The Election of 1860, Secession of Georgia, and Alexander Stephens

Abraham Lincoln was part of the Republican party, formed in 1854. A lot of people were critical of the Republican Party, because they had ideas that were considered crazy at the time. Some of these were that women, men, and slaves should all be equal. Democrats did not take Republicans seriously, and hated them, as a lot of them were abolitionists. Abraham Lincoln was a very involved Republican, and ran for president in 1860. 10 Southern states did not even put him on ballot, yet he won. Georgia was loyal to the Confederacy, but they were not sure what to do at first. In most states, all of the colonists were willing to secede from the Union. This was not the Case at the Georgia Secession Convention, as most people wanted to secede, but a lot of people were anti-secessionists. Alexander Stephens was one of these people from Georgia who was undecided. He even supported the Compromise of 1850, which was in favor of the Union, as long as the Fugitive Slave Act was followed. The reason he decided to join the Confederacy was that he believed slavery was inevitable, and the Union was already going to lose. Surprisingly, Jefferson Davis chose Stephens as the Vice President of the Confederacy.


Lincoln won the vote of most northern states, ending up winning the election.
Image From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_presidential_election,_1860


Alexander Stephens was from Georgia, and went on to become the Vice President of the Confederacy.
Image From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confederate_States_of_America