Timeline, 1860

A Growing Nation

The Eighth Census (1860) of the population of the United States calculates the population of the nation at 31,443,321. Of that number, four million are slaves, and includes the 3,185 slaves residing in Washington DC. (U.S. Census 1860, 592-95)

Lincoln is Elected the Sixteenth President of the United States

In a four-way race for the presidency, Abraham Lincoln of Illinois wins the majority of the electoral votes but only 40 percent of the popular vote. Other than New Jersey, Lincoln carries every state north of the Mason-Dixon line. This is the first time in the nation’s history that a candidate has won the presidency by carrying only free states and losing in every slave state.

The Crittenden Compromise

Senator John J. Crittenden of Kentucky, invoking the ghosts of the Great Compromisers of the Senate Past—John Calhoun of South Carolina, Henry Clay of Kentucky, and Daniel Webster of Massachusetts—proposes an amendment to the U.S. Constitution that will once and forever would recognize the owning of slaves as a right and would be balanced by extending the Missouri Compromise line of 1820 to the Pacific Ocean. South Carolina politely declines and secedes two days later.

Date	Key Events of 1860
May 1860	Republicans Nominate Abraham Lincoln Republicans meeting in Chicago nominate Abraham Lincoln to be their candidate for president. They adopt a moderate platform calling for the prohibition of slavery in the territories but not its abolition. Lincoln endorses and supports the policy. (Bowman 40)
November 6	Lincoln is Elected the Sixteenth President of the United States Excepting New Jersey, Lincoln carries every state north of the Mason-Dixon line. The North’s electoral votes are enough to put Lincoln over the top despite garnering only 40 percent of the popular vote.
December 18	The Crittenden Compromise Senator John J. Crittenden of Kentucky proposes his amendment to the Constitution legalizing slavery south of the line established by the Missouri Compromise of 1820.
December 20	South Carolina Secedes from the Union By unanimous vote, South Carolina’s specially convened convention on the matter adopts an Ordinance of Secession and formally severs its ties with the United States. Over 58 percent of the state’s population is composed of slaves who had no say in the debate.
	Historical Sketches: 10th S.C.V. Infantry The state legislature of South Carolina calls for the establishment of ten militia regiments to be comprised of volunteers. (Emanuel 6)