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The Fort Sumter Crisis

The Fort Sumter Crisis. Election of 1860. James Buchanan too unpopular to run for 2 nd term Several different parties emerge by 1860, and nominate candidates to run for presidency: Republican – Abraham Lincoln Democrat – Stephen Douglas Southern Democrat – John C. Breckenridge

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The Fort Sumter Crisis

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  1. The Fort Sumter Crisis

  2. Election of 1860 • James Buchanan too unpopular to run for 2nd term • Several different parties emerge by 1860, and nominate candidates to run for presidency: • Republican – Abraham Lincoln • Democrat – Stephen Douglas • Southern Democrat – John C. Breckenridge • Constitutional Union Party – John Bell

  3. Southern Democrats staged a walkout at the official 1860 Democratic Convention. They reconvened, nominated Breckenridge (the sitting VP), & adopted an extremely pro-slavery platform. Republicans nominate Lincoln because he is 1) a westerner and 2) a moderate. Many radicals & abolitionists are disappointed. The CUP nominated John Bell; the official CUP platform was very simple: preserve the Union. CUPs were mostly former Whigs, & the party did not take a strong stand on slavery either way. Northern Democrats nominated Stephen Douglas, and supported “popular sovereignty” and a repeal of the Dred Scott Decision.

  4. Campaigning • Very different than today; most candidates simply sat home & let others campaign for them • Stephen Douglas became the first presidential candidate in history to actively campaign for himself (he toured the country & gave speeches) • Lincoln would make small speeches from his house to visitors; became his “front porch campaign” • Divisions within Democratic party helped Repubs

  5. Results

  6. Immediate Crisis • As many Southern states had claimed, once Lincoln was elected, they began organizing secession councils • South Carolina secedes from the Union on Dec 20, 1860; six more follow and form Confederate government by Feb 4, 1861 • Lincoln officially assumes office on March 4, 1861, and is confronted with what to do about the unraveling of the Union

  7. Fort Sumter • The seceding Southern states seized federal property & military installations, usually without force or bloodshed • Fort Sumter in Charleston harbor was the exception • The governor of SC, & later the President of the CSA Jefferson Davis, demanded federal troops evacuate Ft. Sumter • Maj. Anderson (commander of the fort) & Pres Buchanan refuse to surrender fort; by April ‘61 the CSA is prepared to use force

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