Editing Abraham Lincoln (section)

===1860 presidential election===
{{Main|1860 United States presidential election}}
[[File:The Rail Candidate.jpg|alt= Lincoln being carried by two men on a long board. |thumb|''The Rail Candidate'', a critical [[Currier and Ives]] illustration, which depicted Lincoln's platform in the [[1860 United States presidential election|1860 presidential campaign]] as being held up by a slave and his party]]

On May 9–10, 1860, the Illinois Republican State Convention was held in [[Decatur, Illinois|Decatur]].{{sfn|Donald|1996|p=244}} Exploiting his embellished frontier legend of clearing land and splitting fence rails, Lincoln's supporters adopted the label of "The Rail Candidate".{{sfn|Donald|1996|pp=244&ndash;245}} On May 18 at the [[1860 Republican National Convention|Republican National Convention]] in Chicago, Lincoln won the nomination on the third ballot.<ref name=anb/> A former Democrat, [[Hannibal Hamlin]] of Maine, was nominated for vice president to [[Ticket balance|balance the ticket]].{{sfn|Burlingame|2008|loc=v. 1 p. 625}}

Throughout the 1850s, Lincoln had doubted the prospects of civil war, and his supporters rejected claims that his election would incite secession.{{sfn|Boritt|Pinsker|2002|pp=10, 13, 18}} When Douglas was selected as the candidate of the Northern Democrats, delegates from the Southern slave states elected incumbent Vice President [[John C. Breckinridge]] as their candidate.{{sfn|Donald|1996|p=253}} A group of former Whigs and Know Nothings formed the [[Constitutional Union Party (United States)|Constitutional Union Party]] and nominated [[John Bell (Tennessee politician)|John Bell]] of Tennessee. Lincoln and Douglas competed for votes in the North, while Bell and Breckinridge primarily found support in the South.{{sfn|White|2009|pp=247–248}} A nationwide militaristic Republican youth organization, the [[Wide Awakes]], "turned it into one of the most excited elections in American history" and "triggered massive popular enthusiasm".<ref>{{cite journal|title='Young men for war': the Wide Awakes and Lincoln's 1860 presidential campaign|last=Grinspan|first=Jon|journal=Journal of American History|volume=96|issue=2|page=377|jstor=25622297}}</ref> People of the Northern states knew the Southern states would vote against Lincoln and rallied supporters for him.{{sfn|Murrin|2006|p=464}}

As Douglas and the other candidates campaigned, Lincoln gave no speeches, relying on the enthusiasm of the Republican Party. Republican speakers emphasized Lincoln's childhood poverty to demonstrate the power of "free labor", which allowed a common farm boy to work his way to the top by his own efforts.{{sfn|Donald|1996|pp=254–256}} Though he did not give public appearances, many sought to visit and write to Lincoln. In the runup to the election, he took an office in the Illinois state capitol to deal with the influx of attention. He also hired [[John George Nicolay]] as his personal secretary, who would remain in that role during the presidency.{{sfnm|Donald|1996|1pp=251–252|Burlingame|2008|2loc=v. 1 pp. 650&ndash;652}}

On November 6, 1860, Lincoln was elected as the first Republican president. His victory was entirely due to his support in the North and West. No ballots were cast for him in 10 of the 15 Southern slave states.{{sfnm|Mansch|2005|1p=61|Donald|1996|2p=256}} Lincoln received 1,866,452 votes, or 39.8 percent of the total in a four-way race, carrying the free Northern states, as well as California and Oregon, and winning the electoral vote decisively.{{sfn|White|2009|p=350}}