CH. 10-3 LINCOLN’S PATH TO THE WHITE HOUSE AMERICAN HISTORY

Lincoln, politics, and slavery Lincoln had little formal education His mother, Nancy, encouraged him to educate himself “All that I am or ever hope to be I owe to her”—A. Lincoln A FRONTIER UPBRINGING Born 1809 in a one-room cabin near Louisville, KY About 1,000 slaves lived in the area at the time

Historians are not sure when Lincoln started disliking slavery “I am naturally antislavery” Lincoln’s parents views on slavery cause them to move from KY to the IN territory in 1816 Lincoln helped his father build a cabin and clear land for a small farm 1828—Lincoln took a job on a boat moving produce down the Ohio and Mississippi rivers His first direct contact with slavery—he watched a slave auction

LINCOLN’S EARLY POLITICS Lincoln ran for a seat in the IL state legislature but lost. He would win 2 years later. December 1834, age 25, Lincoln begins the first of 4 terms in the IL General Assembly He studied Law at home and became a lawyer in 1836 Lincoln protested a resolution that banned abolitionist societies that passed overwhelmingly Lincoln met Mary Todd, daughter of a law partner in 1840

Lincoln and Todd married in 1842. Lincoln had retired from the legislature to devote more time to his law practice. LINCOLN IN CONGRESS 1846—Lincoln successfully won a seat in Congress. He took his seat in 1847 as the Mexican-American War was starting He charged that President Polk started the war to spread slavery

1849—Lincoln proposed ending slavery in D. C 1849—Lincoln proposed ending slavery in D.C. by paying slaveholders to free slaves— COMPENSATED EMANCIPATION Many thought the proposal was too RADICAL and it received little support Lincoln worked hard to help Whig Zachary Taylor become President in 1848 He expected a job in the Taylor Administration but did not receive one. He resigned from Congress in 1849 and went home to practice law

LINCOLN AND DOUGLAS CLASH The Kansas-Nebraska Act caused Lincoln to end his second retirement in 1854 Lincoln opposed Stephen Douglas’s position on popular sovereignty Lincoln elected to the IL state legislature in 1854 but he resigned in February 1855 to seek one of Illinois’ two US Senate seats A HOUSE DIVIDED Lincoln helped organize the IL Republican Party in 1856

1856—IL Republicans try to get Lincoln on the Presidential ticket with John C. Fremont but are unsuccessful 1858—Lincoln challenges Stephen Douglas for a third term in the Senate “A house divided against itself cannot stand…I believe this government cannot endure, permanently half free and half slave…It will become all one thing or all the other.” Most radical statement on slavery to date

THE LINCOLN-DOUGLAS DEBATES Late August to mid-October 1858 7 debates were held in towns throughout IL THE FREEPORT DOCTRINE Lincoln challenged Douglas to respond to the fact that he supported popular sovereignty when the Dred Scott case said it couldn’t be used “Slavery cannot exist a day or an hour anywhere unless it is supported by the local police regulations.”--Douglas

LINCOLN’S SOCIAL VIEWS Lincoln called slavery a moral, social, and political wrong “I will say that I am not, nor have ever been, in favor of bringing about…political equality of white and black”—Lincoln THE DEBATES’ SIGNIFICANCE Illustrated the sharp difference between Lincoln and Douglas on slavery Most historians judge that Lincoln won the debates even though Douglas retained his seat

THE ELECTION OF 1860 Lincoln’s moderate positions on topics had increased his standing among northerners THE DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION Democrats seriously divided Southern Democrats wanted to block the nomination of Douglas and adopt a party PLATFORM (declaration of principle) that protected slavery Northern Democrats nominated Stephen Douglas (IL) Southern Democrats chose John C. Breckinridge (KY)

Southern moderates formed the Constitutional Union Party—John Bell (TN) THE REPUBLICAN CONVENTION Republicans settle on Lincoln because William Seward’s views were too extreme Party platform opposed the spread of slavery THE 1860 CAMPAIGN It was mainly a sectional contest

Lincoln won nearly every northern state In the south Breckinridge and Bell split the vote Lincoln elected with less than 40% of the popular vote because of the Democratic split Of Lincoln’s nearly 2 million votes, only 26,000 came from slave states. That spelled trouble for the Union THE END