The Differences Slavery Made: A Close Analysis of Two American Communities

Age and Party Affiliation, and Precinct Voting in 1860, Franklin County

These tables show data on the head of household's age and party affiliation, the average age of all voting age males in the household, and precinct breakdown by age cohorts for the 1860 election. The results show that the average age differed only marginally between Democrats and Republicans. But precincts that voted for Lincoln differed from Breckinridge precincts in the average age of both the head of household and all voters in household. The age of voting men in households in Lincoln precincts was significantly lower than in Breckinridge precincts. Lincoln attracted younger voters, the "Wide-Awakes" who mobilized to support the Republican Party in 1860.

Age of Head of Household Cohorts Party Affiliation Total
Democrat Republican
30 years old or younger 13 9 22
31 - 40 years old 23 24 47
41 - 50 years old 38 19 57
51 - 60 years old 3 17 20
More than 61 years old 8 5 13
Total 85 74 159


Age of All Males of Voting Age Cohorts Party Affiliation Total
Democrat Republican
30 years old or younger 21 9 30
31 - 40 years old 36 27 63
41 - 50 years old 19 17 36
51 - 60 years old 2 15 17
More than 61 years old 4 4 8
Total 82 72 154


Voting Precinct Victor Age of Head of Household Cohorts Total
30 years old or younger 31 - 40 years old 41 - 50 years old 51 - 60 years old More than 61 years old
Chambersburg, South Ward Lincoln 98 123 145 80 46 492
Chambersburg, North Ward Lincoln 40 78 83 34 29 264
Antrim Lincoln 13 30 55 30 41 169
Dry Run Lincoln 1 8 15 16 12 52
Fayetteville Lincoln 3 16 25 16 15 75
Green Village Lincoln 3 13 13 20 9 58
Guilford Lincoln 9 20 18 19 9 75
Hamilton Lincoln 4 23 25 28 20 100
Letterkenny Lincoln 5 9 15 10 10 49
Loudon Lincoln 2 2 8 2 5 19
Montgomery Lincoln 5 16 13 17 19 70
Metal Lincoln 5 18 19 6 8 56
Peters Lincoln 2 11 19 8 1 41
Quincy Lincoln 15 29 40 33 21 138
St. Thomas Lincoln 6 13 24 9 15 67
Southampton Lincoln 6 6 16 10 9 47
Washington Lincoln 12 38 32 35 20 137
Lincoln Precinct Average 13.3 26.6 33.2 21.9 17 112.3 112.3
Percentage 11.8% 23.7% 29.6% 19.5% 15.1% 100%
Concord Breckinridge 1 10 11 7 8 37
Lurgan Breckinridge 4 12 10 20 10 56
Orrstown Breckinridge 7 32 28 19 20 106
Sulphur Spring Breckinridge 6 7 14 5 3 35
Warren Breckinridge 4 8 10 5 11 38
Welsh Run Breckinridge 15 23 22 18 24 102
Breckinridge Precinct Average 6.2 15.3 15.8 12.3 12.7 62.3 62.3
Percentage 10.0% 24.6% 25.4% 19.7% 20.4% 100%
County Average 11.4 23.7 28.7 19.4 15.9 99.3
County Percentage 11.5% 23.9% 28.9% 19.5% 16.0% 100%


Voting Precinct Victor Age of All Males of Voting Age Cohorts Total
30 years old or younger 31 - 40 years old 41 - 50 years old 51 - 60 years old More than 61 years old
Chambersburg, South Ward Lincoln 151 161 96 52 22 482
Chambersburg, North Ward Lincoln 63 91 65 20 18 257
Antrim Lincoln 22 46 60 18 22 168
Dry Run Lincoln 5 15 17 8 6 51
Fayetteville Lincoln 10 27 21 12 5 75
Green Village Lincoln 8 17 14 10 8 57
Guilford Lincoln 15 33 14 7 5 74
Hamilton Lincoln 15 32 26 12 14 99
Letterkenny Lincoln 9 13 14 7 6 49
Loudon Lincoln 3 6 6 1 3 19
Montgomery Lincoln 9 18 14 14 13 68
Metal Lincoln 9 19 18 4 3 53
Peters Lincoln 5 11 17 7 0 40
Quincy Lincoln 23 51 38 15 9 136
St. Thomas Lincoln 8 23 24 4 7 66
Southampton Lincoln 10 10 15 7 4 46
Washington Lincoln 24 48 27 21 13 133
Lincoln Precinct Average 22.3 36.5 28.6 12.9 9.3 110.2 110.2
Percentage 20.2% 33.1% 26.0% 11.7% 8.4 100%
Concord Breckinridge 3 14 9 4 7 37
Lurgan Breckinridge 6 19 13 12 5 55
Orrstown Breckinridge 14 41 25 16 10 106
Sulphur Spring Breckinridge 6 9 15 3 2 35
Warren Breckinridge 6 11 11 3 7 38
Welsh Run Breckinridge 23 20 30 13 15 101
Breckinridge Precinct Average 9.7 19 17.2 8.5 7.7 62 62
Percentage 15.6% 30.6% 27.8% 13.7% 12.4% 100%
County Average 19.4 32.8 26.2 11.7 8.9 100.3
County Percentage 19.3% 32.7% 26.1% 11.6% 8.8% 100%


Edward L. Ayers and William G. Thomas, III
Age and Party Affiliation, and Precinct Voting in 1860, Franklin County
2001.

Points of Analysis to this Data:

"In Franklin, Democratic and Republican activists were strikingly similar in their relative household wealth, farm size, and farm values, but had different occupational and social profiles, with the Republicans appearing more 'respectable.' "

Citation: Key = E167
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