—­
  Pennsylvania 268,030 16,765 178,871[B] 12,776 | 27 —­ —­ —­
  Delaware 3,815 1,023 7,337 3,864 | —­ —­ 3 —­
  Maryland 2,294 5,966 42,482 41,760 | —­ —­ 8 —­
  Virginia 1,929 16,290 74,323 74,681 | —­ —­ —­ 15
  North Carolina —­ 2,701 48,539 44,990 | —­ —­ 10 —­
  South Carolina[A] —­ —­ —­ —­ | —­ —­ 8 —­
  Georgia —­ 11,590 51,889 42,886 | —­ —­ 10 —­
  Florida —­ 367 8,543 5,437 | —­ —­ 3 —­
  Alabama —­ 13,651 48,831 27,875 | —­ —­ 9 —­
  Mississippi —­ 3,283 40,797 25,040 | —­ —­ 7 —­
  Louisiana —­ 7,625 22,861 20,204 | —­ —­ 6 —­
  Texas —­ —­ 47,548 15,438[B]| —­ —­ 4 —­
  Arkansas —­ 5,227 28,732 20,094 | —­ —­ 4 —­
  Missouri 17,028 58,801 31,317 58,372 | —­ 9 —­ —­
  Tennessee —­ 11,350 64,709 69,274 | —­ —­ —­ 12
  Kentucky 1,364 25,651 53,143 66,058 | —­ —­ —­ 12
  Ohio 231,610 187,232 11,405 12,194 | 23 —­ —­ —­
  Michigan 88,480 65,057 805 405 | 6 —­ —­ —­
  Indiana 139,033 115,509 12,295 5,306 | 13 —­ —­ —­
  Illinois 172,161 160,215 2,404 4,913 | 11 —­ —­ —­
  Wisconsin 86,110 65,021 888 161 | 5 —­ —­ —­
  Minnesota 22,069 11,920 748 62 | 4 —­ —­ —­
  Iowa 70,409 55,111 1,048 1,763 | 4 —­ —­ —­
  California 39,173 38,516 34,334 6,817 | 4 —­ —­ —­
  Oregon 5,270 3,951 5,006 183 | 3 —­ —­ —­
  ------------------------------------------------
-------+--------------
  Totals 1,866,452 1,375,157 847,953 590,631 | 180 12 72 39

  [A] By legislature.
  [B] Fusion electoral tickets.

Messrs. Nicolay and Hay say that Lincoln was the “indisputable choice of the American people,” and by way of sustaining the statement say that, if the “whole voting strength of the three opposing parties had been united upon a single candidate, Lincoln would nevertheless have been chosen with only a trifling diminution of his electoral majority."[111] It might be better to say that Lincoln was the “indisputable choice” of the electoral college.  The “American people” fell enormously short of showing a majority in his favor.  His career as president was made infinitely more difficult as well as greatly more creditable to him by reason of the very fact that he was not the choice of the American people, but of less than half of them,—­and this, too, even if the Confederate States be excluded from the computation.[112]

The election of Lincoln was “hailed with delight” by the extremists in South Carolina; for it signified secession, and the underlying and real desire of these people was secession, and not either compromise or postponement.[113]