1860 and on. . .

[True Democrat]

After the Southern Democrats walked out of the first democratic convention of 1860 in Charleston, the Democrats reassembled in Baltimore without the delegations of Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, South Carolina, Florida, Texas and Arkansas.  However, Douglas and the Democrats kept the other slave states in the Baltimore convention by promising to pick a Southern candidate for Vice-President.  On the 17th ballot, Stephen Douglas was nominated by the Democratic party for President of the United States, while former Georgia Governor Herschel Vespasian Johnson was  expected to be nominated for Vice President.  However, Douglas had a different idea.  Douglas felt that pulling in the former Whig vote was essential to victory.  He kept his promise to pick a Southerner and chose former Senator and Speaker of the House John Bell of Tennessee.  Althought Bell was a Whig politician, he was the only one to cast his vote against the Kansas-Nebraska act.  Although he was the only Southerner to vote against this bill, it has since become extremely unpopular in some small circles in the South since Northern congressman had refused to admit Kansas as a slave state.  Bell was not well liked by slave state delegates, but they accepted him nonetheless.

Going into the Southern Democratic convention, Vice President Breckenridge was the favorite, but through support from the deep south, Senator Jefferson Davis was chosen.  Davis, an opponent of secession, was  chosen so that the Southern Democrats could pick up more votes in the border states and even possibly in states such as Pennsylvania.  Joseph Lane of Oregon was chosen for Vice President.

At the Republican convention, Seward, Lincoln, Chase, and Cameron were the original frontrunners.  Seward, Chase, and Cameron were not liked by certain factions of the pary.  However, many delegates felt Lincoln could not win against a fairly united Democratic party.  After many deadlocked ballots, the party turned to 1856 nominee John C. Fremont.  For Vice President, the convention chose Chase.

Early in the campaign, Douglas pursued a nationwide speaking tour, visiting almost every state except California and Oregon.  Davis focused on winning the South and hoped the election would go to the House where he would be elected.  Fremont refused to leave California.  Lincoln instead campaigned in the East.

When the results were certified on election day, Douglas was surprisingly called the victor.



Douglas/Bell: 47.94%, 170 electoral votes
Fremont/Chase: 33.70%, 67 electoral votes
Davis/Lane: 18.35%, 66 electoral votes

I want to make this one of those stories where the next person writes the next part.  Whoever writes next, remember that Douglas died in 1861.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

When Douglas assembled his cabinet, he hoped to both reunite the country and provide a modiucm of stability.  As Secretary of State he chose to retain Lewis Cass.  For Secretary of the Treasury, rather than keep Howell Cobb, he chose to instead pick former Governor Philip Thomas of Maryland.  Even before Buchannan fired him, Douglas had planned or replacing the inept Secretary of War John B. Floyd.  He offered Davis back his old post, both as a way of placating him and of getting him out of the Senate, but Davis declined and instead recommended an young up and comer who had impressed him when he was Secretary of War, George B. McClellan.  Douglas chose to retain the newly appointed Attorney General Edwin M. Stanton.  (Stanton replaced Jeremiah S. Black as AG after he was confirmed to the Supremem Court to fill the vacancy caused by death of Justice Daniel.  In OTL Black was rejected by a margin of one vote. and Stanton followed Black as AG after he was moved over to replace Cass who had resigned in frustration over Bucahanan inaction on secession.)  For Postmaster General he chose David Tod of Ohio as a stalwart Democrat who could manage the spoils of the politically lucrative Post Office Department.  For Secretary of the Navy, Douglas chose to replace northerner Issac Toucey with southernern Stephen Mallory.  Finally, in an effort to reach across to the Republicans, for the post of Secretary of the Interior, Douglas chose a man he knew well the temperment of, Abraham Lincoln.  How well Douglas would have managed this Cabinet of competing interests is something historians always ponder, since his untimely death from typhoid fever in June 1861 would place this assembled Cabinet under the direction of John C. Bell instead, who had his own ideas.

Douglas' Cabinet
Secretary of State Lewis Cass
Secretary of the Treasury Philip Thomas
Secretary of War George B. McClellan
Attorney General Edwin M. Stanton
Postmaster General David Tod
Secretary of the Navy Stephen Mallory
Secretary of the Interior Abraham Lincoln

[ATFFL]

His efforts at national reconciliation were only partially successful.  While many southerners were satisfied that the Radical Republicans were kept out of office, the fact that they had made their presence known in the House worried much of their Representation.  The lead speaker for them was James Chestnut, Jr. from South Carolina.

The outspoken Senator quickly became a thorn in the side of the administration.   He derided the choice of Lincoln for any position and tried, unsuccessfully, to filibuster the appointment.  His fiery speeches about how there were those trying to instigate a civil war to forcefully end slavery earned him headlines throughout the country and, finally, a face to face meeting to discuss matters with the President.

The meeting took place on June 1st, 1861 and lasted 5 hours.  During this time the two men took a break for a public lunch.  They were seen to be in a heated discussion while they ate.  A famous picture showed Senator Chestnut apparently screaming and pointing at the President while the President looked unwell.  In reality the Senator was calling for a refill of his glass.  The President, however, was feeling unwell.

The picture would prove to be the last one of President Douglas.  He would die in his sleep that night.  His last words, spoken to a trusted aide, were "I am going to retire for the evening.  Tomorrow, I shall set about solving the issue of slavery."

A new President now faced a divided country and cabinet not of his choosing.

[True Democrat]

After taking the oath of office on June 2, 1861, President Bell promised to follow in the footsteps and Douglas and carry out his legacy.  Bell's first proposal is surprisingly not on slavery, but on a revolutionary new idea.  Bell wanted a constitutional amendment that would give him the power to appoint a Vice-President, as the Senate was now tied on the issue of slavery in the western territories.  The Senate now stands as follows:

Republican: 31 (+5 from 1858)
Democratic*: 27 (-11)
Southern Democratic: 7 (+7)
Unionist: 1 (+1)
Other: 0 (-2)

With caucusing:
Republican: 31
Democratic: 35

*The Democratic Party in the Senate is mainly made up of the Northern Democrats, though many Southerners stayed loyal to the party.

However, on the issue of the Kansas-Nebraska Act and expansion of slavery into the Western territories, the Unionist Senator and one Democratic Senator were opposed, which meant on this issue the Senate was tied 33-33.

President Bell refused to talk about slavery until his amendment passed. . .

[True Democrat]

Anybody want to add anything?

[True Democrat]

On September 8, 1861, the Senate and the House both successfully passed the amendment that would allow the President to nominate a Vice PResident in case of death, resignation, etc.

Meanwhile, the Southern Democrats had one by one come back to the Democratic party, as their influence even in the South began to diminish.

President Bell's major problem was that he could not work successfully with either party, as he was not a Democrat or a Republican, but instead he was a member of the now defunct Whig Party.