Another way to look at the relationship between the candidates is to look at Lincoln the victor, in comparison to the other three candidates up for election. Breckinridge, Douglas, and Bell identified more with southern ideals than Lincoln. However Douglas hailed and represented the state of Illinois, the same as Abraham Lincoln. Another argument when comparing them all to the future sixteenth president was their individual resumes were filled with war experience, political hierarchy positions and just more time spent in the political sphere than Lincoln. Breckinridge was the current Vice President at the time and was a Mexican American War veteran. Bell served as a representative for Kentucky in the House, and would later be elected the Speaker …show more content…
The prior history regarding these two men is extensive and is fueled by what some would deem hatred. The two men seemed to be both political and social rivals emerging out of the state of Illinois. It seems to have all started over a woman by the name of Mary Todd who was courted by Douglas, but in the future she would choose to marry Lincoln which pitted Stephen Douglas against him in the first of many ways. The climax of this feud is ingrained in the election for a state senate seat 1858. This election drew a lot of public attention due to the publicized debates between the two men. These debates played a large role in influencing our modern day campaigning styles. In this political clash, Stephen Douglas would be triumphant, and had the political hand over Lincoln going into the presidential election two years later. Nevertheless, the state senate election and the debates held during it had somewhat of a stronghold over the presidential campaigns in 1860. Author Douglas R. Egerton writes “The Republican Platform was in circulation, of course, as was Lincoln’s publications of his 1858 debates with Douglas”. Many were made aware of the past between these two candidates because rivalry was something the defined politics in Illinois a few years back, and history had the chance of repeating itself. In a way, this was a dramatic story line that made the election at hand …show more content…
One group in particular were known as the Wide Awakes who were young men with military background that affiliated themselves with Lincoln and his cause. They helped him in the last strides of his campaigning process to draw in voters especially those of the younger generation. When discussing the influence of the Wide Awakes author Jon Grinspan wrote “every campaign club must try to foster competition, employ appealing symbols and engender mass participation. The Wide Awakes surpassed expectations in all three categories”. This shows how influential and effective it was to draw in mass groups of supporters. The Wide Awakes assisted Lincoln in the final pushes of his campaign and can be give some credit for his pull-through victory. The media was another social practice that influenced the outcome of the Election of 1860. During these times, news was gauged through local newspapers. Updates on nominations, and election results came to the public through sphere of periodicals. The newspapers were also biased and regionally based on what they chose to put out to the public and how they did so. Like the Wide Awakes, the Newspapers played a large role in the outcome of the election of 1860. For the newspaper, “the obvious strategy of the opposition was to attract all the disillusioned into their ranks”. This