The presidential election of 1864 was one of the most significant in American history. It took place in Union states during a bloody civil war, with no precedent for voting in a divided nation, and with seemingly ample justification for postponement. The vigorous yet methodical procedure of the 1864 election, with comparatively little corruption and minor viciousness, became an excellent illustration and vindication of the democratic process itself. Furthermore, it was an election in which voters cast ballots to decide on fundamental problems regarding the course of the war, the government, and American society. This campaign asked some of the most vital questions to be considered since the creation of the nation. Should the institution of slavery be expanded, continued, or abolished? Should a war that was to forever change American life be continued or was it time to make a compromise with the south and end it? And who should take the place of the unpopular President Lincoln who seemed doomed to defeat? During his presidency, Lincoln was unpopular. Two main oppositional factions in 1864 were confederate sympathizers in the Border States and lower Midwest Peace Democrats, who believed that the Civil War was causing a decline the Northern economy, states’ rights, and civil liberties. Predominantly disagreeable to Northern Democrats were the two Lincoln policies of Emancipation and The Military Draft. Lincoln had issued a pilot proclamation, stating that he would free all slaves in Confederate land if the Confederacy didn’t surrender by January 1, 1863; they didn’t, so Emancipation Proclamation went into effect consequently freeing thousands of slaves as Union army trooped thru the South. Reacting to the congressional ratification... ... middle of paper ... ...oned to challenge Republicans in future contests. Works Cited Flood, Charles Bracelen. 1864: Lincoln at the Gates of History. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2009. Print. McPherson, James M. Battle Cry of Freedom: the Civil War Era. New York: Ballantine, 1988. Print. Murphy, D. F. Presidential Election, 1864. Proceedings of the National Union Convention Held in Baltimore, Md., June 7th and 8th, 1864. New York: Baker & Godwin, Printers, 1864. Print. (Pages 58-67, 68-76) The Civil War. Prod. Ken Burns. Dir. Ken Burns. By Ken Burns and Ken Burns. Perf. David McCullough, Sam Waterston, and Terry Courier. PBS, 1990. Waugh, John C. Lincoln and McClellan: The Troubled Partnership between a President and His General. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2010. Print. Waugh, John C. Reelecting Lincoln: The Battle for the 1864 Presidency. New York: Crown, 1997. Print.
Turner, Thomas R. 101 Things You Didn’t Know about the Civil War. Avon: Adams, 2007.
Heidler, David Stephen, and Jeanne T. Heidler, eds. Encyclopedia of the American Civil War: a
The American Civil War not only proved to be the country’s deadliest war but also precipitated one of the greatest constitutional crises in the history of the United States. President Lincoln is revered by many Americans today as a man of great moral principle who was responsible for both preventing the Union’s dissolution as well as helping to trigger the movement to abolish slavery. In retrospect, modern historians find it difficult to question the legitimacy of Lincoln’s actions as President. A more precise review of President Lincoln’s actions during the Civil War, however, reveals that many, if not the majority, of his actions were far from legitimate on constitutional and legal grounds. Moreover, his true political motives reveal his
McPherson, James M.; The Atlas of the Civil War. Macmillan: 15 Columbus Circle New York, NY. 1994.
In 1856, a Presidential election occurred in the United States at a crucial period. Sectionalism was at an all time high and a leader was needed to unite the country. However, the man who won the election did not prove to be this leader. Instead, his platform was based on a deliberate failure to lead. Due to James Buchanan’s position that supported popular sovereignty in the expanding United States, the country divided even further over the topic of slavery to the point that the Civil War became inevitable.
The 1864 presidential election was one of the important elections in the American History. In the middle of a devastating civil war, the United States had held its presidential election almost without discussing any alternative (American President: A Reference Resource). None of the other Democratic nations had ever conducted a national election during the time of war. While there was still talk going in postponing the election. That was when Lincoln pointed out that America needs a free government and without conducting the election we have ruined ourselves (Boller P.115). So, before even the year had ended United States had gone forward with its voting just as in peacetime.
Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States during the beginning era of Reconstruction, had plans to free slaves and grant them freedoms like never before. In 1863, before the war had ended, Lincoln had issued a Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction for the areas of the South that the Union armies occupied. This proclamation was also called the 10 percent plan. It suggested that a state could reenter the Union when 10 percent of that state’s 1860 vote count had taken an oath of allegiance to the United States and pledge to abide by emancipation. Although this policy was put into place to help shorten the war, it also forced governments to further Lincoln’s emancipation policies and abolish slavery. Radical Republicans opposed this plan because they feared it was too lenient towards the South, fearing that his moderate plan would leave in place the political and economic structure that permitted slavery in the South. Many Congressmen believed that only until the South could be dismantled and rebuilt with more Northern philosophies, slaves would never be able to enjoy the benefits of freedom: social, political, and economic freedom.
One of Lincoln’s most famous quotes is “A House divided against itself cannot stand.” This describes his presidency well- focusing on maintaining the Union. In the beginning, Lincoln tried to stay out of sensitive affairs involving the North and South in an attempt to keep them together, promising the South little interference. Despite this, he played a key role in passing the Thirteenth Amendment, doing whatever it takes to end slavery for good and ending the Civil War.
The memory of massive death was still in the front of everyone’s mind, hardening into resentment and sometimes even hatred. The south was virtually non-existent politically or economically, and searching desperately for a way back in. Along with these things, now living amongst the population were almost four million former slaves, who had no idea how to make a living on their own. They had been freed by the 13th amendment in 1865, and in the future became a great concern to many political leaders. Still, it was no secret that something had to be done. So, as usually happens, political leaders appeared on the stage, each holding their own plan of Reconstruction, each certain their ideas were the correct ones. One of the first people who came up with a blueprint for Reconstruction was the president at the time, Abraham Lincoln. The “Lincoln Plan” was a very open one, stating that after certain criteria were met a confederate state could return to the union. To rejoin, a state had to have ten percent of voters both accept the emancipation of slaves and swear loyalty to the union. Also, those high ranking officers of the state could not hold office or carry out voting rights unless the president said
Perman Michael, Amy Murrell Taylor. Major Problems in the Civil War and Reconstruction. Boston: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning, 2011.
The presidential elections of 1860 was one of the nation’s most memorable one. The north and the south sections of country had a completely different vision of how they envision their home land. What made this worst was that their view was completely opposite of each other. The north, mostly republican supporters, want America to be free; free of slaves and free from bondages. While on the other hand, the south supporters, mostly democratic states, wanted slavery in the country, because this is what they earned their daily living and profit from.
Both sides desired a republican form of government. Each wanted a political system that would “protect the equality and liberty of the individuals from aristocratic privilege and…tyrannical power.” (404) However, the north and south differed greatly in “their perceptions of what most threatened its survival.” (404) The secession by the south was an attempt to reestablish republicanism, as they no longer found a voice in the national stage. Prior to the 1850s, this conflict had been channeled through the national political system. The collapse of the two-party system gave way to “political reorganization and realignment,” wrote Holt. The voters of the Democrats shifted their influence toward state and local elections, where they felt their concerns would be addressed. This was not exclusively an economically determined factor. It displayed the exercise of agency by individual states. Holt pointed out, “[T]he emergence of a new two-party framework in the South varied from state to state according to the conditions in them.” (406) The “Deep South” was repulsed by the “old political process,” most Southerners trusted their state to be the safeguards of republicanism. (404) They saw the presidential election of Abraham Lincoln, a member of the “the anti-Southern Republican party,” as something the old system could not
Contrary to what today’s society believes about Lincoln, he was not a popular man with the South at this period in time. The South wanted to expand towards the West but Lincoln created a geographical containment rule keeping slavery in the states it currently resided in. Despite his trying to rationalize with the South, Lincoln actually believed something different ”Lincoln claimed that he, like the Founding Fathers, saw slavery in the Old South as regrettable reality whose expansion could and should be arrested, thereby putting it on the long and gradual road ”ultimate extinction” (216). He believed it to be “evil” thus “implying that free southerners were evil for defending it”(275). Lincoln wanted to wipe out slavery for good and the South could sense his secret motives. By trying to trick them, the South rebelled as soon as Lincoln became president and launched what is today known as the Civil war.
“Civil Disobiedence.” The American Tradition in Literature, 12th ed. New York: McGraw Hill 2009. Print
In the 1860 presidential election, Republicans, led by Abraham Lincoln, opposed the expansion of slavery into United States' territories. Lincoln won, but before his inauguration on March 4, 1861, seven slave states with cotton-based economies formed the Confederacy. The first six to secede had the highest proportions of slaves in their populations, a total of 48.8% for the six. Outgoing Democratic President James Buchanan and the incoming Republicans rejected secession as illegal. Lincoln's inaugural address declared his administration would not initiate civil war. Eight remaining slave states continued to reject calls for secession. Confederate forces seized numerous federal forts within territory claimed by the Confederacy. A peace conference failed to find a compromise, and both sides prepared for war. The Confederates assumed that European countries were so dependent on "King Cotton" that they would intervene; none did and none recognized the new Conf...