The Worst Election Ever, 1860, Week 3

    Today, the result of the 1860 election was published on newspaper.

    When I saw that Lincoln won the election, I was SHOCKED. Not only because he is known as the enemy of slavery, but also because I am sure that NOBODY from the south would vote for him. Abraham Lincoln has always opposed slavery, ever since his debates with Stephen Douglas, the "Little Giant" in on the issue of Kansas-Nebraska Act. Lincoln spoke strongly against the expansion of slavery in the west territories, and argued that slavery should be completely gone though denying the social equality of blacks. He also attacked popular sovereignty and the Dred Scott decision. Although he lost the debates, he still won a large fame among the northerners. He has been praised for having great honesty and integrity, but I really think he is NOT a suitable candidate for president. Although he said he would not touch slavery in southern states, he did want to turn all the new western territories into free states, including Kansas. And who can guarantee that he would keep his promises? Having Lincoln as the president is definitely not acceptable. I'd say that he is way too radical to hold the position of President, just like all the other Republicans. He can never resolve the split and imbalance between North and South -- he would only make the situation worse, or even turn it into war.

    The only reason that could have caused Lincoln to be the winner was the split within my own party, the Democrats. Since we never really chose a side for the entire party, there had been conflicts between northern and southern delegates since the beginning. And before this election, during the candidate nominating convention in Charleston, the delegates from different states argued on the issue of slavery for over 10 days, and yet failed to reach a compromise. The South wanted a platform that supports federal protection of slavery, while the North supported popular sovereignty, even when it had turned out to be a complete failure in Kansas. At last, the southern delegates from 8 states left the convention to organize their own. The nomination resulted into 2 candidates for the Democrat Party -- Douglas representing the North, and Breckinridge representing the South. The Democrats basically turned into two parties.

The Split of Democrats

    I was not happy with the split, because our inside division would only cause the opponents to benefit. I think we should be united in having a proslavery candidate, because the Republicans are running for the opposite side.

    So when the election day came, I sadly found out that there were four candidates running for President. Douglas, Breckinridge, Lincoln, and a John Bell that came out of nowhere. Later I learned that Bell was representing the Constitutional Union Party, which was a combined power of the remaining Whigs and Know-Nothings. He hoped to keep the union, and heal the split between North and South. But honestly, how was that even possible? In my opinion, nothing can actually be done to heal the split, unless there's a way to balance the power between slave states and free states. Bell and his party, of course, did not really offer an effective solution to this problem.

The Four Candidates for President

    After getting the results, I was upset about Lincoln winning the election. In order to have a better understanding of why we lost, I found a detailed chart of electoral votes:

Electoral Votes 1860

    Now the mystery is solved. Due to the split in Democrats and that Mr. John Bell who competed with Breckinridge for the South, the votes from southern states went to 3 different candidates, while almost all votes from free states went to Abraham Lincoln (60%). And at the same time, the North had more power than us because California and Oregon joined the union as free states. Therefore, Lincoln was able to win the election without getting a single vote from the South.

    At this point, it seemed like that North and South have become two political entities that have nothing to do with each other. The calls for secession from the South have been stronger, especially after knowing that their future president is a stubborn abolitionist. Personally, if the South does secede from the union, I will definitely support them. With stable agriculture, I believe they will be able to survive on their own.

Bibliography

"Abraham Lincoln Wins the 1860 Election." The New York Herald [New York] 7 Nov. 
     1860: n. pag. Timothy Hughes Rare and Early Newspapers. Web. 3 Feb. 2016. 
     <http://www.rarenewspapers.com/view/551231>. 

"The 1860 Candidates." Civil War Traveler. CivilWarTraveler.com, n.d. Web. 5
     Feb. 2016. <http://www.civilwartraveler.com/150/1860-Disunion.html>.

Hogan, Andy. "1860 Electoral College." Map. Wikipedia. Wikipedia.com, 20 Nov.
     2015. Web. 5 Feb. 2016. <https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/
     File:ElectoralCollege1860.svg>.

Maurer, Louis. Progressive Democracy - Prospect of a Smash Up. 1860. Library of
     Congress. Harp Week Explore History. Web. 4 Feb. 2016.
     <http://elections.harpweek.com/1860/
     cartoon-1860-large.asp?UniqueID=43&Year=>.