Election of 1860: Point of No Return

Target: I can explain why the Election of 1860 caused the Southern states to secede by analyzing political platforms and election data.

Key Vocabulary

• Sectionalism: Loyalty to one’s own region (North vs. South) rather than to the country as a whole.

• Platform: The official set of goals and principles supported by a political party.

• Secession: The formal withdrawal of a state from the Union (the United States).

• Popular Sovereignty: The idea that the people living in a territory should vote to decide if they want slavery or not.

Part 1: Do Now (5 minutes)

Directions: Read the prompt below and write a 5-8 sentence response.

Prompt: Imagine a group of friends is voting on what movie to see. The majority votes for a horror movie. One friend in the group is terrified of horror movies and believes watching it will actually harm them. They decide to leave the friend group entirely rather than watch the movie. In a detailed paragraph, answer: Is this friend being a "sore loser" who doesn't respect democracy, or are they protecting themselves? At what point is it okay to leave a group because you disagree with the vote?

Sentence Starter: I believe the friend is (justified/not justified) in leaving the group because... While the majority voted for the movie, the friend felt... This shows that leaving a group is okay when...

Part 2: Analyzing the Sources

Directions: Analyze the three documents below and then answer the questions that follow.

Source 1: The Republican Party Platform (Adapted Excerpt, 1860)

Original Text	Simplified Text
"That the normal condition of all the territory of the United States is that of freedom... we deny the authority of Congress, of a territorial legislature, or of any individuals, to give legal existence to slavery in any territory of the United States."	"The normal status of all U.S. territories should be freedom. We declare that no one—not Congress, not local politicians, and not individuals—has the legal power to allow slavery in any new territory of the United States."

Source 2: The Southern Democratic Party Platform (Adapted Excerpt, 1860)

Original Text	Simplified Text
"Resolved, That the government of a Territory... is provisional and temporary; and, during its existence, all citizens of the United States have an equal right to settle with their property in the Territory, without their rights, either of person or property, being destroyed or impaired by congressional or territorial legislation."	"We believe that territorial governments are temporary. As long as they exist, all citizens have the right to move there with their 'property' (enslaved people). The government cannot pass any law that hurts our right to own this property in the new lands."

Source 3: Election of 1860 Results (Data Summary)

Candidate	Party	Region Won	Electoral Votes
Abraham Lincoln	Republican	North  (Free States)	180 (Winner)
John C. Breckinridge	Southern Democrat	South  (Slave States)	72
Stephen Douglas	Northern Democrat	MO & NJ	12
John Bell	Constitutional Union	Border States	39

Analysis Questions

Directions: Answer questions 1-2 on your own. Then, work with a partner to answer question 3.

1. Based on Source 1 and Source 2, what was the fundamental disagreement between the Republicans and Southern Democrats regarding the "Territories"?

   
   

   Sentence Starter: The Republicans believed that slavery in the territories... However, the Southern Democrats believed that the government must protect their right to...

   
   

2. Look at Source 3. Abraham Lincoln won the election with 180 votes. How many of those votes came from the South? What does this tell you about the political division in the country?

   
   

   Sentence Starter: Lincoln received ______ votes from the South. This proves that the country was...

   
   

3. (Work with your partner) The South claimed that Lincoln's victory was a threat to their "property rights." Based on Lincoln's platform (Source 1), were they right to be afraid? Explain.

   
   

   Sentence Starter: The South (was/was not) right to be afraid because Lincoln's platform explicitly stated... This meant that the South would not be able to...

Part 3: Exit Ticket (5 minutes)

Directions: Answer the following prompt in a complete paragraph (5-8 sentences).

Prompt: The Election of 1860 is often called the "Point of No Return." In a detailed paragraph, explain why. Why couldn't the North and South just "talk it out" or compromise like they had in the past? Use evidence from the Platforms (Source 1 & 2) and the Election Results (Source 3) to support your answer.

Sentence Starter: The Election of 1860 was the "Point of No Return" because... Source 3 shows that the nation was completely divided because... Additionally, the platforms show that compromise was impossible because Republicans wanted... while Southerners demanded...