Owen+chamberlin

= The Election of 1860: A Chance for Change =

=== The presidential election of the year 1860 was held on November 6th, 1860 for the office of the United states President. Because of the expansion of slavery and confusion on slaves owners rights, the nation had basically been divided into two since the early 1850's. In 1860, these issues came to a head. As a result of differing regional intrests, the Democratic Party then decided to divide into two factions, north and south, and a new Constitutional Union Party. Although the republican party was also divided, since dominating the North, it secured enough electoral votes to seat abraham in the white house as president with little help from the south. Within a few months with "Honest Abe" as president, seven southern states led by South Carolina responded with declerations of secession which was rejected because of being illegal by James Buchanan and President-elect Abraham Lincoln. Four other states seceded after the Battle of Fort Sumter. ===