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→1860 Presidential campaign
===1860 Presidential campaign===
===1860 Presidential campaign===
[[Image:Electionlincoln.JPG|thumb|250px|right|Results of the 1860 Presidential Election. Due to the splitting of the country on the slavery issue, Lincoln won only 40% of the popular vote.]]
[[Image:Electionlincoln.JPG|thumb|250px|right|Results of the 1860 Presidential Election. Due to the splitting of the country on the slavery issue, Lincoln won only 40% of the popular vote.]]
In April, 1860, the Democratic Party held its convention in Charleston, South Carolina, and the first platform placed for a vote is pro-slavery. When it is rejected in the course of voting, delegates from eight states in the South walk out; the remaining delegates are forced to adjurn when they cannot agree on a candidate to represent their party in the White House. (Bowen, pg. 40)
The Republicans hold their convention in Chicago in May, 1860, and Lincoln is nominated on the third ballot; he had to stand as a moderate on the slavery issue in order to gain the nomination. The party's platform insists on leaving slavery alone in the states where it already existed and against the spread of it into the territories. (Bowen, pg 40)
The Democrats reconvene their convention in Baltimore, Maryland, in June. Stephen Douglas is nominated for the presidency after the Southern delegates walk out again; they would hold their own convention later in Balitmore and nominate Vice-President John C. Breckenridge on a platform calling for the right to slavery. (Bowen, pg. 40)
The election centered on sectionalism and slavery, with each candidate doing little more than fanning the fears of the voters; Douglas would be the only one to travel the country personaly, including all Southern states, but the split within his party is too great to make a difference. Lincoln went on to win the election, with 180 electoral votes, and 40% of the popular votes, none of which included a Southern state. Breckenridge placed second, winning 72 elec.toral votes, and 24% of the popular vote. John Bell, a candidate for the Constitutional Union Party, took the states of Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee. Last was Douglas, barely managing Missouri, and three out of seven electoral votes from New Jersey. Southern leaders speak openly about secession within days of Lincoln's victory. (Bowen, pg 40; Nat. Atlas)
==1861==
==1861==
===Secession of the Southern states===
===Secession of the Southern states===