Blount Library Blog

Treasures from the Averett Archives: Letter Discussing the 1860 Presidential Election

One of the largest collections of personal and family papers held in the archives of Averett University is the Fugate Family Papers: letters, books, and other ephemera from the family of Mary C. Fugate, who was the Dean of Averett College from 1927 to 1969.  Among the many interesting items of cultural history collected within the Fugate Family Papers is this letter from an unidentified relative named Dave, living in Weston, Missouri.  The letter was written 163 years ago today - November 1st, 1860 - exactly five days before the Presidential election that would usher Abraham Lincoln into office, eventually leading to the Civil War.

On this, the final page of a letter predominantly focused on personal matters, Dave provides a short overview of the state of American politics in Weston just prior to Lincoln's sweeping victory.  The page reads:

We hear nothing here at present but politics. All the candidates have their followers here except [Abraham] Lincoln. If anyone is for him, they lay very low. I think [John] Bell will carry this state. The [Stephen A.] Doug[las] and [John C.] Breck[enridge] men give that up. The Bell party had the largest meeting here on the 21st Sept that I ever seen - at least 8000 people was here. Our house is Bell all over.

My fascination with historical artifacts often stems from how clearly they provide a window into a historical moment.  This letter draws my attention for at least two reasons.

First, the author's prediction was incorrect.  His house, and even the town of Weston, may well have been "Bell all over," but the state was not.  Breckenridge was the candidate that carried Missouri - the only state he won.  In an intellectual move of which we are all guilty at times, Dave's sense of political reality was built upon universalizing his own experience, rather than broad or comprehensive knowledge.

Second, it is also quite revealing that the only one of the four candidates that Weston voters were apparently unwilling to consider was Lincoln.  Lincoln would win more states and more electoral votes than the other three candidates combined.

In those two elements it is not difficult to imagine a country on the cusp of tearing itself in half.