The 1864 United States presidential election was the 20th quadrennial presidential election. It was held on Tuesday, November 8, 1864. Near the end of the American Civil War, incumbent President Abraham Lincoln of the National Union Party easily defeated the Democratic nominee, former General George B. McClellan, by a wide margin of 212–21 in the electoral college, with 55% of the popular vote. For the election, the Republican Party and some Democrats created the National Union Party, especially to attract War Democrats.
Augustus Hill Garland was an American lawyer and Democratic politician from Arkansas, who initially opposed Arkansas' secession from the United States, but later served in both houses of the Congress of the Confederate States and the United States Senate, as well as becoming the 11th governor of Arkansas (1874-1877) and the 38th attorney general of the United States (1885-1889).
Augustus Caesar Dodge was a Democratic delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives from Iowa Territory, a U.S. minister to Spain, and one of the first set of United States Senators to represent Iowa after it was admitted to the Union as a state. His father, Henry Dodge, served as a U.S. Senator from Wisconsin; the two were the first and so far the only father-son pair to serve concurrently in the Senate, which they did from 1848 to 1855.
The Galena and Chicago Union Railroad (G&CU) was a railroad running west from Chicago to Freeport, Illinois, never reaching Galena, Illinois. A later route went to Clinton, Iowa. Incorporated in 1836, the G&CU became the first railroad built out from Chicago.
Nelson Webster Dewey was an American pioneer, lawyer, and politician. He was the first Governor of Wisconsin.
Thomas Corwin, also known as Tom Corwin, The Wagon Boy, and Black Tom was a politician from the state of Ohio. He represented Ohio in both houses of Congress and served as the 15th governor of Ohio and the 20th Secretary of the Treasury. After affiliating with the Whig Party, he joined the Republican Party in the 1850s. Corwin is best known for his sponsorship of the proposed Corwin Amendment, which was presented in an unsuccessful attempt to avoid the oncoming American Civil War.
Thomas Ford was a lawyer, judge, author and the eighth Governor of Illinois. The first Illinois governor to be raised in the state, he served from 1842 to 1846 and became known for restoring the state's solvency and reducing geographic sectionalism, as well as for leading the legislature despite his lack of prior political experience. A lifelong Democrat, Ford is also remembered for anti-Mormon sentiments and vacillation which led to the death of Joseph Smith, and the subsequent Illinois Mormon War of 1844-1845.
Jesse Durbin Ward was an Ohio lawyer, politician, newspaper publisher, and American Civil War officer.
The history of Illinois may be defined by several broad historical periods, namely, the pre-Columbian period, the era of European exploration and colonization, its development as part of the American frontier, its early statehood period, growth in the 19th and 20th centuries, and contemporary Illinois of today.
Samuel Drake Lockwood was an Illinois lawyer and politician who served as the state's Attorney General, Secretary of State, Justice of the Illinois Supreme Court and the state's trustee on the board of the Illinois Central Railroad.
Colonel Edmund Dick Taylor was an American businessman, politician, and soldier from Illinois. He is remembered as the first person to suggest that the United States should issue paper currency ("greenbacks") during the American Civil War.
Ferris Foreman was a lawyer, politician, and American soldier during the Mexican–American War, as well as a colonel commanding a volunteer regiment and the District of Southern California during the American Civil War.
William McMurtry was the 11th Lieutenant Governor of Illinois and a colonel in the Union Army during the American Civil War.
During the American Civil War, the state of Illinois was a major source of troops for the Union Army, and of military supplies, food, and clothing. Situated near major rivers and railroads, Illinois became a major jumping off place early in the war for Ulysses S. Grant's efforts to seize control of the Mississippi and Tennessee rivers. Statewide, public support for the Union was high despite Copperhead sentiment.
Socrates Nelson was an American businessman, politician, and pioneer who served one term as a Minnesota state senator from 1859 to 1861. He was a general store owner, lumberman, and real estate speculator and was associated with numerous companies in the insurance and rail industries. He was involved in the establishment of the community of Stillwater, Minnesota and was an early member of the first Independent Order of Odd Fellows lodge in Minnesota. He served on the University of Minnesota's first board of regents before being elected to the Minnesota Senate.
John Forbes Beard was an American plasterer and farmer from Gratiot, Wisconsin who served a single one-year term as a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly from Lafayette County, Wisconsin.
Elisha Temple Gardner was an American lawyer, politician, and Wisconsin pioneer. He was a member of the last session of the Legislative Assembly of the Wisconsin Territory and the 1st and 2nd sessions of the Wisconsin State Senate. He also served several local and county offices in Green County, Wisconsin. In historical documents, he is often referred to as E. T. Gardner.
Jesse Kilgore Dubois was an American politician from Illinois. The son of a prominent early Illinois citizen, Dubois was elected to the Illinois House of Representatives while he was attending Indiana College. Nicknamed Uncle Jesse, he served four two-year terms there. An early Republican, Dubois was named the party's first candidate for Auditor of Public Accounts. He was elected in 1856 and served two four-year terms. He was the father of Senator Fred Dubois.
Roswell Eaton Goodell was a politician and businessman who served in several political positions.
