these territories while antislavery groups wanted to stop its spread Congress came up with a number of compromises to try to satisfy both sides These included the policy of popular sovereignty where the population of a new territory or state would vote to determine whether it would be a slave state or a free state But these compromises were only temporary solutions to a more complex problem THE ELECTION OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN The Republican Party was born in the 1850s It included groups that opposed slavery and its spread It also favored economic and political policies that benefited the North In 1860 the Republicans
nominated Abraham Lincoln a former congressman from Illinois as their presidential candidate Lincoln a Unionist who believed in a strong federal government was a moderate on the slavery issue He believed slavery should not be abolished in the South but it also shouldn't be allowed elsewhere in the country The Democratic Party was divided on the slavery question and split into several groups each with its own candidate Stephen Douglas of Illinois ran on a campaign promoting popular sovereignty Southern Democrats nominated John C Breckinridge of Kentucky Breckinridge was in favor of protecting the rights of slaveholders in all new territories as well as in the South A fourth candidate John Bell of
Tennessee represented the Constitutional Union Party Bell remained neutral on slavery On Election Day the Democratic vote was split and Lincoln who received only 39 8 percent of the popular vote still won by more than 100 electoral votes Southerners were outraged at his election Hatred of Lincoln and the North was particularly strong in South Carolina Leaders of the state feared that Lincoln would take away their states rights and end slavery even though he had never said that TENSIONS MOUNT By early December 1860 South Carolina's leaders were thinking about seceding from
the Union In preparation for The election of President Abraham Lincoln in 1860 angered many southerners that they asked President James Buchanan who was still in office until Lincoln's inauguration in March 1861 to turn over to the state all federal property in the Charleston area They were especially concerned about the four forts in Charleston Harbor Fort Moultrie on Sullivan's Island Castle Pinckney on Shutes Folly Island Fort Johnson on James Island and Fort Sumter Only a few weeks earlier Federal Army officer Major Robert Anderson had arrived in Charleston to take command of the garrison of 85 soldiers at Fort Moultrie Castle Pinckney and Fort Johnson were unoccupied at the time Fort Sumter was still under construction and was only occupied by workers
