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***Major Highlight*** Ultra Rare Abraham Lincoln campaign token DeWitt-AL-1860-52, Cunningham 1-630B, King-49 R-6 ms66 SEGS. The Democratic Party of 1860 could trace its lineage to the late 18th century political philosophy of Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, and was, according to political historian Jules Wit cover, the oldest existing party in the world in 2003. It survived the first and second party systems while competing parties, Federalists and Whigs, rose and fell. Despite its longevity and stability in the American political system, the Democratic Party had self-destructed in the 1850s over the contentious issue of slavery in the territories. That issue led to the demise of the Whigs, the creation of the Republican Party, and was the single most important issue in American politics on the eve of the 1860 presidential election. The Democratic party was so divided over the issues of the day that after two full conventions, the party split. A Northern Democratic Party chose Steven Douglass as their candidate and a week later the new Southern Democratic Party chose John Breckinridge, the then sitting Vice President. The 1860 election was the most fractured election in US history, before or after. The election was characterized by the creation of groups of supporters who actively campaigned for their candidate. The most well-known of these bands was the “Wide Awakes,” a group that supported Lincoln; they marched, paraded, spoke, and generally supported Lincoln while keeping aware of their opposition. The “Wide Awakes” played a significant part in the campaign. Other groups existed but were not as conspicuous, such as the “Rail Splitters” for Lincoln, the “Little Giants,” “Hickory Clubs,” and “Chloroforms” for Douglas, the “National Democratic Volunteers” for Breckinridge, and the “Bell Ringers,” “Bell-Everette's,” “Union Sentinels,” and “Minute Men” for John Bell. Supporters also carried or wore campaign tokens, badges, ribbons, and ferrotypes to show their support for one of the candidates. On Election Day 81.2% of the eligible voters cast their vote, the highest percentage up to that time (only 1876, with 81.8%, had a higher percentage). The campaign did not lack interest, drama, or excitement.The results were a foregone conclusion after the state elections in October. Lincoln captured the North (except New Jersey, which he split with Douglas), Midwest, West, and 180 electoral votes, enough to win outright; Breckinridge carried the South and 72 electoral votes; Bell won 39 electoral votes from three upper South states; Douglas, the only truly national candidate, received 12 electoral votes (Missouri and half of New Jersey). Lincoln captured 1,865,908 popular votes, 39.9% of the total; Douglas received 1,380,019 popular votes, 29.5%; Breckinridge got 848,019 popular votes, 18.1% (South Carolina did not choose electors via popular vote in 1860); and Bell received 590,901 popular votes, 12.6% of the total. Lincoln and Douglas combined received 3,246,110 popular votes, 69.4% of the total. Breckinridge received the majority of the vote in only five of the future Confederate states (Alabama, Florida Mississippi, North Carolina, and Texas), which means that a large number of southerners cast their vote for Bell or Douglas, and effectively against secession. With less than 40% of the popular vote Lincoln’s victory was perhaps not the powerful message all presidential candidates want, but the voters in 1860 decisively chose to contain slavery, saying that the institution should not expand into the territories. The southern states, which had been threatening secession for a decade, had an important decision to make.
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