Interesting wrinkle in the 1860 election: 2 of the states that voted for the fire-eating John Breckenridge (who became a Confederate general) stayed in the Union: Maryland & Delaware. But 2 states that voted for the Constitutional Union's John Bell (Virginia & Tennessee) seceded.
-
Show this thread
-
It's important to understanding the dynamics of the Confederacy that Virginia - the largest state to secede - was late & reluctant in doing so. Need to keep Virginia in the fold helped drive decision to put the capital in Richmond, the main army in NoVa under Virginian command.
1 reply 1 retweet 13 likesShow this thread -
Five of the six largest states in 1860 (by electoral votes, representing the white population plus 3/5 of slaves) stayed in the Union, Virginia the only exception. Indiana & Massachusetts, in 1860, both had more electoral votes than any state south of Virginia.
1 reply 1 retweet 12 likesShow this thread
The 7th & 8th largest states - both then still larger than Illinois, Michigan, or Texas - were Tennessee & Kentucky. The size & internal divides in VA, TN, & KY were crucial to the struggle.
Loading seems to be taking a while.
Twitter may be over capacity or experiencing a momentary hiccup. Try again or visit Twitter Status for more information.