who was nominated for president by the northern democrats in the election of 1860
United States presidential election, 1860 The 1860 Republican National Convention nominated Lincoln, a moderate former Congressman from Illinois, as its standard-bearer. The Republican Party platform promised not to interfere with slavery in the states, but opposed the further extension of slavery into the territories. The first 1860 Democratic National Convention adjourned without agreeing on a nominee, but a second convention nominated Senator Stephen A. Douglas of Illinois for president. Douglas's support for the concept of popular sovereignty, which called for each individual territory to decide on the status of slavery, alienated many Southern Democrats. The Southern Democrats, with the support of President Buchanan, held their own convention and nominated Vice President John C. Breckinridge of Kentucky for president. The 1860 Constitutional Union Convention nominated a ticket led by former Senator John Bell of Tennessee.
Martin Van Buren Martin Van Buren (born Maarten van Buren; December 5, 1782 – July 24, 1862) was an American statesman who served as the eighth President of the United States from 1837 to 1841. A founder of the Democratic Party, he held a number of senior positions in the U.S. Federal Government, including eighth Vice President (1833–1837) and tenth Secretary of State (1829–1831), both under Andrew Jackson. Van Buren won the presidency by promising to continue Jackson's policies. The Panic of 1837 which struck the nation combined with the growing political strength of the opposition Whig Party led to his defeat when he ran for reelection. During his half-century of public service, he built and perfected a new system of political parties at first the state and then the federal level; at the end of his life, he was seen as a major figure of the abolitionist movement defending Abraham Lincoln's policies during the American Civil War. Van Buren was the first President of the United States to be born a United States citizen.[4] Of Dutch descent, he is the only U.S. President who spoke English as a second language.