United States presidential election, 1864

November 8, 1864

All 233 electoral votes of the Electoral College 117 electoral votes needed to win

Turnout	73.8%^[1]

Nominee	Abraham Lincoln	George B. McClellan
Party	National Union	Democratic
Home state	Illinois	New Jersey
Running mate	Andrew Johnson	George H. Pendleton
Electoral vote	212	21
States carried	22 (+2^[2])	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; two Confederate states were controlled by the Union by 1864 and held elections (although their electors were not ultimately counted). Numbers indicate the number of electoral votes allotted to each state.

President before election

Abraham Lincoln
Republican

Elected President

Abraham Lincoln
National Union

The United States presidential election of 1864 was the 20th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 8, 1864. Incumbent president, Republican Abraham Lincoln, was running for re-election against Democratic candidate George B. McClellan, who ran as the "peace candidate" without personally believing in his party's platform.

Lincoln was re-elected president by a landslide in the Electoral College. Since the election of 1860, the Electoral College had expanded with the admission of Kansas, West Virginia, and Nevada as free-soil states. As the American Civil War was still raging, no electoral votes were counted from any of the eleven Southern states.^[2] Lincoln won by more than 400,000 popular votes in part due to the Union's victory at the Battle of Atlanta.^[3] Lincoln was the first president to be re-elected since Democrat Andrew Jackson in 1832. Lincoln was inaugurated for his second term on March 4, 1865, but he was assassinated on April 15, 1865, one month after his term began. Lincoln's second term is the second shortest term served by any U.S. president, next to the 31-day term served by William Henry Harrison.

Background

The Presidential election of 1864 took place during the American Civil War.^[4]

A group of Republican dissidents calling themselves Radical Republicans, formed a party called the Radical Democracy Party and nominated John C. Frémont as their candidate for president. Frémont later withdrew and endorsed Lincoln. In the Border States, War Democrats joined with Republicans as the National Union Party, with Lincoln at the head of the ticket.^[5] The National Union Party was a temporary name used to attract War Democrats and Border State Unionists who would not vote for the Republican Party. It faced off against the regular Democratic Party, including Peace Democrats.

Nominations

The 1864 presidential election conventions of the parties are considered below in order of the party's popular vote.

National Union Party nomination

Lincoln and Johnson campaign poster

Main article: 1864 National Union National Convention

National Union candidates:

Abraham Lincoln, President from Illinois
Ulysses S. Grant, Commanding General from Illinois

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 predicting 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."

National Union Party

Before the election, some War Democrats joined the Republicans to form the National Union Party.^[6] 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 grounds that he could not win. Chase himself became the only candidate to actively contest Lincoln's re-nomination, but withdrew in March when a slew of Republican officials, including within the state of Ohio upon whom Chase's campaign depended, endorsed Lincoln's renomination. 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.^[7] The party platform:

...called for pursuit of the war until the Confederacy surrendered unconditionally; a constitutional amendment for the abolition of slavery; aid to disabled Union veterans; continued European neutrality; enforcement of the Monroe Doctrine; encouragement of immigration; and construction of a transcontinental railroad. It also praised the use of black troops and Lincoln's management of the war.^[8]

Andrew Johnson, the former Senator from and current Military Governor of Tennessee, was named as Lincoln's running-mate. Others who were considered for the position, at one point or another, were former Senator Daniel Dickinson, Major General Benjamin Butler, Major General William Rosecrans, Joseph Holt, and former Treasury Secretary and Senator John Dix.

Democratic Party nomination

McClellan and Pendleton campaign poster

Main article: 1864 Democratic National Convention

Democratic Presidential candidates:

George B. McClellan, General from New Jersey
Thomas H. Seymour, Former Governor of Connecticut

Democratic Party candidates gallery

Major General George B. McClellan of New Jersey
Former Governor Thomas H. Seymour of Connecticut
Senator Lazarus W. Powell of Kentucky
(Declined to be Nominated)
Former President Franklin Pierce of New Hampshire
(Declined to be Nominated)
Governor Horatio Seymour of New York
(Declined to be Nominated)

Democratic Party Vice-Presidential candidates gallery

Representative George H. Pendleton of Ohio
Representative Daniel W. Voorhees of Indiana
Railroad President George W. Cass of Pennsylvania
Former Senator Augustus C. Dodge of Iowa

"How the War Commenced and How Near It Is Ended" published by the National Union Executive Committee.

The Democratic Party was bitterly split between War Democrats and Peace Democrats, who 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 the Union victory in the Battle of Gettysburg, 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 devastating the South.^[9] 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.^[10]

George B. McClellan vied for the presidential nomination. Additionally, 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 the Copperhead Thomas H. Seymour. Pendleton, a close associate of the Copperhead Clement Vallandigham, balanced the ticket, since he was known for having strongly opposed the Union war effort.^[11] The convention then adopted a peace platform^[12] — a platform McClellan personally rejected.^[13] McClellan supported the continuation of the war and restoration of the Union, but the party platform, written by Vallandigham, opposed this position.

Radical Democracy Party nomination

Frémont and Cochrane campaign poster

Republican candidates:

Radical Democracy Party candidates gallery

Former Senator John C. Frémont of California
(Withdrew Sep 22, 1864)

Radical Democracy Party Vice-Presidential candidates gallery

General John Cochrane of New York

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."^[14]

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, and he 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.^[15]

General election

A National Union poster warns of a McClellan victory.

An anti-McClellan poster from Harper's Weekly, drawn by Thomas Nast, showing rioters assaulting children, slave-catchers chasing runaway slaves, and a woman being sold at a slave auction.

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 in terms of casualties. 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.

Results by county explicitly indicating the percentage of the winning candidate in each county. Shades of red are for Lincoln (National Union) and shades of blue are for McClellan (Democratic).

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.^[16]

Results

Only 25 states participated in the election, since 11 Southern states had declared secession from the Union and formed the Confederacy. Three new states participated for the first time: Kansas, West Virginia, and Nevada. 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.

Lincoln was highly popular with soldiers and they in turn recommended him to their family back home.^[17]^[18] The following states allowed soldiers to cast ballots: California, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Michigan, Rhode Island, and Wisconsin. Out of the 40,247 army votes cast, Lincoln received 30,503 (75.8%), McClellan 9,201 (22.9%), and Scattering 543 (1.3%). Only soldiers from Kentucky gave McClellan a majority of their votes and he carried the army vote in the state by a vote of 2,823 (70.3%) to 1,194 (29.7%).^[19]

Of the 1,129 counties making returns, Lincoln won in 728 (64.48%) while McClellan carried 400 (35.43%). One county (0.09%) in Iowa split evenly between Lincoln and McClellan.

Presidential candidate	Party	Home state	Popular vote^(a)		Electoral vote^{(a), (b), (c)}	Running mate
Presidential candidate	Party	Home state	Count	Pct	Electoral vote^{(a), (b), (c)}	Vice-presidential candidate	Home state	Elect. vote^{(a), (b), (c)}
Abraham Lincoln (Incumbent)	National Union	Illinois	2,218,388	55.0%	212^(b)	Andrew Johnson	Tennessee	212^(b)
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^(b)			233^(b)
Needed to win					117^(b)			117^(b)

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

Popular vote

Lincoln			55.02%
McClellan			44.96%
Others			0.02%

Electoral vote

Lincoln			90.99%
McClellan			9.01%

^(a) The states in rebellion did not participate in the election of 1864.
^(b) The Electors from Tennessee and Louisiana were Rejected. Were they not rejected, Lincoln would have garnered 229 Electoral votes, there would have been a total of 250 possible electoral votes, and the requirement to win would have been raised to 126.
^(c) One Elector from Nevada did not vote

Cartographic gallery

Map of presidential election results by county.
Results explicitly indicating the percentage for the National Union candidate in each county.
Results explicitly indicating the percentage for the Democratic candidate in each county.
Results explicitly indicating the percentage for "other" candidate(s) in each county.
Cartogram of presidential election results by county.
Cartogram of National Union presidential election results by county.
Cartogram of Democratic presidential election results by county.

Results by state

Source: Data from Walter Dean Burnham, Presidential ballots, 1836-1892 (Johns Hopkins University Press, 1955) pp 247-57.

		Abraham Lincoln National Union			George B. McClellan Democratic			State Total
States won by Lincoln/Johnson
States won by McClellan/Pendleton
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	81.7	3	3,836	18.3	-	21,580	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	7	40,153	55.1	7	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	4	17,376	41	-	42,407	100
Missouri	11	72,750	69.7	11	31,596	30.3	-	104,346	100
Nevada	2	9,826	59.8	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	212	1,812,807	45	21	4,031,887	100

States with close margins of victory

States in red were won by Republican Abraham Lincoln; states in blue were won by Democrat George B. McClellan.

Below are the states where the margin of victory was under 5%. These closely won states totaled 68 electoral votes:

New York 0.92% (33 electoral votes)
Connecticut 2.76% (6 electoral votes)
Pennsylvania 3.51% (26 electoral votes)
Delaware 3.62% (3 electoral votes)

Footnotes

↑ "Voter Turnout in Presidential Elections". The American Presidency Project. UC Santa Barbara.
1 2 Elections were held in the Union-occupied military districts in the states of Louisiana and Tennessee but no electoral votes were counted from them. Including these two states increases Lincoln's states carried from 22 to 24 and the total participating states from 25 to 27. Donald, David Herbert; Baker, Jean Harvey; Holt, Michael F. (2001). The Civil War and Reconstruction. New York: W. W. Norton & Company. p. 427.
↑ Davis, William C. (1999). Lincoln's Men: How President Lincoln became Father to an Army and a Nation. Simon and Schuster. p. 211. ISBN 0-684-83337-9. The public entrusted Lincoln with another term in spite of widespread revulsion at the death toll in the Wilderness Campaign. Republicans had found success in gubernatorial races in Ohio and Pennsylvania by attracting the votes of furloughed soldiers. In order to copy the same success nationally, thirteen Union states allowed their citizens serving as soldiers in the field to cast ballots. Four additional Union states allowed "proxy" absentee voting. "By margins of three to one or better, the soldiers [lined up] behind Lincoln." In every state, those returning home influenced their friends and family. For an alternative account of army voting, see W. Dean Burnham, "Presidential Ballots: 1836–1892", pgs. 260–883. Out of the 40,247 Army votes cast in seven states, Lincoln carried six of them with 30,503 votes (75.8%).
↑ "Abraham Lincoln: The Campaign and Election of 1864". American President: A Reference Resource. University of Virginia. Retrieved 2013-06-30.
↑ Martis, Kenneth C., "Atlas of the Political Parties in the United States Congress, 1789–1989" ISBN 0-02-920170-5 p. 117. Altogether they elected 9 Senators and 25 Representatives in Missouri, Kentucky, West Virginia, Maryland and Delaware.
↑ World Book
↑ The Complete Book of U.S. Presidents
↑ "HarpWeek | Elections | 1864 Overview". Elections.harpweek.com. Retrieved 2013-10-12.
↑ They Also Ran
↑ The American Pageant
↑ George Pendleton. Ohio History Central (May 23, 2013). Retrieved 2013-08-17.
↑ 1864 Democratic Platform
↑ "George B. McClellan". Ohio History Central. Retrieved 2007-03-06.
↑ "HarpWeek: Explore History, 1864: Lincoln v. McClellan". Retrieved 2010-05-31.
↑ US President – IR Convention Race – May 31, 1864. Our Campaigns (January 13, 2008). Retrieved 2013-08-17.
↑ Randall, J. G.; Current, Richard (1955). Lincoln the President: Last Full Measure. p. 307.
↑ Phillip Shaw Paludan, The Presidency of Abraham Lincoln (University Press of Kansas, 1994) pp 274–293
↑ Oscar O. Winther, "The Soldier Vote in the Election of 1864," New York History (1944) 25: 440–58
↑ Presidential Ballots: 1836–1892, W. Dean Burnham, pgs. 260–883

External links

Leip, Dave. "1864 Presidential Election – Home States". Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Retrieved 2009-01-11.
1864 popular vote by counties
1864 State-by-state popular results
Transcript of the 1864 Democratic Party Platform
Harper's Weekly – Overview
more from Harper's Weekly
How close was the 1864 election? — Michael Sheppard, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Abraham Lincoln: A Resource Guide from the Library of Congress
Presidential Election of 1864: A Resource Guide from the Library of Congress
Election of 1864 in Counting the Votes

United States presidential elections

Yearly Voting Events	1788–89 1792 1796 1800 1804 1808 1812 1816 1820 1824 1828 1832 1836 1840 1844 1848 1852 1856 1860 1864 1868 1872 1876 1880 1884 1888 1892 1896 1900 1904 1908 1912 1916 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1940 1944 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024

Primaries and Caucuses	Iowa caucuses New Hampshire primary South Carolina primary Super Tuesday

Nominating conventions	Superdelegate Brokered convention Convention bounce

Electoral College	Vote changes between elections Votes by state Red states and blue states Swing state Unpledged elector Faithless elector

Results sorted by	Electoral College margin Popular vote margin State

Other relative topics	Historical polling Voter turnout List of tickets Election debates October surprise

House elections Senate elections Gubernatorial elections

Abraham Lincoln

16th President of the United States (1861–1865) U.S. Representative from Illinois (1847–1849)

Presidency	First inauguration Perpetual Union Lincoln Bible Second inauguration Civil War Confiscation Acts President Lincoln's 75,000 Volunteers War based income tax Seaports blockade RMS Trent Affair Habeas Corpus suspended Emancipation Proclamation West Virginia statehood Overland Campaign strategy Hampton Roads Conference Tour of Richmond Reconstruction 13th Amendment abolishing slavery Dakota War of 1862 Department of the Northwest Homestead Act of 1862 National Banking Acts Thanksgiving Day Birchard Letter Bixby letter National Academy of Sciences Department of Agriculture Pardons State of the Union Address, 1863 1864 Cabinet Judicial appointments Assassination Funeral and burial Lincoln catafalque

Speeches	Lyceum address (1838) Peoria speech (1854) "Lost Speech" (1856) House Divided speech (1858) Lincoln-Douglas debates (1858) Cooper Union Address (1860) Farewell Address (1861) First inaugural address (1861) Gettysburg Address (1863 event) Second inaugural address (1865)

Life and views	Early life and career Black Hawk War Matson Trial Spot Resolutions Boat lifting patent Hurd v. Rock Island Bridge Co. Baltimore Plot Lincoln's beard Medical and mental health Poetry Religious views Sexuality Slavery

Homes and places	Lincoln Birthplace Knob Creek Farm Lincoln Boyhood Memorial Lincoln State Park Lincoln's New Salem Lincoln Home Lincoln Pioneer Village Little Pigeon Creek Community Cottage at the Soldier's Home Lincoln Bedroom Lincoln Sitting Room Ford's Theatre Petersen House Lincoln Tomb

Elections	Republican National Convention, 1856 1860 1864 National Union Party United States presidential election, 1860 1864 1860 campaign song

Legacy	Presidential Library and Museum Papers Lincoln/Net Bibliography Lincoln Memorial Abraham Lincoln sculpture reflecting pool Mount Rushmore Lincoln's Birthday Lincoln, Nebraska statue Lincoln Highway Abraham Lincoln sculpture, Washington D.C. Abraham Lincoln: The Man statue Lincoln Park Abraham Lincoln: The Head of State statue Lincoln Trail State Memorial Lincoln the Lawyer statue Kentucky statue Other memorials Photographs Cultural depictions films postage stamps Lincoln penny currency art Lincoln Prize Abraham Lincoln Association White House ghost Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln Lincoln–Kennedy coincidences

Family	Family tree Mary Todd Lincoln (wife) Robert Todd Lincoln (son) Edward Baker Lincoln (son) William Wallace Lincoln (son) Thomas "Tad" Lincoln (son) Mary Todd "Mamie" Lincoln (granddaughter) Abraham Lincoln II (grandson) Jessie Lincoln (granddaughter) Thomas Lincoln (father) Nancy Hanks Lincoln (mother) Sarah Bush Lincoln (stepmother) Sarah Lincoln Grigsby (sister) Abraham Lincoln (paternal grandfather) Mordecai Lincoln (paternal uncle) Mary Lincoln Crume (paternal aunt) John Hanks (maternal cousin) Joseph Hanks (great-grandfather) Samuel Lincoln (17th-century ancestor) Mary Lincoln Beckwith (great-granddaughter) Robert Todd Lincoln Beckwith (great-grandson)

← James Buchanan Andrew Johnson → Book Category

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Saturday, February 13, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.