On Tuesday, Nov. 6, 1860, American voters elected Abraham Lincoln of Illinois as the 16th president of the United States. The former frontier boy who became a lawyer and politician was the first Republican ever to win the White House, according to History.com. His victory set off a chain of events that would lead the nation into its most painful chapter, the Civil War, and eventually to the end of slavery.
This Friday, Nov. 6, 2026, marks 166 years since that election. It also arrives just days after Americans voted in this year’s midterm elections, a timely moment to look back at one of the most consequential votes in the country’s history.
A four-way race
The 1860 election was unusual because four major candidates were on the ballot. According to Britannica, the Democratic Party split that year. Its convention first met in Charleston, South Carolina, then in Baltimore, where Northern Democrats chose Illinois Sen. Stephen A. Douglas. Southern Democrats backed John C. Breckinridge, and the Constitutional Union Party ran John Bell.
The Republicans met in Chicago in May 1860 and nominated Lincoln on the third ballot, Britannica notes. Like most candidates of that era, Lincoln ran what was called a stay-at-home campaign and gave no stump speeches. Supporters did the campaigning for him. The University of Illinois’ Illinois History and Lincoln Collections describes how he became known as “the people’s candidate” and how young supporters called the Wide Awakes held torch-lit night marches to spread his message.
The results
About four-fifths of eligible voters cast ballots on Election Day, Britannica reports. The final tallies show how divided the country had become:
- Abraham Lincoln (Republican): 1,866,452 votes, slightly under 40%, and 180 electoral votes
- Stephen A. Douglas (Northern Democrat): 1,380,202 votes, nearly 30%, and 12 electoral votes
- John C. Breckinridge (Southern Democrat): 847,953 votes, about 18%, and 72 electoral votes
- John Bell (Constitutional Union): 590,901 votes, about 12.6%, and 39 electoral votes
According to the National Archives, 152 of the 303 electoral votes were needed to win. Lincoln’s running mate was Hannibal Hamlin. Bell carried Kentucky, Tennessee and Virginia, while Breckinridge won most of the other slave states. Douglas, despite finishing second in the popular vote, won only Missouri and part of New Jersey’s electoral votes.
Lincoln won the presidency with no electoral support from the South. Britannica notes he received no votes in the states that would later form the Confederacy, except in Virginia, where he received about 1%.
A nation divided
Southern leaders had warned they would leave the Union if a Republican won the White House, History.com explains. They followed through. South Carolina seceded on Dec. 20, 1860, Britannica reports, and by the time Lincoln took the oath of office on March 4, 1861, seven Southern states had left the Union and formed the Confederate States of America, with Jefferson Davis as its president.
Lincoln’s election, chosen by a divided electorate and rejected by much of the South, became the turning point that pushed the long national argument over slavery and union toward open conflict.
Why it matters for families today
The 1860 election is a powerful lesson about how much a single vote can shape a nation’s future. It shows that elections can bring deep disagreement, and that what happens afterward matters as much as the results themselves. The election of 1860 remains one of the most studied moments in American history.
For parents and teachers, this anniversary is a good way to talk with children about how presidents are chosen, what the Electoral College is, and why peaceful transitions of power matter. Families can explore primary documents from the 1860 election, including the official electoral tally, online through the National Archives. Upstormed News covered this week’s results in our story on how the Dow jumped as Democrats won control of Congress, and earlier this week we looked back at the start of the Iran hostage crisis on Nov. 4, 1979.
Read more: On This Day, Nov. 5, 1872: Susan B. Anthony Casts a Ballot and Is Arrested
Which presidential election in American history do you think changed the country the most?
Sources: History.com, "Abraham Lincoln elected president" (accessed November 6, 2026); Britannica, "United States presidential election of 1860" (accessed November 6, 2026); National Archives, "1860 Electoral College Results" (accessed November 6, 2026); Illinois History and Lincoln Collections, University of Illinois, "The People’s Candidate: Lincoln’s Presidential Elections" (accessed November 6, 2026)
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