Abolitionism was the movement to end enslavement and free enslaved people, with abolitionists viewing enslavement as immoral. By 1860 the United States had already banned the importation of enslaved persons for more than 50 years, but enslavement itself was still legal in large parts of the American South. Abolitionists, largely based in the North, wanted enslavement to be made illegal and for enslaved Americans to be immediately freed from bondage. Some areas of the South made abolitionist writings illegal. Though Abraham Lincoln was initially more moderate in his views toward enslavement than the ardent Northern abolitionists, many Southerners believed that he planned to immediately outlaw enslavement upon taking office. This belief contributed to the secession movement.

The electoral count is a unique aspect of the American presidential election system. After election day, each state sends its vote tallies to the United States Congress, which officially tallies the votes early the following year. The outgoing Vice President oversees this electoral count. Though typically a simple administrative process without any drama, the counting process came under scrutiny in both 1861 and 2021. In 1861, the Vice President overseeing the count was a Southern supporter and a fierce political rival of