United States presidential election, 1864

United States presidential election, 1864
1860 ←
 November 8, 1864
 → 1868
 
Nominee Abraham Lincoln George B. McClellan
Party National Union Party Democratic
Home state Illinois New Jersey
Running mate Andrew Johnson George H. Pendleton
Electoral vote 212 21
States carried 22 3
Popular vote 2,218,388 1,812,807
Percentage 55.0% 45.0%
Presidential election results map. Red denotes states won by Lincoln/Johnson, blue denotes those won by McClellan/Pendleton, and brown denotes Confederate states. Numbers indicate the number of electoral votes allotted to each state.
President before election

Abraham Lincoln
Republican

 Elected President

Abraham Lincoln
National Union Party

In the United States Presidential election of 1864, Abraham Lincoln was re-elected as president. The election was held during the Civil War. Lincoln ran under the National Union ticket against Democratic candidate George B. McClellan, his former top general. McClellan ran as the "peace candidate", but he did not personally believe in his party's platform. Although the only votes counted were those cast in states that had not attempted to secede from the Union, elections were held in the Union-occupied states of Louisiana and Tennessee, with Lincoln carrying both.[1]

In opposition to a group of Republican dissidents who nominated John C. Frémont, Republicans loyal to Lincoln joined with a number of War Democrats to form the National Union Party. The new political party was formed to accommodate the War Democrats.

On November 8, Lincoln won by over 400,000 popular votes and easily secured an electoral majority. Several states allowed their citizens serving as soldiers in the field to cast ballots, a first in United States history. Soldiers in the Army gave Lincoln more than 70% of their vote.

This was the first election since 1832 in which an incumbent president won re-election. However, Lincoln's second term ended just 6 weeks after his inauguration, as he was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth.

Contents

Nominations

Radical Republican Party nomination

Candidate:

Candidates gallery

As the Civil War progressed, political opinions within the Republican Party began to diverge. Senators Charles Sumner and Henry Wilson of Massachusetts wanted the Republican Party to advocate constitutional amendments to prohibit slavery and to guarantee racial equality before the law. These bills were not yet supported by all northern Republicans.

Democratic leaders hoped that the radical Republicans would put forth a ticket in the election. The New York World was particularly interested in undermining the National Union Party and ran a series of articles setting forth John C. Frémont’s qualifications. The New York World hoped that the National Union Convention would be delayed until late in 1864 to allow Frémont time to collect delegates to win the nomination. Frémont supporters in New York City established a newspaper called the New Nation, which declared in one of its initial issues that the National Union Convention would be a “nonentity.”

The Radical Democracy Convention assembled in Ohio with delegates arriving on May 29, 1864. The New York Times reported that the hall which the convention organizers had planned to use had been double-booked by an opera troupe. Almost all delegates were instructed to support Frémont, with a major exception being the New York delegation, which was composed of War Democrats who supported Ulysses S. Grant. Various estimates of the number of delegates were reported in the press; the New York Times reported 156 delegates, but the number generally reported elsewhere was 350 delegates. The delegates came from 15 states and the District of Columbia. They adopted the name "Radical Democracy Party."[2]

A supporter of Grant was appointed chairman. The platform was passed with little discussion, and a series of resolutions that bogged down the convention proceedings were voted down decisively. The convention nominated Frémont for President. Frémont accepted the nomination on June 4, 1864. In his letter, he stated that he would step aside if the National Union Convention would nominate someone other than Lincoln. John Cochrane was nominated for vice-president.[3]

National Union Party nomination

Main article: 1864 National Union National Convention

National Union candidate:

Candidates gallery

Before the election, the War Democrats joined the Republicans to form the National Union Party.[4] With the outcome of the Civil War still in doubt, some political leaders, including Salmon P. Chase, Benjamin Wade, and Horace Greeley, opposed Lincoln's renomination on the ground that he could not win. But Lincoln was still popular with most members of the Republican party and the National Union Party nominated him for a second term as president at their convention in Baltimore, Maryland, on June 7-8, 1864.[5]

Lincoln, dissatisfied with Republican Vice-President Hannibal Hamlin, had the convention nominate Military-Governor Andrew Johnson of Tennessee, a War Democrat, as his running mate. Johnson was ideally suited to run as a vice- presidential candidate with Lincoln in 1864. He had strongly supported the Union, he was a Southerner, and he was a leading member of the War Democrats.[4] Andrew Johnson was nominated over three other War Democrats: former New York Senator Daniel S. Dickinson, Buchanan cabinet member Joseph Holt, and General Benjamin F. Butler.

Presidential Ballot
Ballot 1st Before Shifts 1st After Shifts
Abraham Lincoln 494 516
Ulysses S. Grant 22 0
Not Voting 3 3

Source: US President - R Convention. Our Campaigns. (April 2, 2009).

Vice Presidential Ballot
Ballot 1st 2nd
Andrew Johnson 200 492
Hannibal Hamlin 150 9
Daniel S. Dickinson 108 17
Benjamin Butler 28 0
Lovell Rousseau 21 0
Schuyler Colfax 6 0
Ambrose Burnside 2 0
Joseph Holt 2 0
Preston King 1 0
David Tod 1 1

Source: US Vice President - R Convention. Our Campaigns. (April 2, 2009).

Democratic Party nomination

Main article: 1864 Democratic National Convention

Democratic candidates:

Candidates gallery

The Democratic Party was bitterly split between the War Democrats and the Peace Democrats, who were further divided among competing factions. Moderate Peace Democrats who supported the war against the Confederacy, such as Horatio Seymour, were preaching the wisdom of a negotiated peace. After Gettysburg, when it was clear the South could no longer win the war, moderate Peace Democrats proposed a negotiated peace that would secure Union victory. They believed this was the best course of action because an armistice could finish the war without finishing the South.[6] Radical Peace Democrats known as Copperheads, such as Thomas H. Seymour, declared the war to be a failure and favored an immediate end to hostilities without securing Union victory.[7]

George B. McClellan and former Connecticut Governor Thomas H. Seymour vied for the presidential nomination. In addition, friends of Horatio Seymour insisted on placing his name before the convention, which was held in Chicago, Illinois, on August 29-31, 1864. But on the day before the organization of that body, Horatio Seymour announced positively that he would not be a candidate.

Since the Democrats were divided by issues of war and peace, they sought a strong candidate who could unify the party. The compromise was to nominate pro-war General George B. McClellan for president and anti-war Representative George H. Pendleton for vice-president. McClellan, a War Democrat, was nominated over Thomas H. Seymour, a Copperhead. The convention then adopted a peace platform[8] — a platform McClellan personally rejected.[9] McClellan supported the continuation of the war and restoration of the Union, but the party platform, written by Copperhead Clement Vallandigham, opposed this position.

Presidential Ballot
Ballot 1st Before Shifts 1st After Shifts
George B. McClellan 174 202.5
Thomas H. Seymour 38 23.5
Horatio Seymour 12 0
Abstaining 1.5 0
Charles O'Conor 0.5 0
Vice Presidential Ballot
Ballot 1st Before Shifts 1st After Shifts
George H. Pendleton 55.5 226
James Guthrie 65.5 0
Lazarus W. Powell 32.5 0
George W. Cass 26 0
John D. Caton 16 0
Daniel W. Voorhees 13 0
Augustus C. Dodge 9 0
John S. Phelps 8 0
Abstaining 0.5 0

General election

The 1864 election was the first time since 1812 that a presidential election took place during a war.

For much of 1864, Lincoln himself believed he had little chance of being re-elected. Confederate forces had triumphed at the Battle of Mansfield, the Battle of the Crater, and the Battle of Cold Harbor. In addition, the war was continuing to take a very high toll. The prospect of a long and bloody war started to make the idea of "peace at all cost" offered by the Copperheads look more desirable. Because of this, McClellan was thought to be a heavy favorite to win the election. Unfortunately for Lincoln, Frémont’s campaign got off to a good start.

However, several political and military events made Lincoln's re-election inevitable. In the first place, the Democrats had to confront the severe internal strains within their party at the Democratic National Convention. The political compromises made at the Democratic National Convention were contradictory and made McClellan's campaign inconsistent and difficult.

Secondly, the Democratic National Convention influenced Frémont’s campaign. Frémont was appalled at the Democratic platform, which he described as “union with slavery.” After three weeks of discussions with Cochrane and his supporters, Frémont withdrew from the race in September 1864. In his statement, Frémont declared that winning the Civil War was too important to divide the Republican vote. Although he still felt that Lincoln was not going far enough, the defeat of McClellan was of the greatest necessity. General Cochrane, who was a War Democrat, agreed and withdrew with Frémont. Frémont also brokered a political deal in which Lincoln removed U.S. Postmaster General Montgomery Blair from office. McClellan's chances of victory faded after Frémont withdrew from the presidential race.

Lastly, with the fall of Atlanta on September 2, there no longer was any question that a Union military victory was inevitable and close at hand.

In the end, the Union Party mobilized the full strength of both the Republicans and the War Democrats under the its slogan "Don't change horses in the middle of a stream." It was energized as Lincoln made emancipation the central issue, and state Republican parties stressed the perfidy of the Copperheads.[10] Lincoln was highly popular with soldiers; he carried 78% of the Union soldiers' vote, and they in turn recommended him to their folks back home.[11][12]

Results

Only 25 states participated, because 11 had declared secession from the Union to formed the Confederate States of America. Three new states participated for the first time: Nevada, West Virginia, and Kansas. The reconstructed portions of Tennessee and Louisiana chose presidential Electors, although Congress did not count their votes. McClellan won just three states: Kentucky, Delaware, and his home state of New Jersey.

Presidential candidate Party Home state Popular vote(a) Electoral
vote(a), (b)		 Running mate
Count Pct Vice-presidential candidate Home state Elect. vote(a), (b)
Abraham Lincoln National Union(c) Illinois 2,218,388 55.0% 212 Andrew Johnson(c) Tennessee 212
George Brinton McClellan Democratic New Jersey 1,812,807 45.0% 21 George Hunt Pendleton Ohio 21
Other 692 0.0% — Other —
Total 4,031,887 100% 233 233
Needed to win 117 117

Source (Popular Vote): Leip, David. 1864 Presidential Election Results. Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections (July 27, 2005). Source (Electoral Vote): Electoral College Box Scores 1789–1996. Official website of the National Archives. (July 31, 2005).

(a) The states in rebellion did not participate in the election of 1864.
(b) One Elector from Nevada did not vote

Results by state

[13]


 Abraham Lincoln

National Union		 George B. McClellan

Democratic		 State Total
State electoral
votes		 # % electoral
votes		 # % electoral
votes		 #
California 5 62,053 58.6 5 43,837 41.4 - 105,890 100
Connecticut 6 44,673 51.4 6 42,285 48.6 - 86,958 100
Delaware 3 8,155 48.2 - 8,767 51.8 3 16,922 100
Illinois 16 189,512 54.4 16 158,724 45.6 - 348,236 100
Indiana 13 149,887 53.5 13 130,230 46.5 - 280,117 100
Iowa 8 83,858 63.1 8 49,089 36.9 - 132,947 100
Kansas 3 17,089 79.2 3 3,836 17.8 - 20,925 100
Kentucky 11 27,787 30.2 - 64,301 69.8 11 92,088 100
Maine 7 67,805 59.1 7 46,992 40.9 - 114,797 100
Maryland 8 40,153 55.1 8 32,739 44.9 - 72,892 100
Massachusetts 12 126,742 72.2 12 48,745 27.8 - 175,487 100
Michigan 8 91,133 55.1 8 74,146 44.9 - 165,279 100
Minnesota 4 25,031 59 9 17,376 41 - 42,407 100
Missouri 11 72,750 69.7 11 31,596 30.3 - 104,346 100
Nevada 2 9,826 59.7 2 6,594 40.2 - 16,420 100
New Hampshire 5 36,596 52.6 5 33,034 47.4 - 69,630 100
New Jersey 7 60,724 47.2 - 68,020 52.8 7 128,744 100
New York 33 368,735 50.5 33 361,986 49.5 - 730,721 100
Ohio 21 265,674 56.4 21 205,609 43.6 - 471,283 100
Oregon 3 9,888 53.9 3 8,457 46.1 - 18,345 100
Pennsylvania 26 296,292 51.6 26 277,443 48.4 - 573,735 100
Rhode Island 4 14,349 62.2 4 8,718 37.8 - 23,067 100
Vermont 5 42,419 76.1 5 13,321 23.9 - 55,750 100
West Virginia 5 23,799 68.2 5 11,078 31.8 - 34,877 100
Wisconsin 8 83,458 55.9 8 65,884 44.1 - 149,342 100
TOTALS: 233 2,218,388 55 221 1,812,807 45 21 4,031,887 100


Close states

Red font color denotes states won by Republican Abraham Lincoln; blue denotes those won by Democrat George B. McClellan.

States where the margin of victory was under 5% (68 electoral votes)

  1. New York 0.92% (33 electoral votes)
  2. Connecticut 2.76% (6 e.v.)
  3. Pennsylvania 3.51% (26 e.v.)
  4. Delaware 3.62% (3 e.v.)

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Donald, David Herbert, Jean Harvey Baker, & Michael F. Holt, The Civil War and Reconstruction (New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2001), 427.
  2. ^ "HarpWeek: Explore History". http://elections.harpweek.com/1864/Overview-1864-2.htm. Retrieved 2010-05-31. 
  3. ^ http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=240652
  4. ^ a b World Book
  5. ^ The Complete Book of U.S. Presidents
  6. ^ They Also Ran
  7. ^ The American Pageant
  8. ^ 1864 Democratic Platform
  9. ^ "George B. McClellan". Ohio History Central. http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/entry.php?rec=258. Retrieved 2007-03-06. 
  10. ^ J. G. Randall and Richard Current, Lincoln the President: Last Full Measure (1955) p. 307
  11. ^ Phillip Shaw Paludan, The Presidency of Abraham Lincoln (University Press of Kansas, 1994) pp 274-293
  12. ^ Oscar O. Winther, "The Soldier Vote in the Election of 1864," New York History (1944) 25: 440-58
  13. ^ http://www.historycentral.com/elections/1864Pop.html

References

External links

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