The Presidential Election of 1860

The Presidential Election of 1860

Compoundingsectional antagonisms exponentially, abolitionist John Brown was captured leading an attack on a federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry, Virginia, in October 1859. It soon became clear that Brown had planned to use the arsenal to arm a massive slave insurrection. Despite the dismal failure of Brown's raid and his subsequent execution in December, the incident cast an ominous shadow over preparations for the presidential election of 1860.

The national Democrats proved incapable of agreeing on a platform position regarding slavery in the territories and sundered along sectional lines. The remaining regular Democrats nominated Stephen Douglas for president (with Georgia's Herschel Johnson for vice president), while the southern faction selected Kentucky's John C. Breckinridge, thus dividing the Democratic Party along sectional lines. Soon thereafter a group of Unionist ex-Whigs selected a third presidential candidate in Tennessean John Bell. The Republicans nominated another ex-Whig, Illinois' Abraham Lincoln, on a platform that reaffirmed no slavery in the new territories.

With Johnson as his running mate, Douglas campaigned personally in Georgia but was rewarded with only 11,500 votes. On the other hand Unionist John Bell captured roughly 43,000 ballots, showing that the old Whig banner still retained some viability in the state. Breckinridge, whose candidacy was largely equated with supporting southern secession, managed to win Georgia with 52,000 votes.

Yet despite Breckinridge's victory, the combined vote totals of Unionist candidates Douglas and Bell surpassed the Kentuckian's tally, suggesting that the majority of Georgian voters were not yet ready to forsake the national Union. Lincoln won the presidency by garnering a majority of the Electoral College despite receiving virtually no support from any southern state. Upon learning of Lincoln's victory, Governor Brown recommended the allocation of $1 million for the state's defense, which was appropriated by thestate legislature, and scheduled January 2 elections for a specialstate conventionto discuss secession. The struggle over Georgia's future in the Union had begun.

The Presidential Election of 1860

Compoundingsectional antagonisms exponentially, abolitionist John Brown was captured leading an attack on a federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry, Virginia, in October 1859. It soon became clear that Brown had planned to use the arsenal to arm a massive slave insurrection. Despite the dismal failure of Brown's raid and his subsequent execution in December, the incident cast an ominous shadow over preparations for the presidential election of 1860.

The national Democrats proved incapable of agreeing on a platform position regarding slavery in the territories and sundered along sectional lines. The remaining regular Democrats nominated Stephen Douglas for president (with Georgia's Herschel Johnson for vice president), while the southern faction selected Kentucky's John C. Breckinridge, thus dividing the Democratic Party along sectional lines. Soon thereafter a group of Unionist ex-Whigs selected a third presidential candidate in Tennessean John Bell. The Republicans nominated another ex-Whig, Illinois' Abraham Lincoln, on a platform that reaffirmed no slavery in the new territories.

With Johnson as his running mate, Douglas campaigned personally in Georgia but was rewarded with only 11,500 votes. On the other hand Unionist John Bell captured roughly 43,000 ballots, showing that the old Whig banner still retained some viability in the state. Breckinridge, whose candidacy was largely equated with supporting southern secession, managed to win Georgia with 52,000 votes.

Yet despite Breckinridge's victory, the combined vote totals of Unionist candidates Douglas and Bell surpassed the Kentuckian's tally, suggesting that the majority of Georgian voters were not yet ready to forsake the national Union. Lincoln won the presidency by garnering a majority of the Electoral College despite receiving virtually no support from any southern state. Upon learning of Lincoln's victory, Governor Brown recommended the allocation of $1 million for the state's defense, which was appropriated by thestate legislature, and scheduled January 2 elections for a specialstate conventionto discuss secession. The struggle over Georgia's future in the Union had begun.