1860 Presidential Election (The Hearse at Monticello)

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

The greatest accomplishment of the Stevens Administration was the passage of the 15th Amendment, which formally extended the franchise to blacks and, for the first time in world history, women. Viewing the pre-war South as little more than a traitorous cesspool, Stevens has sought to drastically reshape the region, encouraging blacks to engage in the political process and punishing former Confederate leaders. Stevens also signed the Homestead Act into law in 1858, lowering the price of land and encouraging expansion into the West.
Easily renominated by the Republican National Convention, Stevens faces Democrat Stephen Douglas, nominated for a third time by his struggling party, and Constitutional Unionist Samuel Houston. Of the two challengers, Houston is seen as the bigger threat to the president, due to his ability to appeal to voters outside of the South. Though the Constitutional Unionist platform is purposefully vague, Houston is well known for his support for the Union during the war, and his status as a Westerner makes it likely he will support westward expansion. Stevens, meanwhile, is running on his record as a staunch defender of the Union and hopes that newly-enfranchised black voters will help him make headway in the South.

[Goldwater]

Houston.

[Mr. Smith]

Keep Stevens

[Zioneer]

Turn the South into a decent home for former slaves, instead of a sharecropping nightmare. Stevens!

[Dr. Cynic]

Go Stevens!

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

Bump.

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

1860 Presidential Election

President Thaddeus Stevens (Republican-Pennsylvania)/ Vice President Abraham Lincoln (Republican-Illinois): 197 Electoral Votes; 51.9% popular votes
Governor Samuel Houston (Constitutional Union-Texas)/ Fmr. Senator Edward Everett (Constitutional Union-Massachusetts): 90 Electoral Votes; 37.0% popular votes
Senator Stephen Douglas (Democratic-Illinois)/ Senator Joseph Lane (Democratic-Oregon): 16 Electoral Votes; 11.1% popular votes

In the closest election since 1844 (and the first in which women and blacks nationwide participated), President Thaddeus Stevens won a narrow victory in a three-way race against Unionist Governor Samuel Houston and Democratic Senator Stephen Douglas. Stephen's slim margin in the popular vote was presumed by many to indicate Northern fatigue with Reconstruction, leading some Congressional Republicans to shift focus in the coming years, though Stephens remained committed to the principles of the 15th Amendment.