Abraham Lincoln is elected the 16th president of the United States with only 40% of the popular vote, defeating John C. Breckinridge, John Bell, and Stephen A. Douglas in a four-way race.

Abraham Lincoln was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War, defeating the Confederate States of America and playing a major role in the abolition of slavery.

Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 6, 1860. The Republican Party ticket of Abraham Lincoln and Hannibal Hamlin emerged victorious in a four-way race. With an electoral majority composed only of Northern states that had already abolished slavery, and minimal support in the Democratic-dominated Southern slave states, Lincoln's election as the first Republican president thus served as the main catalyst for Southern secession and consequently the American Civil War.

The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces.

John Cabell Breckinridge was an American politician who served as the 14th vice president of the United States, with President James Buchanan, from 1857 to 1861. Assuming office at the age of 36, Breckinridge is the youngest vice president in U.S. history. Breckinridge was also the Southern Democratic candidate in the 1860 presidential election, which he lost to Republican Abraham Lincoln.

John Bell was an American politician, attorney, and planter who was a candidate for President of the United States in the election of 1860.