Name:

Date:

Topic: What role did slavery play in the election of 1860

Class: History 11- American History from Discovery through the Civil War

Section: 09
Introduction

The presidential elections of 1860 is regarded among the most divisive and pivotal

elections in US political history. It was the ninth presidential election of the country, held

on November 6, to elect the President and Vice President of the country. Abraham

Lincoln, nominee of the Republican Party contested against Senator Stephen Douglas,

nominee of the Democratic Party, John Breckinridge, nominee of Southern Democratic

Party and John Bell, nominee of Constitutional Union Party. The central issue of these

elections was state rights and slavery which played an integral role in the victory of

Republic Party and Abraham Lincoln who became the 16 th President of the country.

These elections happened at a time when the country was passing through a national

crisis, where states were divided and the country was at the brink of a civil war. Also,

more than four million people were suffering at the hands of bondage, which was further

undermining the economic stature of the country (History 1-4).

Slavery played a vital role in the election campaign as well. The strategies adopted by

the nominations were nowhere near to the present day political campaigns. Apart from

Douglas, all other candidates asked their party members and fellow countrymen to carry

out the rallies and parades. The idea behind the whole effort was to persuade voters to

come out and cast their vote on Election Day. On the D day, voters came out of their

homes in flocks and the Republican Party swept the elections with a landslide victory.

Lincoln won the election in an Electoral College clean sweep with 180 votes, however,

he secured less than 40 percent popular votes in the elections. He dominated the

Northern side of the country but failed in garnering support from Southern states.

Douglas secured the support of the Northern side, but posed no serious challenge to
Lincoln. The Southern vote was divided among Breckenridge and Bell who won 72 and

39 electoral votes respectively. These elections purported the firm control of Republican

and Democratic parties on the political milieu of the country. It also revealed how the

issue of slavery changed the internal dynamics of the country and played an integral

role in the victory of the Republican Party.

The key to the success of Lincoln in the elections was the position of his party on

slavery. They opposed the extension and expansion of slavery and urged the Congress

to take concrete steps to prevent its growing expansion. The party condemned slavery

and labelled it as an immoral and corrupt institution which was barbaric to its core. They

also believed limiting the influence of slavery across the country will facilitate in the

complete extinction of slavery (Tulane 3-7).

Thesis Statement

The essay aims to explore and investigate the US Presidential election of 1860 and

what factors led to the victory of the Republican Party amid rival competitors. The essay

will also explore the role of slavery in the monumental elections of 1860 and how it

contributed to the victory Abraham Lincoln, who served as the leading catalyst for the

US civil war that started in 1861.

Background:

This presidential race kicked off on a rough and uneven patch, with four parties

contesting against each other for a win. The Republican Party selected two frontrunners

for the presidential elections of 1860 as representatives of the party including Abraham

Lincoln and Senator William Seward. The party held its convention on May 16, 1860
and decided to develop a moderate stance on slavery in the country, however, some of

the party members wanted its abolishment. The party voted and selected Abraham

Lincoln with Hannibal Hamlin as his fellow running partner. Lincoln was regarded as one

of the pioneers who voiced his growing concerns over slavery in the country and hence

after being elected to the US House of Representatives introduced a bill to abolish

slavery the District of Columbia. However, the bill did not pass, but ensured anti-slavery

legislation in the times to come.

Back in 1860, the Democratic Party was divided into different factions particularly on the

matter of slavery and its aftermaths. The Southern faction of the party proposed that

slavery should be expanded nationwide, while the Northern faction of the party strongly

condemned the idea. Not only this, States’ right was also a bone of contention between

the two factions where the Southern group emphasised on state sovereignty in matters

pertaining to governance, while the Northern group demanded a national government

and Union (Lossing 29-33).

On the other hand, Democratic Party members were confused about the nomination.

The party members met on April 23 to seek out the matter at hand. The Southern

factions refused to support the nominated front runner Stephen Douglas, as he failed to

come up with a pro-slavery scheme. The convention ended without selecting a nominee

as majority members boycotted the convention and went out in protest. They met again

two months later, but the result was the same, however, the party nominated Douglas

as their nomination and former Georgia governor Herschel Johnson was selected as his

running mate. The Southern faction of Democrats nominated John Breckinridge as the
candidate who was popularly known as a supporter of slavery and states’ right, along

with Oregon senator Joseph Lane, as his running mate.

The Constitutional Union Party conducted their convention for nomination on May 9 and

presented Tennessee slaveholder John Bell as their presidential nominee. Former

Harvard University President Edward Everett was selected as his running mate. The

Union party presented themselves as a staunch supporter of law and order, however,

they failed in coming up with an official stance on states’ right and slavery, but they

promised to safeguard the constitution and union. Their nomination Bell failed to come

with a sane stance on slavery and was ready to extend the Missouri Compromise and

make slavery legal in new states on the north and south of the line. They wanted to get

the support of voters who were not happy by the discord of the Democratic Party

(History 5-20).

Role of Slavery in Presidential elections 1860

During the 1850’s American society was divided into various sections. They were mainly

divided into two opposing parties: one of which supported the expansion ad extension of

slavery in the country, while the other one wanted the abolishment of the barbaric

practise. The incumbent President James Buchanan, a Northern Democratic had

sympathies with the South. During the mid-1850 and even the latter half, the Republican

Party supported the anti-slavery legislations, particularly after the Kansas Nebraska Act

and the Supreme Court's decision related to the case of Dred Scott vs. Sanford 1857.

Republican Party was known as an avid supporter of anti-slavery laws during the 1860

elections. However, majority of the Republicans were against the radical plan of
abolitionism. The party supported the plan of upholding the constitutional septicity of

slavery in the Southern side of the country and only a significant minority including

Lincoln supported the constitutional amendment related to congressional interference in

matters pertaining to slavery in different states of the country. The party upheld the

fugitive slave clause of the constitution and approved the enforcement of the clause

through proper laws.

The Republican Party promised not to intervene in the slavery matter, but opposed

further extension of the menace across the country. Lincoln knew that the Democrat

party was divided and hence his main focus during the campaign was to keep the

Republican Party united to the front. Douglas on the other hand wished to divide the

voter base in the South and gave numerous speeches in favour of the constitution and

Union. The Republican Party kept themselves away from abolitionists who wanted a

much quicker and immediate solution to slavery, proposing concrete measures for the

emancipation of slavery rights and their protection within boundaries (Holt 1-10).

The Democratic Party on the other hand believed in the concept of popular sovereignty

and hence wanted each state to decide on the stature of slavery in the country. This

matter was the major bone of contention among the party members and further

alienated the Southern factions. The Southern Democrats under the leadership and

support of President Buchanan organised their own convention and nominated Vice

President John C. Breckinridge of Kentucky for the 1860 presidential ticket. The party

also split due to a unanimous failure in endorsing a federal slave code formula for the

western side of the country. The popular sovereignty concept of the Democrat party

promised to protect slaves from the hands of politicians and leave their fate in the hands
of territorial citizens. For them this was the easiest, democratic, practical and fair way to

deal with slavery, however, this concept failed in resolving the matter at hand.

The majority of Democrats from the northern faction believed that popular sovereignty

would not be a futile measure to expand slavery into territories. The people in the West

who were known as free settlers would never allow slaves to enter into their part of the

country. This will also allow the North to carry on with the exclusion of slavery without

targeting and insulting the South. Republicans, however, on the other hand denounced

the use of popular sovereignty to handle slavery issue. Also, the view of Southern

Democrats that popular sovereignty will allow and protect the presence of slavery in

various territories divided the party. They supported the rights of slaves to bring their

property into territories just like other citizens and wanted equal access for them. This

indicated that the national political system of the country was divided into elections, one

was in South that was led by Breckinridge and Bell and the other one was in North that

was led by Lincoln and Douglas, who successfully used slavery to garner votes for the

1860 presidential race (National Park Service 3-8).

Slavery and Lincoln

The Republican Party associated slavery with economic backwardness, illiteracy,

violence and immorality. The party during their election campaign asserted that slavery

was an aggressive institution that was being spread due to the alliance of Northerners

and their leaders throughout the country. Lincoln presented his historical speech at the

Illinois Republican convention in June 1858 titled the "Slave Power Conspiracy" on the

same lines. He stated that he endorsed the democratic ideals of his party. He also

talked about the resentment of north against the south on slavery matter.
Moderate members of the Republican Party kept themselves away from the egalitarian

race based program of abolitionism. They accepted the principles of the Declaration of

Independence propagating black rights as an ultimate goal in the coming times.

However, they disowned the concrete measures that could play a vital role in promoting

and endorsing equality among races, putting an end to slavery. Hence, the stance of the

party on not intervening in matters pertaining to the expansion of slavery means that

they wanted states to be primarily reserved for the superior White only

Lincoln was seen as a man of moderate ideals on slavery. Southerners believed that his

selection as the next President would lead to an ultimate demise and hence they

promised to leave the Union after he was elected. Lincoln won the election and received

limited support from Virginia as expected. Just after his election, the southern states

started withdrawing themselves from the Union which later led to the staging of the Civil

war and establishment of new states. Lincoln is popularly known as the president who

played a vital role in ending slavery and who at the time of his electoral campaign

promised not to restrict slavery in states where it was prevalent (Library of Congress 1-

4).

Conclusion

The presidential election of 1860 was fought over slavery issue which played a game

changer for the four competing parties. The Democrats were divided into factions at the

hand of the same matter, however, the Republican Party during the campaign

emphasised on keeping slavery out of territories. Due to this, the Republican Party

failed to win seats in the Southern side and sweep the Northern side only because the

latter believed that stopping the extension of slavery was vital for its abolitionism.
Even today, majority of historians believe that the status of African Americans in 1860’s

was a major reason that plunged the country into a civil war from 1861 to 1865. Parties

fought to preserve the stature of slavery in the country, while the other half went to war

to end menace of slavery. North in the beginning supported the preservation of Union

alone and paid little or no focus on the cause of emancipation of slavery. However, the

African Americans that were led by the Southern side wanted the emancipation of the

oppressed and suppressed slaves of the country who were not only treated inhumanely

by the Whites, but had no rights at all.

Bibliography

Library of Congress. "Slavery, Succession and States' Right."

https://www.loc.gov/teachers/classroommaterials/presentationsandactivities/pres
entations/elections/slavery-secession-states-rights.html.
Lossing, Benson. Pictorial History of the Civil War in the United States of America.
Kessinger Publishing, LLC, 2010. https://books.google.com.pk/books?
id=gmvkkyCLMv8C&pg=PA29&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false.

History.com. "Election of 1860." https://www.history.com/topics/american-civil-

war/election-of-1860.
Holt, Micheal. The Election of 1860: “A Campaign Fraught with Consequences”.
Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas, 2017.
National Park Service. "Slavery and Civil War." In, (2016).
https://www.nps.gov/liho/planyourvisit/upload/cw_slavery_site_bulletin.pdf.
Tulane. "The Election of 1860." In, (2016).
https://www.tulane.edu/~sumter/Background/BackgroundElection.html.