The Election of 1860 & Secession

Active learning works for this topic because students need to confront the emotional and political stakes of 1860. Mapping, debating, and text analysis force them to move beyond abstract dates and into the lived experiences of Americans at the time.

• 8th Grade
• American History
• 3 activities
• 25 min–40 min

Learning Objectives

1. Analyze the electoral map of 1860 to explain how Abraham Lincoln won the presidency without Southern electoral votes.
2. Compare the platforms of the four major candidates in the 1860 election and their impact on sectional divisions.
3. Evaluate the primary arguments presented in secession declarations to justify leaving the Union.
4. Synthesize information to argue whether the Civil War was inevitable following the Election of 1860.

Inquiry Circle

⏱ 35 min·Small Groups

Inquiry Circle: The Election Map of 1860

Groups analyze a color-coded map of the election results. They must identify how the vote was split among four candidates and explain how Lincoln's victory proved that the North no longer needed the South to control the presidency.

Prepare & details

Explain how Abraham Lincoln won the presidency without Southern electoral votes.

Facilitation Tip: During the Election Map activity, circulate with guiding questions like 'Why might a candidate win the popular vote in a region but still lose the state?' to push students to analyze electoral strategy.

Setup: Groups at tables with access to source materials

Materials: Source material collection, Inquiry cycle worksheet, Question generation protocol, Findings presentation template

• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Self-Management
• Self-Awareness

Formal Debate

⏱ 40 min·Whole Class

Formal Debate: The Right to Secede

Divide the class into 'Unionists' (who argue the Constitution is a permanent bond) and 'Secessionists' (who argue the states joined voluntarily and can leave). They use primary source quotes from Lincoln and Jefferson Davis.

Prepare & details

Analyze the primary arguments used by Southern states to justify secession.

Facilitation Tip: In the secession debate, assign roles—one student must argue for secession as a constitutional right, another as a defense of slavery—to ensure every voice engages with multiple perspectives.

Setup: Two teams facing each other, audience seating for the rest

Materials: Debate proposition card, Research brief for each side, Judging rubric for audience, Timer

• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Self-Management
• Decision-Making

Think-Pair-Share

⏱ 25 min·Pairs

Think-Pair-Share: Lincoln's First Inaugural Address

Students read excerpts from Lincoln's speech where he promises not to interfere with slavery where it exists but also vows to preserve the Union. They discuss in pairs why this message failed to stop the South from seceding.

Prepare & details

Evaluate whether the Civil War was inevitable after the election of 1860.

Facilitation Tip: For Lincoln’s First Inaugural, provide a graphic organizer with three columns: quote, paraphrase, and ‘why it matters’ to scaffold close reading before pair discussions.

Setup: Standard classroom seating; students turn to a neighbor

Materials: Discussion prompt (projected or printed), Optional: recording sheet for pairs

• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Self-Awareness
• Relationship Skills

Teaching This Topic

Teachers often begin with the electoral map because it makes the abstract concrete: students see the North’s population advantage immediately. Avoid rushing past the role of third parties, as Bell and Douglas split the Southern vote and split the North’s anti-Lincoln vote. Research shows students grasp systemic fear better when they trace how one election threatened an entire economic and social system, not just a person.

What to Expect

By the end of these activities, students will be able to explain how Lincoln’s victory without Southern votes exposed regional divisions, trace the chain reaction from election to secession, and evaluate the legitimacy of secession claims using primary evidence. Success looks like students connecting electoral math to political fear in their discussions and writing.

Watch Out for These Misconceptions

Common Misconception

During Collaborative Investigation: The Election Map of 1860, watch for students who label Lincoln’s platform as an immediate abolition plan.

What to Teach Instead

Use the map activity’s time to pause and ask, 'What did the Republican Party officially say about slavery in the territories?' Have students find the party platform excerpt and annotate it together before labeling states on the map.

Common Misconception

During Structured Debate: The Right to Secede, watch for students who reduce Southern secession to personal dislike of Lincoln.

What to Teach Instead

Before the debate, provide excerpts from state secession declarations. In their roles, require students to cite specific clauses that mention slavery or political power to ground the debate in systemic concerns, not personality.

Assessment Ideas

Exit Ticket

After Collaborative Investigation: The Election Map of 1860, collect student maps and ask them to write one sentence explaining why Lincoln won without a single Southern state.

Discussion Prompt

After Structured Debate: The Right to Secede, facilitate a class discussion where students must use evidence from secession declarations and candidate platforms to argue whether war was inevitable.

Quick Check

During Think-Pair-Share: Lincoln's First Inaugural Address, present students with three quotes and ask them to identify which reflects a states' rights argument, which reflects slavery, and which reflects Lincoln’s constitutional stance. Have pairs discuss before sharing out.

Extensions & Scaffolding

• Challenge: Ask students to write a short speech as a Southern senator defending secession to Northern newspapers, using evidence from the secession declarations.
• Scaffolding: Provide sentence starters like 'The North’s advantage in _____ meant that _____' for the map activity to help students articulate the regional divide.
• Deeper exploration: Compare the 1860 map to the 1856 map. Students annotate changes in party alignment and explain what those shifts signaled about national tensions.

Key Vocabulary

Secession	The formal withdrawal of a state from the federal union of the United States. Southern states declared secession following Lincoln's election.
Electoral College	A body of electors established by the United States Constitution, constituted every four years for the sole purpose of electing the president and vice president. Lincoln won the presidency through the Electoral College, despite not winning the popular vote in all regions.
Sectionalism	Loyalty to one's own region or section of the country, rather than to the country as a whole. The Election of 1860 highlighted extreme sectional divisions between the North and South.
Republican Party	A political party formed in the 1850s, primarily in opposition to the expansion of slavery into the western territories. Abraham Lincoln was the Republican candidate in 1860.
States' Rights	The political powers reserved for the U.S. state governments rather than the federal government, as interpreted by some during the period leading up to the Civil War. Southern states used this argument to justify secession.