Why Did Delaware Vote for Breckinridge in 1860?

frustrated progressive

Why did Delaware, which barely had slavery and was decidedly unionist during the war to come, vote pretty decisively for Breckinridge in the 1860 Presidential Election, in contrast to other Upper South states, which broke for Bell, or Maryland, which only voted for Breckinridge by a very small margin?
 

Mikestone8

frustrated progressive said:
Why did Delaware, which barely had slavery and was decidedly unionist during the war to come, vote pretty decisively for Breckinridge in the 1860 Presidential Election, in contrast to other Upper South states, which broke for Bell, or Maryland, which only voted for Breckinridge by a very small margin?
Click to expand...


Because Lincoln and Bell split the anti-Breckenridge vote. Bell would have carried DE in a straight fight.
 

David T

One should remember that Breckinridge was not necessarily considered an extremist in 1860--he claimed to be devoted to the Union (by which he meant of course the Union with "southern rights" respected) and unlike Buchanan had supported Douglas against Lincoln in 1858 (despite his disagreement with Douglas about the Freeport Doctrine). In short, he did represent the pro-Southern wing of the Democratic Party but not its most "ultra" element; he had the backing of the Rhetts and Yanceys but was not really one of them. And he did have some support in the free states--especially in Buchanan's Pennsylvania of course, but he also got 20.51 percent of the vote in CT (as well as coming close to carrying CA and OR) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1860_United_States_presidential_election His exact level of support in PA and NY and NJ cannot be known because there were "fusion" anti-Lincoln tickets n those states, but it was probably substantial. Even Ben Butler supported Breckinridge (but then Butler had supported Jefferson Davis at the Charleston convention!). And many of the southerners who supported Breckinridge were far from secessionists, notably Andrew Johnson...

(My favorite historical detail about Delaware: John Hale, the Free Soil candidate for president, only got 62 votes there in 1852--but that was enough to give the state to Pierce instead of Scott! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1852_United_States_presidential_election_in_Delaware)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top
Top