Lincoln’s Election and Southern Secession

1. Lincoln’s Election and Southern Secession Chapter 15: Section 4

2. Election of 1860 • 4 Candidates: • Abraham Lincoln- Republican Party • Stephen A. Douglas- Democratic Party (North) • John Breckinridge- Democratic Party (South) • John Bell- Constitutional Union Party • Outcome: • Lincoln wins the election

3. Southern States Secede • South threatened to secede, or withdraw, if Lincoln won election. • Why? • 1. States’ Rights • 2. Argued states voluntarily joined Union, had right to leave the Union. • South Carolina first state to secede. • Joined by: • Mississippi • Florida • Alabama • Georgia • Louisiana • Texas

4. Southern States Secede • Formed: Confederate States of America • Elected Jefferson Davis first President of Confederacy • Drafting own Constitution • State’s Rights • Protected Slavery • Thought war between states was unavoidable

5. Union Response to Secession • Said was unconstitutional • Would make the Union weak • South • Believed North would use majority to abolish slavery • North • South did not want to live by rules of democracy.

6. Efforts to Compromise • Crittenden Plan • A compromise that might have prevented secession • Lincoln’s First Inaugural Address • Spoke against abolishing slavery • Spoke out against secession