Warm-Up (4/18) 1) Please pick up the sheet from the side table 2) At your desk answer the following question:

The Election of 1860 and Secession

Election of 1860

The Election of 1860 Abraham Lincoln was nominated by the Republican party. He was seen as the candidate of abolition The Northern Democrats chose Stephen Douglas to run as their candidate. He continued to support popular sovereignty. Southern Democrats, who supported a stronger position in favor of slavery, split from their party and chose John Breckinridge. The Constitutional Union Party selected John Bell to run as their candidate. Bell favored continued efforts for compromise.

The Election of 1860

South Carolina Secedes Southerners thought that Lincoln’s election meant their economic ruin and their only choice was secession. South Carolina based their actions on states’ rights: The states had voluntarily joined the Union and therefore they had the right to leave the Union

…And this was all before Lincoln was even inaugurated! Secession During the next 8 weeks: Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and Texas all voted to secede from the Union. …And this was all before Lincoln was even inaugurated!

Lincoln’s Inauguration Lincoln said, “he would not interfere with slavery in the states where it already existed.” He also said, “no state could lawfully leave the Union.” http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/learning_history/south_secede/timeline_secession.cfm

1st States to Secede 7 Original Confederate States: SC 1st MS AL GA LA TX FL 7 Original Confederate States: SC=South Carolina GA=Georgia AL=Alabama MS=Mississippi FL=Florida LA=Louisiana TX=Texas

In Feb. 1861 – The seceding states formed the Confederate States of America 1st Official Confederate Flag Originally a Naval Flag

Position of the North: Secession was an act of betrayal. They were fighting to preserve the Union.

Position of the South: States had a right Portrait of Pvt. Walter Miles Parker, 1st Florida Cavalry Position of the South: States had a right to secede. The states had voluntarily joined the Union and therefore had the right to leave the Union. Many referred to the Civil War as the “War for Southern Independence” or the “War of Northern Aggression”

Fort Sumter Lincoln tried hard to avoid war. However, the Confederates had started seizing U.S. forts in the South Charleston, SC was one of the remaining forts held by the Union in the South, but their supplies were running low.

Fort Sumter

Fort Sumter

The next day, the fort surrendered without a single loss of life. Civil War Treasures from the New-York Historical Society, [Digital ID, e.g., nhnycw/ad ad04004] http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/ndlpcoop/nhihtml/cwnyhshome.html The next day, the fort surrendered without a single loss of life. This became the official start to the Civil War.