Stephen Douglas, Abraham Lincoln, and the election that brought on the Civil War
By: Douglas R. Egerton.
Edition: 1st ed.
Publisher: Bloomsbury Press
Published: 2010
Place of publication: New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 399
ISBN-13: 9781596916197
Subjects: Lincoln, Abraham, -- 1809-1865 -- Political and social views; Douglas, Stephen A. -- 1813-1861 -- Political and social views; Lincoln, Abraham, -- 1809-1865 -- Political career before 1861; Presidents -- United States -- Election -- 1860; United States -- Politics and government -- 1857-1861; United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Causes
Description: "In early 1860, pundits and political operatives across America confidently predicted the victory of Illinois senator Stephen A. Douglas in the coming presidential election. Douglas, after all, led the Democrats, the only party that bridged North and South. But the Democracy would splinter over the issue of slavery, opening the way for the upstart Republicans, exclusively Northern, to steal the Oval Office. Dark horse Abraham Lincoln, not the first choice even of his own party, won the presidency with a record-low share of the popular vote. Year of Meteors re-creates the cascade of events that confounded political bosses, set North and South on the road to disunion, and put not Stephen Douglas but his lifelong rival in the White House"--Page 2 of cover.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.