Thursday, November 27, 2014

When was Abe Lincoln elected president?

Abraham Lincoln was elected president of the United States in 1860. He was the first Republican to ever be elected to the office. Lincoln won due to a split in the Democratic Party between John C. Breckenridge and Stephen A. Douglas. This split enabled Lincoln to win with only a minority of the popular vote. In most of the lower South his name was not even on the ballot. As the nation did not have a clear election day like it does currently, the election took place in the fall of 1860. After Lincoln won the presidency, South Carolina led the parade of seceding states in December 1860. Lincoln would not assume the office of president officially until his inauguration in March 1861.
Lincoln also hated the name "Abe." Lincoln also hated that he was portrayed as a rail splitter in campaign material since he spent the better part of his adult life trying to separate himself from the manual labor he performed on his father's farm.

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