Election of 1860 and South Reacts to 1860 Results (College Board AP® US History) : Study Guide

Timeline & Summary

As compromises over the issue of slavery continued to fail, the election of 1860 was a critical turning point in US history, leading to the secession of the Southern states. Abraham Lincoln’s win in the 1860 presidential election was the final act leading to the secession of the Southern states. Though Lincoln was resolved not to end slavery in the South, the Southern states realized they had lost all power to continue the fight for the expansion of slavery into other territories. They also feared that the acceptance of non-slavery legislation was a challenge to states' rights. 

Lincoln Becomes President

Election of 1860

• Four political parties put forward candidates for the presidency

  • This reflected the deep divisions over slavery and sectional interests

• The candidates were:

  • Abraham Lincoln: Republican Party

    • Ran on a Free-Soil platform, allowing slavery to remain in current states but not expand into new territories

  • Stephen Douglas: Northern Democrats

    • Promoted popular sovereignty, allowing residents of territories to decide the issue of slavery for themselves

  • John Breckinridge: Southern Democrats

    • Advocated pro-slavery policies

    • Defended slavery as protected by the Federal slave code

  • John Bell: Constitutional Union Party:

    • Supported the continuation of the Union

    • appealed to border states caught between north and south

AWAITING IMAGE

• Abraham Lincoln won the election

  • He won 40% of the popular vote and the majority of the Electoral College 

  • No electoral votes came from the South because the Southern states had given their support to Breckinridge

  • Won northern states plus California and Oregon

• John Breckinridge secured votes in the Deep South

  • This reflected regional support for slavery

• John Bell took the border states such as:

  • Kentucky

  • Tennessee 

  • Virginia

• Stephen Douglass only won Missouri

  • His platform failed to unite Democrats

Southern States Secede from the Union

Impact of Lincoln’s election

• Lincoln’s victory without Southern votes showed:

  • the North’s political dominance

  • the South’s reduced influence on national politics

• Southern leaders viewed Lincoln as a direct threat to:

  • the institution of slavery 

  • their economic and cultural system

• The election directly led to secession, beginning with South Carolina in 1860

Southern States Seceded from the Union

First wave of secession

• South Carolina was the first state to secede on December 20, 1860

  • Shortly after Lincoln’s election

• Other states followed by February 1861:

  • Mississippi

  • Florida

  • Alabama

  • Georgia

  • Louisiana

  • Texas 

Formation of the Confederacy

• In February 1861, representatives from the seceded states met in Montgomery, Alabama and created The Confederate States of America 

• Key leaders were:

  • Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederacy

  • Alexander Stevens, Vice President of the Confederacy

• To begin with, Montgomery Alabama served as the Confederate Capitol

  • Later, it was moved to Richmond, Virginia

• The Confederacy was founded on the principles of:

  • preserving slavery

  • protecting states’ rights

Second wave of secession

• After an attack on Fort Sumter in April 1861, which was the first military act of the Civil War, the following states joined the Confederacy:

  • Virginia

  • Arkansas

  • North Carolina

  • Tennessee

• West Virginia broke away from Virginia and remained loyal to the Union

• Secession marked the beginning of the Civil War

• Lincoln and the Union considered secession to be unconstitutional and refused to recognize the Confederate States of America as a legitimate government

  • This led to military conflict