Leading up to the election of 1860, Abraham Lincoln faced Stephen Douglas for a seat in the US senate. Lincoln lost, but he did bring attention to the young Republican Party. In 1860 Lincoln ran for president and won his party’s nomination. He once again faced Douglas, but this time he won. When Lincoln was inaugurated on March 4, 1861 seven states had left the union. They feared that the only way to preserve their way of life was to separate from Lincoln. The Northern states viewed succession as an illegal act, and only recognized The Confederate States of America as a group of traitors. The southern states elected Jefferson Davis as their president.
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