The Fort Sumter Crisis

Election of 1860

• James Buchanan too unpopular to run for 2nd term

• Several different parties emerge by 1860, and nominate candidates to run for presidency:

1. Republican – Abraham Lincoln2. Democrat – Stephen Douglas3. Southern Democrat – John C. Breckenridge4. Constitutional Union Party – John Bell

Southern Democrats staged a walkout at the official 1860 Democratic Convention. They reconvened, nominated Breckenridge (the sitting VP), & adopted an extremely pro-slavery platform.

The CUP nominated John Bell; the official CUP platform was very simple: preserve the Union. CUPs were mostly former Whigs, & the party did not take a strong stand on slavery either way.

Republicans nominate Lincoln because he is 1) a westerner and 2) a moderate. Many radicals & abolitionists are disappointed.

Northern Democrats nominated Stephen Douglas, and supported “popular sovereignty” and a repeal of the Dred Scott Decision.

Campaigning

• Very different than today; most candidates simply sat home & let others campaign for them

• Stephen Douglas became the first presidential candidate in history to actively campaign for himself (he toured the country & gave speeches)

• Lincoln would make small speeches from his house to visitors; became his “front porch campaign”

• Divisions within Democratic party helped Repubs

Results

Immediate Crisis

• As many Southern states had claimed, once Lincoln was elected, they began organizing secession councils

• South Carolina secedes from the Union on Dec 20, 1860; six more follow and form Confederate government by Feb 4, 1861

• Lincoln officially assumes office on March 4, 1861, and is confronted with what to do about the unraveling of the Union

Fort Sumter

• The seceding Southern states seized federal property & military installations, usually without force or bloodshed

• Fort Sumter in Charleston harbor was the exception• The governor of SC, & later the President of the CSA

Jefferson Davis, demanded federal troops evacuate Ft. Sumter

• Maj. Anderson (commander of the fort) & Pres Buchanan refuse to surrender fort; by April ‘61 the CSA is prepared to use force