Shrieks of mourning and agony, the echoes of rapid ammunition, blood drenching the land scarlet red. This was the scene for many during the American Civil War of 1861. It was a war meant to settle the debate between slavery in the South, owning people like property while forcing them to labor without payment, and abolitionism in the North, the immediate end of slavery. Slavery was vital to the South since it gave them their economy, class distinction, source of food, and supplied necessary resources such as cotton and tobacco for trade. In the North, however, slavery was much less common practice as Northerners had immigrants, foreign people moving to America that work for very little pay. But what was the cause of the most polarizing conflict …show more content…
This was due to the fact that “the fate of the Union was at stake” as its candidates’ possible elections may lead a large group to become angry (“Why was the U.S. presidential election of 1860 important?” 1). It was an election between candidates Abraham Lincoln for the Republicans, John Bell nominated by the Constitutional Union Party, Stephen Douglas representing the Northern Democrats, and John C. Breckinridge as the Southern Democrat’s candidate. The various parties debated about topics including: a national tariff, a transcontinental railroad, and most importantly, slavery. It is vital to note that as a Republican centered in the North, “Lincoln insisted that he had always hated slavery, and committed himself politically to the extinction of slavery” (Guelzo 4). This strictly contradicted the Democrats who relied and supported slavery since they were mostly in the South. In the end, Abraham Lincoln “accomplished a huge Electoral College victory, with a considerable margin of 55 percent of the popular vote as well” (“Abraham Lincoln, 1809–1865” 1); he was to become the sixteenth president of the United States of …show more content…
The main reason for this was because Britannica mentions that since Abraham Lincoln was against slavery, a multitude of Southerners viewed Lincoln’s election as a potential danger to their way of life which may bring about secession (“Why was the U.S. presidential election of 1860 important?” 1). This means that his election threatened Southern living and dependency on slavery, building anxiety. Because of this, eleven Southern states – Arkansas, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia – seceded from the Union to form the Confederate States of America, an entirely separate government from the United States of America that could spark a war if need be. Likewise, Abraham Lincoln’s way of thinking also played a detrimental part in the ignition of the Civil War. As stated by “The 1860 Presidential Election”, “the Republican Party and Abraham Lincoln were morally opposed to slavery” (5). This means that he is notoriously against slavery, but not abolitionist. This trait becomes especially apparent when “Slavery, Civil War, and Democracy: What Did Lincoln Believe?” mentions that, “Lincoln strongly believed slavery was ‘a great evil.’... Lincoln preferred to emancipate the slaves gradually by compensating their owners with federal funds”
During Abraham Lincoln’s presidency at the start of the 1860, an issue that had divided the nation was slavery. Lincoln’s election to presidency as a republic was not received well by the Southern slave states, as they thought that as a republican he was out to abolish slavery. In an effort to calm southern states and keep them from seceding from the United States, he attempts to ease them with his First Inaugural Address. In his First Inaugural Address his key points are to clam southern leaders of slave states, keep the states from seceding, and make them at ease as he enters presidency.
The Lincoln and Douglas Debates in 1858 were a series of important joint discussions that would determine the future of slavery in America. The Lincoln/Douglas Debates were also known as the Great Debates of 1858. Before the debates, Douglas had unusually defied President James Buchanan and the southern democratic leaders about admitting Kansas as a slave state under the Lecompton constitution. Those from the North that were against slavery, later known as Republicans, found interest in having Douglas reelected as a U.S. Senate. Lincoln and his allies had known Douglas for a long time and did not trust him.
Which in turn forced the election into the hands of the House of Representatives, even though the House was still controlled by Federalists. Seeing the flaws in the Constitution, Congress proposed the 12th amendment in which each elector would have to cast separate votes for President and Vice-President. In the end, Jefferson, a Democratic-Republican, won and was elected president. This is why the election of 1800 is considered a revolution; it was the first time in history where one group of people gave up power to another group of people without any physical violence or war. It wasn’t only significant to America, but it was also a turning point for the whole world and the way people saw America as a country that would work together to build itself and was willing to change for the better of the
To begin with, Lincoln was a vital person to the Civil War because his election in 1860 was one of the key causes of the war. During the presidential election of 1860, slavery was a major issue that divided the nation in two: the North, which disapproved slavery, and the South, which supported it. Because of this, the candidates’ positions on slavery were important. People had been aware that Lincoln personally opposed slavery and thought it was immoral. His view of slavery caused most Southerners to oppose him.
Republican candidate, Abraham Lincoln, won the Election of 1860 with approximately forty percent of the popular vote and a majority of the electoral votes. Lincoln grasped the attention of the nation with his Cooper Union Speech which opposed the expansion of slavery but not slavery itself. Lincoln embraced a more popular free soil opposition to the expansion of slavery. This caused the Republican Party to become a supporter of free soil but not abolition. Soon after Lincoln was elected as the 16th President of the United States, South Carolina seceded from the Union.
The Democrats, are pro-slavery, but they were unable to take control due to a split within the party. Lincoln’s views on slavery are not clear, but he does wish for the slaves to fight for the Union. Due to this, the state of South Carolina has seceded. Other Southern States may follow South Carolina’s example and secede as well if something is not done. I am Alexander Stephens and I am member of the Whig Party and a Representative from Georgia.
Abraham Lincoln, looking back, seems like an integral person to America and its history. People today may believe that, but it was actually surprisingly difficult for Lincoln to win his reelection. There were many factors contributing to this uncertainty, one of them being his support of emancipation for slaves. According to USHistory.org, the Democratic Party was split right down the middle about their hopes for the war. Half of the democrats were extremely dead-set on ending the war with a peace treaty, and the other half wanted to continue the fight ("The Election of 1864").
In the 1850s, slavery was the perhaps maybe the number one topic of discussion in politics that did not actually get voiced. However, when it came to president candidates, they steered clear of declaring an official stance on slavery. For example, in the “presidential election of 1852, the Whigs and the Democrats tried once again to appeal to voters across the North-South divide by running candidates who either skirted the slavery issue or voice ambiguous views…”. Everyone knew that if they voiced their opinion on slavery as antislavery or proslavery, they would win the North or the South, not both. By making it seem like they did not have an opinion, it was more likely that they would get the votes they needed in order to win.
After the election, the candidate who won was General Ulysses S. Grant. Therefore the republican party won the presidential election. In total, Ulysses S. Grant had gathered 214 electoral votes, where as Horatio Seymour had only a total of 80 electoral votes. At the time the presidential candidate only needed 214 electoral votes to win the presidency because not all of the 50 states were established at the time. In the year 1868 there was only a total of 294 electoral votes.
Change in the United States After The Election of 1800 The newly formed United States faced an pivotal moment for the political system during the election of 1800. With the rise of political parties, politicians, citizens, and the media pushed for their party’s candidates to receive the most elector votes. The House of Representatives eventually decided the outcome of the election due to the unforeseen equal number of votes to Republican running mates Jefferson and Burr. Consequently, important congressmen, both Federalist and Republican, faced the challenge of deciding the new President of the United States.
Abraham Lincoln 's views on slavery stimulated from things that he had saw growing up during his childhood. When Lincoln was younger slavery was extremely well known, in some ways it was a normal way of life. Still, Lincoln had his own personal feelings towards African Americans which in some ways remained constant and neutral for most of the time. However, his views on slavery began to change as different things in nation started to change; such as social, political, and economic issues. Lincoln initially recognized that slavery was a bad idea
From the 1820’s to 1850’s the Democrats won all but two presidential elections. During the 1840s and ’50s, however, the Democratic Party, as it officially named itself in 1844, suffered serious inner strains over the issue of extending slavery to the Western territories. Southern Democrats, led by Jefferson Davis, wanted to allow slavery in all the territories, while Northern Democrats, led by Stephen A. Douglas, proposed that each territory should decide the question for itself through referendum. The 1860 election also included John Bell, the nominee of the Constitutional Union Party, and Abraham Lincoln, the candidate of the newly established antislavery Republican Party. With the Democrats hopelessly split,
He was raised in Kentucky and went onto become the 16th President of the United States. The presidential election of 1860 was one of the nation’s most memorable one. The north and the south sections of the country had a different vision of how they envisioned their home land. What made it worst was that their views were completely opposite of each other. The north, which was mostly republican supporters, wanted America to be free; free of slaves and free from bondage.
In the November 1860 election, Lincoln faced Douglas again, who represented the Northern faction of a extremely divided Democratic Party, as well as Breckinridge and Bell. The announcement of Lincoln’s win signaled the secession of
President Lincoln stated that: “if I could save the Union without freeing any slave, I would do it,..., and if I could save it by freeing some and leaving others alone, I would do it.”. This quote clearly shows that the freedom of slaves was not his concern and unnecessary if it did not help the Union; as the result, slavery still exists if there is no war. Free slave from bondage should be a Great Emancipator’s primary goal and he will do his best to achieve it no matter what, but president Lincoln’s thought differed from that because all he cares was the Union. Although he had many times admitting himself an anti-slavery but his words and thoughts obviously prove that he is