Texas Population Explosion
Disintegration of the Democratic Party. John Bell Candidate of the Unionist Party (A coalition of Unionist Democrats, ex-Know-Nothings and former Whigs John C. Breckinridge Candidate of the Southern Democrats Stephen A. Douglas Candidate of the Northern Democrats Disintegration of the Democratic Party. Texas Democrats faced an excruciating decision over which Democrat to support. By the summer of 1860, however, most Texans began to swing over to Breckinridge, who most closely mirrored the sentiments of pro-slavery Texans and seemed most likely to win. (See p. 137) Abraham Lincoln