The+Civil+War+Begins-mclaughlin

==The Democrats Split == Southern Democrats wanted their party to uphold the //__Dred Scott__// decision and defend slaveholders' rights in the territories. During the election of 1860, the Democratic Party split into the Northern Democrats, who nominated __Stephen Douglas__, and the Southern Democrats, who nominated __John C. Breckinridge__. During this election, many former Whigs and others were alarmed at the prospect of Southern secession. They created a new party, the Constitutional Union Party, and chose former Tennessee senator John Bell to run for president. The party took no position on issues dividing North and South. Their purpose, they said, was to uphold the Constitution and the Union.