Examkin

Question

Difficulty: EasyPolitical Realignment and the Election of 1860

Read the excerpt below:

"We, the Democratic Party of the State of Alabama... hold that... all citizens of the United States have an equal right to settle with their property in the Territory, without their rights, either of person or property, being destroyed or impaired by Congressional or Territorial legislation."
— Alabama Platform, Democratic State Convention, 1860

Which of the following was a direct political consequence of the sectional disagreement shown in the excerpt during the presidential election of 1860?

  1. A
    The resolution of sectional conflicts through a national agreement that tariff rates were the main threat to the Union
  2. B
    The adoption of popular sovereignty by the federal government as a policy where the president decided the slave status of new territories
  3. The division of the Democratic Party into separate Northern and Southern factions with different candidatesAnswer
  4. D
    The passage of the Fourteenth Amendment to immediately secure citizenship and voting rights for enslaved people in the territories

Answer

The division of the Democratic Party into separate Northern and Southern factions with different candidates
The debate over whether the federal government should protect slavery in the territories, as expressed in the Alabama Platform, led to a major split at the 1860 Democratic National Convention. When Northern Democrats refused to support a platform guaranteeing a federal slave code, delegates from several Southern states walked out. As a result, the party divided into Northern Democrats, who nominated Stephen A. Douglas, and Southern Democrats, who nominated John C. Breckinridge, facilitating the election of Republican Abraham Lincoln.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the stimulus document to identify the political stance being expressed.
The Alabama Platform of 1860 demands that the federal government protect slaveholders' property rights in federal territories without interference from Congress or territorial legislatures.
Understanding the core sectional demand of Southern Democrats is necessary to trace its political effects.
2
Identify the immediate consequence of this stance at the 1860 Democratic National Convention.
Southern delegates walked out of the convention when Northern Democrats refused to support a platform guaranteeing a federal slave code, resulting in two separate Democratic nominees (Stephen A. Douglas and John C. Breckinridge).
Connecting the ideological demand to the political outcome shows the direct impact on the election of 1860.

Key Concept

The split of the Democratic Party over the issue of slavery in the territories during the election of 1860.
Estimated Time:45s
Rate this question

Topics

Political Realignment and the Election of 1860

More questions from this topic