who won the election of 1860 and what occurred immediately following the election
Presidency of Abraham Lincoln Lincoln took office following the 1860 presidential election, in which he won a plurality of the popular vote in a four-candidate field. Almost all of Lincoln's votes came from the Northern United States, as the Republicans held little appeal to voters in the Southern United States. A former Whig, Lincoln ran on a political platform opposed to the expansion of slavery in the territories. His election served as the immediate impetus for the outbreak of the American Civil War. During the 16 weeks between Election Day and Inauguration Day, seven slave states declared their secession from the Union and formed the Confederate States of America. After being sworn in as president, Lincoln refused to accept any resolution that would result in Southern secession from the Union. The Civil War began weeks into Lincoln's presidency with the Confederate attack on Fort Sumter, a federal installation located within the boundaries of the Confederacy.
Constitutional Union Party (United States) John J. Crittenden and other unionist Congressmen organized the 1860 Constitutional Union Convention, which met in May 1860. The convention nominated John Bell of Tennessee for President and Edward Everett of Massachusetts for Vice President. Crittenden, Sam Houston, William Alexander Graham and William Cabell Rives also received support for the party's presidential nomination at the convention. In the 1860 presidential election, Bell took 12.6% of the popular vote and won three slave states. Most of Bell's support came from former Southern Whigs or Know Nothings.