10. The Election of 1860 and the Secession Crisis

The Civil War and Reconstruction (HIST 119) This lecture picks off where the previous one left off, with a discussion of the legacies of John Brown. The most important thing about John Brown’s raid, Professor Blight argues, was not the event itself, but the way Americans engaged with it after the fact. Next, Professor Blight discusses the election of 1860, a four-way battle won by the Republican candidate, Abraham Lincoln. In the wake of Lincoln’s election, the seven states of the deep South, led by South Carolina, seceded. The lecture closes with an analysis of some of the rationales underlying southern secession. 00:00 - Chapter 1. Introduction 02:38 - Chapter 2. John Brown’s Trial and Publicity 11:01 - Chapter 3. John Brown: Was His Violence Justifiable? 19:53 - Chapter 4. The Four-Way Election of 1860 36:41 - Chapter 5. The Palmetta Republic and the Southern Secession 45:37 - Chapter 6. Reasons for Secession and Conclusion Complete course materials are available at the Open Yale Courses website: This course was recorded in Spring 2008.