AH Challenge: President John C Breckenridge

He must be elected to the position of President - i.e. he can't merely succeed Buchanan through Buchanan's death, resignation or otherwise.

So, is it at all possible for John C Breckenridge to be elected to the position of President?
 
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Well he was vice-president so you can just have Buchanan die from some illness or accident and have him succeed to the position. Not hard at all.
 
In the lead up to the 1860 election, as the Democratic Party was split into factons Mississippi State senator Jefferson Davis suggested a compromise. From Generals in Blue and Grey - Volume Two:

"He proposd that Beckenridge accept the nomination
[to the Southern-Democrates], hoping [Stehpen] Douglas would realize that, with a split in the party, his chance for election was near impossible. With this tactic, all three candidates would step down and allow a compromise candidate to be selected, one that the entire party could support. The plan was reasonable; both Bell and Breckenridge agreed, but Douglas did not. Douglas's refusal to participate in Davis' compromise left three candidates in the field to oppose the Republicans."

A possible scenario then would be for Davis' compromise to happen and for Douglas to be chosen as the only democratice candidate of the 1860 elections with Breckenridge as his second. Douglas only lived until June 3 1861 which would allow him to be President if elected but if, as I propose, Breckenridge takes up the office of Vice-President again he will take over when Douglas dies and so he would become President of the United States.

That however does not get him elected to the position.
 
In the lead up to the 1860 election, as the Democratic Party was split into factons Mississippi State senator Jefferson Davis suggested a compromise. From Generals in Blue and Grey - Volume Two:

"He proposd that Beckenridge accept the nomination
[to the Southern-Democrates], hoping [Stehpen] Douglas would realize that, with a split in the party, his chance for election was near impossible. With this tactic, all three candidates would step down and allow a compromise candidate to be selected, one that the entire party could support. The plan was reasonable; both Bell and Breckenridge agreed, but Douglas did not. Douglas's refusal to participate in Davis' compromise left three candidates in the field to oppose the Republicans."

A possible scenario then would be for Davis' compromise to happen and for Douglas to be chosen as the only democratice candidate of the 1860 elections with Breckenridge as his second. Douglas only lived until June 3 1861 which would allow him to be President if elected but if, as I propose, Breckenridge takes up the office of Vice-President again he will take over when Douglas dies and so he would become President of the United States.

That however does not get him elected to the position.

In the scenario you present though, Breckenridge could pitentially be elected in 1864.
 
In the scenario you present though, Breckenridge could pitentially be elected in 1864.

That's true but it's unlikely that Stephan Douglas would ever consent to being Breckenridge's second. It's far more likely in that scenario I presented that Douglas would be chosen as the united Democratic candidate, having more support amungst the Democratic party than the other two, and Breckenridge would be his running mate.
 
Most likely, if Douglas were elected, South Carolina would have seceded anyway, and much of the south would have followed. When Douglas moved to enforce the laws as Lincoln did, the rest of the south would have seceded. Breckinridge does not become President in this scenario.
 
He must be elected to the position of President - i.e. he can't merely succeed Buchanan through Buchanan's death, resignation or otherwise.

So, is it at all possible for John C Breckenridge to be elected to the position of President?

In 1860, he had carried the south in the elections, winning every soon-to-be-Confederate state except Virginia and Tennessee and even then he came close. His success as both a general and Secretary of War for the Confederacy only increased his popularity and he was elected by a landslide in 1867 as the second President of the Confederate States of America.
 
Look at the states Lincoln carried in that election. Even if the Democratic Party didn't split into three, let's even suppose all the votes Douglas and Bell got are automaticly given to Breckinridge.

He'll win the popular vote, but still lose in the electoral college.
 
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