The election of Abraham Lincoln
The election of Abraham Lincoln as the 16th President of the United States is considered one of the major causes of the American Civil War. Stephen Douglas, the Northern Democrat, was seen as Abraham Lincoln's main competition as the face of the fledgling Republican Party. John C. Breckenridge was put on the ballot by the Southern Democrats. To prevent secession, conservative Whigs formed the Constitutional Union Party, which John C. Bell represented.
Election Day made the divisions in the nation abundantly obvious. Breckenridge took the South, Bell the border states, and Lincoln the North. Only Missouri and a piece of New Jersey were won by Douglas. Lincoln received 180 electoral votes and the popular vote, which was sufficient for victory.
The day following Lincoln's election, on December 24, 1860, South Carolina issued its "Declaration of the Causes of Secession," even though matters had already reached a crisis point. They thought Lincoln was opposed to slavery and in support of the interests of the North.
The government of President James Buchanan did little to ease the tension or halt what would come to be known as "Secession Winter." Seven states broke away from the Union between Election Day and Lincoln's inauguration in March: South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas. During this process, the South seized control of federal facilities, including forts in the area, giving them the groundwork for war.
