Lincoln's Election & the Secession of the South [APUSH Review]

By the 1860 election, the second party system had collapsed. The newly formed Republican party, primarily representing the North, competed with the Democrats, who represented the South. Republicans, formed by anti-slavery Whigs and Free-Soilers, opposed the expansion of slavery into western territories but not its existence in states where it was already established.

The Republicans nominated Abraham Lincoln, who had gained notoriety debating Stephen Douglas. Conversely, the Democrats were fractured. Northern Democrats nominated Stephen Douglas advocating popular sovereignty, while Southern Democrats nominated John C. Breckinridge. A third party, the Constitutional Union Party, nominated John Bell, offering no solution to slavery.

Lincoln won the election without securing a single electoral vote from the South. His victory was partly due to the split Democratic vote, but he would have won even with a unified Democratic candidate. The growing number of free states and larger Northern populations convinced the South that they could no longer protect their interests within the Union, leading them to consider secession.

Despite Lincoln's assurance that he would not abolish slavery where it existed, Southerners mistrusted him, influenced by events like John Brown's raid and Uncle Tom's Cabin. They believed expansion was vital for slavery's survival. South Carolina became the first state to secede in December 1860, arguing that the North was attempting to wage war against slavery and that their state rights were threatened. Within months, six more states (Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Texas) followed, and later Virginia, Arkansas, North Carolina, and Tennessee joined them to form the Confederate States of America. All seceding states explicitly cited the protection of slavery as their reason.

The Confederacy ratified a new constitution, making two significant changes from the U.S. Constitution: establishing a Christian nation and explicitly protecting slavery perpetually. Jefferson Davis was elected president. Vice President Alexander Stephens's 'Cornerstone Speech' famously declared that the Confederacy's foundation was based on the 'great truth that the negro is not equal to the white man' and that slavery was their 'natural and normal condition,' highlighting racial inequality as the core principle of the new nation. This further solidified that the protection of slavery was the primary cause of secession, leading the United States to prepare for war.