Knights of the Golden Circle 1860 Election

11/5/1860 a letter from Union Soldier refers to the election about to begin and how they arrested Knights of the Golden Circle!!! KGC was to lay the groundwork for annexation of territories in Mexico, Central America, & Caribbean to be included w US as slave states.

Knights of the Golden Circle (KGC) was a secret society originally founded to promote the interests of the Southern United States.

Most of the time, families knew more what was going on than the soldiers. Families had the advantage of reading the paper. Soldiers would wait for newspapers to be sent from home to learn the news.

1860 was historical for many reasons, but probably the most important was the election of Lincoln! This one act would set off a chain of southern states secessions.

The Presidential Election of 1860

Abraham Lincoln won the support of the Republican National Convention.

The Democratic National Convention was held in South Carolina, with a second meeting in Maryland. During the convention, 110 Southern Delegates, walked out when the party would not adopt a platform endorsing the expansion of slavery into new/future territories. The Democrats that remained, nominated Stephen A. Douglas for the presidency. The Southern Democrats held another convention in Virginia, nominating John Breckinridge.

The former Know Nothings with some Whigs formed the Constitutional Union Party running on a platform supporting the Constitution.

November 6; Republican Candidate Abraham Lincoln was elected President of the United States, with Hannibal Hamlin as his Vice President. This brought on the secession of the Southern States, starting with South Carolina.