nominated Abraham Lincoln to run on the Republican ticket. As the election of 1860 neared Lincoln recognized that if he was going to be elected, a victory in the state of Pennsylvania was crucial. As a result, Lincoln kept a watchful eye on the race for Pennsylvania governor. He believed the results of the state election would be a precursor to the national election. The state election was between Democrat Henry D. Foster and Republican Andrew Curtin. The contest in Pennsylvania naturally brought Curtin into the closest relation with Lincoln. After winning their respective elections both Curtin and Lincoln were joined at the hip throughout the secession crisis. Curtin won his election by over thirty two thousand and one month later Lincoln carried the state by over sixty thousand. However, it was the triumph of Curtin in October of 1860 that declared to the nation that this great Republic had resolved upon revolution to nationalize freedom and sectionalize human bondage.1
             In the months between his election in 1860 and the firing on Fort Sumter in April of 1861, Andrew Curtin had taken a proactive approach toward the crisis of secession. In his inaugural, Curtin pledged the allegiance of Pennsylvania to the Union. He also foreshadowed the role Pennsylvania would play in the Secession Crisis, which turned out to be quite active and extremely pro-union. He stated that the state of Pennsylvania would always recognize the laws and duties placed on her by the federal government. Furthermore, he shared his opinions on the constitution, and the perpetual battle between state's rights and the federal government. In regards to the state constitution Curtin believed, if there were any laws upon the statute books which infringed upon the rights of the people of any of the States, or contravened any law of the federal government, or obstructed its execution, it ought to be repealed. These remarks make it quite evident that Curtin was a pro uni...