Abraham Lincoln and the USA from 1858 on

Suppose in Illinois they had direct elections in 1858 for USA Senate?

Would that have made a significant difference for the USA between 1858 and 1865?

Need I make any further explanations? I hope not:) I'm considering going more for brevity in my threads:D And the explanatins often result in distracting from the thread;)
 
It would reduce the power of the states.

I guess I must explain just to get the wheels back on the rails. Lincoln almost certainly is elected to the Senate. I forgot how little Congress was in session in those days. But maybe being in the Senate will in some roundabout way prevent him being elected POTUS. He may have gotten some POTUS votes because he lost a great race for the senate.Or not even be nominated And the electrate was in effect overruled by the legislature. Did states have the option of electing senators by popular vote?
 
Suppose in Illinois they had direct elections in 1858 for USA Senate?

How would that happen? No state had direct elections for the Senate till much later. (Before the 17th Amendment, some states had de facto direct elections by popular "advisory" votes, which the state legislature was expected or required to follow.)
 
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