which party did lincoln belong to?
Illinois Republican Party Republican Party National Union Party Whig Party
entailment
 Lincoln faced three major opponents . A split in the Democratic Party had led northerners to nominate Senator Douglas , while southerners chose Vice President John C. Breckenridge . The Constitutional Union Party selected former Tennessee senator John Bell . As Lincoln would not even be on the ballot in ten southern states , he needed to win almost every northern state to take the presidency . Douglas was said to be strong in Illinois and Indiana , and if he took those , the election might be thrown into the House of Representatives . Seward was urged to undertake a campaign tour of the Midwest in support of Lincoln and did so for five weeks in September and October , attracting huge crowds . He journeyed by rail and boat as far north as Saint Paul , Minnesota , into the border state of Missouri at St. Louis , and even to Kansas Territory , though it had no electoral votes to cast in the election . When the train passed through Springfield , Seward and Lincoln were introduced , with Lincoln appearing " embarrassed " and Seward " constrained " . In his oratory , Seward spoke of the U.S. as a " tower of freedom " , a Union that might even include Canada , Latin America , and Russian America . 

entailment
 Most Republicans agreed with Lincoln that the North was the aggrieved party , as the Slave Power tightened its grasp on the national government with the Dred Scott decision and the presidency of James Buchanan . Throughout the 1850s , Lincoln doubted the prospects of civil war , and his supporters rejected claims that his election would incite secession . Meanwhile , Douglas was selected as the candidate of the Northern Democrats . Delegates from 11 slave states walked out of the Democratic convention , disagreeing with Douglas ' position on popular sovereignty , and ultimately selected John C. Breckinridge as their candidate . 

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 On May 18 , at the Republican National Convention in Chicago , Lincoln 's friends promised and manipulated and won the nomination on the third ballot , beating candidates such as William H. Seward and Salmon P. Chase . A former Democrat , Hannibal Hamlin of Maine , was nominated for Vice President to balance the ticket . Lincoln 's success depended on his reputation as a moderate on the slavery issue , and his strong support for Whiggish programs of internal improvements and the protective tariff . 

neutral
 Lincoln 's first romantic interest was Ann Rutledge , whom he met when he first moved to New Salem ; by 1835 , they were in a relationship but not formally engaged . She died at the age of 22 on August 25 , 1835 , most likely of typhoid fever . In the early 1830s , he met Mary Owens from Kentucky when she was visiting her sister . 

entailment
 In 1846 , Lincoln was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives , where he served one two @-@ year term . He was the only Whig in the Illinois delegation , but he showed his party loyalty by participating in almost all votes and making speeches that echoed the party line . Lincoln , in collaboration with abolitionist Congressman Joshua R. Giddings , wrote a bill to abolish slavery in the District of Columbia with compensation for the owners , enforcement to capture fugitive slaves , and a popular vote on the matter . He abandoned the bill when it failed to garner sufficient Whig supporters . 
