text: The goal was to demonstrate the power of "free labor", which allowed a common farm boy to work his way to the top by his own efforts.The Republican Party's production of campaign literature dwarfed the combined opposition; a Chicago Tribune writer produced a pamphlet that detailed Lincoln's life and sold 100,000–200,000 copies.Though he did not give public appearances, many sought to visit him and write him.In the runup to the election, he took an office in the Illinois state capitol to deal with the influx of attention.He also hired John George Nicolay as his personal secretary, who would remain in that role during the presidency.On November 6, 1860, Lincoln was elected the 16th president.He was the first Republican president and his victory was entirely due to his support in the North and West.No ballots were cast for him in 10 of the 15 Southern slave states, and he won only two of 996 counties in all the Southern states, an omen of the impending Civil War.Lincoln received 1,866,452 votes, or 39.8% of the total in a four-way race, carrying the free Northern states, as well as California and Oregon.His victory in the Electoral College was decisive: Lincoln had 180 votes to 123 for his opponents.Presidency (1861–1865) Secession and inauguration The South was outraged by Lincoln's election, and in response secessionists implemented plans to leave the Union before he took office in March 1861.On December 20, 1860, South Carolina took the lead by adopting an ordinance of secession; by February 1, 1861, Florida, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas followed.Six of these states declared themselves to be a sovereign nation, the Confederate States of America, and adopted a constitution.The upper South and border states (Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, Missouri, and Arkansas) initially rejected the secessionist appeal.