The Election of 1860

1. The Election of 1860 Pages 496-497

2. Choosing a New President • In 1860 Americans prepared to choose a new President. • They listened to speeches. • They read newspapers. • They watched parades. • They worried.

3. Why Worry? • Anger and bitterness were driving the North and the South farther apart than ever. • Could a new President hold the country together?

4. The Question of Slavery • The spread of slavery west was all people seemed to talk about. • Three men were running for President: • Stephen Douglas • John Breckinridge • Abraham Lincoln

5. Vote for Stephen Douglas • Stephen Douglas argued that western settlers should decide themselves whether to allow slavery.

6. Vote for John Breckinridge • John Breckinridge thought that government should allow slavery everywhere in the West. • He had strong support from people living in the South.

7. Vote for Abraham Lincoln • Abraham Lincoln spoke strongly against the spread of slavery. • He promised not to end slavery in the South but hoped that one day it would end there too.

8. The Southern View • Many Southerners worried what would happen if Lincoln were elected. • They believed their whole way of life was being attacked. • Some said their states would secede if Lincoln were elected.

9. Election Day 1860 • On November 6, 1860, Lincoln won the election. • Southern leaders did not wait long until they carried out their threat. • On December 20, South Carolina leaders declared that “ the United States of America is hereby dissolved.”

10. A New Country • South Carolina seceded from the Union. • Six other states followed: Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas. • These seven states formed a new country called the Confederate States of America.

11. The Confederacy • These states elected Jefferson Davis to be the President of the newly formed country. • The United States was now split in two.