Campaign Trail Results: Game #873031
Play The Campaign Trail
This Game:
- Year: 1860
- Player Candidate: Abraham Lincoln
- Running Mate: Hannibal Hamlin
- Difficulty Level: Impossible
- Winner Take All Mode?: Yes
- Game Played:
View overall results, or a specific state:
| Candidate | Electoral Votes | Popular Votes | Pop. Vote % |
|---|---|---|---|
| ---- Stephen A. Douglas | 129 | 1,895,854 | 40.19 |
| ---- John C. Breckinridge | 117 | 1,158,407 | 24.56 |
| ---- John Bell | 33 | 622,421 | 13.19 |
| ---- Abraham Lincoln | 24 | 1,040,765 | 22.06 |
Answers:
- How should your party address the slavery issue during this campaign?We can support the idea of popular sovereignty, but that must include an acknowledgement that Kansas clearly desires to enter the Union as a free state.
- What do you have to say about the merits of your running mate, Hannibal Hamlin?I'm proud to share a ballot with Hannibal Hamlin of Maine.
- To what extent do you plan to personally campaign in this election?Not at all. It would violate the norms of our times, and in any case we have a lead that we should preserve.
- How aggressively should your party attack the Northern Democrats and Stephen A. Douglas in this election?We can always point out a few inconsistencies with our opponents, but by and large the Republican platform is a winning platform. If we stick to it we will win in November.
- 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?Realistically, the Democratic split is fantastic news for us. Let's not galvanize the Southern block even further by attacking them.
- What should your party's position be on the raid of John Brown, late in 1859?Whatever our private feelings, we have no choice but to denounce such extralegal actions.
- Thousands of young men have formed paramilitary “Wide Awake” clubs and marched to support Republicans. Should your party embrace this support, or is it too divisive?Let's try to finesse this point. It is understandably concerning to the border states to see so many young men of the North marching in military formation, with a clear organization about them.
- Do you have any plans to reach out to your chief rival for the Republican nomination, William Seward, and reconcile?Our party rejected Seward because of his unpopularity in states like Illinois and Indiana. Let's wait until after the election before we extend the olive branch to him.
- How much should your party emphasize its support of higher tariffs in this election?Our position on higher tariffs is in the platform for everyone to read and discuss. We don't need to belabor the point.
- How much should your party emphasize its support of a Transcontinental Railroad in this election?We might consider sacrificing on this issue if it would help appease the Deep South. I don't think we should mention it much in this campaign.
- How much should your party emphasize its support of a homestead act in this election?The core belief of our party is that the federal territories should be settled by honest, free, hard-working men and their families. A homestead act would be right in line with this philosophy.
- What position should your party take on foreign immigration and nationalization in this election?Let's discuss immigrants as little as possible in our campaign and platform. It's a no-win situation for us.
- What is your position on the Supreme Court's Dred Scott v. Sandford decision?We obviously cannot agree with this decision, but the Supreme Court lays down the law of the land, and we have little choice but to acquiesce.
- What is your position on the social equality of blacks in American society?The idea that we support social equality for blacks in society is a canard put down the Democrats, in a clumsy and transparent attempt to score political points.
- Do you have anything to say about the efforts of some to reopen the Atlantic slave trade?I'm sure that these are just rumors and speculation. It would be irresponsible of me at this point to extend my obvious condemnation of this step.
- Do you support the further expansion of the United States into Mexico, Cuba, or the Caribbean?I would have to see the specific situation being proposed before I could give my own opinion on the matter.
- What is your position on the passage of “personal liberty laws” by various states, to flout the Fugitive Slave Act?The newer Fugitive Slave Law was the result of reasoned compromise in Congress. I may disagree with aspects of that Compromise, but I must accept it as a whole.
- Should the proposed constitution for the state of Kansas be accepted by Congress, and Kansas admitted as a free state?I am willing to wait until the emotions surrounding this issue can recede a bit. If that means delaying the admission of Kansas, I will reluctantly accept that.
- Would you support a compromise Amendment which permanently protected slavery in the Southern states, in return for no further expansion of the institution?I'm open to some kind of compromise that would provide guarantees on slavery in the South, as long as it would not allow the extension of slavery to new states or territories.
- If any Southern state was to secede, would you use military force as President to preserve the Union?I doubt that things will come to that point, and we must not address this issue during our current campaign.
- Do you stand by your opposition to the Mexican-American War as a Congressman in the 1840s?This is a dead letter and an ancient event. We could just as easily bring up Douglas's advocacy of the disastrous Kansas-Nebraska Act if we want to get into old history.
- Do you have any comments on the Lemmon v. New York case which may be making its way to the Supreme Court?We don't know for sure if the Court will consider this case, and for now we ought to avoid making any statements on it.
- Is there a particular state that you believe the party should concentrate its resources into during the final days of the campaign?Illinois
- We just need to let you know, it appears that your opponents have consolidated into a "fusion ticket" in the states of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York.I see. We shall do our best in any case.
