Abraham Lincoln & the Presidential Win?

Question

Looking at all the facts and experiences of his life prior to getting into the political scene, why would you say that Abraham Lincoln's win of the Presidential election was a great personal triumph?

(And no, this is not an essay question. Just curious to what people think.)

In addition, what do you think about how he really rised above the cookie-cutter form of families (refering to his father & grandfather) of president's and rised from little education on general human knowledge and on political knowledge?

Answer 1

He won over some powerful opponents; see below. Lincoln, however, didn't receive a single southern electoral vote, and he only received 40% of the popular vote. So this can be considered a triumph:

Here were the candidates

Abraham Lincoln
John C. Breckinridge
John Bell
Stephen A. Douglas

Also see:
http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h92.html
http://www.archives.gov/federal-register/electoral-college/votes/1853_1869.html

Answer 2

Lincoln won two elections.

The first (1860) was a referendum on maintaining the Union. Although Lincoln supported abolition of slavery, his main point was that the country was better off united than divided. His election was an awesome personal accomplishment for a man of little wealth from a state that had little political influence. His previous attempts at politics has been mostly unsuccessful.

The second (1864) was a referendum on the War. A large effort was made to allow the soldiers to vote. The support of the country (albeit the South had no vote) and the troops validated many difficult decisions and trying times in his life.