The irrepressible conflict-1860
Background: As we all know, it's election season and perhaps no election cycle had more political significance than 1860. With the country deeply divided over slavery, current President James Buchanan was not doing much to stop it. In fact, his actions only exacerbated extremism and divided the Democratic party. The events at Bleeding Kansas and the corrupt Lecompton Constitution left the Democrats without their incumbent as a viable candidate. The newly formed Republicans, however, had problems of their own. In just their second party convention ever, the party formerly known as the Free Soilers had to find a way to win at the national level. They were seen by many in the South as extremists who threatened the institution of slavery altogether. Republicans were vehemently opposed to the extension of slavery in the new territories but they had to evolve into a fuller platform. A former war hero, John C. Fremont, could not get the job done in 1856 so there was pressure to court former Whig voters and win an election this time in 1860. What Happened? 10,000 delegates crowded into a makeshift meeting hall in Chicago, Illinois to pick the Republican nominee for President but the difficulties were evident from the start. Only three slave-owning states even attended the convention and their keynote speaker was David Wilmot, whose Provisio had gained notoriety for trying to ban slavery in the territory won by the Mexican-American War. Ten men would have their name brought forward for the nomination but the front-runner was clearly William Seward of New York. When the votes began on this day 156 years ago, Seward led the first round of voting by over 70 votes compared to his nearest competitor. Yet two rounds later he plummeted and the nominating process was over. How did this happen? 1. The convention took place in Illinois, the home state of nominee Abraham Lincoln. He and his closest allies had the infrastructure in place to campaign for votes and they did passionately. Lincoln's status as a "Western" candidate was key. Many knew that the Democrats had little chance of winning any Northern states after their support of the Lecompton Constitution and the Dred Scott decision so they key would be the Midwest. To win the Republicans needed to pick up the moderate faction, which bleeds into reason 2... 2. Seward was viewed as an extremist by many. Seward and his wife housed slaves as a "station" in the Underground Railroad. As a Senator he fought vigorously against the Kansas-Nebraska Bill which would have potentially opened up slavery in the area. He even once said he feared an "irrepressible conflict" was emerging on the issue of slavery. He also had fallen out of favor with the Know-Nothings, a political third party known for their xenophobia but were a key constituent group in creating a winning coalition in 1860. Lincoln, on the other hand, was a late-comer to the Republican Party. He had attacked the idea of racial equality during the famous Lincoln-Douglas debates and seemed far more reasonable to moderates at the time. So, with some slick political maneuvering and a vulnerable front-runner, the Republican cast their fate with Lincoln on this day. Who Cares? Oh let me count the ways... 1. Lincoln goes on to be the most famous President of all-time, Seward goes on to...buy Alaska (affectionately known as "Seward's Folly"). 2. Lincoln becomes known as the Great Emancipator, when Seward had done far more on the issue of abolition up to this point in history. 3. The Republican Party finds legitimacy. What if they had picked New Yorker Seward and the Democrats had squeaked out a Midwestern state or two? Lincoln had only carried 40% of the popular vote when November came along. An electoral mess would have been solved in the House of Representatives which could have further complicated matters. Instead the Republican Party not only finds the White House but their hero. To the victor go the spoils.
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May 2016
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