William Henry Seward : Weaknesses And Strengths

Davis returned to Washington as United States senator and then in 1853 as Secretary of War.8 As a spokesperson for the South, Davis captivated senators both North and South. William Seward, an anti- slavery Northern senator, came to Davis’ bedside every day as Davis nursed a cold and inflammation in his eye.9 Daniel Webster, a leading Whig Politian from Massachusetts, became great friends with Davis after Davis refused to falsify a report when asked to investigate Webster for wrong-doing.10

When Abraham Lincoln was elected as the first republican president, he only received 40% of the popular votes; he also beat three other candidates on top of that. Lincoln was responsible for a lot of changes and is also known as an icon in American History. Lincoln was a Kentucky-born lawyer and a former Whig Representative to the Congress. Lincoln was going up against Stephen Douglas in the Senate race; Douglas argued that the states should have a right to be a slave state or a free state, while Lincoln argued against slavery and the spread of it. Unsurprisingly, Lincoln had lost the Senate race, but his campaign against slavery brought national attention to the Republican Party, in 1860, Lincoln had won the Republican party’s nomination

In 1860 Abraham Lincoln was elected President. He won the presidential votes of the Republican Party. Lincoln ran against Stephen Douglas. In one of their campaigns in Hartford, Connecticut, Lincoln spoke on the Democratic bushwhacking (Doc F). Part of their campaign were to talk about the slavery. Though Lincoln, a republican, and Douglas, a democratic, their views on slavery were entirely different. Lincoln argued against the spread of slavery while Douglas argued that each territory should have the right

Lincoln – nominated in the election of 1860. Believed that slavery was morally wrong, but he was not an abolitionist – he could not envision an easy alternative to slavery in the

The 1860 National Convention of the Republican Party of the United States, was held in Chicago, Illinois at the Wigwam Convention Center. The Chicago Wigwam was constructed as a convention hall and it was built near the corner of lake and market streets in Chicago. This exact area is where a popular hotel was built and burnt down a couple years before. The Wigwam Convention Hall was two stories high and it was 180 by 100 feet. It could hold thousands of convention goers. The cost of the wigwam was 5,000 dollars and many people said it looked like a huge barn. Despite this, inside it looked great with its color and shape designs, flags, and wreaths and with red white and blue colors decorated throughout the halls. The Wigwam Republican convention was located in Chicago. Chicago was voted as a neutral site as well as the best site for the convention. A strong case for this was because it was based on 3 things and they were: the new railroad transportation, new comfortable hotels and of course, it being a neutral territory. During this time, former Representative Abraham Lincoln of Illinois was nominated for President and Senator Hannibal Hamlin of Maine for Vice President. Lincoln presented himself as a man of the people. He had many careers after he moved to Illinois, some of them were, Captain of volunteers during the black hawk war, he was also a lawyer, and a store clerk. In 1846 he went on to win the election of us house of representative. He also had a couple of

The Democratic Party split in 1860 over the slavery issue. The Democrats from the Northern states were against slavery or at least the expansion of slavery in the new territories while the Democrats from the Southern states wanted to preserve slavery in their states and were for extending it in the new territories. On April 23, 1860, the Democrats met in Charleston, South Carolina with the goals of finalizing their platform and nominating a presidential candidate. In the North the Democratic candidate was the moderate Stephen Douglas. Voters in the South chose John Breckenridge, a defender of "Southern rights". The Southern Democrats hated Douglas, although he was not completely opposed to slavery in the West, he wanted to limit the institution 's use in the territories, by initiating popular sovereignty. A key play by Lincoln in the Lincoln-Douglas Debates in 1858 helped the Southerners realize this. Because the Democrats were split between different candidates and the Republican Party was united behind Abraham Lincoln, they won more electoral votes. Therefore, Lincoln became president.

In 1856, a Presidential election occurred in the United States at a crucial period. Sectionalism was at an all time high and a leader was needed to unite the country. However, the man who won the election did not prove to be this leader. Instead, his platform was based on a deliberate failure to lead. Due to James Buchanan’s position that supported popular sovereignty in the expanding United States, the country divided even further over the topic of slavery to the point that the Civil War became inevitable.

In the summer of 1854 a group of former whigs met in Ripon, Wisconsin to discuss forming a new political party, with the platform of stopping slavery http://www.ushistory.org/gop/origins.htm. There were two types of whigs, the Conscience Whigs and the Cotton Whigs. The Conscience Whigs were abolitionist and the Cotton Whigs were pro-slavery supporter. The party was made up of Anti-Nebraska democrats and anti-Nebraska whigs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3D37o7KD1s. The textbook states that “In 1854 the republicans chose candidates to challenge the pro-slavery Whigs and Democrats in state and congressional elections.” The party took Michigan and made advances in other states in the North, by 1855 they soon won control of the House of Representatives and other state governments(Mr. Adreon notes and Discovering our Past; The History of the United States Early Years p.433 ). On February 22 of 1856 in Pittsburgh, the Republican Party attended their first organizing convention. http://www.ushistory.org/gop/origins.htm. William H. Seward was considered as nominee but John C. Fremont was chosen. Fremont had no political record and led several expeditions in the West. Fremont went against a former president part of the Americans or Know Nothings political party, Millard Fillmore. The democratic nominee was James Buchanan. At this election the Republican Party had a few platforms and that was to denounce Kansas and Nebraska act, denounce the spread of slavery, and advocate internal improvements. The Republican Party won several North and Northwestern states, receiving almost no support in the south. James Buchanan won all southern states, midwestern states, and California. The Southern states threatened to secede if a Republican became president. The Know nothings only won Maryland. Even though the Republican Party failed in their first election, they grew. The Know

Another facet of Lincoln’s character is demonstrated by his moderate political policy. Steven Kautz writes, “Patriotism and the love of justice are . . . perhaps the great passions of republican politics. But moderation is ugly to the patriot. . . Lincoln was a moderate” (398). In a government previously and necessarily dominated mostly by patriots, Lincoln stood out as a moderate politician by rule of his quite personality. Kautz explains further, “Patriotism is a kind of love; but love is blind and love is foolish” (399). Some of Lincoln’s success as a leader can be attributed to his quite moderation. He took his time to settle matters wisely, and in a time of internal conflict in the States moderation proved to be a good policy over blunt patriotism. As president-elect, Lincoln

The factors that allowed Abraham Lincoln to capture the election of 1860 with only 39% of the popular vote was the fact that he was able to win every state in the North except for New Jersey. The other candidates were not able to gather the large amount that Lincoln did. Breckinridge for example was only to win some states in the north which were North Carolina, Arkansas, Delaware, and Maryland. In the south he was able to win Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina. Another candidate, Bell was only able to win Tennessee, Kentucky, and Virginia.

”The presidential election of 1860 was one of the most pivotal in U.S. history. The nation was in the grips of a national schism over the issue of slavery, and the results of this election accelerated that schism.”It changed the viewpoint of America at that time, when it showed us that Abraham Lincoln was a good man and helped America become a better country.

During the 1844 presidential elections, Henry Clay had been nominated as a candidate for the Whig Party. Clay had recently left the Senate after serving for Kentucky’s senator. Clay was a nationalist. He attempted to mediate

Enter the presidential election of 1860, which brought these tribulations to a clash with dramatic cost. The Democratic Party divided into three groups along their provincial lines, with each person vying for control of the party and each holding dissimilar ideas about how to deal with servitude in the West. Their candidates consisted of John C. Breckinride, John Bell, and Stephen A. Douglas; their efforts would be rubbish, however, as Abraham Lincoln would be triumphant for the Republican Party. Lincoln stood on the grounds that the West should be completely liberated of slavery entirely; which apparently was sufficient as he won the election with less than forty percent of the popular vote. On a side note about the election, fifty-nine percent of the

General in chief of the Confederate armies in the American Civil War. Born in Virginia's Westmoreland County on January 19, 1807, the third son of Henry ("Light Horse Harry") and Ann Hill Carter Lee. Declining fortunes forced the family's removal to Alexandria, where Robert distinguished himself in local schools. His father's death in 1811 increased responsibilities on all the sons; Robert, especially, cared for his invalid mother.

He participated in the Lincoln-Douglas debate which gave him a national reputation which made him a nominee for the Republican party.