Maine and the Elections of 1860

Abstract

governor's race, all six of the Maine congressional district races, and various statewide offices. If Maine returned a large Republican majority to Congress and the state legislature and elected a Republican governor, it could affect elections in the rest of the country, especially in key states such as Pennsylvania and Indiana, states that Abraham Lincoln had to carry to win the election. The citizens, press, and politicians of Maine were intensely aware and involved during the crisis. At every step along the way, they rejected the pleas of moderates and the policies of the Democratic Party. They overwhelmingly supported and voted for Republican Party candidates in the state and national elections of 1860, a victory so sweeping that no one could doubt how firmly they stood against disunion. The threat of secession and the predictions of economic calamity did not cause them to deviate one iota. Certainly, the citizens of the state risked a great deal by supporting the Republican Party. During the decade of the 1850s, Maine was a state on the move. Almost every leading indicator reported in the 1860 census documented that the Maine economy was expanding. The population of the state increased by 45,110 during the decade, from 583,169 persons in 1850 to 'Local and statewide elections in Maine were held on the second Tuesday in September until 1960.