The Northern Democrats nominated Stephen Douglass as their candidate. He was a supporter of slavery, and hoped to gain support from the South on this issue. However, the South did not like Stephen Douglass because he was a supporter of popular sovereignty. Therefore, the Southern Democrats nominated John C. Breckenridge as their presidential candidate. The Republicans seeing that the Democrats had two candidates knew that they had a very good chance to win the election. They nominated Abraham Lincoln, a strong abolitionist to represent their party. The winner of the election was Lincoln as the Democratic vote was split between the two candidates. The South was very unhappy with the outcome of the election, causing South Carolina to secede from the Union a few weeks after the results of the …show more content…
The Northerners did not fully back his ideas of emancipation of the slaves and were aggravated for so many Union casualties in war. Lincoln decided to run for president again in 1864 and carried with him the same beliefs as before. The Democrats nominated George B. McClellan for president. McClellan and the Democrats pushed for peace at any cost. He was a former commander of the army. Lincoln’s hopes of winning the election were shrinking until General Sherman captured Atlanta and victory was in sight for the Union army. As a result, Lincoln ended up winning the Electoral College 212-21—an enormous victory for the Republicans. As president again, he was able to issue the Emancipation Proclamation freeing all slaves. He also worked to hold the North and South together until his assassination in 1865. A nation divided was once again coming back together slowly and would soon grow to become the most powerful nation in the world. All of the presidents leading up to the civil war did what they could to keep the North and South together over the issue of slavery. During the time the Republican party emerged showing great strength and support from both the North and South. After the Civil War, Lincoln left a lasting impact on America and changed it for the better. All of the presidents have left their own impact on the growth and development of the