Jefferson Davis, 16th President of the United States.

How would it be possible to get Jefferson Davis to become president of the United States in 1861? In actual history Jefferson Davis was nominated in the 1860 democratic national convention, ironically by future union general Benjamin Butler. And what would have happened if Jefferson Davis had been successfully nominated for the presidency of the Democratic Party in 1860? Could he have defeated Lincoln? Would the Civil War have been averted or delayed? How would slavery have ended if the Civil War hadn't happened under said Davis presidency?
 
In 1860, the Republicans fall short of an electoral College majority and the election goes into Congress. The HoR also deadlocks and fails to choose a POTUS.

The Senate is supposed to choose the VP, and being comfortably Democratic would choose Breckinridge's running-mate, Joseph Lane; however, a quorum for this purpose is two-thirds of the Senators, which they don't have. The Republicans prevent a vote by absenting themselves from the chamber.

In the Republicans' absence, the Democratic Senators choose a new President Pro Tempore - Senator Jefferson Davis of Mississippi. If Congress expires w/o choosing either a POTUS or a VP, then Davis is sworn in on March 4.
 
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How would it be possible to get Jefferson Davis to become president of the United States in 1861? In actual history Jefferson Davis was nominated in the 1860 democratic national convention, ironically by future union general Benjamin Butler. And what would have happened if Jefferson Davis had been successfully nominated for the presidency of the Democratic Party in 1860? Could he have defeated Lincoln? Would the Civil War have been averted or delayed? How would slavery have ended if the Civil War hadn't happened under said Davis presidency?

It is conceivable that the pro-southern wing of the Democratic Party might nominate Davis rather than Breckinridge. And *if* the race goes into the House, whoever the southern Democrats nominate could theoretically win if he gets enough southern Americans/Oppositionists/Constitutional Unionists/Whigs to vote for him. But in the first place, the race did not get as close to being thrown into the House as some people think. It is true that if Lincoln had lost California, Illinois, Indiana, Oregon, and the electoral votes he won in New Jersey, he would only have gotten 145 electoral votes--seven less than needed to win. The problem, though, is that Indiana wasn't really that close; Lincoln won it by 8.7 points. Likewise, if the "fusion" anti-Lincoln ticket in New York would have been able to carry that state, the race would go into the House; but it didn't really come that close, losing the state by 7.4 points. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_presidential_election,_1860 (Nor do I think that Seward would have lost IN or NY; he might have lost very narrow Lincoln states, but that would not be enough to deprive him of an Electoral College majority.) And in the second place, it is unlikely the southern Democrats will nominate Davis; Breckenridge is a better choice because he is from a state (KY) that often voted Whig and where Bell will be a strong candidate (whereas MS is safely southern-Democratic), and also because while 'sound" on slavery, he is not considered a fire-eater and had even backed Douglas for re-election in 1858 despite his disagreements with Douglas over the Freeport Doctrine.
 
It is conceivable that the pro-southern wing of the Democratic Party might nominate Davis rather than Breckinridge. And *if* the race goes into the House, whoever the southern Democrats nominate could theoretically win if he gets enough southern Americans/Oppositionists/Constitutional Unionists/Whigs to vote for him. But in the first place, the race did not get as close to being thrown into the House as some people think. It is true that if Lincoln had lost California, Illinois, Indiana, Oregon, and the electoral votes he won in New Jersey, he would only have gotten 145 electoral votes--seven less than needed to win. The problem, though, is that Indiana wasn't really that close; Lincoln won it by 8.7 points. Likewise, if the "fusion" anti-Lincoln ticket in New York would have been able to carry that state, the race would go into the House; but it didn't really come that close, losing the state by 7.4 points. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_presidential_election,_1860 (Nor do I think that Seward would have lost IN or NY; he might have lost very narrow Lincoln states, but that would not be enough to deprive him of an Electoral College majority.) And in the second place, it is unlikely the southern Democrats will nominate Davis; Breckenridge is a better choice because he is from a state (KY) that often voted Whig and where Bell will be a strong candidate (whereas MS is safely southern-Democratic), and also because while 'sound" on slavery, he is not considered a fire-eater and had even backed Douglas for re-election in 1858 despite his disagreements with Douglas over the Freeport Doctrine.

Is there any chance that the radical wing of the Republicans might have tried to nominate their own candidate against Lincoln, or after the nomination of a more conservative Republican?
 
Is there any chance that the radical wing of the Republicans might have tried to nominate their own candidate against Lincoln, or after the nomination of a more conservative Republican?

In theory they might, but parties rarely do that when they are within sniffing distance of victory. That situation would be a serious possibility only in a situation where the Republicans were clearly going to lose anyway, so that the various factions could afford to indulge themselves.
 
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What if the POD was in 1856, Franklin Pierce holds on to the Democratic nomination, beating out Buchanan when Douglas and Cass throw their support to him. Fremont wins, like in OTL, the Republican nomination. If Fremont wins I have a hard time imagining the south not seceding, but for the sake of the argument, let's say that while there was much grumbling and complaining among all parts, the democrats get their mojo back in 1860 and nominate Davis and he wins a majority of the electoral college.
I know... probably not likely... but it's a hard scenario to make happen.
 
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