Team of Rivals
151 years ago today, on May 18, 1860, Abraham Lincoln was nominated as the Republican candidate for President at a convention held in Chicago. In a story better told in historian Doris Kearns Goodwin's bestseller Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln, Lincoln defeated a number of prominent candidates, four of whom would later serve in his cabinet.
Other candidates at the convention included former New York Governor William H. Seward, U.S. Senator Salmon P. Chase of Ohio, former U.S. Representative Edward Bates of Missouri, and U.S. Senator Simon Cameron of Pennsylvania. This primary was notable as every one of these candidateseventually became a member of Lincoln's cabinet. Seward would become Secretary of State, Chase would be Secretary of the Treasury, Bates became Lincoln's Attorney-General and Cameron served briefly as Secretary of War before being replaced by Edwin M. Stanton.
The Convention was held in mid-May, after the Democrats had been forced to adjourn their convention in Charleston, South Carolina without a nominee. They had not yet re-convened in Baltimore, Maryland. With the Democrats in disarray and with a sweep of the Northern states possible, the Republicans were confident going into their convention in Chicago. Seward was considered the front runner, followed by Lincoln, Chase, and Bates. As the convention progressed however, Seward, Chase, and Bates had each alienated factions of the party. Delegates were concerned that Seward was too closely identified with the radical wing of the party, and his moves toward the center had alienated the radicals. Chase, a former Democrat, had alienated many of the former Whigs by his coalition with the Democrats in the late 1840s, had opposed tariffs demanded by Pennsylvania, and critically, had opposition from his own delegation from Ohio. Bates outlined his positions on extension of slavery into the territories and equal constitutional rights for all citizens, positions that alienated his supporters in the border states and southern conservatives.
Since it was essential for the Republicans to carry the West, and because Lincoln had a national reputation from his debates and speeches, he won the nomination on the third ballot on May 18, 1860. He was actually three votes shy of a majority when the vote was taken, but a number of delegates quickly changed the vote to put him over the top.
Lincoln was elected President on Tuesday, November 6, 1860 by a Constitutional majority, 180 of the 303 possible electoral votes. Chief Justice Roger B. Taney of the Supreme Court swore Lincoln in as US President on March 4, 1861, on the steps of the unfinished US Capitol in Washington, DC. The inauguration convened under death threats severe enough that a US military guard was provided by General Winfield Scott. ");
Other candidates at the convention included former New York Governor William H. Seward, U.S. Senator Salmon P. Chase of Ohio, former U.S. Representative Edward Bates of Missouri, and U.S. Senator Simon Cameron of Pennsylvania. This primary was notable as every one of these candidateseventually became a member of Lincoln's cabinet. Seward would become Secretary of State, Chase would be Secretary of the Treasury, Bates became Lincoln's Attorney-General and Cameron served briefly as Secretary of War before being replaced by Edwin M. Stanton.
The Convention was held in mid-May, after the Democrats had been forced to adjourn their convention in Charleston, South Carolina without a nominee. They had not yet re-convened in Baltimore, Maryland. With the Democrats in disarray and with a sweep of the Northern states possible, the Republicans were confident going into their convention in Chicago. Seward was considered the front runner, followed by Lincoln, Chase, and Bates. As the convention progressed however, Seward, Chase, and Bates had each alienated factions of the party. Delegates were concerned that Seward was too closely identified with the radical wing of the party, and his moves toward the center had alienated the radicals. Chase, a former Democrat, had alienated many of the former Whigs by his coalition with the Democrats in the late 1840s, had opposed tariffs demanded by Pennsylvania, and critically, had opposition from his own delegation from Ohio. Bates outlined his positions on extension of slavery into the territories and equal constitutional rights for all citizens, positions that alienated his supporters in the border states and southern conservatives.
Since it was essential for the Republicans to carry the West, and because Lincoln had a national reputation from his debates and speeches, he won the nomination on the third ballot on May 18, 1860. He was actually three votes shy of a majority when the vote was taken, but a number of delegates quickly changed the vote to put him over the top.
Lincoln was elected President on Tuesday, November 6, 1860 by a Constitutional majority, 180 of the 303 possible electoral votes. Chief Justice Roger B. Taney of the Supreme Court swore Lincoln in as US President on March 4, 1861, on the steps of the unfinished US Capitol in Washington, DC. The inauguration convened under death threats severe enough that a US military guard was provided by General Winfield Scott. ");