Lesson Plan: 1860 Democratic Convention – Teaching With Primary Sources (Scaffolded Writing Resources)
Grades 7-12
From the founding of the United States, slavery divided the nation more deeply than any other political issue. By 1860, those disagreements erupted inside the Democratic Party as leaders argued over whether slavery should expand into the western territories. Walkouts at party conventions in Charleston and Baltimore left the Democrats split and running two presidential candidates. As the party that had long held the Union together collapsed, the election of 1860 pushed the nation closer to civil war.
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