The United States presidential election of 1860 was held on Tuesday, November 6, 1860. The election of President Abraham Lincoln served as a trigger for the outbreak of the American Civil War. The United States had been divided during the 1850s on questions surrounding the expansion of slavery and the rights of slave owners. In 1860, these issues broke the Democratic Party into three factions.[1] Each group felt they could best defeat the Republican Party candidate.[1]