1. Topic: How did the election of 1860 spark secession and the Civil War?
Do Now:
The North caused the Civil War by being morally weak. If it had not compromised with the “slave power” states so many times, south would have backed down, and secession would not have occurred.
Defend or Refute this statement

2. Election of 1856 Kansas problem central in the campaign
Democrats: James Buchanan
Republicans: John Fremont (“the pathfinder”)
First Catholic candidate
American Party:
“Know Nothings”
Nativist Party
Anti- German and Irish
Millard Fillmore as candidate
Democrats win, but Buchanan is weak

3. The Dred Scott Decision
Dred Scott sued for freedom
Ruled on by Chief Justice Roger B. Taney
A “final ruling” on slavery debate
African-Americans had no rights in the US
Slave was property only
Property rights upheld in every state
Northerners enraged

4. Prior to Dred Scott

5. After Dred Scott

6. The Rise of Abraham Lincoln
Lincoln starts out poor, becomes lawyer in Illinois
Joined Whigs, then Republicans
Lincoln and Abolitionism
Gradual abolitionism
No slavery in new territories
Brown-ites as “unstable”
Lincoln-Douglas Debate (Freeport, 1858)
Lincoln’s reputation for honesty grows

7. Election of 1860: An Ending and a Beginning
Democrats now totally divided (north/south)
2 candidates: Douglas and Breckinridge
Lincoln as the Republican candidate
He had no enemies in the Republican party
Southerners threaten secession if Republicans win
Lincoln wins with 180 electoral votes
South Carolina secedes from the Union (1860)
10 southern states follow suit
Lincoln urges reconciliation
South refuses, creates the Confederate States of America (1861)

8. Conclusion
Was Lincoln truly a threat to the South in 1860? Explain your reasoning in 3-4 sentences