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

2. 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

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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 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

8. 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

9. 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

10. 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

11. 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)

12. 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

13. 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