<Ul> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> </Ul> <P> The presidency of Abraham Lincoln began on March 4, 1861, when he was inaugurated as the 16th President of the United States, and ended upon his assassination and death on April 15, 1865, − 51,822 days into his second term . Lincoln was the first member of the recently - established Republican Party elected to the presidency . He was succeeded by Vice President Andrew Johnson . Lincoln presided over the Union victory in the American Civil War, which dominated his presidency . </P> <P> Lincoln took office following the 1860 presidential election, in which he won a plurality of the popular vote in a four - candidate field . Almost all of Lincoln's votes came from the Northern United States, as the Republicans held little appeal to voters in the Southern United States . A former Whig, Lincoln ran on a political platform opposed to the expansion of slavery in the territories . His election served as the immediate impetus for the outbreak of the American Civil War . During the 16 weeks between Election Day and Inauguration Day, seven slave states declared their secession from the Union and formed the Confederate States of America . After being sworn in as president, Lincoln refused to accept any resolution that would result in Southern secession from the Union . The Civil War began weeks into Lincoln's presidency with the Confederate attack on Fort Sumter, a federal installation located within the boundaries of the Confederacy . </P> <P> Lincoln was called on to handle both the political and military aspects of the Civil War, facing challenges in both spheres . As commander - in - chief, he ordered the suspension of the constitutionally - protected right to habeas corpus in the state of Maryland in order to suppress Confederate sympathizers . He also became the first president to institute a military draft . As the Union faced several early defeats in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War, Lincoln cycled through numerous military commanders during the war, finally settling on General Ulysses S. Grant, who had led the Union to several victories in the Western Theater . Lincoln's 1863 Emancipation Proclamation freed about millions of slaves in Confederate - held territory, and established emancipation as a Union war goal . In 1865, Lincoln was instrumental in the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment, which made slavery unconstitutional . Lincoln also presided over the passage of important domestic legislation, including the first of the Homestead Acts, the Morrill Land - Grant Act of 1862, and the Pacific Railroad Act of 1862 . He ran for re-election in 1864 on the National Union ticket, which was supported by War Democrats in addition to Republicans . Though Lincoln feared he might lose the contest, he defeated his former subordinate, General George B. McClellan of the Democratic Party, in a landslide . Months after the election, Grant would essentially end the war by defeating the Confederate army led by General Robert E. Lee . Lincoln's assassination in April 1865, five days after the surrender of Lee, left the final challenge of reconstructing the nation to others . </P>

Who won the election of 1860 and what occurred immediately following the election
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