“Union for the Sake of the Union”: The Selection of Joseph Lane as Acting President of the United States, 1861

Abstract

The 1860 presidential election was held during a time of turmoil, with the nation divided over the issue of slavery. “The conflicted loyalties of the American citizen body were reflected in the fractured partisan rivalries of the presidential election of 1860,” dividing the Democratic Party into two factions. Si Sheppard explores the Democratic Party's “deliberate attempt to spike the election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860 by denying him the Electoral College votes” and argues that its attempt was the closest chance Oregon has had to see one of its own — Sen. Joseph Lane, a southern sympathizer — as President of the United States.