Election Of 1860 Dbq Essay

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

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

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”