Election+of+1860

__//The Civil War- The Election of 1860//__

By: Mareya Bonner and Laura Andino

__//The Election of 1860//__

One of the main causes of the Civil War is the most famous election; The Election of 1860. There were 4 candidates that were nominated; Abraham Lincoln, John Breckinridge, John Bell, and Stephen Douglas. The North were fans of Abraham, but the South unfortunately were not, they were very concerned of him. The winner of the election was Abraham Lincoln. The South was upset so, South Carolina decided to secede from the Union. Now, the North is a Union and the South is a Confederacy. Abraham Lincoln said in his inaugural speech that there would be no war unless the South start it. -MB

The Election of 1860 is probably the most important presidential election that there has ever been in American history. The reason why this was such a significant election was that slavery was bound to be the central issue. Battles over the issue of slavery had been occuring throughout the United States around the 1850's. In his home state of Illinois, Abraham Lincoln became interested in politics and he decided to run for the republican nomination for president. In the Chicago convention Lincoln would have to face William Seward for the republican nomination, luckily Lincoln won the nomination and he would now be the republican nominee for president. For the election Lincoln would have to run for president against two democrats, Stephen A. Douglas, and John C. Breckinridge, he would also run for president against John Bell. The Election of 1860 was held on November 6. Lincoln had less than 40% of the popular vote but won by a huge victory the electoral college vote. Lincoln's election would intensify the move of the south to split apart from the union. -LA



__//How does the Election of 1860 relate to the Cival War?//__ The Election of 1860 relates to the Civil War because the secession of South Carolina was the big problem starter. James Buchanan was attempting to avert war. There were many times where they would try and re-unite the sections. They kept questioning of when the forts were still unsettled during Abraham Lincoln's inauguration. This was a main cause in the Civil War. In the beginning of the election, the South never liked Abraham and you could definitely see a problem there. Abraham even said that he would not have any wars unless the South start it. -MB

The way in which the Election of 1860 relates to the Civil war is that the Election of 1860 proved to be a very important election and when president Lincoln was elected this made things very intense. When Lincoln was elected the move in the South to split apart from the Union became more intensified. In addition to this not only were there rumors spreading that the nomination of Lincoln would lead to war but a man named James Buchanan was trying to cause war. Once Lincoln began to be president in March 4, 1861, it was ore than obvious that the nation was on a path towards war. In fact, a month later the Civil War began. In his speeches Lincoln would talk about the importance of the union and he was against secession. He also stated that he would not begin war unless the South had started it first.-LA

//**__Key Terms:__**//
 * __Secede__- remove formally from membership in a federal union. -MB
 * __Confederacy__- a league or alliance. -MB
 * __lnaugural__- a speech made by an incoming president. -MB
 * __Electoral College__- a body of electors chosen by the voters of each state to elect the president and vice president. -LA
 * __The Union__- the federal government of the united states which was supported by twenty free states and five border slave states. -LA
 * __Border states__- are slave states who do not declare their secession from the united states. -LA

__//**Links To Relevant Websites:**//__ [] This website tells all about the election and also some very interesting facts as to the music and history of it all. -MB [] This website above explains all the candidates and all the people involved. -MB [] -LA This website is very detailed and has alot of information on the election of 1860, this website is above and beyond great and explains things in depth so you can understand alot about the election. [] -LA This website describes the four candidates very well and also explains why the election of 1860 was so significant.


 * Works Cited:**

"Google Images." //Google//. Web. 11 June 2011. .//

//Dawn. "Presidential Election of 1860."// East Buchanan Community Schools//. 12 May 2000. Web. 11 June 2011. //

//"The Election of 1860" West Virginia Division of culture and History.Web.2 June 2011.<[|http://www.wvculture.org/history/statehood02.]html>// //-MB//

"Election of 1860." United States History. United States History, Mar. 2004. Web. 13 June 2011. []

The White House. "Abraham Lincoln." //The White House//. USA.gov. Web. 13 June 2011. [] -LA.