Fact Check Before Believing

I know another political post, what can I say, I live in New Hampshire and it is in our blood.  

The above image is going around on Facebook and after a bit of research I have found it to be 100% false. Lincoln was never elected for President as a member of a third party. In 1860 Lincoln was a member of the Republican party which held a collation majority in the House.

Below they have added a vote for Lincoln is a vote for Douglas. Lincoln was the only Northern and Republican candidate running for office, while the South split their vote between three candidates: The Democrat party split into two groups, John Breckenridge (Southern Democrat), Stephen Douglas (Democratic), with John Bell being a true third party candidate (the Constitutional Union Party). The election was won by Lincoln only because the North had more electoral votes than the South and Lincoln won all the Northern States. So the added statement is even a bigger falsehood.

Now without the added notation on the bottom you could take this to mean because the South split their vote three ways they lost the election and if they hadn't wasted their vote on someone other than Stephen Douglas, the South would have won the election and we would not have gotten Lincoln. This is still false since Lincoln won enough electoral votes in the North to win the election.

Lesson is don't believe anything on Facebook, unless you spend the time to check it out. All to often something looks good so we share it and only add to the problem. Same goes for the media cause they mislead you as well and have their own agenda. It use to be the media could tell no falsehood, now it is they can say anything as long as they do not KNOW it is false. That is a big difference, they no longer feel they have the obligation to fact check themselves first.

And above all be respectful of the other candidates and especially be respectful of whom ever becomes President no matter what you think of them. We need to teach our children how to be respectful and it doesn't work if we aren't respectful to those in authority over us.