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.
Heidler, David Stephen, and Jeanne T. Heidler, eds. Encyclopedia of the American Civil War: a
Ropes, John Codman, and W. R. Livermore. The Story of the Civil War: A Concise
Wills, Garry. Lincoln at Gettysburg: The Words that Remade America. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1992.
The Real Lincoln: A New Look at Abraham Lincoln, His Agenda, and an Unnecessary War, by Thomas J. DiLorenzo completely shatters the illusion of the 16th President as the liberator of the slaves. DiLorenzo provides convincing evidence for Lincoln’s overt racism as expressed in his documented views on racial supremacy as stated in his desire to colonize all American blacks outside the United States (p. 4); Lincoln’s views were matched by the majority in the North who used such tools as state constitutional amendments to prohibit the emigration of black people into Northern states like Lincoln’s home of Illinois (p. 4); and that the Presidents war which killed 620, 000 Americans and destroyed 40% of the economy, was a singularly terrible, unjustified conflict given the proven success in the 19th century of the peaceful end to slavery through the policy of compensated emancipation (p. 4). DiLorenzo accordingly notes that, “Between 1800 and 1860, dozens of countries, including the entire British Empire, ended slavery peacefully; only in the United States was war involved (p. 4). DiLorenzo documents that history’s claims that the abolition of slavery as the leading motive behind the Union’s aggression against the South is untrue. He states that Lincoln’s motives were economic and political and in no way altruistic. Lincoln did oppose slavery, but his opposition did not stem from any moral motive. He wished to preserve white labor, and to avoid artificial inflation of Southern representation in Congress under the three-fifths clause of the Constitution, under which every five slaves counted as three free persons for the purpose of allotting number of congressional seats.
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.
Simpson, Brooks D., Stephen W. Sears, and Aaron Sheehan-Dean, eds. The Civil War: Told by Those Who Lived It. New York: The Library of America, 2011. Print.
Heidler, David S. and Jeanne T., Encyclopedia of the American Civil War: A Political, Social, And Military History Volume 2 D-I, ABC-CLIO Inc, 2000.
...ecause of so many sectional differences, each region of America had its own intended President, creating a situation in which the losers of the election would already be organized for revolt. However, given that the parties were what they were, President Lincoln could have proposed a quick but strong compromise, right after he won the election, which would keep the Southerners and other non-supporters satisfied with the new political situation. Unfortunately, slavery-issues had been brewing for far too long for this situation to have an easy way out.
“Civil Disobiedence.” The American Tradition in Literature, 12th ed. New York: McGraw Hill 2009. Print
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.
McPHERSON, James M. "Major Problems in the Civil War and Reconstruction." (n.d.): n. pag. Rpt. in Major Problems in American History Series. N.p.: n.p., n.d. 10. Print.
Turner, Thomas R. 101 Things You Didn’t Know about the Civil War. Avon: Adams, 2007.
While Abraham Lincoln detested slavery and personally believed that the coloured people of America deserved full legal status, he was a politician and his priority was always keeping America unified. Lincoln abhorred slavery, and thought it a great evil both morally and from the standpoint of what it had done to the country; he considered it the biggest problem with America. While he did believe that African Americans were an inferior race and did not want to grant them full equality, he was absolutely determined that the constitution should apply to them just as much as any white citizen of America. In his time as a senator and Presidential nominee, and for a while after becoming President, his priority was simply to stop the spread of slavery and keep it in its current boundaries. Over the long term Lincoln did not believe the two races could live together and as a Senator considered shipping African Americans to Liberia, which he abandoned after realizing it was extremely impractical and a death sentence to those it was supposed to free. After becoming President Lincoln considered the much closer, safer, and economically viable Central America, but eventually dropped it as freed slaves were unresponsive. While starting his first term as President he attempted to stop the secession of the southern states and ameliorate the citizens by insisting slavery would be allowed to remain as it had been before, prioritizing the Union over the slaves. Later in his first term, and into his early second, Lincoln proposed a compensated emancipation system , believing that if the states that had seceded realized others would not join the Confederacy they would be more inclined to rejoin the Union. After all other solutions failed to gain a...
McPherson, James M.; The Atlas of the Civil War. Macmillan: 15 Columbus Circle New York, NY. 1994.