The Election of 1860

 The topic of the expansion of slavery and the rights of slave owners had been very controversial in the 1850s. Because of these issues, in 1860 the Democratic Party broke into Northern and Southern fractions, along with the creation of the Constitutional union Party. As a result of this split in the Democratic Party, the Republican Party (which was dominant in the north) secured enough electoral votes and Abraham Lincoln was elected into office.
                The four candidates were Abraham Lincoln from the Republican Party, John C Breckinridge from the Southern Democratic Party, Stephen A Douglas from the Northern Democratic Party, and John Bell from the Constitutional Union.
Abraham Lincoln
John C Breckinridge
John Bell
Stephen A Douglas