Abe Lincoln
Becoming President
Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas both ran for President in 1860. Lincoln ran
for the Republican Party. They wanted no slavery in the new states, but did not want to do
away with slavery in those states that already had it. Douglas ran for the Democratic
Party. In the north they wanted each state to decide for itself to be slave or free.
Douglas made no secret of his pro-slavery feelings. John C. Breckenridge ran for the
Southern Democrats. They wanted slavery in the new states. John Bell ran for the
Constitutional Union Party. They said nothing at all about slavery.
The elected was held in November of 1860. Lincoln won the popular vote by more than 500,000 votes. He won most of the votes of the Electoral College
Electoral Votes
Lincoln 180 Breckenridge 72 Bell 39 Douglas 12
Lincoln was now President.
The Life of Abe Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was born in a log cabin in Kentucky. When he was seven he went to
Indiana. He attended a real school for only one year. Abe taught himself to read an write.
By the age of 17 Abe was working for local farmers. Around 1830 his family moved to
Illinois. Abe was a good speaker. In 1834 he decided to get into politics. He ran for the
Illinois State Legislature and won. Abe then became a lawyer while he was in the state
legislature. He opened his own law office. Abe ran against Stephen Douglas for Senator and
lost. Two years later he ran against Douglas again for President and won.