The Civil War Presidents: Abraham Lincoln (Part 3 - The Election of 1860)
Much of the organization for Abraham Lincoln's run for the Presidency took place at the Illinois Republican State Convention, which was held in Decatur, commencing on May 9, 1860 (154 years ago today). The principal organizers behind Lincoln's campaign were Judge David Davis, Norman Judd, Leonard Swett, and Jesse DuBois. The convention endorsed Lincoln as their candidate and even in 1860, there were spin doctors who began to package their candidate. They gussied up the legend of his frontier days with his father, in which they spoke of their candidate clearing and and splitting fence rails with an ax, which led to Lincoln being called "The Rail Candidate".
Conveniently for Lincoln, the Republican National Convention was being held later that month in his home state, in Chicago. The Convention went from May 16 to 18. The Democrats were in disarray and the Republicans were hoping for a sweep of the Northern states. William H. Seward of New York was considered the front runner, and other leading contenders included Salmon P. Chase of Ohio, and Missouri's Edward Bates. All three of these men would later become members of Lincoln's cabinet. Seward, Chase, and Bates had each alienated factions of the party. Seward was seen as being too closely identified with the radical wing of the party. When he tried to move toward the center, this alienated the radicals. Chase, a former Democrat, had alienated many of the former Whigs by his joining the Democrats in the late 1840s. He even had opposition from his own delegation from Ohio. Bates' positions on the extension of slavery into the territories and equal constitutional rights for all citizens alienated his supporters in the border states and Southern conservatives.
Lincoln had earned a national reputation from his debates and speeches, and he was considered to be the most articulate moderate. Thanks in part to the convention floor strategy of Davis and his team, Lincoln, who had finished second behind Seward on the first two ballots, won the party's nomination for president on the third ballot on May 18, 1860. Senator Hannibal Hamlin of Maine was nominated for vice-president.
The party platform promised not to interfere with slavery in the states, but it opposed slavery in the territories. It failed to mention the Fugitive Slave law or the Dred Scott decision. The Seward forces were disappointed at the nomination of Lincoln, but pledged to support him. Abolitionists were angry at the selection of a moderate. Lincoln doubted that the sectional dispute over slavery would lead to civil war, and his supporters were convinced to reject the notion that his election would incite secession.
Stephen Douglas was selected as the candidate of the Northern Democrats. Delegates from 11 slave states walked out of the Democratic convention, disagreeing with Douglas's position on popular sovereignty. They later selected John C. Breckinridge as their candidate.
Ironically, though he was famous for his oratory, Lincoln was the only presidential candidate who gave no speeches during the campaign. He relied on the party to do the leg work required to win the election, and they came through for him. A large number of Republican surrogate speakers focused first on the party platform, and second on Lincoln's life story. They presented the message that a common farm boy could work his way to the top by his own efforts. A Chicago Tribune writer produced a pamphlet that detailed Lincoln's life, which sold over 100,000 copies.
The election was held on Tuesday, November 6, 1860. Voter turnout was 81.2%, the highest in American history at that point, and the second-highest overall. Lincoln won the Electoral College with less than 40 per cent of the popular vote nationwide. He won all of the states above the Mason–Dixon line and north of the Ohio River, plus the far west California and Oregon. He lost all of the slave-holding states. The split in the Democratic party was not as big a factor as one might imagine because Lincoln still would have won in the Electoral College, 169 to 134, even if all anti-Lincoln voters had united behind a single candidate.
As Lincoln's election became obvious, secessionists made clear their intent to leave the Union before he took office the following March. On December 20, 1860, South Carolina became the first state to pass an ordinance of secession. By February 1, 1861, Florida, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas followed.Six of these states then adopted a constitution and declared themselves to be a sovereign nation, the Confederate States of America. Both President James Buchanan and President-elect Lincoln refused to recognize the Confederacy. Each considered secession to be illegal, though Buchanan took no action to stop it.
There were attempts to settle the dispute by a compromise. The Crittenden Compromise, proposed by former Kentucky Senator John J. Crittendon, proposed extending the Missouri Compromise line of 1820, dividing the territories into slave and free. Lincoln rejected this proposal. He said "I will suffer death before I consent to any concession or compromise which looks like buying the privilege to take possession of this government to which we have a constitutional right."
Lincoln privately expressed support for a proposal known as the Corwin Amendment to the Constitution, which passed Congress before Lincoln came into office and was then awaiting ratification by the states. That proposed amendment would have protected slavery in states where it already existed. This proposal was not acceptable to southern states.
On the way to his inauguration by train, Lincoln addressed crowds and legislatures across the North. There were rumors of assassination attempts on his life along the way. In Baltimore, one such attempt was uncovered by Lincoln's head of security, Allan Pinkerton. On February 23, 1861, Lincoln arrived in disguise in Washington, D.C., which was placed under military guard.
On March 4, 1861, Lincoln was inaugurated as President. In his inaugural address, he said that he had no intention, or inclination, to abolish slavery in the Southern states. Lincoln said:
"Apprehension seems to exist among the people of the Southern States that by the accession of a Republican Administration their property and their peace and personal security are to be endangered. There has never been any reasonable cause for such apprehension. Indeed, the most ample evidence to the contrary has all the while existed and been open to their inspection. It is found in nearly all the published speeches of him who now addresses you. I do but quote from one of those speeches when I declare that "I have no purpose, directly or indirectly, to interfere with the institution of slavery in the States where it exists. I believe I have no lawful right to do so, and I have no inclination to do so...
"We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield, and patriot grave, to every living heart and hearthstone, all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature."
It soon became apparent that legislative compromise was impossible. By March 1861, no leaders of the insurrection had proposed rejoining the Union on any terms. Lincoln and the Republican leadership agreed that the dismantling of the Union could not be tolerated.
Conveniently for Lincoln, the Republican National Convention was being held later that month in his home state, in Chicago. The Convention went from May 16 to 18. The Democrats were in disarray and the Republicans were hoping for a sweep of the Northern states. William H. Seward of New York was considered the front runner, and other leading contenders included Salmon P. Chase of Ohio, and Missouri's Edward Bates. All three of these men would later become members of Lincoln's cabinet. Seward, Chase, and Bates had each alienated factions of the party. Seward was seen as being too closely identified with the radical wing of the party. When he tried to move toward the center, this alienated the radicals. Chase, a former Democrat, had alienated many of the former Whigs by his joining the Democrats in the late 1840s. He even had opposition from his own delegation from Ohio. Bates' positions on the extension of slavery into the territories and equal constitutional rights for all citizens alienated his supporters in the border states and Southern conservatives.
Lincoln had earned a national reputation from his debates and speeches, and he was considered to be the most articulate moderate. Thanks in part to the convention floor strategy of Davis and his team, Lincoln, who had finished second behind Seward on the first two ballots, won the party's nomination for president on the third ballot on May 18, 1860. Senator Hannibal Hamlin of Maine was nominated for vice-president.
The party platform promised not to interfere with slavery in the states, but it opposed slavery in the territories. It failed to mention the Fugitive Slave law or the Dred Scott decision. The Seward forces were disappointed at the nomination of Lincoln, but pledged to support him. Abolitionists were angry at the selection of a moderate. Lincoln doubted that the sectional dispute over slavery would lead to civil war, and his supporters were convinced to reject the notion that his election would incite secession.
Stephen Douglas was selected as the candidate of the Northern Democrats. Delegates from 11 slave states walked out of the Democratic convention, disagreeing with Douglas's position on popular sovereignty. They later selected John C. Breckinridge as their candidate.
Ironically, though he was famous for his oratory, Lincoln was the only presidential candidate who gave no speeches during the campaign. He relied on the party to do the leg work required to win the election, and they came through for him. A large number of Republican surrogate speakers focused first on the party platform, and second on Lincoln's life story. They presented the message that a common farm boy could work his way to the top by his own efforts. A Chicago Tribune writer produced a pamphlet that detailed Lincoln's life, which sold over 100,000 copies.
The election was held on Tuesday, November 6, 1860. Voter turnout was 81.2%, the highest in American history at that point, and the second-highest overall. Lincoln won the Electoral College with less than 40 per cent of the popular vote nationwide. He won all of the states above the Mason–Dixon line and north of the Ohio River, plus the far west California and Oregon. He lost all of the slave-holding states. The split in the Democratic party was not as big a factor as one might imagine because Lincoln still would have won in the Electoral College, 169 to 134, even if all anti-Lincoln voters had united behind a single candidate.
As Lincoln's election became obvious, secessionists made clear their intent to leave the Union before he took office the following March. On December 20, 1860, South Carolina became the first state to pass an ordinance of secession. By February 1, 1861, Florida, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas followed.Six of these states then adopted a constitution and declared themselves to be a sovereign nation, the Confederate States of America. Both President James Buchanan and President-elect Lincoln refused to recognize the Confederacy. Each considered secession to be illegal, though Buchanan took no action to stop it.
There were attempts to settle the dispute by a compromise. The Crittenden Compromise, proposed by former Kentucky Senator John J. Crittendon, proposed extending the Missouri Compromise line of 1820, dividing the territories into slave and free. Lincoln rejected this proposal. He said "I will suffer death before I consent to any concession or compromise which looks like buying the privilege to take possession of this government to which we have a constitutional right."
Lincoln privately expressed support for a proposal known as the Corwin Amendment to the Constitution, which passed Congress before Lincoln came into office and was then awaiting ratification by the states. That proposed amendment would have protected slavery in states where it already existed. This proposal was not acceptable to southern states.
On the way to his inauguration by train, Lincoln addressed crowds and legislatures across the North. There were rumors of assassination attempts on his life along the way. In Baltimore, one such attempt was uncovered by Lincoln's head of security, Allan Pinkerton. On February 23, 1861, Lincoln arrived in disguise in Washington, D.C., which was placed under military guard.
On March 4, 1861, Lincoln was inaugurated as President. In his inaugural address, he said that he had no intention, or inclination, to abolish slavery in the Southern states. Lincoln said:
"Apprehension seems to exist among the people of the Southern States that by the accession of a Republican Administration their property and their peace and personal security are to be endangered. There has never been any reasonable cause for such apprehension. Indeed, the most ample evidence to the contrary has all the while existed and been open to their inspection. It is found in nearly all the published speeches of him who now addresses you. I do but quote from one of those speeches when I declare that "I have no purpose, directly or indirectly, to interfere with the institution of slavery in the States where it exists. I believe I have no lawful right to do so, and I have no inclination to do so...
"We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield, and patriot grave, to every living heart and hearthstone, all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature."
It soon became apparent that legislative compromise was impossible. By March 1861, no leaders of the insurrection had proposed rejoining the Union on any terms. Lincoln and the Republican leadership agreed that the dismantling of the Union could not be tolerated.