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A History of Columbia County Florida (1996) Edward F. Keuchel 88/340

A History of Cohnnbia County, Florida
shouted at Elder: “we’ll set the nigger free before long, and then
we’ll see who’ll be the Negro—we will be the white man and you
shall be the Negro.” Elder had a warrant issued and Pent was
arrested for his conduct. After being detained for a few hours Pent
was released, but the Regulators were waiting for him, and he was
beaten. Elder wrote to the Floridian that the incident served to
demonstrate that abolitionists existed in Florida and precautions
should be taken.5
Political disarray faced the nation during the presidential
election of 1860. In April the Democrats met in Charleston where a
fight developed over the issuance of a party platform endorsing the
Dred Scott decision. The bulk of southern delegates withdrew
before a nominee was named. Northern Democrats reassembled in
Baltimore and nominated Stephen A. Douglas of Illinois for
President and Herschell V. Johnson of Georgia for Vice President.
Southern Democrats met in Richmond and nominated John C.
Breckinridge of Kentucky for President and Joseph Lane of Oregon
for Vice President. Republicans had come close to winning the
presidency in 1856, and the split in the Democratic party put them
in an excellent position for the election of 1860. Meeting in Chicago
the Republicans nominated Abraham Lincoln of Illinois for
President and Hannibal Hamlin of Maine for Vice President. The
old-line Whigs, who had joined the Constitutional Unionists,
nominated John Bell of Tennessee for President and Edward
Everett of Massachusetts for Vice President. The Lake City
Independent Press, a former Whig paper, was one of the few
newspapers in the state to endorse the Constitutional Union ticket.6
In the November 7, election Lincoln carried a majority in the
electoral college although he received only about forty percent of the
popular vote. He was not on the ballot and received no votes in

^Floridian and Journal, June 9, 1860.
6Johns, Florida During the Civil War, pp. 10-11.

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