Elections in America rarely have effect on philately or postal policy. No candidate is running on a platform of reduced postage rates and speedier service. Mail seems to be one of those few areas on which politicians have agreed not to disagree. Though a "postage is too damn high" party might win a few fringe votes it is unusual for political events to have philatelic impact. This was not always the case. The election of 1860 might be the election that had the most philatelic importance. America was facing the most dire time in our history when Abraham Lincoln took the oath of office in March of 1861. The election was fought about slavery and within weeks of Lincoln's inauguration the southern states seceded over their desire to retain the right to own other human beings. The political and social effects of this can be read about in the miles of books that have been published on the Civil War, but the philatelic effects were as profound as any that have buffeted our hobby. Union stamps used in the South after secession are a specialty as are the stamp issues of the Confederacy themselves. Scores of Civil War related subspecialties exist from patriotics to war adversity covers (southern envelopes made from such things as wall paper because of severe paper shortages) to prison camp covers, flags of truce, blockade covers, demonetized stamps... the list goes on and on. So when a philatelist hears about how important an election is and how much it will change our country at least we can be secure that the changes in our hobby will be very few compared to the change produced by elections past.