Today is election day in the United States of America. The presidential contest pits Abraham Lincoln, up for re-election for a second term, against Union General George B. McClellan, who today formally resigns his military commission in order to run for the presidency. Lincoln has done all he can to give himself and his anti-slavery,…
The war is approaching a crucial moment: the 1864 United States presidential and congressional elections are only two days hence, and many–North and South–believe that should Abraham Lincoln be defeated in his bid for re-election, or should the Northern anti-peace movement effect significant victories in congressional elections, the will to pursue a military victory over…
Against the backdrop of the Union’s inability, to this point, to capture either Richmond or Atlanta, and the attendant restlessness among many Northerners, U.S. President Abraham Lincoln recognizes the growing possibility of defeat in the upcoming November elections. The Democratic platform is one of immediate peace and the end of emancipation, and many Northerners seem…