Civil War at 150: Slavery, Lincoln polarized the nation

By 1860, tensions between North and South had been mounting for years, and each year the pressure seemed to increase.

At the heart of the issue was the expansion of slavery in the country. Since the end of the Revolution, slavery had always been a controversial topic. Compromises and legal agreements had kept the issue under wraps, until now.

As the Presidential election of 1860 approached, American politics were divided as never before.

The Democratic Party, once a powerful force, had split into northern and southern factions.

The northern group nominated Stephen A. Douglass of Illinois, the Southerners put forth Kentucky’s John C. Breckinridge.

The new Republican Party (in existence for only six years), nominated Abraham Lincoln of Illinois.

Lastly, a compromising Constitutional Union Party offered John Bell, of Tennessee.

The split of the Democratic Party ensured a victory for Lincoln, though he only garnered 40 percent of the popular vote. Lincoln won only the Northern states. His name was not even on the ballot in most southern states. (Virginia was the only one that did list him.)

In Appomattox County, 795 men were registered to vote that fall. At the time only free white males who owned property could vote. The majority (563) voted for Breckinridge. Bell had 221 voters, while Douglass received 10. Not a single vote came in for the tall, gaunt Republican candidate.

Lincoln’s Republican Party opposed the expansion of slavery into the new western territories, like Kansas, Nebraska, and the southwest. Many southerners feared the Republicans aimed to strike at where the institution already existed, though Lincoln had clearly stated he would not.

Slavery was the economic backbone of the South’s economy, and the basis for its social order. At the time, for example, 54 percent of the people living in Appomattox County were enslaved. The Republican victory was seen as a direct threat to the region’s prosperity and power.

Lincoln’s election symbolized something more. In 1800 Virginia was the most populous state, but by 1860 it was ranked fifth, behind two states (Ohio and Illinois) that didn’t exist in 1800.

Four of the first five Presidents were Virginians, but a Southerner had not held the national office for 10 years. The delicate balance of power between free and slave states in Congress was gradually tipping in favor of the more populous North, an inevitable process.

Southerners could see they were losing power, population, and representation. Lincoln’s election was proof that what they feared most was coming to pass.

How would the South react? How would residents of this area of Virginia react? Secession was hotly debated as one alternative. Proponents of states’ rights in the South argued that the states had voluntarily entered the Union, and they could voluntarily leave.

For decades the country had been divided over high stakes issues. Compromises and political wrangling had worked, but left both sides dissatisfied.

By 1860 passions were high; all that younger generations knew was sectional conflict, and few could recall a time when there was harmony in the country. As the results of the election became known, the cry for secession grew louder across the South.

Dunkerly is currently a park ranger at Appomattox Court House National Historic Park. The author of several articles and books on the Revolution, Civil War, and historic preservation, he has also worked at other national parks, including Gettysburg, Stones River, Jamestown, Kings Mountain and Moores Creek.