Abraham Lincoln Is Elected President
Abraham Lincoln won the United States presidential election on November 6, 1860.
Published · Updated · 1 min read
The Event
Abraham Lincoln won the United States presidential election on November 6, 1860. His victory came amid deep conflict over slavery and its expansion.
The Wider Story
Lincoln secured an Electoral College majority while the opposition was divided. Southern secession followed, but his inauguration and the beginning of the Civil War occurred in 1861.
Putting the Event in Perspective
Election day should not be illustrated as an immediate battlefield scene.
Reading the Historical Record
The political crisis developed through subsequent decisions, and the central role of slavery must not disappear behind a vague description of regional disagreement.
About the Historical Recreation
The accompanying visual is an illustrative reconstruction: an American polling place and newspaper office in 1860, anonymous voters and unreadable headlines. It is not authentic archival footage, an eyewitness record or additional evidence for the event.
Sources
- Abraham Lincoln Timeline | Articles and Essays | Abraham Lincoln Papers at the Library of Congress | Digital Collections | Library of Congress — Library of Congress
- Abraham Lincoln papers: Series 1. General Correspondence. 1833-1916: B. J. F. Hanna to Abraham Lincoln, Tuesday, November 06, 1860 (Telegram reporting election results) | Library of Congress — Library of Congress
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