Numismatics of 1861 PART ONE
Editor’s note: This is a three-part article, the first part of which is appearing in this issue. Future issues of Numismatic News will carry the next two installments.
Owing to a dispute arising in 1832 over the tariff laws of the United States, South Carolina threatened to secede from the Union if its demands for reduced import duties were not met. President Andrew Jackson responded by proclaiming that, if necessary, he would invade South Carolina with federal troops. The State backed down and Jackson had made his point: any attempt at secession would be met with armed force.
By the late 1850s, Southern demands in several spheres, including both economic and the question of slavery, had again reached the crisis stage and many political leaders began to believe that secession was inevitable. The last year of peace, 1860, was marked by a presidential election that showed a nation deeply divided along geographical and ideological lines. Abraham Lincoln won the election because his three main opponents – John Breckenridge, Stephen Douglas and John Bell – had effectively split the electorate.
The new chief executive would not be inaugurated until March 4, 1861, but in the meantime the Southern advocates of independence began to gather strength. The outgoing Administration of President James Buchanan seemed powerless to halt the
