Campaign Trail Results: Game #458962
Play The Campaign Trail
This Game:
- Year: 1860
- Player Candidate: Stephen A. Douglas
- Running Mate: Herschel Johnson
- Difficulty Level: Easy
- Winner Take All Mode?: Yes
- Game Played:
View overall results, or a specific state:
| Candidate | Electoral Votes | Popular Votes | Pop. Vote % |
|---|---|---|---|
| ---- Abraham Lincoln | 174 | 2,017,177 | 42.79 |
| ---- John C. Breckinridge | 94 | 927,437 | 19.67 |
| ---- John Bell | 33 | 676,641 | 14.35 |
| ---- Stephen A. Douglas | 2 | 1,093,276 | 23.19 |
Answers:
- How should your party address the slavery issue during this campaign?The threat of a Southern schism has forced our hand. We must accept the protection of slavery in federal territories, and protect the instution in future states like Kansas and New Mexico.
- What do you have to say about the merits of your running mate, Herschel Johnson?I'm proud to share a ballot with Herschel Vespasian Johnson of Georgia.
- To what extent do you plan to personally campaign in this election?Like most candidates, I will remain above the fray personally, and allow my supporters to stump on my behalf.
- How aggressively should your party attack the Republicans and Abraham Lincoln in this election?Lincoln and his party are abolitionists, whether they care to admit it or not. I don't believe a majority in the North would support them if this were fully understood.
- How aggressively should your party attack the Constitutional Unionists and John Bell in this election?This party has no discernible platform or political positions on any issue. They are the carcass of the pro-slavery wing of the Whig Party, masquerading as saviors of the Union.
- How aggressively should your party attack the Southern Democrats and John Breckenridge in this election?We've obviously had our falling out at the Convention this year, but we will eventually need to rebuild our party. Going on the attack in this case will only make things worse.
- What is your opinion on the formation of fusion tickets in the Northern states to consolidate the anti-Lincoln vote?We cannot sacrifice the prestige of the Democratic Party by making these kinds of deals.
- Will you keep your name on the ballot in Oregon and California, even if doing so might divide the anti-Lincoln vote?I will take my name off the ballot in those states. We just need to make sure Lincoln doesn't win them.
- What should your party's position be on the raid of John Brown, late in 1859?We will keep silent on this episode as we campaign.
- Do you have any comment on the paramilitary “Wide Awake” clubs that have marched in support of Republicans?Every party has political clubs and supporters. There's no reason to take special alarm at the Wide Awakes.
- Should your party continue its familiar attacks on the “black Republicans” as abolitionists and supporters of social and political equality for blacks?It might be in our best interest to play down such rhetoric in this particular campaign. Our base in the North will vote for us anyway, and it's not as if we have any Southern support to lose at this point.
- What position should your party take on the tariff question in this election?Let's moderate our stance on the tariff issue a bit, given the peculiar nature of this election. Even President Buchanan appears to be changing his views.
- How much should your party emphasize its support of a Transcontinental Railroad in this election?Perhaps as a compromise with the sentiment of the Deep South, we could accept a new position on this issue.
- How much should your party emphasize its support of a homestead act in this election?Part of any compromise with Southern Democrats would involve a resolution in the territories. By what rights should planters be denied their opportunity to purchase western land?
- What position should your party take on foreign immigration and nationalization in this election?Let's skirt this issue and attempt to focus our campaign on other things. There's not much for us to gain here.
- What is your position on the Supreme Court's Dred Scott v. Sandford decision?Our goal in this campaign should be to avoid any mention of the Supreme Court. There's not much to gain by talking about this decision.
- Do you have anything to say about the efforts of some to reopen the Atlantic slave trade?Let's keep a low profile on this issue and hope it passes. We don't need to make things worse by issuing controversial statements.
- Do you support the further expansion of the United States into Mexico, Cuba, or the Caribbean?This is an abstract question at this point. We can barely hold this country together as it is, without addressing some theoretical expansion into the Caribbean.
- What is your position on the passage of “personal liberty laws” by various states, to flout the Fugitive Slave Act?I'm not going to make any statements condemning these laws during the present campaign. That would be a hasty, alienating move on our part.
- Would you support a compromise Amendment which permanently protected slavery in the Southern states, in return for no further expansion of the institution?Not really. I'm all for compromise between the sections, but how could we have a permanent Amendment to the Constitution? Couldn't we have another Amendment to amend that Amendment?
- If any Southern state was to secede, would you use military force as President to preserve the Union?If I am elected, this type of thing would not happen. This question has no relevance to events.
- Do you believe that a Republican victory would result in a flood of free blacks into Northern states and western territories?We should hold back on this kind of rhetoric, given the unusual nature of this year's election.
- Should the proposed constitution for the state of Kansas be accepted by Congress, and Kansas admitted as a free state?Part of any future compromise with Southern interests may involve the admission of Kansas as a slave state. We should not preclude that possibility at the current time.
- How much should your party emphasize its support of canals and infrastructure projects in this election?Let's avoid making any strong statements on this issue, and keep our focus to the debate on slavery and other things.
- Is there a particular state that you would concentrate your efforts on during the final days of the campaign?I will make one final stop in New York to campaign.