Today U.S. President Abraham Lincoln is formally re-elected with the Electoral College support of all states except New Jersey and Delaware. Lincoln calls a cabinet meeting, in which he unseals a letter he had written earlier in the year, at which time he was expecting to be defeated by Democratic candidate General George B. McClellan. In the letter, Lincoln pledged to work with McClellan in ending the war, although he felt certain that the general would make peace with the Confederacy, rather than continuing the war.
Fortunately for Lincoln and the United States, the premature peace with the Confederacy which many Democrats have clamored for is a thing of the past. Peace will come, but only when the Confederacy is defeated and, by extension, black slavery abolished.
Lincoln has many ardent supporters among Baptists of the North, including those of the New Jersey Baptist State Convention who today, meeting in annual convention session, pass a resolution reaffirming their fealty to the president, the Union, the eradication of slavery and the effecting of liberty for all.
Sources: “Mr. Lincoln’s Office: Post-Election Cabinet Meeting, November 11, 1864,” Mr. Lincoln’s White House (link); The Political History of the United States of America, During the Great Rebellion: Including a Classified Summary of the Legislation of the Second Session of the Thirty-sixth Congress, the Three Sessions of the Thirty-seventh Congress, the First Session of the Thirty-eighth Congress, p. 476 (link)
