1860: The Election that Led to War, Exercises of Business

Download 1860: The Election that Led to War and more Exercises Business in PDF only on Docsity! 1 1860: The Election that Led to War 2 1860: The Election that Led to War The Election of 1860 I. Lesson Summary Summary The Election of 1860 demonstrated the divisions within the United States just before the Civil War. The election was unusual because four strong candidates competed for the presidency. Political parties of the day were in flux. The dominant party, the Democratic Party, had split into two sectional factions, with each promoting its own candidate. The Republican Party was relatively new; 1860 was only the second time the party had a candidate in the presidential race. The Constitutional Union Party was also new; 1860 was the first and only time the party ran a candidate for president. The results of the 1860 election pushed the nation into war. Objectives S.S.A.1.2 Students will use information to draw conclusions from maps, charts and graphs. Students will analyze the information from the maps, charts, and graphs to determine the 1860 election results and the impact of the election results on the Civil War U.S. History Event or Era Pre-Civil War (the Election of 1860) Grade Level This lesson is appropriate for a middle school social studies classroom (8th grade). It may also be used for 5 th grade if adapted by the teacher. Materials Handout #1: ―Electoral Vote Map and Graph – 1860‖ Handout #2: ―Popular Vote Graph and Data – 1860‖ Worksheet #1: ―Candidates and Parties‖ Worksheet #2: ―Analysis of Election Data‖ Lesson Time 4-5 days 5 Use the internet and your text to locate information to complete the following chart about the election of 1860 Political Party Political Experience Position on Slaver Region of Support Abraham Lincoln Stephen A. Douglas John C. Breckinridge John Bell Abraham Lincoln Oo Stephen Douglas Republican Democrat Prohibit slavery Oppose federal slave code in territories, in territories, Support popular sovereignty contain slavery to where it exists John Bell Constitutional Union Avoid the slavery issue and keep the country united John Breckinridge Democrat NOTE: A federal slave code would Support federal protect slave code in the interests of slave territories, holders in the territories, “Popular support popular y sovereignty” allowed sovereignty States to choose to enter the union as free or slave. 7 Politicians often gave ―stump speeches‖ explaining their positions on the issues of the day and appealing to the voters. Typically presidential candidates in the 19 th Century did not campaign actively but allowed their supporters to make the case for them. The one exception was Stephen Douglas. Douglas began the 1860 presidential campaign expecting "to look on and see a fight without taking a hand in it," but repeated entreaties from local Democrats together with his own concerns about the country's perilous situation led him to launch a speaking campaign that directly addressed the divisive issues confronting the nation. To those opponents who criticized his unseemly behavior, Douglas retorted, "What a pity it would be if a man, by the honest expression of an honest sentiment, should lose anybody's vote." 10 Print cartoons making fun of your candidate’s opponents. In a cartoon captioned "Honest Abe Takes Them On the Half-Shell," Lincoln was portrayed about to consume two of his opponents. In the 1860 campaign Lincoln faced three opponents, two of whom represented warring factions of the Democratic Party. In this pro-Lincoln cartoon, "Honest Abe" is shown about to consume Senator Stephen A. Douglas, at left, and John C. Breckenridge, at right, who was the incumbent vice president in the administration of James Buchanan. Douglas, from Illinois, was considered a moderate on the slavery issue, and he is labeled "soft shell." He is crying out, "I'm a gone sucker!!" (In 1860 ―sucker‖ was a nickname for people from Illinois, the home state of both Douglas and Lincoln) Breckenridge, from Kentucky, was adamantly pro-slavery. He is labeled "hard shell" and is exclaiming, "Alas! That ever I should live to be swallowed by a rail splitter!" Lincoln, considered the political outsider in the race, is saying, "These fellows have been planted so long in Washington that they are as fat as butter, I hardly know which to swallow first." 11 Distribute souvenirs promoting your candidate. A commemorative axe for Lincoln, the rail splitter. An American Flag promoting Stephen Douglas EDWARD EVERETT. . : . E me Ae An American Flag promoting John Bell VICE gene eee ua aa LNRIDGE s 8 Sh, aPC ae ge 12 15 — OUR PRINCIPLES — ——— The Constitulion — The Newer 4 Banadete “7 ae Ravtoe, The of the . Baadretion, Fhe People a tha Tire Fovras wae Rlrwevcmyy State (meee mmmmets Content hae emm Bipnnel pevtoction be (dewoms Mateve 4 Batarrtiaed & Ge avery woovees wl Brperte FOR PRESIDENT = ELECTOR § Kit Destriet. Willan Lravridn ot Nortihe City ee de . Themask Goode. ot Mecklentury bi do SONA AUS; Af Halitire ta ado Thomas T Tredwaipof Bince hilward bt. de. —Fames Lhemper: wo Madison bth. de Htrees LY ONE, of Henrice wa.doe. — Hichtd:d Clay brook: ot Northumbertand Ba de Beverley BDouglas, of bing William 9 do Eppalunton, of Prince William for de. Thomas Mishells of JSefirson Mth do James WM asster of lockbridge Sith de HmbAnthony, of Botetourt jth do beac Davin; of Washington tte. ao —Joherv @Newmietti, of bénawha | su do . 2edehiale Bidwell; of Marien Wihte yourmume vy dhe bak f thts Teh Glectiow ow Tucaday euber 6M IRGO * upwor Hoy am deal wtewng Fachomond oa 17 Make speeches for your candidate telling people why they should vote for him. 20 Part 3 Choose a candidate from your group who will give a stump speech for your candidate in front of the group. You should provide your speaker with an outline and notes providing information on your candidate’s strengths. Why should voters choose him? What can your candidate offer the voters that will make their life better or provide better opportunities for them and their families? How will your candidate handle the current crisis between sections over slavery and territorial expansion? After each presentation the speaker will take questions from the audience, who may want to know more about their stand on the issues or what the candidate can do for them. Note to Teacher: Monitor the stump speakers to make sure what they say is in line with the platform of the candidate they represent. Bell supporters should not support anything that might upset the Union such as abolition of slaves. Breckenridge supporters would not sacrifice the rights of the southern states for the sake of the Union. 21 Part 4 ELECTION DAY The conduct of elections has changed in many ways over the past 200 years. The extent of these changes is nicely illustrated by a comparison of today's voting practices with those illustrated in George Caleb Bingham's painting, The County Election (above). In addition to being a noteworthy artist, Bingham was a successful politician; this painting shows a polling place on the steps of the courthouse in Saline County, Missouri, in 1846. In this painting, we see the judge (top center) administering an oath to a voter. The voter (in red) is swearing, with his hand on the bible, that he is entitled to vote and has not already done so. There was no system of voter registration, so this oath and the possibility that the judge or someone else in the vicinity of the polls might recognize him if he came back was all that prevented a voter from voting again and again. There was no right to a secret ballot; having been sworn in, the voter simply called out his choices to the election clerks who sit on the porch behind the judge tallying the vote. Each clerk has a pollbook in which he writes the voter's name and records his votes; multiple pollbooks were a common defense against clerical error. There are several people in the painting holding paper tickets in their hands. We know that these were not paper ballots because Missouri continued to use voice voting until 1863. In a general election, however, many voters might have wanted to bring their own notes to the polling place. Campaigning at the polling place was legal and common. The man in blue tipping his hat to the voter immediately behind the man taking the oath is one of the candidates in this election, E. D. Sappington, who lost 22 to Bingham by one vote. He's handing out his calling cards so that people can easily read off his name to vote for him. Voice votes offer modest protection against fraudulent vote counts: An observer can easily maintain an independent tally of the votes, and since there is no ballot box, it cannot be stuffed. On the other hand, the lack of privacy means that voters are open to bribery and intimidation; an employer can easily demand, for example, that his employees vote as required and a crook can easily offer to pay a voter if he votes a certain way. In 1860 and 1861, voting was viva voce, or by voice vote. Voters announced out loud for whom they voted in the presence of everyone there. In presidential elections only, voters also handed in ballots containing the names of candidates for presidential elector, and they signed the back of the ballots in order that a ballot could be removed if a voter's eligibility was successfully challenged. Throughout the state, newspaper editors and printing offices printed ballots, or tickets, for voters to take to their polling places. Polling places of this period could be chaotic. To distribute their ballots to prospective voters, political parties printed them in newspapers to be clipped-out or they hired workers known as peddlers, hawkers, or bummers to hand the ballots out at the polls. Often the respective parties installed several of these ticket peddlers at the busiest polls, each vying for the attention of a prospective voter by waving and thrusting ballots. Parties might use visual ploys to catch the eye of a voter by varying the size and color of a ticket (A notable example in the is a Regular Republican ticket of 1878 that features broad red stripes on the back). The conspicuous appearance of these ballots and the high visibility of the voting process in general would also allow party officials to track who voted their ticket, compromising the secrecy of the vote and creating a situation that was potentially rife with bribery and intimidation. Calls for reform were inevitable. In Massachusetts, reform measures resulted in the passage of an 1851 law requiring ballots to be sealed in envelopes. Championed by Massachusetts Democrats and Free Soilers, (Free Soilers opposed the spread of slavery to the new territories) the law was subsequently repealed by the Whigs in 1853. 1878 Republican Ballot Ballots were meaningless pieces of paper until they were handed over to election officials or ―judges of elections,‖ as they were called, and placed in a ballot box to be counted eventually. Judges of elections were politically appointed by the party in power, which frequently resulted in charges of election fraud by the opposing party. In the immediate wake of the Civil War, general suppression of black suffrage in the South and election fraud in New York City in particular provoked a federal response to the problem. The Federal Elections Law of 1871 authorized federal oversight of state elections, and it was designed to thwart bribery, intimidation, voter impersonation, and repeating. To be implemented, as it was regularly in Boston, the law had to be invoked by at least two citizens concerned about election fraud, at which point a federal court would appoint two supervisors from different parties for each election district. Additionally, U.S. Marshalls could appoint deputies to maintain order at the polls. 25 You are a 38 year old West Point veteran with some military experience in the Mexican War which you opposed. Your wife is from a slave owning family. You have struggled to make a living as a farmer and failed. You now work at your father’s shop in Illinois. Who will you vote for? You are a 19 year old college student in Iowa. Your father is a small town merchant. Who will you suggest he Vote for? You are a 30 year old farmer in McNairy County Tennessee. You do not have any slaves. On your way to vote a local politician promises you $10 If you vote for Breckenridge. Who will you vote for? You are a 35 year old Irish immigrant in Memphis. You work loading steamboats. You are concerned that if too many slaves are emancipated you may loose your job. War would also stop shipping on the river, threatening your job. Who will you vote for? You are a 24 year old West Point graduate born in Georgia but raised by your New England relatives. You are on duty with the army in the west. Who will you vote for? You are a 45 year old lawyer in Illinois. Your were born in Charleston, South Carolina but were forced to leaved due to legal problems. You’re interested in politics and advancing yourself financially. Who will you vote for? Your are a 25 year old poor farmer in Tennessee. You rent your land from a man who owns several businesses and owns slaves. Who will you vote for? You are a 40 year old blacksmith in a small Tennessee town. You served in the Mexican War. You do not own slaves. Some of your business involves work for local plantation owners who have slaves. Who will you vote for? You are a 25 year old former school teacher in Kansas. You were born in Ohio and have been a failure as a farmer. Your have been in trouble with the law for possible theft. Who will you vote for? You are a 44 year old army officer born in Virginia. You fought in the Mexican War and you are on duty as an officer in Texas with the Army. Who will you vote for? You are a 37 year old steamboat pilot on the Mississippi River. Your are not an abolitionist but a war might impact your business. Who will you vote for? You are a 40 year old West Point graduate born in Ohio. You have left the army and failed as a banker and lawyer. You have recently achieved success as superintendent of a school in Louisiana. Who will you vote for? 26 You are a 39 year old native of Kentucky and a West Point graduate. After serving in the Mexican War you retired from the army and became a civil engineer. In 1860, you are working as street commissioner of New York City. Who will you vote for? You are a 35 year old part Cherokee farmer in Indian Territory (Oklahoma). You have a large farm and are a slave owner. You can not vote since you live in a Territory and might not be allowed to vote anyway. Who would you advise friends in Tennessee to vote for? You are a 32 year old Irish immigrant and druggist in Arkansas. You do not own slaves. You like the south and have been well received by many of the people in your town. Some of your friends are slave owners. Who will you vote for? You are a 45 year old Irish revolutionary who has been banned by the British from Ireland. You do not believe in abolition. Your now edit a newspaper in Knoxville, Tennessee, Who will you vote for? You are a 55 year old Methodist minister and newspaper editor from East Tennessee. You are not an Abolitionist. You are from a poor back- ground and do not like the West Tennessee planters. Who will you vote for? Your are a 32 year old shipping clerk in Mobile, Alabama. You do not own slaves but are not opposed to slavery. You are concerned that a potential war might impact the shipping trade. You are a 32 year old from a sugar plantation outside of Houston, Texas. Your family has become wealthy since moving to Texas. You and your neighbors own a number of slaves. Who will you vote for? You are a 42 year old owner of an Iron furnace in Middle Tennessee. You use slaves that you lease from their owners in your business. Some of your business is with customers in Northern states and you have concerns about how this election will effect your business. Who will you vote for? You are a 50 year old German immigrant and revolutionary with military training and experience. You have been forced to leave Europe. You have worked as a carpenter in the Brooklyn navy yard. You now edit a German language newspaper in Ohio. Who will you vote for? You are a 43 year old Cuban immigrant and revolutionary. You have become an American citizen and settled in South Carolina. Your main interest is in the liberation of Cuba from Spanish rule. Who will you vote for? You are a 35 year old Philadelphia businessman born in Huntsville, Alabama. Your family moved north because your father opposed slavery. Who will you vote for? You are a 28 year old farmer in West Tennessee. Your farm has been moderately successful. You do not own slaves but you do not oppose slavery. Who will you vote for? 27 You are a 25 year old women. You can not vote. You are from New England and were taught that slavery was wrong. You have married a wealthy planter from Tennessee who depends on slavery for his planation. Who should you tell your husband to vote for? You are an 18 year old farmer with a family in Tennessee. You can not vote. You have no slaves. Your father is also a farmer with no slaves. Your main concern is making a living on your small farm. Who will you encourage your father to vote for? You are a 25 year old free African- American Farmer. You can not vote. Some of your relatives are slaves. Your main concern is making a living on your small farm. Who will you encourage your white neighbor to vote for? You are a 36 year old farmer in East Tennessee. Your family are Quakers and you are opposed to slavery and war. Some of your friends have been active in the Underground Railroad assisting escaped slaves get north to freedom. Who will you vote for? You are a merchant in Memphis. You do not own slaves but you do not believe in emancipation. Your business involves trading on the Mississippi River with businesses in the north. A war might harm your business. Who will you vote for? You are a 53 year old self educated man from East Tennessee from a very poor family. Your have become a successful businessman and politician. You hate the aristocratic slave owners of West Tennessee but oppose abolitionists. Who will you vote for? You are a 30 year old tenant farmer in Illinois. (you do not own your own farm) You are not in favor of abolition. You would like to own your own farm and you are considering moving west to find land. You do not want to compete with slave owners in the territories. Who will you vote for? You are 43 year old lawyer and farmer in East Tennessee. You own a number of slaves and are involved in politics. You are in favor of preserving the Union but you do not believe in abolition of Slavery. Who will you vote for? You are a 41 year old poorly educated self made-man from Tennessee. Your have made a fortune as a planter and slave trader in West Tennessee. Who will you vote for? You are a 21 year old worker in Memphis Tennessee. You are in favor of preserving Union but your boss is a strong supporter of Breckenridge. Who will you vote for? You are a 48 year old West Point graduate And veteran of the Mexican war. You are married to a women from Virginia Who will you vote for? You are a 30 year old laundress in Nashville. Your husband works for the Louisville & Nashville Railroad. A war could have a serious impact on the rail business. You have three children. Who will you tell your husband to vote for? 30 9. If the Democratic Party ran only one candidate, would that candidate have won the election? Explain your answer. 10. Identify the geographic region that supported each candidate. 11. Explain how the election of 1860 demonstrated the sectional divisions within the United States in 1860. 12. Southerners believed that the results of the election of 1860 demonstrated the political domination of the north. Does the election data support or refute that claim. Explain your answer. 13. Lincoln only had 40% of the popular vote. How could he become President? What is the Electoral College and what do they do? Could the electors vote for someone else? 31 Handout #1 Electoral Vote Map and Graph - 1860 Key Presidential Candidate Vice Presidential Candidate Political Party Electoral Vote % pop vote Abraham Lincoln Hannibal Hamlin Republican 39.65% 180 59.4% Electoral John Breckenridge Joseph Lane Southern Democrat 18.20% 72 23.8% John Bell Edward Everett Constitutional Union 12.62% 39 12.9% Stephen Douglas Herschel Johnson Democratic 29.52% 12 4.0% Other (+) - - 0.01% 0 0.0% Total 303 32 Handout #2: Popular Vote Graph and Data – 1860 Presidential Election 1860 Popular Vote 35 Tennessee Election Results: Bell 69,728 47.7% Breckenridge 65,027 44.6% Douglas 11,281 7.7% Lincoln no ballots So who received Tennessee’s 12 Electoral Votes in 1860 – Bell Usually the candidate with the majority receives all the Electoral Votes of a state regardless of how close the popular vote is. 36 McNairy County (Note: Although Chester County is shown on this map it was not created until 1875) Bell – 1,064 Douglas - 514 Breckenridge - 493 Bell carried Hardin County 37 Chart of States with Popular and Electoral Votes State Candidate Popular Electoral Candidate Popular Electoral Candidate Popular Electoral Candidate Popular Electoral Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Alabama Abraham Lincoln 0 Stephen Douglas 13,618 15.1 John Breckinridge 48,669 54.0 John Bell 27,835 30.9 Arkansas Abraham Lincoln - 0 Stephen Douglas 5,357 9.9 John Breckinridge 28,732 53.1 John Bell 20,063 37.0 California Abraham Lincoln 38,733 32.3 Stephen Douglas 37,999 31.7 John Breckinridge 33,969 28.3 John Bell 9,111 7.6 Connecticut Abraham Lincoln 43,488 58.1 Stephen Douglas 15,431 20.6 John Breckinridge 14,372 19.2 John Bell 1,528 2.0 Delaware Abraham Lincoln 3,822 23.7 Stephen Douglas 1,066 6.6 John Breckinridge 7,339 45.5 John Bell 3,888 24.1 Florida Abraham Lincoln - 0 Stephen Douglas 223 1.7 John Breckinridge 8,277 62.2 John Bell 4,801 36.1 Georgia Abraham Lincoln - 0 Stephen Douglas 11,581 10.9 John Breckinridge 52,176 48.9 John Bell 42,960 40.3 Illinois Abraham Lincoln 172,171 50.7 Stephen Douglas 160,215 47.2 John Breckinridge 2,331 0.7 John Bell 4,914 1.4 Indiana Abraham Lincoln 139,033 51.1 Stephen Douglas 115,509 42.4 John Breckinridge 12,295 4.5 John Bell 5,306 1.9 Iowa Abraham Lincoln 70,302 54.6 Stephen Douglas 55,639 43.2 John Breckinridge 1,035 0.8 John Bell 1,763 1.4 Kentucky Abraham Lincoln 1,364 0.9 Stephen Douglas 25,651 17.5 John Breckinridge 53,143 36.3 John Bell 66,058 45.2 Louisiana Abraham Lincoln - 0 Stephen Douglas 7,625 15.1 John Breckinridge 22,681 44.9 John Bell 20,204 40.0 Maine Abraham Lincoln 62,811 62.2 Stephen Douglas 29,693 29.4 John Breckinridge 6,368 6.3 John Bell 2,046 2.0 Maryland Abraham Lincoln 2,294 2.5 Stephen Douglas 5,966 6.4 John Breckinridge 42,482 45.9 John Bell 41,760 45.1 Massachusetts Abraham 106,684 62.8 Stephen 34,370 20.2 John 6,163 3.6 John 22,331 13.1 40 Examine the chart which shows the outcome of the election by state: How many southern states did Breckenridge carry? How many southern states did Bell carry? Which states did Douglas carry? If Douglas was second in popular vote, why did he get the least number of electoral votes? How many states were there where Douglas came in second? Can a president win the popular vote and still loose the election? (see below) Is this a democratic system? Should we keep the electoral vote or elect the president by the popular vote alone? 41 Presidential Elections where the popular vote winner lost the election John Quincy Adams Andrew Jackson these two were the first Presidents to have their photos taken In 1824, John Quincy Adams was elected president despite not winning either the popular vote or the electoral vote. Andrew Jackson was the winner in both categories. Jackson received 38,000 more popular votes than Adams, and beat him in the electoral vote 99 to 84. Despite his victories, Jackson didn’t reach the majority 131 votes needed in the Electoral College to be declared president. In fact, neither candidate did. The decision went to the House of Representatives, which voted Adams into the White House. Rutherford B. Hayes Samuel J. Tilden In 1876, Rutherford B. Hayes won the election (by a margin of one electoral vote), but he lost the popular vote by more than 250,000 ballots to Samuel J. Tilden. 42 Benjamin Harrison Grover Clevland In 1888, Benjamin Harrison received 233 electoral votes to Grover Cleveland’s 168, winning the presidency. But Harrison lost the popular vote by more than 90,000 votes. George W. Bush Al Gore In 2000, George W. Bush was declared the winner of the general election and became the 43rd president, but he didn’t win the popular vote either. Al Gore holds that distinction, garnering about 540,000 more votes than Bush. However, Bush won the electoral vote, 271 to 266. How would you feel if you were a candidate and won the popular vote but lost the election? Is this system fair?