Lincoln Elected

The United States presidential election of 1860 was one of the most pivotal in American history. Republican Abraham Lincoln defeated three other candidates: Northern Democrat Stephen A. Douglas, Southern Democrat John C. Breckinridge, and Constitutional Union candidate John Bell. Lincoln won a majority in the electoral college despite receiving less than 40% of the popular vote. His election prompted seven Southern states to secede from the Union before his inauguration in March 1861, leading directly to the American Civil War.