We all know Abraham Lincoln wins in 1860, and most know that it was because the Democrats split [except, in many states they actually got back together], that's what we know. But there's a lot to the 1860 election and this episode originally aired in 2020, we get into it. Sam Houston almost-ran. People called themselves woke. (well, "wide awake"). Lincoln faced 4 opponents and one was attacked for being homeless, the other gave up his campaign at the end. Here in all the newspaper printing backroom candlelight and train-hopping politics, we tell the story your history textbook might have skipped. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices