Lincoln was a long shot to even get the nomination in 1860. Everyone thought that it would go to William Seward. But the newly formed Republican party was made up of a mashup of former parties: Whigs, Know Nothings, etc., and there was a strong anti-Seward faction. As a result, Lincoln emerged as a more moderate candidate with the best chance of beating the Democrats in the election. He was adamant that he didn't want to outlaw slavery in the South, he just didn't want to extend it to the newly added territories, whereas a lot of the other candidates were very much in favor of doing away with it. He won and the South still voted to secede from the Union. During the course of the Civil War, Lincoln changed his mind about slaves and emancipated them. It was heartbreaking that he was assassinated at such a crucial moment in our history. What was even worse was how many people were gleeful about it and celebrated, saying he got what he deserved. History has shown he was in fact a great leader and a decent and kind man, who, like all of us, had his flaws but nevertheless did more good than harm and always tried to do the best thing.
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