The Presidential election of 1860, turned mainly upon the question of slavery in the Territories. The Democratic party, already weakened by the Kansas question, now finally split into two fragments. The larger wing nominated Stephen A. Douglas, of Illinois, as their candidate. They held that Congress had no power either to sanction or forbid slavery in the Territories, but that the question could be decided only by the people thereof, who were most interested in it. The smaller wing chose John C. Breckenridge, of Kentucky, as their candidate, and declared it to be the express duty of Congress to sanction and protect slavery in all the Territories of the Republic, maintaining that the Constitution of its own force carried slavery into them. The Republican party nominated Abraham Lincoln, of Illinois, as its candidate. This party denied any intention to interfere with the domestic institutions of any of the States, but avowed its determination to prevent the introduction of slavery into the Territories by Congressional legislation, and denounced as false the doctrine that the Constitution established slavery in any part of the Union. It asserted the right of every community to manage its domestic affairs in its own way, and denounced the invasion of Virginia by John Brown as wicked and unjustifiable. A fourth party, known as the "Constitutional Union Party," nominated John Bell, of Tennessee, for the Presidency, and adopted the following very vague and indefinite platform of principles: "The Union, the Constitution, and the enforcement of the laws." The contest was bitter beyond all precedent. When the election took place, the result at the polls was as follows: The electoral vote was divided as follows: For Lincoln, 180; for Breckenridge, 72; for Bell, 39; for Douglas, 12. The election of Mr. Lincoln was seized upon by the extreme proslavery leaders as a pretext for the withdrawal of the Southern States from the Union. The Gulf States had, indeed, during the early part of the Presidential contest, declared their deliberate determination toʻ sccede, in case of the election of a Republican President. Their people honestly believed that such a result of the campaign would be fatal to their institutions, inasmuch as they expected a Republican President to destroy the institution of slavery, forgetting in their alarm that that official could have no power to harm them. The disunion leaders took pains to deepen this vague fear. How well they succeeded is shown by the result. As soon as the election of Mr. Lincoln was definitely ascertained, the Legislature of South Carolina summoned a Convention of the people of that State, which met on the 17th of December, 1860. This Convention adopted an ordinance of Secession, and withdrew the State from the Union, on the 20th of December. The cause of this action. was declared to be as follows: "We assert that fourteen of the States have deliberately refused for years to fulfil their Constitutional obligations, and we refer to their own statutes for proof. In many of these States the fugitive is discharged from the service of labor claimed, and in none of them has the State government complied with the stipulations made in the Constitution. Thus the Constitutional compact has been deliberately broken and disregarded by the non-slaveholding States; and the consequence follows that South Carolina is released from her obligation." Another cause was declared to be, "the election of a man to the high office of President of the United States whose opinions and purposes are hostile to slavery." This declaration may be regarded as embodying the -principal reasons assigned by the other States for their action. The secession of South Carolina was followed by that of Mississippi, January 9th, 1861, Florida, January 10th, Alabama, January 11th, Georgia, January 19th, Louisiana, January 26th, and Texas, February 1st. The forts, arsenals, and other public property of the United States in these States were seized by the State authorities, and held by their troops, except Fort Sumter, in Charleston Harbor, and Fort Pickens, near Pensacola, Florida. Fort Sumter was occupied by Major Robert Anderson with 80 men. Major Anderson had originally occupied Fort Moultrie, on Sullivan's Island, but knowing the purpose of the State authorities to seize the public property at Charleston, he evacuated his post on the night of December 25th, 1860, and threw himself with his command into Fort Sumter. The General Government was at this time almost helpless. The army, but 16,000 strong, was posted on the remote frontier, and the available vessels of the navy were nearly all in foreign waters. Many of the most prominent officials, including several of the Cabinet Ministers, were in open sympathy with the seceded States, and the President seemed only anxious to delay any definite action in the matter until the inauguration of his successor. His recommendations to Congress were not equal to the emergency. He was in favor of conceding everything but separate independence to the South, not seeing that the leaders of the secession movement would accept nothing but separation, and by his timidity lost the advantages which the Government would have gained by a bold and firm course. Still, he refused to yield to the pressure which was brought upon him for the purpose of securing the surrender of Fort Sumter to the State of South Carolina. He also refused to sell the fort to the State, or to order Anderson back to Fort Moultrie, as he was urged to do. Various plans were proposed in Congress and by the States for the settlement of the national troubles, but none were attended with success. A Border State Convention met in Washington on the 4th of February, 1861, for this purpose, but adjourned, after a session of three weeks, without having accomplished anything of a definite character. The quarrel waxed hotter every day. An attempt on the part of the Government to send reënforcements and supplies to Fort Sumter was resisted by the forces of South Carolina, and the vessel charged with that duty was fired on, and turned back. South Carolina, through her Legislature, declared that any future attempt to send aid to Fort Sumter would be regarded as an act of war, and would be resisted by force. On the other hand, the Legislatures of New York, Ohio, and Massachusetts pledged those States to assist the President with their whole military force "in putting down the rebellion." On the 4th of March, 1861, Abraham Lincoln was inaugurated President of the United States. Here it is deemed best to bring this brief outline to a close. The history of the country since March, 1861, is well known to every reader of this book, and the numerous histories of the war which have appeared since its close, some of which are to be found in every household, render the further extension of our narrative unnecessary. |