Chapter 3: Free Soil, Free Labor, Free Men​



James Buchanan​



Frederick Douglas​



Buchanan - 18 states carried with 45% of the popular vote and 163 electoral votes.

Frémont - 12 states carried with 34% of the popular vote and 125 electoral votes.

Fillmore - 1 state carried with 21% of the popular vote and 8 electoral votes. ​

Lincoln and other Senators took advantage of the closing of the second session in August 30th to stump around with enthusiasm for their candidates and for Frémont. Chants of “Free Soil, Free Speech, Free Men, Frémont!” inundated the North. The Republicans went into attack, launching a campaign with greater vigor and fervor than any other ever seen. A meeting in Buffalo declared that a Republican victory was necessary for instating a government of the people, not a government of an oligarchy. This oligarchy, they charged, sought to spread slavery and transform it into a national institution, a shared shame and curse that would forever subjugate the free-men of the North.The people responded to Republican oratory will equal enthusiasm. The atmosphere was electric. The election was the most contested and ebullient one since the 1840 election. Passions ran high, but the election wasn’t joyous. Rather, as an Indiana politician said, it was not characterized by effervescence “but a solemn earnestness that is almost painful”. Indeed, the necessity to fight back against the Slave Power was greater than ever, and the Republicans so focused on that sole issue that old positions such as tariffs, internal improvements and banks were forgotten. The Republicans continued their attacks against the Democracy through the entire North, conscious that a Solid North may earn them the Presidency.The Democrats counterattacked with equal ferocity and cheaper tactics. They appealed to the inherent racism of the American people, both Southerners and Northerners. The Republicans, they said, were the party of the Negro, of abolitionism, of slave-uprisings, chaos and societal collapse, of miscegenation and radical extremism. If you voted Republican, you would be inviting thousands of Blacks to the North, where they would be free to rape and corrupt the land. Many Republicans, including moderates such as Lincoln and conservatives like the Blairs, were forced onto the defensive. They stated that they were the real White Man’s Party, for they fought to contain slavery, thus preventing the spread of Negros from the South to the North. They fought to keep Kansas and other territories free of slavery, to protect the dignity and future of White labor.This message was sour to Abolitionist who considered that the Republicans were no better than the Democracy. The Democracy, for their part, faced internal divisions that threatened to overwhelm it. Pierce and Douglas both tried to obtain the nomination, and while they enjoyed support from Southerners thankful for the Kansas-Nebraska Act, the fallout of the act sowed doubts among the Northern Democrats. James Buchanan, a man of political experience who remained apart from the whole debacle, was ultimately selected as the nominee after Pierce and Douglas withdrew. When juxtaposed with the colorful and romantic figure of Frémont, Buchanan seemed boring, but he was still the choice of the South and of Northerners terrified of the prospect of war. Indeed, threats of secession were the Democrats’ greatest weapon next to racism. Electing Frémont, they proclaimed, would be an intolerable insult that would force them out of the Union.Lincoln reiterated that he and his party had no intention to interfere with slavery where it already existed. The Illinois Senator returned to his state in a sort of tour that saw him giving speeches in many cities, until he finally arrived to Illinois. The State Republican Party wanted Lincoln to campaign for them, and exclusively in Illinois, a pivotal state. Lincoln delivered more than 100 speeches in Northern, Central and Southern Illinois. The northern counties were sure to be carried by Frémont, the southern ones by Buchanan; the decisive battle would be fought in the Center. The main obstacle to Republican hopes was the American Party, made of Know-Nothings who couldn’t embrace the Republican cause and Whigs who wouldn’t. The Party nominated former President Fillmore, and subtracted many votes from the Republicans. Lincoln achieved a significant victory by successfully convincing the Know-Nothings to create a Fusion Ticket, that would allot its votes to whomever gained the popular vote.Despite his efforts, carrying Illinois would still be an uphill battle. The Democratic Party enjoyed great power. None other than Stephen A. Douglas, leader of the Northern Democracy, hailed from the State. But this helped Lincoln rather than hinder him, for Douglas served as a natural foil that allowed Lincoln to exalt and build his Party. During the campaign, Lincoln followed Douglas, who also took to the streets for his Party. They eventually agreed to spar in several debates. The debates quickly gained National attention. They were seen as the ultimate battle between the Northern Democracy and the Republican Party.Lincoln presented moderate views and at the same time a harsh criticism of slavery as a monstrous injustice that had to be eradicated to allow progress, education and development. Douglas appealed to racism and prejudice, making it clear that the Republican Party threatened White Supremacy. The debates were a source of enthusiasm. Thousands lined to hear the words of two of America’s most celebrated and skilled orators. Many commented that the people seemed more excited to see Lincoln than to campaign for Frémont. Senator Lincoln was quickly becoming a celebrity, and many democrats took note, including Senator Seward, the most prominent Republican in the Upper North.Republican delegations poured to Illinois. Illinois was the state were the Republicans campaigned the hardest, next only to Pennsylvania. Lincoln’s strong performance made many believe that the state could be carried by Frémont. And Illinois and Pennsylvania, when added to the Upper North, would give Frémont the presidency. But many still didn’t know where Lincoln stood. Radicals accused him of being a Southern Sympathizer, and Moderates of being a Radical. This frustrated the Prairie Lawyer. Nonetheless, Lincoln was still open to the delegations, including a Radical one led by Owen Lovejoy and attended by Frederick Douglas. They questioned Lincoln on the topic of colonization specifically. To “colonize” the African-American Population was seen as a solution to the Black problem, and Lincoln often expressed affinity for the idea.Douglas and the Radicals, who supported civil rights, tried to convince Lincoln to come over to their side. The US was their home, and Black people weren’t made for tropical climate. To remove them from their home would be inhumane, as monstrous as slavery itself. Lincoln confessed to be surprised by the adamant resistance to the idea by the part of black communities. He always believed that they wanted to immigrate, because the US would always be hostile to them. Lincoln’s lack of contact with Black leaders before his election as Senator had done little to dispel this notion.Lovejoy, Douglas and the rest of the delegation left Springfield hopeful. Lovejoy had always defended Lincoln and his anti-slavery record. And though they hadn’t fully succeeded to change the Senator’s views, Lincoln started a gradual change, only advocating for colonization if Black people wanted it. During the debates, he often deflected the question by saying that the issue laid in the far way future. His insistence on gradual, compensated emancipation led credence to this claim.The famous debates, four in total, were won by Lincoln. At least so modern historians and voters thought. Lovejoy’s endorsement convinced the radicals, while, despite his shifting views and strong condemn of slavery, he was still seen as a moderate. The Fusion ticket carried Illinois by a thin margin. But this wasn’t enough, for Buchanan carried Pennsylvania, Indiana and New Jersey along with a Solid South. Fillmore only carried Maryland.Despite this defeat, the Republicans had reasons to feel hopeful for the next election. The Upper North had chosen and voted for Frémont with a huge margin of 60% of the votes. The electoral victory in Illinois was also cause of celebration, for Illinois had heretofore been a reliably Republican state. Back when Lincoln was a state Senator many declared that they would first see one rise from the death than Illinois being Whig. The State had never elected a Whig Senator, Governor or President. But now, thanks to Lincoln’s effective campaign and political machine, it had elected all three of those. This victory increased Lincoln’s status, and made many consider him as a possible candidate who could carry the Lower North.It also taught an important lesson: Republicans could win in 1860 if they managed to integrate the Nativists into their fold. The Know-Nothing ideology had been losing ground as slavery became more and more prominent. Democrats were seen as the party of Romanism (Catholicism) and Immigrants, and the party often dominated Irish and other immigrant communities. The exception was a handful of German Protestants who rejected slavery.The Know-Nothings had created their own Party, the American Party, and Fillmore was one of the most successful third-party candidates in history. But Fillmore was not a rabid Nativist, and most of his voters were simply moderates who couldn’t bring themselves to vote for either main Party. And those were mostly southerners. The Northern Americans wanted to nominate Nathaniel P. Banks, but he withdrew his nomination and endorsed Frémont. In the following years the American Party and Nativism would effectively fade into the background. A subcurrent of nativism still ran through the Republican Party, leading to attacks such as the Republicans being the Party that “says a Negro is better than an Irishman”.Another source of hope was the rapid economic development of the mid-west. Illinois and other states were growing at a faster pace each year, becoming more connected with the Eastern States thanks to the railway. And most of that growth was in the northern, Republican counties. During the campaign, Lincoln had helped to build an Illinois Party Machine that would secure the region for the Republican Party in the next election.Though they had lost, Republican prospects were never brighter. And events during the next four years would bring about a complete social and political Revolution. The first of these events was the Dredd Scott decision, which once again galvanized the North.