At The End Of This Election, We Are All Going to Be Okay

Like the rest of America, I woke up this morning feeling heavy dread. Before this election, I was not politically active or interested in politics.

Historically, this is not the first time we have faced a contentious election. But this might be the worst election in American history.

This Is Not The First Time For Contentious Elections

The first election that comes to mind is actually Abraham Lincoln and John Breckinridge.

1860 — Abraham Lincoln and John Breckinridge

Multiple candidacies and the deepening north-south divide over slavery ensured that this election between Abraham Lincoln and John Breckinridge was the most contentious in American history. Abraham Lincoln’s victory with just 40 per cent of the popular vote sparked the secession of the first state, South Carolina, and then six further states, even before he was inaugurated. Lincoln was the standard bearer for the new Republican Party [founded in 1854] that opposed the extension of slavery into new western territories, and some southern states had responded by ensuring that he wasn’t even on the ballot; he won only northern states.