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8/2/2019 PC 2 Transfer of Power-Election of 1860-Student Program
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Educating Young People about the Constitution
www.BillofRightsInstitute.org
Presidents and the Constitution,
Vol. 2Presidents and the Transfer of
Power:
The Election of 1860
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Presidents and the Constitution ResourcesThe Founders knew that the most challengingtime in any government is when power is
transferred from one person/group to thenext. Will the people that have power try tohold on to it by corruption or military force;or will they give power peacefully to thesuccessors?
Our Constitution and subsequentAmendments have procedures and rules inplace to make the transition of power asorderly and peaceful as possible. The question
for you is, do you think its effective and why?
Directions: Read Robert M.S. McDonaldsessay Transfer of Presidential PowerUnderline or highlight the facts you think are
important. 2
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Constitutional Connection Activity
Impeachment and the Constitution
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Critical Engagement Question
Why was the transfer of power not peaceful after the election of1860?
The Election of 1860
Abraham Lincoln (a strong anti-slavery candidate) was electedPresident in 1860 even though his name didnt appear on the ballotof 10 southern states. His win angered and scared Southerners;
which led to the secession of South Carolina and, eventually, theSouthern attack on Fort Sumter (below), which started the Civil War
Abraham Lincoln
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Objectives
Understand importantdevelopments leadingup to the election of 1860that challenged theConstitutions originalcompromises on slavery.
Analyze why theelection of 1860 did notresult in a peacefultransfer of power.
Assess the validity ofSouth Carolinas
justification of secession.
The Election of 1860
Map of the 1860 PresidentialElection results by County. The
darker the color, the higher thevoter turnout.
Attribution: Tilden76
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Background/Homework
Read Handout A: TheElection of 1860 and answerthe questions:1) List two compromises
on slavery that were
written into theConstitution.
2) Why do you think theexpansion of the United
States westward and theaddition of new statesmade it difficult for theConstitutionscompromises aboutslavery to continue?
Map of Slave (red) and Free (blue) statesbefore the election of 1860
The Election of 1860
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Background/Homework continued
3) Why did northerners fear the Supreme Courts rulings on slavery?4) Do you think the Republican Party was a threat to the South? Why
or why not?5) Why did southerners believe that they could secede from the Union?
Why did Lincoln believe they could not?
Full map of theConfederate States ofAmerica (CSA).Missouri, Kentuckyand the New MexicoTerritory were claimed
by the CSA, but werenever under fullcontrol
The Election of 1860
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Warm-Up
Imagine: some students have complained to the principal that thereis too much homework. The principal has decided that a HomeworkCzar will decide a school-wide homework policy. All students willelect the Homework Czar.
Boys get the top ballot on Handout B: Mock Ballots and girls get the
ballot on the bottom of the page.
The Election of 1860
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Warm-Up continued
Count the ballots
The Election of 1860
Boys Ballot Girls Ballot
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The winner should be Candidate D. The girls, however, did not have Candidate D on their ballot. Discuss: is this fair? Is it right? How does this make you feel?
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Activity
How does this Homework Czar connect to the election of 1860? Read the quote in Handout A by a Southern pamphleteer:*The Republican Party+ exists only in the Northern states. Whereis the security of the South, and what is her position in the Union?
Picture of the EastBattery inCharleston S.C.
circa 1860-1890.Across harborfrom this spot isSumter Island.
The Election of 1860
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Activity continued
Discuss the following: What does the Southern pamphlet author mean by
partisan organization? What does he mean by exclusively and intensely sectional? Are these complaints justified?
Are his last two questions justified?
The Election of 1860
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Wrap-Up
Review the following info: Lincoln, who was not even on the ballot inten Southern states, received only forty percent of the popular vote. Thetwo major Democratic candidates split their Partys votes. Addedtogether, they won eighty-four electoral votes and received forty-sevenpercent of the popular vote. Since Lincolns party promised to halt theexpansion of slavery, Southerners feared that they had become a
permanent minority
The Election of 1860
1860 Lincolncampaign flag
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Wrap-Up continued
Harkingback to the Continental Congress in 1776 declaring that thethirteen colonies were free and independent states, South Carolinaasserted in its 1860 Declaration of Secession that it would once againbecome a free and independent state. In his First Inaugural Address,Lincoln outlined his arguments against the constitutionality of
secession.
The Election of 1860
1860 Campaignbuttons forAbrahamLincoln andHannibalHamlin(Lincolns V.P.)
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Homework
Complete Handout C: Lincolns First Inaugural Address.
The Election of 1860
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Warm-Up II
Role-play the scenarios onHandout D: The Right to Leave?and complete the questions at thebottom of the card.
Summarize your scenario anddiscuss your responses.
Discuss the following questions: When is it acceptable to
leave a group. Does it matter if you joined
the group voluntarily or
were born into the group?
United States Constitution-adopted September 17, 1787
The Election of 1860
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Warm-Up II continued
Our Constitution is, in part, anagreement to form institutions thatwill perform certain duties. Whatkinds of agreements have you seen orbeen part of?
Discuss the following questions: Who or what were the parties
to the Constitution? What would Lincoln say? What would South Carolina
say?
TheConfederateStates ofAmericaConstitution-
AdoptedMarch 11, 1861
The Election of 1860
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Activity II
Read Handout E: Two Declarations For each set of quotations, answer the
following questions: What do these two sections have in
common? How are they different? How significant are those differences? What main points does the Declaration
of Independence make? What main points does the Declaration
of Secession make?
Do you think South Carolina was justified inusing the Declaration of Independence as amodel for its Declaration of Secession?
The South Carolina Ordinance ofSecession-adopted December 20, 1860
The Election of 1860
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Wrap-Up II
Discuss the following questions: Whose arguments were more persuasive:
Lincolns or South Carolinas? In arguing for/against the legitimacy of
secession, both South Carolina andPresident Lincoln referred to numerous
agreements made between the coloniesand, later, the states: the Articles ofAssociation (1774), the Declaration ofIndependence (1776), the Articles ofConfederation (1781), and the
Constitution (1789). Does the existence ofthis series of agreements support oroppose the argument that the Union isperpetual?
Who gets to decide whether the Union isperpetual? Why?
Drawing of St. Andrews Hall inCharleston, SC. Known as SecessionHall because the SC delegates met to
discuss and later ratify secessionfrom the Union. (1860)
The Election of 1860
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The Issues Endure II
Summarize the arguments about howstates should be able to judge theconstitutionality of federal governmentactions in the following documents: Report and Resolutions of the
Hartford Convention Virginia Resolutions Kentucky Resolutions South Carolina Exposition and
Protest South Carolina Ordinance of
Nullification Compare these solutions to modern ones
passed by New Hampshire and otherstates in response to proposed healthcare legislation.
Union Flag flown at Ft. Sumter(above) and the South CarolinaSecessionist Flag (below)
The Election of 1860
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