1. Chapter 10, Section 3 Lincoln’s Path to the White House

2. Lincoln, Politics, and Slavery Abraham Lincoln Born in 1809 in a one-bedroom cabin near Louisville, KY His parents were poor and had no slaves Both of his parents were opposed to slavery Had less than a year of formal schooling He learned on his own through the encouragement of his mother

3. Lincoln’s Early Politics First, won a seat on the state legislature of Illinois He became licensed to practice law in 1836 He met his wife Mary Todd in 1840 and married in 1842 By this time he retired from the state legislature and focused solely on his law career

4. Lincoln in Congress 1846 – Lincoln returned to politics and successfully ran for congress While in Congress, Lincoln continuously voted against the spread of slavery Tried to end slavery in DC by compensated emancipation – paying slaveholders to free their slaves Lincoln resigned from Congress in1849 to practice law

5. Review and Critical Thinking Who wrote the Kansas-Nebraska Act? Stephen Douglas What did it state? Kansas and Nebraska will use popular sovereignty to determine if they are a free or slave state. What kind of relationship might Lincoln and Douglas have? Lincoln opposed Douglas’s position.

6. Lincoln and Douglas Clash Kansas-Nebraska Act brought Lincoln out of retirement in 1854 February 1855 – Lincoln decided to run for one of Illinois’s two seats in the United States Senate Lincoln joined the Republican Party “A house divided against itself cannot stand. I believe this government cannot endure, permanently half slave and half free. I do not expect the union to be dissolved-I do not expect the house to fall-but I do expect it will cease to be divided. It will become all one thing or all the other.” Some viewed this statement as Lincoln being abolitionist, even though he said this was a prediction not a position

7. The Lincoln-Douglas Debates Debate for the Illinois Senate seat Debates took place from late August to mid-October 1858 Seven debates held in all across the state of Illinois Douglas spoke with great flair, clenching his fists and stamping his feet Lincoln’s manner was mild and he was humorous He was logical and used reason

8. The Freeport Doctrine Freeport, Illinois – the place of the second debate between Lincoln and Douglas Lincoln challenges Douglas to explain how popular sovereignty can keep slavery out of a territory when the Dred Scott decision had said they could not Douglas’ reply became known as the Freeport Doctrine “Slavery cannot exist a day or an hour anywhere unless it is supported by the local police regulations. Those police regulations can only be established by the local legislature, and if the people are opposed to slavery they will elect representatives to that body who will by unfriendly legislation… prevent the introduction into their midst.”

9. The Freeport Doctrine Douglas also said that if the states “cannot endure thus divided,” then Lincoln “must strive to make them all free or all slave, which will inevitably bring about the dissolution of the Union.”

10. Lincoln’s Social Views Lincoln stressed immorality of slavery calling it “a moral, social, and a political wrong” Douglas continually referred to Lincoln’s party as black republicans and painted the unpleasant image of a society where all races were equal When challenged about whether or not African Americans should gain citizenship Lincoln said “I will say then that I am not, nor have ever been, in favor of bringing about in any way the social and political equality of the white and black races”

11. The Debate’s Significance The debates showed the sharp differences between Lincoln and Douglas on slavery Lincoln made himself a national political figure during the debates Lincoln was moderate so the northerners liked him, but he said nothing that made southerners believe that he would try to get rid of slavery, so southerners liked him too

12. The Election of 1860 Stephen Douglas and Abraham Lincoln were the front runners in the Election of 1860 The northern Democrats nominated Stephen Douglas – supported popular sovereignty The southern Democrats nominated John C. Breckinridge – protect slavery and its spread Southern moderates nominated John Bell Republicans nominated Abraham Lincoln – opposed the spread of slavery, free land in the west, improved wages, tariff increases, commitment to preserving the union

13. Election of 1860

14. The 1860 Campaign Election was really two sectional elections North: Lincoln v. Douglas South: Breckinridge v. Bell Lincoln won nearly every northern state Breckinridge and Bell basically split the vote in the south Lincoln won with less than 40% of the popular vote Northerners celebrated Lincoln’s victory while southerners found it very concerning

15. The 1860 Campaign

16. 10 Things You Didn’t Know About Abraham Lincoln https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHgd2DTPdIY