By Lincoln’s inauguration in March, 1861 seven states from the Deep South had already left the Union. The election of 1860 proved to be the breaking point for an already unstable nation. In a state like Virginia, where 1/3 of the population was enslaved, this was a big deal. This meant more votes for the state even though the opinions of these people were not represented. Slave states counted 3/5 of their enslaved population when determining the number of electoral votes.The opinions of the general population in South Carolina were not represented as they did not yet have a popular vote.history the original 13 states controlled less than 50% of the electoral vote. People living in the territories could not vote.The Democratic Party was divided between Northern and Southern factions.Lincoln was not on the ballot in Southern states.In 1860 geography was a huge factor in the way the election would play out. We watch the political map as red states and blue states appear in regional clusters and the geographic and ideological makeup of a state can often be used to guess its outcome. Today we recognize that geography plays a role in the outcome of an election.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |