NOV 6: Lincoln Wins Election

Abraham Lincoln. (Credit: Library of Congress)

On Nov. 6, 1860, Republican candidate Abraham Lincoln, a one-term Congressman from Illinois, is elected  President, defeating three opponents: Southern Democrat John C. Breckenridge;  Democratic candidate Sen. Stephen A. Douglas; and Constitutional Union candidate John Bell. Lincoln won 40 percent of the popular vote and 60 percent of vote in the Electoral College.

John C. Breckenridge. (Credit: Library of Congress)

George A. Custer is in the fourth, and what would become his final, year at West Point.