Election_of_1864

=**Election of 1864**=

In 1864, Abraham Lincoln (Republican) was seeking re-election. There was opposition to the Lincoln Administration since the war was still going on for two years. There were members of his own party who wanted to amend the Constitution to end slavery and set up policies to punish the South after the war, whereas Lincoln favored a more peaceful end to the war. The Democrat Party was split between War-Democrats who favored the war and Peace-Democrats who wanted to end the war.

The Radical Republicans (who wanted to amend the Constitution to end slavery and have complete racial equality) nominated John C. Fremont, who agreed not to run if the National Union Party (also Republican) didn't nominate Lincoln. There were Republicans who didn't support Lincoln's war effort or his less harsh policies toward the South in terms of post-war. Also, some Republicans weren't sure what the outcome of the war would be, though victory at Vicksburg and Gettysburg certainly helped Lincoln. The Radical Republicans, also called the Radical Democracy Party, thought Lincoln was incompetent and unable to win re-election. Furthermore, the draft didn't help Lincoln in terms of support. Lincoln ran as a part of the Republican Party called the National Union Party, which was made of War-Democrats and Republicans. Lincoln chose Andrew Johnson as his running-mate for Vice President. Johnson was one of the leaders of the War-Democrats from Tennessee (a Confederate state) who supported preserving the Union. Lincoln's platform was to continue the war effort to preserve the Union and enforce the Emancipation Proclamation.

The Democrat Party was divided between Peace-Democrats and War-Democrats. The War-Democrats wanted to continue the war and preserve the Union but disagreed with Lincoln's war policies. The Peace-Democrats were also divided between moderate Peace-Democrats who wanted to negotiate a peace with the Confederacy that would secure a Union victory. The more Radical Peace Democrats (called Copperheads) believed the war was a failure and should be immediately ended. Former Civil War General George B. McClellan won the nomination with a Peace-Democrat running-mate for Vice President. The party platform was written with the Peace-Democrat stance, one in which McClellan personally rejected (McClellan was a War-Democrat).

Lincoln himself didn't think he had a good chance at re-election due to Union losses in 1864 (including Cold Harbor, which was part of Grant's Overland Campaign) and the war was appearing to be one that would be long and bloody and the Peace-Democrats stance of peace at all costs was seeming to be more desirable, which made McClellan look like the favorite to win.

Four major events would lead to the re-election of Lincoln. First, compromises between War and Peace Democrats made McClellan's campaign difficult. Second, Fremont was upset with the Democrat Party platform, which he called a Union with slavery. He also stated that winning the Civil War and defeating McClellan was the greatest necessity and therefore withdrew from the race as did his running-mate. Fremont's support would be thrown to Lincoln. Third, the fall of Atlanta to Union General William Tecumseh Sherman on September 2, 1864 showed that Union victory was definitely going to happen. Fourth, Lincoln ran with the slogan "don't change horses in the middle of a stream" and with emancipation as a central issue. Furthermore, Lincoln was heavily supported by soldiers, which brought Lincoln over 75% of the soldier vote. Also, the soldiers recommended Lincoln to the folks at home.

Lincoln won re-election with 212 Electoral votes. McClellan won Kentucky, Delaware, and his home state of New Jersey. The 11 Confederate states didn't vote in the election.

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