The 1860 Election, Secession and Civil War Flashcards
When and where was the Democrat convention?
April 1860 in Charleston, South Carolina
What did the Democrat convention show?
That the party was divided against itself
What was a ‘fire-eater’?
Southerners who wanted to leave the Union
What happened at the Democrat convention?
- Northerners blocked a proposal which would have pledged the party to protect the rights of slaveholders in the territories
- Delegates from the Lower South walked out
- The Democrats found it impossible to nominate a candidate
- The convention agreed to reconvene at Baltimore in June
Who won the Democratic nomination?
Stephen Douglas
Who did Southern delegates nominate?
Vice-President John Breckinridge of Kentucky
Republican Convention
Met in May in Chicago in the Wigwam (a huge wooden building that could hold over 10,000 people)
What happened at the Republican Convention?
- The Republicans declared that they had no intention of interfering with slavery where it already existed
- Their platform condemned John Brown’s raid as ‘the greatest of crimes’
What did Republicans call for at the Republican Convention?
- Higher protective tariffs
- Free 160-acre homesteads for western settlers
- A northern transcontinental railway
Who was the favourite to win the Republican presidential nomination?
William Seward (New York governer)
Issues with Seward
- He’d been a major public figure for many years so had many enemies
- Seen as holding militant abolitionist views on slavery
- Long record of hostility to nativism
Who was Seward’s main opponent?
Abraham Lincoln
Positives for Abraham Lincoln
- He came from Illinois whose voters might decide the outcome of the election
- His debates with Douglas in 1858 had enhanced his reputation
- He made many speeches which gained him supporters
- Reputation for honesty
Results of first ballot
Seward - 173
Lincoln - 102
Who did the Constitutional Unionist Party nominate as its presidential candidate?
John Bell of Tennessee
What did the Constitutionalist Unionist Party want?
To remove the slavery question from the political arena, thus relieving sectional strife
Who was the main fight between in the North?
Lincoln and Douglas
Who was the main fight between in the South?
Bell and Breckinridge
What did Republican propaganda focus on?
Slave Power Conspiracy
What did Southern Democrats stereotype all northerners as?
‘Black Republicans’ set on abolishing slavery
How much of the electorate voted in November?
81%
How many votes did Lincoln win?
1,866,000 (40%)
Who became President?
Lincoln
Why did northerners vote for Lincoln?
- He seemed to represent their section
2. A vote for Lincoln was a vote against Slave Power
Why should Lincoln’s victory have not sparked southern secession?
- Lincoln had promised that he wouldn’t interfere with slavery in states where it existed
- There was little Lincoln could do, his party didn’t control Congress or Supreme Court
- Secession would mean abandoning an enforceable Fugitive Slave Act (slaves would be able to flee to the North)
- Secession might lead to civil war
Problems for secessionsists
- There was no great southern organisation that might organise a secessionist movement
- The South wasn’t united
- If individual states acted alone there was a danger they would receive no support (1832 Nullification Crisis)
10th November
South Carolina’s state legislature called for elections to a convention to meet on 17th December
What would be decided on 17th December?
Whether South Carolina should secede or not
How many people voted for secession in South Carolina?
169
4th February 1861
South Carolina sent commissioners to other southern states to propose a meeting, in Montgomery, Alabama, to create a new government
Which other states seceded?
Mississippi Florida Alabama Georgia Louisiana Texas
When was a provisional constitution set up?
8the February
Who was elected as provisional President?
Senator Jefferson Davis
Who became Vice President of the provisional constituion?
Alexander Stephens
What did provisional congress do?
- Passed major pieces of financial legislation
- Adopted the Stars and Bars as the national flag
- Set about raising an army
Crittenden Compromise
- The Missouri Compromise line should be extended to the Pacific
- A constitutional amendment would guarantee there would be no interference with slavery in states where it already existed
- Congress would be forbidden to abolish slavery in Washington, DC
Salmon Chase
Secretary of the treasury - was seen as the main radical spokesman in the cabinet
Gideon Welles
Secretary of the navy
Caleb Smith
Secretary of the interior
Simon Cameron
Secretary of war
When did Lincoln become President?
4th March 1861
What were the two remaining forts?
Fort Pickens and Fort Sumter
When was the ship sent to Fort Sumter?
January 1861
What did Fort Sumter become a symbol of?
National sovereignty
