long waiting for an excuse to secede and unite the southern states against the anti-slavery forces. Upon confirming that the results were final, South Carolina declared "that the Union now subsisting between South Carolina and other states under the name of the 'United States of America' is hereby dissolved." The march to the American Civil War was on. Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865), sometimes called Abe Lincoln and nicknamed Honest Abe, the Rail Splitter, and the Great Emancipator, was the 16th (1861–1865) President of the United States, and the first president from the Republican Party. ... State nickname: Palmetto State Other U.S. States Capital Columbia Largest city Columbia Governor Mark Sanford Official languages English Area 82,965 km² (40th) - Land 78,051 km² - Water 4,915 km² (6%) Population (2000) - Population 4,012,012 (26th) - Density 51. ...

Nominations

Republican Party nomination

Going into the 1860 Republican National Convention in Chicago, William H. Seward of New York, Salmon P. Chase of Ohio and Pennsylvania's Simon Cameron were considered the leading contenders for the presidential nomination. However, each of these candidates had offended numerous delegates in one way or another - such as by joining or forming other parties to run against Whigs, who now composed a significant portion of the party. Having few opponents in the party, Abraham Lincoln received the party's nomination on the third ballot, May 16, 1860. Maine's Hannibal Hamlin was chosen as the Vice Presidential nominee. 1860 is the leap year starting on Sunday. ... Willam H. Seward William Henry Seward (May 16, 1801–October 10, 1872) was United States Secretary of State under Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson. ... Salmon Portland Chase (January 13, 1808–May 7, 1873) was an American politician and jurist in the Civil War era who served as Chief Justice of the United States and previously as U.S. Treasury Secretary under Abraham Lincoln. ... State nickname: The Buckeye State Other U.S. States Capital Columbus Largest city Columbus Governor Bob Taft Official languages None Area 116,096 km² (34th) - Land 106,154 km² - Water 10,044 km² (8. ... State nickname: The Keystone State Other U.S. States Capital Harrisburg Largest city Philadelphia Governor Ed Rendell Official languages None Area 119,283 km² (33rd) - Land 116,074 km² - Water 3,208 km² (2. ... Simon Cameron (March 8, 1799–June 26, 1889) was United States Secretary of War for Abraham Lincoln from 1861 to 1862. ... Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865), sometimes called Abe Lincoln and nicknamed Honest Abe, the Rail Splitter, and the Great Emancipator, was the 16th (1861–1865) President of the United States, and the first president from the Republican Party. ... May 16 is the 136th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (137th in leap years). ... 1860 is the leap year starting on Sunday. ... State nickname: The Pine Tree State Other U.S. States Capital Augusta Largest city Portland Governor John Baldacci Official languages None Area 86,542 km² (39th) - Land 80,005 km² - Water 11,724 km² (13. ... Photographic portrait of Hannibal Hamlin Hannibal Hamlin (August 27, 1809–July 4, 1891) was an American politician from the U.S. state of Maine. ...

The party platform clearly stated that slavery would not be allowed to spread any farther, and also promised that tariffs protecting industry would be imposed. A law granting free homesteads in the west to settlers was also part of the platform.

Constitutional Union Party nomination

Diehard former Whigs and Know-Nothings who felt they could not support the Democratic Party nor the Republican Party formed the Constitutional Union Party, nominating John C. Bell of Tennessee for president and Edward Everett for vice president in Baltimore on May 9, 1865 (one week before Lincoln was nominated). The United States Whig Party was a political party of the United States. ... The Know-Nothing movement was a nativist American political movement of the 1850s. ... The Republican Party, often called the GOP (for Grand Old Party, although one early citation described it as the Gallant Old Party) [1], is one of the two major political parties in the United States. ... The Constitutional Union Party was a political party in the United States created in 1860. ... John Bell (February 15, 1797 – September 10, 1869) was a U.S. politician. ... Edward Everett (April 11, 1794–January 15, 1865) was a Whig Party politician from Massachusetts. ... May 9 is the 129th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (130th in leap years). ... 1865 is a common year starting on Sunday. ...

John Bell was a former Whig and large slaveholder who had opposed the Kansas-Nebraska Act and the Lecompton constitution. Edward Everett had been president of Harvard University and a former secretary of state and Cotton Whig in the Fillmore administration. The party platform advocated compromise to save the Union, with a slogan of "the Union as it is, and the Constitution as it is."

Democratic Party nominations

The Democratic Party was similarly divided. At the convention in Charleston in April 1860, 50 southern Democrats walked out over a platform dispute.

Six candidates were nominated: Stephen A. Douglas of Illinois, Andrew Johnson of Tennessee, Daniel S. Dickinson of New York, Joseph Lane of Oregon, James Guthrie of Kentucky, and Robert Mercer Taliaferro Hunter of Virginia. Douglas was ahead on the first ballot, needing 57 more votes. On the 57th ballot, Douglas was still ahead, but was still 50 votes short of the nomination. In desperation, on May 3 the delegates agreed to stop voting and adjourn the convention. Stephen A. Douglas Stephen Arnold Douglas (April 23, 1813 - June 3, 1861), American politician from Illinois, was one of the Democratic Party nominees for President in 1860 (the other being John C. Breckinridge of Kentucky). ... Andrew Johnson ( December 29, 1808 – July 31, 1875) was the sixteenth Vice President ( 1865) and the seventeenth President of the United States ( 1865– 1869), succeeding to the presidency upon the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. ... Daniel S. Dickinson Daniel Stevens Dickinson (September 11, 1800 - April 12, 1866) was an American politician, most notable as a United States Senator from New York from 1844 to 1851. ... Joseph Lane (1801-1881) was an American general during the Mexican War. ... James Guthrie (December 5, 1792–March 3, 1869) was an American businessman and politician. ... Robert Mercer Taliaferro Hunter (April 21, 1809 - July 18, 1887), American statesman, was born in Essex County, Virginia. ...

They convened again in Baltimore on June 18. This time 110 southern Democrats (led by "fire-eaters") walked out when the convention would not adopt a resolution supporting slavery in the territories. After many ballots, the remaining Democrats nominated the ticket of Stephen A. Douglas of Illinois and Herschel Vespasian Johnson of Georgia. By radically urging secessionism in the US South, the Fire-Eaters demonstrated the high level of sectionalism existing in the US during the 1850s, and materially contributed to the outbreak of the Civil War (1861-1865). ... Stephen A. Douglas Stephen Arnold Douglas (April 23, 1813 - June 3, 1861), American politician from Illinois, was one of the Democratic Party nominees for President in 1860 (the other being John C. Breckinridge of Kentucky). ... Herschel Vespasian Johnson (September 18, 1812 - August 16, 1880) was an American politician. ...

The Southern Democrats reconvened in Richmond, Virginia and on June 28 nominated incumbent Vice President John Cabell Breckinridge of Kentucky for President, and Joseph Lane of Oregon for Vice President. Richmond is the capital of Virginia, a state (officially the Commonwealth of Virginia) of the United States of America. ... Dick Cheney 46th and current Vice President (2001- ) The Vice President of the United States is the second-highest executive official of the United States government, the person who is a heartbeat from the presidency. ... John Cabell Breckinridge (January 16, 1821–May 17, 1875) was a U.S. Representative and a Senator from Kentucky and the fourteenth Vice President of the United States. ... Joseph Lane (1801-1881) was an American general during the Mexican War. ...

This divide was, of course, caused by the issue of slavery. Those in the South nominated a solidly pro-slavery candidate, while those in the North nominated a candidate who maintained a middle field when discussing slavery.

General election

Campaign

Two Illinois politicians, Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas competed extensively in the north, while incumbent Vice President John Breckinridge and John Bell were rivals throughout the southern states. Fusion tickets of non-Republicans developed in New York and Rhode Island, and partially in New Jersey and Pennsylvania (the northern state in which Breckinridge made the best showing). State nickname: The Prairie State Other U.S. States Capital Springfield Largest city Chicago Governor Rod Blagojevich Official languages English Area 149,998 km² (25th) - Land 143,968 km² - Water 6,030 km² (4. ...

Stephen Douglas became the first presidential candidate in history to undertake a nationwide speaking tour. He traveled to the South where he did not expect to win many electoral votes, but he spoke for the maintenance of the Union.

Results

The election was noteworthy for the exaggerated sectionalism of the vote, with Lincoln not even on the ballot in nine Southern states - and winning only 2 of 996 counties in the entire South[1] (http://elections.harpweek.com/1860/Overview-1860-2.htm#results).

This election is a textbook example of how to get an electoral majority without a popular majority. While Lincoln captured less than 40% of the popular vote, the sectional divisions of the nation allowed him to capture 17 states plus 4 electoral votes in New Jersey for a total of 180 electoral votes. Although the three-way split of the non-Republican vote confuses the issue, the vote split was irrelevant to Lincoln's victory, because he would have won an outright majority in the electoral vote, 169-134, even had the 60% of voters who supported other candidates united behind a single candidate. Except for California, Oregon, and New Jersey, Lincoln won a popular majority in every state that cast its electoral votes for him.[2] (http://www.etymonline.com/cw/1860.htm) Only in California, Oregon, and Illinois had Lincoln's victory margin been less than 7%.

Meanwhile, Douglas finished second in the popular vote, but due to the north-south split garnered only Missouri's 9 electoral votes and three of seven electoral votes in New Jersey, good for fourth place. Bell won Kentucky, Tennessee, and Virginia's electors, while Breckinridge won every other slave state except Missouri. Missouri, named after the Missouri Siouan Indian tribe meaning canoe, is a Midwestern state of the United States with Jefferson City as its capital. ... State nickname: The Garden State Other U.S. States Capital Trenton Largest city Newark Governor Richard Codey Official languages None defined Area 22,608 km² (47th) - Land 19,231 km² - Water 3,378 km² (14. ... State nickname: Bluegrass State Other U.S. States Capital Frankfort Largest city Louisville Governor Ernie Fletcher Official languages English Area 104,749 km² (37th) - Land 102,989 km² - Water 1,760 km² (1. ... State nickname: Volunteer State Other U.S. States Capital Nashville Largest city Memphis Governor Phil Bredesen Official languages English Area 109,247 km² (36th) - Land 106,846 km² - Water 2,400 km² (2. ... State nickname: Old Dominion Other U.S. States Capital Richmond Largest city Virginia Beach Governor Mark R. Warner Official languages English Area 110,862 km² (35th) - Land 102,642 km² - Water 8,220 km² (7. ... Missouri, named after the Missouri Siouan Indian tribe meaning canoe, is a Midwestern state of the United States with Jefferson City as its capital. ...

The voter turnout rate in 1860 was the second-highest on record (81.2 %, second only to 1876, with 81.8 %). The Fusion ticket of non-Republicans drew 595,846 votes[3] (http://valley.vcdh.virginia.edu/outlines/election.html).

^(a) The popular vote figures exclude South Carolina where the Electors were chosen by the state legislature rather than by popular vote.
^(b) The popular vote total omits votes for candidates besides those listed, which skews the popular percentages up slightly. Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865), sometimes called Abe Lincoln and nicknamed Honest Abe, the Rail Splitter, and the Great Emancipator, was the 16th (1861–1865) President of the United States, and the first president from the Republican Party. ... The Republican Party, often called the GOP (for Grand Old Party, although one early citation described it as the Gallant Old Party) [1], is one of the two major political parties in the United States. ... State nickname: The Prairie State Other U.S. States Capital Springfield Largest city Chicago Governor Rod Blagojevich Official languages English Area 149,998 km² (25th) - Land 143,968 km² - Water 6,030 km² (4. ... Photographic portrait of Hannibal Hamlin Hannibal Hamlin (August 27, 1809–July 4, 1891) was an American politician from the U.S. state of Maine. ... State nickname: The Pine Tree State Other U.S. States Capital Augusta Largest city Portland Governor John Baldacci Official languages None Area 86,542 km² (39th) - Land 80,005 km² - Water 11,724 km² (13. ... John Cabell Breckinridge (January 16, 1821–May 17, 1875) was a U.S. Representative and a Senator from Kentucky and the fourteenth Vice President of the United States. ... State nickname: Bluegrass State Other U.S. States Capital Frankfort Largest city Louisville Governor Ernie Fletcher Official languages English Area 104,749 km² (37th) - Land 102,989 km² - Water 1,760 km² (1. ... Joseph Lane (1801-1881) was an American general during the Mexican War. ... State nickname: Beaver State Other U.S. States Capital Salem Largest city Portland Governor Ted Kulongoski Official languages None Area 255,026 km² (9th) - Land 248,849 km² - Water 6,177 km² (2. ... John Bell (February 15, 1797 – September 10, 1869) was a U.S. politician. ... The Constitutional Union Party was a political party in the United States created in 1860. ... State nickname: Volunteer State Other U.S. States Capital Nashville Largest city Memphis Governor Phil Bredesen Official languages English Area 109,247 km² (36th) - Land 106,846 km² - Water 2,400 km² (2. ... Edward Everett (April 11, 1794–January 15, 1865) was a Whig Party politician from Massachusetts. ... State nickname: Bay State Other U.S. States Capital Boston Largest city Boston Governor Mitt Romney Official languages English Area 27,360 km² (44th) - Land 20,317 km² - Water 7,043 km² (25. ... Stephen A. Douglas Stephen Arnold Douglas (April 23, 1813 - June 3, 1861), American politician from Illinois, was one of the Democratic Party nominees for President in 1860 (the other being John C. Breckinridge of Kentucky). ... State nickname: The Prairie State Other U.S. States Capital Springfield Largest city Chicago Governor Rod Blagojevich Official languages English Area 149,998 km² (25th) - Land 143,968 km² - Water 6,030 km² (4. ... Herschel Vespasian Johnson (September 18, 1812 - August 16, 1880) was an American politician. ... State nickname: Palmetto State Other U.S. States Capital Columbia Largest city Columbia Governor Mark Sanford Official languages English Area 82,965 km² (40th) - Land 78,051 km² - Water 4,915 km² (6%) Population (2000) - Population 4,012,012 (26th) - Density 51. ...

Results by state

See also

Origins of the American Civil War Main article: Origins of the American Civil War Slave patrollers, mostly poor whites, were given the authority to stop, search, whip, maim, and even kill any slave who violated the slave codes. ... The origins of the American Civil War lay in the complex problems of slavery, expansion, sectionalism, parties, and politics of the antebellum era. ...

U.S. presidential elections

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2000–2049: 2000 | 2004 | 2008 The United States presidential elections determine who becomes the President of the United States for the next four years. ... The election of 1789 was the first presidential election in the United States of America. ... The election of 1792 was the second presidential election in the United States, and the first in which each of the original 13 states appointed electors. ... The presidential election of 1796 was the first to expose potential flaws in the U.S. Electoral College system. ... Summary The election of 1800 is often considered a realigning election. ... The election of 1804 was the first presidential election conducted following the ratification of the Twelfth Amendment to the United States Constitution. ... The election of 1808 was the first of only two cases where a new President would be elected, but the Vice Presidency remained in the same hands. ... Summary Taking place in the shadow of the War of 1812, the election of 1812 featured an intriguing competition between incumbent President James Madison and the nephew of his former Vice President, DeWitt Clinton (uncle George Clinton had died in office). ... Summary As Secretary of State under James Madison, James Monroe was seen by many as pre-ordained to succeed him into the presidency. ... The U.S. presidential election of 1820 was the third and last presidential election in U.S. history in which a candidate ran effectively unopposed. ... Summary The election of 1824 is often considered a realigning election. ... Summary Held on December 2, the election of 1828 featured a rematch between incumbent President John Quincy Adams and chief rival Andrew Jackson, who was now a candidate under the banner of the new Democratic Party. ... Summary Despite opposition from the universally respected Henry Clay of Kentucky, the election of 1832 served as little more than a coronation for President Andrew Jackson. ... Summary The election of 1836 is predominately remembered for three reasons: it was the last election until 1988 to result in the elevation of an incumbent Vice President to the nations highest office, it was also the only race in which a major political party (the Whigs) intentionally ran... Summary Facing bad economic times and a Whig Party unified behind war hero William Henry Harrison, President Martin Van Buren was easily defeated for re-election in 1840 by Tippecanoe and Tyler, too. ... Summary President John Tyler, abandoned by his native Democratic party and despised by his adopted Whigs, failed to be nominated for re-election. ... Summary President James Polk, having achieved virtually all of his objectives in one term and suffering from declining health that would take his life less than four months after leaving office, chose not to seek re-election. ... Summary President Millard Fillmore, who succeeded to the office after the death of Zachary Taylor, was defeated in his effort to be nominated by the Whig Party in 1852. ... Summary President Franklin Pierce was defeated in his effort to be renominated by the Democrats, who instead selected James Buchanan of Pennsylvania. ... Summary The election of 1864 was conducted in the middle of the Civil War, and as such the Confederate states did not participate. ... Summary The Civil War over, partisan politics immediately returned as U.S. Congress wrangled with the issue of reconstruction - the radical Republicans even going so far as to impeach President Andrew Johnson. ... Summary Incumbent President Ulysses S. Grant was easily elected to a second term in office despite a split within the Republican Party that resulted in a defection of many key Republicans to opponent Horace Greeley. ... The U.S. presidential election of 1876 was perhaps the most disputed presidential election in American history. ... Summary Keeping a promise made during the 1876 campaign, incumbent President Rutherford Hayes did not seek re-election. ... Summary In a campaign that featured mudslinging and personal acrimony on a level never before seen, on November 4, 1884 Democrat Grover Cleveland became the first Democrat elected to the Presidency since the Civil War, narrowly defeating Republican James Blaine. ... Summary Held on November 6, 1888, incumbent President Grover Cleveland received the greatest number of popular votes, but Republican challenger Benjamin Harrisons 233 electoral votes topped Clevelands 168 to win the election. ... Summary Held on November 8, 1892, New Yorks Grover Cleveland returned to defeat incumbent President Benjamin Harrison to become the first person to be elected to non-consecutive Presidential terms. ... Summary The election of 1896 is often considered a realigning election. ... Summary The election was held on November 6, 1900. ... Summary The election was held on November 8, 1904. ... Major party conventions The 1908 Republican Convention was held in Chicago from 16 June to 19 June. ... Introduction The 1912 election was marked by hostility and division between the establishment and Progressive factions of the Republican Party. ... Electoral College results In 1916, Europe was embroiled in World War I. American sentiment leaned towards the Allied Powers due to the occupation of parts of France and Belgium by the German Empire, but most American voters wanted to avoid involvement in the war, and preferred a policy of strict... Presidential electoral votes by state. ... Introduction Incumbent President Coolidge was relatively popular, and the economy was booming. ... The campaign The Republican Convention was held in Kansas City, Missouri from 12 June to 15 June, where Hoover became the partys candidate on the first ballot. ... Presidential electoral votes by state. ... Presidential electoral votes by state. ... Presidential electoral votes by state. ... Presidential electoral votes by state. ... Democrats and Republicans In gearing up for the election of 48, both major parties courted General Dwight Eisenhower, a popular war hero and political moderate who could carry a large number of votes on the back of his military record alone. ... Introduction After several years of stalemate in the Korean War and a choppy economy, the Truman administration was relatively unpopular. ... Notes: An Alabama elector voted for Jones and Talmadge. ... The New York Times front page from two days after the election: November 10, 1960. ... Red states supported Johnson; blue states supported Goldwater. ... Presidential electoral votes by state. ... Democratic nomination Democratic Candidates Shirley Chisholm, U.S. representative from New York Fred Harris, U.S. senator from Oklahoma Hubert Humphrey, U.S. senator from Minnesota, former vice president, and 1968 presidential nominee Henry Scoop Jackson, U.S. senator from Washington John Lindsay, mayor of New York City Eugene McCarthy... Red states supported Carter; blue states supported Ford. ... Background Through the 1970s, the United States was experiencing a long period of low economic growth, high inflation, and intermittent energy crises. ... Republican Party nomination Ronald Reagan was unopposed as the nominee for the Republican Party. ... The election was held on November 8, 1988. ... Notes: Introduction As the 1992 presidential election approached, Americans found themselves in a world transformed in ways almost unimaginable four years earlier. ... Introduction This election took place on November 5, 1996. ... Map The U.S. presidential election of 2000 took place on Election Day, Tuesday, November 7. ... Presidential electoral votes by state. ... Presidential electoral votes by state The 2008 United States Presidential election is scheduled to occur on November 4, 2008. ...

Nominations

Republican Party nomination

Constitutional Union Party nomination

Democratic Party nominations

General election

Campaign

Results

Results by state

See also

References

External links

Nominations GA_googleFillSlot("encyclopedia_square");

Republican Party nomination

Constitutional Union Party nomination

Democratic Party nominations

General election

Campaign

Results

Results by state

See also

References

External links

Nominations