Chapter 113: Lincoln is elected but with only 39.7% of the popular votes.

Once the southern states refuse to even offer ballots for Lincoln, the campaign centers exclusively in the North. Of the four candidates, only Douglas engages directly with potential voters, backed by his “Little Giants.” Lincoln stays silently above the fray while relying on his army of “Wide Awakes” touting “Old Honest Abe the Railsplitter.“

On October 9 a party loss in a race for governor in Pennsylvania convinces Douglas that he cannot stop Lincoln alone, and he creates a “Fusion” ballot along with Bell and Breckinridge. This still falls short and Lincoln prevails on November 6, 1860.

The Presidential Election of 1860