Election of 1860
The election of 1860 proved to be the deciding political victory for the Republican-dominated North as it convinced the South of their futility on a national scale
The Election of 1860 was extremely flawed in the mind of the South in part from their low populations in the Southern states compared to the North
- Contested between Abraham Lincoln, John Breckinridge, John Bell, and Stephen Douglas
- Breckinridge, the Southern Democratic candidate, easily won southern states
- Lincoln echoed the view of the North and easily won there
- Douglas won 4% of the electoral votes but 29% of the popular vote
- Southerners were angered at method of election
- They received a smaller percentage in the electoral vote than in the popular vote
- Lincoln benefited from having larger percentage of electoral votes than the popular vote
- Southerners believed that the only way that slavery would exist would be in a new country
- In late 1860 - early 1861, the southernmost states seceded to protect slavery