Topic 5.7
The Election of 1860 and Succession
THEMATIC FOCUS Politics and Power (PCE)
Debates fostered by social and political groups about the role of government in American social, political, and economic life shape government policy, institutions, political parties, and the rights of citizens.
Unit 5: Learning Objective H
Describe the effects of Lincoln’s election.
HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTS
KC-5.2.II.D
Abraham Lincoln’s victory on the Republicans’ free-soil platform in the presidential election of 1860 was accomplished without any Southern electoral votes. After a series of contested debates about secession, most slave states voted to secede from the Union, precipitating the Civil War.
