The Election of 1860

The candidates running for President in the Election of 1860 were Senator Stephen A. Douglas from Illinois (chosen by the Northern Democrats);  Vice President John C. Breckinridge of Kentucky (chosen by the Southern Democrats); Senator John Bell of Tennessee (of the Constitutional Union Party), and Abraham Lincoln of Illinois (Republican candidate).  The Democrats were extremely divided over slavery issues and split into two democratic parties (Northern and Southern), therefore each nominated a presidential candidate.  Lincoln was elected President in 1860 (just one year before the start of the Civil War).  Since Lincoln was anti-slavery, within a few weeks several Southern states seceded from the Union.