10 Elections That Changed America
Sure, the outcome is remarkable. But how will the '08 campaign hold up to history? Can any President shape a country like Lincoln? Save the U.S. like F.D.R.? From Washington to (surprise?) McKinley to Bush 43, these winners left an indelible legacy.
— By Jackson Dykman and Sean Gregory
The 1860 campaign altered America more than any other election in the nation's history. The new antislavery Republican Party nominated Lincoln, who benefited from a fractured opposition. Proslavery Democrats nominated incumbent Vice President John C. Breckinridge, a Kentuckian, while Northern Democrats ran with Illinois Senator Stephen Douglas. Lincoln won the White House with just 40% of the popular tally and didn't score a single Southern state. By February 1861, the Confederate States of America had penned a constitution. Bloodshed — and emancipation — would follow.
See pictures of Abraham Lincoln.
View the full list for "10 Elections That Changed America"Latest Lists
Around the Web
-
Stars' Real Names vs. Celebrity Pseudonyms (PHOTOS)
From THE HUFFINGTON POST
-
Miley Cyrus Garter Tights Turn Heads On Starbucks Coffee Run (PHOTOS)
From THE HUFFINGTON POST
