Election of 1860 — Bunk History

Black and white portrait of Joseph Lane in his suit.

What if Joseph Lane of Oregon had become President in 1861?

How would the presidency have looked under Joseph Lane, a Democrat, as opposed to Abraham Lincoln?

by Max Longley via Emerging Civil War on August 14, 2022

Rioter holds Confederate flag outside the Senate chamber after breaching the US Capitol on January 6, 2001.

The Secessionist Roots of the Jan. 6 Insurrection

Southern secessionists in 1860 had similar arguments to those of the rioters who stormed the Capitol.

by Elizabeth R. Varon via Made By History on June 15, 2022

Wallpaper printed in support of the Constitutional Union Party’s presidential candidate, John Bell, in 1860.

A Constitution of Freedom

During the 1860 presidential election, political parties dueled over the intent of the framers.

by James Oakes via Lapham’s Quarterly on January 20, 2021

Lincoln’s Paramilitaries, the “Wide Awakes,” Helped Bring About a Political Revolution

In 1860, a novel paramilitary-style organization mobilized hundreds of thousands against the Southern planter class.

by Matthew E. Stanley via Jacobin on July 11, 2020

John Sherman’s Struggle to Preserve Democracy

This is not the first time that democratic governance appeared to be under assault.

by Daniel W. Crofts via Muster on March 17, 2020

Upheaval at the 1860 Democratic Convention: What Happened When a Party Split

Some issues are too fundamental for a party to withstand, and the consequences can last for a generation.

via Retro Report on July 28, 2016

The large Wide Awake parade in lower Manhattan.

“Young Men for War”: The Wide Awakes and Lincoln’s 1860 Presidential Campaign

Wearing shiny black capes and practicing infantry drills had nothing to do with preparing for civil war.

by Jon Grinspan via Journal of American History on September 1, 2009

Painting of Abraham Lincoln

The Election in November

The Atlantic’s editor endorsed Abraham Lincoln for presidency in the 1860 election, correctly predicting it would prove to be “a turning-point in our history.”

by James Russell Lowell via The Atlantic on October 1, 1860

A drawing of a Wide Awake march.

These Torchlit Young Marchers Helped to Save American Democracy

They called themselves the Wide Awakes. They are a lesson in building a political movement.

by Jon Grinspan via Washington Post on May 14, 2024

Abraham Lincoln campaigning with the Wide Awakes.

The Club of Cape-Wearing Activists Who Helped Elect Lincoln—and Spark the Civil War

The untold story of the Wide Awakes, the young Americans who took up the torch for their antislavery cause and stirred the nation.

by Jon Grinspan via Smithsonian on April 1, 2024

Joe Biden and Donald Trump.

The Wild History of “Lesser of Two Evils” Voting

For as long as Americans have been subjected to lousy candidates, they’ve been told to suck it up and vote for one of them.

by Ginny Hogan via The Nation on March 19, 2024

State troopers guarding a roadblock during an armed standoff at the “embassy” of the separatist group Republic of Texas, Fort Davis, Texas, May 1997

Why It’s Time to Take Secessionist Talk Seriously

Disunion is hardly a new theme in American politics. In this moment of tumult, it would be unwise to rule out its return.

by Richard Kreitner via New York Review of Books on January 19, 2021

Republicans Rediscover the Dangers of Selling Bunk to Their Constituents

Cynical public speech aimed at winning political power has consequences.

by Rachel Shelden via The Atlantic on November 25, 2020

The Lincoln Memorial.

Channeling Lincoln’s Ideological Balancing Act Will Lead Biden to Success

In his time, the 16th president drew comparisons to a famous tightrope walker.

by David S. Reynolds via Made By History on November 20, 2020

Drawing of Lincoln with his hand on a Bible during a swearing-in with two other people

The Presidential Transition That Shattered America

A Trump-Biden transition is sure to be scary. But it’d be hard to beat Buchanan-Lincoln.

by Rebecca Onion, Susan Schulten via Slate on October 28, 2020

Can Biden Be Pushed Left?

History suggests that what you see on the campaign trail, or even in a candidate’s past record, is not always what you get from a president once in power.

by Bob Master via Dissent on October 14, 2020

Graffiti on a wall spelling "vote"

Refusing to Accept the Results of a Presidential Election Triggered the Civil War

The danger of President Trump's rhetoric.

by Aaron Sheehan-Dean via Made By History on October 2, 2020

The Death of Hannah Fizer

Black people suffer disproportionately from police violence. But white skin does not provide immunity.

by Barbara J. Fields, Adam Rothman via Dissent on July 24, 2020

We’ve Forgotten the Worst President in American History

Could Donald Trump really rival James Buchanan?

by Ted Widmer via Made By History on May 26, 2020

4 Contested Conventions in Presidential Election History

Having a single candidate by the time of the convention has been a key stepping stone for a party’s victory. But it hasn't always worked out that way.

by Lesley Kennedy via HISTORY on March 4, 2020

Slavery Was Defeated Through Mass Politics

The overthrow of slavery in the US was a battle waged and won in the field of democratic mass politics; a battle that holds enormous lessons for radicals today.

by Matthew Karp via Jacobin on February 24, 2020

Today’s Eerie Echoes of the Civil War

We may not be in the midst of a war today, but the progress of democracy in this country is still tied to the rights of its most vulnerable citizens.

by Manisha Sinha via New York Review of Books on March 6, 2018

The North Tried Compromise. The South Chose War.

The South's insistence upon protecting and spreading slavery caused the Civil War.

by Carole Emberton via Made By History on November 1, 2017

The South Only Embraced States' Rights as It Lost Control of the Federal Government

For decades, slaveholders were powerfully committed to the Union. That changed when Washington stopped protecting their interests.

by W. Caleb McDaniel via The Atlantic on November 1, 2017

Violence during the "Unite the Right" rally in Charlottesville on August 12, 2017.

America's Deadly Divide - and Why it Has Returned

Civil War historian David Blight reflects on America’s Disunion – then and now.

by David W. Blight via The Guardian on August 20, 2017

The inauguration of Abraham Lincoln in 1861.

The Most Contentious Presidential Transition in American History

Was Abraham Lincoln's the most tumultuous presidential transition in American history?

by Jon Grinspan, James M. McPherson, Peter Feuerherd, Frederic Bancroft via JSTOR Daily on November 22, 2016

Man reading a newspaper

A Brief Literary History of the Newspaper Endorsement

When did endorsements become pro forma, anyway? And what do they even do?

by Brittany Allen via Literary Hub on October 30, 2024

Electing the President, 1840-2020

Most election maps emphasize the candidates and parties who won the Electoral College. This project shifts the focus to voters, revealing a more nuanced story.

by Robert K. Nelson, Riley D. Champine, Nathaniel Ayers, Chad Devers via American Panorama on August 1, 2024

Joe Biden sitting in the Oval Office.

There Has Been Nothing Like This in American History

Joe Biden is hardly the first president who has decided not to seek a second term—but the circumstances this time are unique.

by Fred Kaplan via Slate on July 21, 2024

Where Kansas Bled

How can one place represent the complexity of the Civil War’s beginnings?

by Ed Ayers on November 30, 2023

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