A Fractious 1860 Presidential Election,

American Elections 1860

[Name of the Writer]

[Name of the Institution]

American Elections 1860

Introduction

One of the reasons for the escalation of the Civil Was considered to be the secession of the 7 Southern States. This was one of the prime reasons was the formation of the Confederacy in the 1861. Later on, the election become all the more controversial due to the statehood of the Kansas in the free states and the Lincoln military resistance to the Confederacy that led to the secession of the four more states. In the given time period, there were four more nominees that were setup by the Republican Party with an anti-slavery expansion platform. The problem started when the Lincoln refused to acknowledge to the right to the secession. The other reason for the escalation of the tension was the yield of the Federal property that were located within the Southern States. There were number of historians that have explored this reason at the given point of time.

Reasons for the Secessionism in 1860

There were number of historians that have talked about the various reasons that so many white Southerners that have adopted to the secessions during the course of the 1860. This was something that happened almost after three decades that had stilted between the Northern and Southern States that were witnessed due to the protection of the tariff. For instance, the Federal Spending and the civil rights of the refusing people to allow the slaves to travel with the slaveholder with the families that belong to the Northern States. At the same time, the tariffs had been levied on the Southern Imports that were carried out to make sure that the protection of the industries was being done in the right manner .

Change in the Tax Legislation

The major discussion point was the way levied on the Southern imports and the idea was to make sure that the protection of the Northern industries that were witnessed at the given point of time. The key thing that was the major point of debate in terms of the way charges were levied on the South cotton but the same taxes in the Northern Wool. The ratio in terms of the Federal expenditure that were carried out at the given point of time and the way North navigation in terms of the lighthouse versus the longer coastline that is located in the Southern region. There was also instance in terms of way legislation has to be designed at the given point of time. The argument that was set forth at that point of time was that how the secessionists had desired the independence in terms of how the honoring was being done. s a result, Southern extremists demanded a slave code for the territories, and used this issue to divide the northern and southern wings of the Democratic Party. Southerners left the party and in June nominated John C. Breckinridge, while Northern Democrats supported Douglas. As a result, the Southern planter class lost a considerable measure of sway in national politics. Because of the Democrats' division, the Republican nominee faced a divided opposition. Adding to Lincoln's advantage, ex-Whigs from the border states had earlier formed the Constitutional Union Party, nominating John C. Bell for President.

Change in the Northern Attitude

It has to be noted that the level of tolerance in terms of the Northern state that had regarded the slave ownership and the perception at that point of time was termed as a great sin. It has to be noted that the practices that are carried out in terms of the slavery and the promise and commitments that are regarded in terms of the way these things are supposed to done at the appropriate point of time. The succession of the slavery is something that is needed to be controlled as far as the way stopping of the spread of the slavery. From this time to the outbreak of the civil war, one thing that happening at an alarming rate was that how the cost of the slaves was increasing quite steadily with the passage of time. Not only that, the price of the cotton was fluctuating and some of the people were making an argument that how it was a start of the everlasting argument between the people of the United States and was the start of the civil war .

Repercussion of the Secessionist in The Lincoln Election

The argument that was being made after the election of the Lincoln was that how the belief had emerged among the secessionists that the long-term implications are going to be there specially if one talks about the broader social system at that point of time. Specially there were major concerns about how the practice of the slavery was being looked after at the point of time. The problem was that none of the parties were looking for an imminent solution was far as the way problem was supposed to be resolved at that point of time and with little effort in terms of the mitigation, it could have been made sure that the all the impending issues were being looked after in an appropriate manner, but that was not the case here. Some of the people are of the point of view that the election of Lincoln was one of the tipping points in terms of how the divide between the different demographical population was further widened and why the lack of policy making and perspective was one of the prime reasons that it could not be resolved in the appropriate manner to say the least. This was one of the rare instances that the situation that was being faced at that point of time could not have been resolved with the help of the electoral and democratic process and the failure of the policy makers to come up with the right solution is considered to be one of the biggest failures of the United States policy makers at that point of time.

Schism in the Democratic Party

Some of the internal party politics that was happening at that point of time was another reason that the electoral process was considered to be rather fractious at that point of time. There was lot of schism in the Democratic Party in a sense that the how the shape of the Lecompton Constitution had shaped up at that point of time. The Freeport Doctrine and the shape that it took as well as the impending decision of the fire eaters was one of the other reasons that the change was apparent. Specifically, the sort of opposition that was faced by Freeport Doctrine in terms of the Southern Fire Eaters so that they are able to oppose the front at that point of time and how the bid for the Democratic process was happening. The situation was further complicated due to the fact that how the Douglas has defeated the pro slavery Lecompton Constitution. One of the apparent reasons for this victory was the fact that how the majority of the population of the region was anti-slavery .

Constitutional Union Party

The major political faction that emerged at that point of time was the Constitutional Union Party. The party was predominantly made of the disgruntled democrats as well as the Unionists and the Former Whigs. On the 9th of May, the first convention of the party was being held and the John Bell was appointed as the main presidential candidate at that point of time. The main claim that was made by the Union party was that how they are the part of the law. It also underlined some of the differences that were witnessed in terms how the elections were being held at that point of time. The major issue that was witnessed at that point of time was that there was no pretext of the secret balloting and thus the results were always up for the argument in terms of the loyalties of the people.

Conclusion

In the hindsight, it can be said that the elections of the 1860 can be considered as one of the pivotal moments of the history of the United States. One of the reasons that elections were able to gain considerable mileage is due to the fact that how it changed the landscape of the how the American politics was being run at that point of time. There were many people who tend to argue that these elections were the starting point of the Civil War and the way differences appeared among people in terms of the broader policy making, the treatment of the slaves as well as the other impending issues, it became apparent that how the problem was lot more complicated at that point of time.

Endnotes

Asher, Herbert B. Presidential elections and American politics: Voters, candidates, and campaigns since 1952. Homewood, IL: Dorsey Press, 1980.

Du Bois, William Edward Burghardt. Black Reconstruction in America: Toward a history of the part which black folk played in the attempt to reconstruct democracy in America, 1860-1880. Routledge, 2017.

Shi, David E., and George Brown Tindall. America: A narrative history. WW Norton & Company, 2016.