Letter: Is history repeating itself?

In 1860 the Democratic Party could not agree on a presidential nominee or party platform, so the two factions of the party nominated separate nominees for president. Both would eventually lose to Abraham Lincoln, igniting secession and war.

A year later, Southerners, marred with pride and ambition, continued to injure each other instead of uniting for the cause of states’ rights. This would eventually result in the defeat of their independent Southern nation along with political beliefs they had fought decades for.

Will history repeat itself in 2016? Or can the Republican Party set aside its differences to stop the election of a big government authoritarian?

This story was originally published June 9, 2016 at 11:10 PM with the headline "Letter: Is history repeating itself?."