1. Unification or
Secession?

2. Lincoln-Douglas Debates
Public debate for U.S. Senate despite no public vote
Lincoln argued slavery should not be expanded into new territories
Believed it was a national issue
Douglas favored letting the territories decide on slavery
Believed it was a state to state issue
Douglas won reelection yet Lincoln became a national figure and rising star in the G.O.P.
"A house divided against itself cannot stand. I believe this government cannot endure permanently half slave and half free. I do not expect the union to be dissolved, I do not expect the house to fall, but I do expect it will cease to be divided. It will become all one thing or all of the other.”
- 1st Senate campaign speech given by Lincoln

3. Harper’s Ferry
John Brown raises $23K from a group of six investors from MA
Plan to attack a federal arsenal in the south in hopes of a slave revolt
Brown & 18 men attack but are held up in a local fire station
Receive no slave support
U.S. Marines kill 10 men, wound and capture Brown
Led by Col. Robert E. Lee
Brown is tried and hanged for treason
Northern abolitionists see him as a hero while southerners see him as a radical or terrorist

4. American Politics in 1860
Republican Party was gaining national momentum
Nominated Lincoln instead of the more popular William Seward
Democratic Party splintered over slavery
Officially nominated Douglas
Southerners nominated current Vice President John Breckinridge
A 4th party was created in response to the conflict
Constitutional Union Party
Nominate John Bell of Tennessee

5. 1860 Republican Platform
Maintain the rights listed in the Declaration of Independence to preserve the republic
Uphold the Union
Denounce violence in Kansas & repeal KS-NE Act
Stop slave expansion into the western territories
Accept Kansas statehood as a free state
Transcontinental railroad

6. 1860 Charleston Convention
1860 Democratic Platforms
Slavery decided by territories
North & South Democrats
No national laws against slavery
N & S Democrats & Constitutional Union
National government should protect slavery
Southern Democrats
Support Dred Scott decision
N & S Democrats
Enforce Fugitive Slave Law
Annex Cuba
1860 Charleston Convention
(chose Douglas)
1860 Baltimore Convention
(chose Breckenridge)

7. During the 1860 election campaign the "Wide Awakes," a marching club composed of young Republican men, appeared in cities throughout the North. (See no ) They often wore uniforms consisting of visored caps and short capes, and carried lanterns. Here Republican presidential candidate Abraham Lincoln (left) is dressed as a "Wide-Awake," and carries a lantern and a spear-like wooden rail. He rounds the corner of the White House foiling the attempts of three other candidates to enter surreptitiously. At far right incumbent James Buchanan tries to haul John C. Breckinridge in through the window. Buchanan complains, "I'll do what I can to help you Breck, but my strength is failing and I'm afraid you'll pull me out before I can pull you in." Breckinridge despairs, ". . . I'm too weak to get up--and we shall be compelled to dissolve the Union.'" His words reflect his and Buchanan's supposed alliance with secessionist interests of the South. In the center Democrat Stephen A. Douglas tries to unlock the White House door, as Constitutional Union party candidate John Bell frets, "Hurry up Douglas! and get the door open, so that I can get in, for the watchman [i.e., Lincoln] is coming." Douglas complains that none of the three keys he holds (labeled "Regular Nomination," "Non Intervention," and "Nebraska Bill") will open the door, ". . . so I'd better be off, for old Abe is after me with a sharp stick."

10. Secession Crisis
November 20, 1860 – S. Carolina seceded from the Union
Less than one month after the election
Concerned that the Republican Party would abolish slavery
President Buchanan and others claimed the Constitution prevented secession
The president did nothing to stop it and lost political support for it
By February 1861 – TX, LA, MS, AL, FL, and GA had seceded
The states formed the Confederate States of America
Chose MS Senator Jefferson Davis as their first president

11. State of the Union (1860) U.S. divided equally by slave/free states
U.S. divided neither socially nor economically
Southern states were logistically unprepared for the possibility of war