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George McClellan for President | |
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Campaign | U.S. presidential election, 1864 |
Candidate | |
Affiliation | Democratic Party |
Status | Lost general election: November 8, 1864 |
Slogan | An honorable, permanent and happy peace. |
In the 1864 U.S. presidential election, the Democrats nominated Union Army General George McClellan for U.S. President and Ohio U.S. Representative George Pendleton (who later became notable for the Pendleton Act) for U.S. Vice President. [1] During the campaign, McClellan vowed to do a better job of prosecuting the Union Army effort in the American Civil War than incumbent U.S. President Abraham Lincoln did. [1] Ultimately, the McClellan-Pendleton ticket lost to the National Union ticket of Abraham Lincoln and former U.S. Senator Andrew Johnson. [1]
By the summer of 1864, the Civil War had gone on for over three years. Over 250,000 Union soldiers had been killed, with many more maimed or crippled. A Union victory was not yet in sight. [1] [2] Democrats were energized by what they saw as "death, debt, and destruction with no end in sight" and also hoped to capitalize on public opposition to various policies of incumbent U.S. President Abraham Lincoln such as "emancipation, the military draft, the use of black troops, and violations of civil liberties." [1] Democrats also argued that the Republicans were advocating in favor of miscegenation (sexual relations and marriage between people of different races) trying to destroy the traditional race relations in the United States. [1]
The delegates at the 1864 Democratic National Convention adopted proposals by former Congressman Clement Vallandigham and Congressman Fernando Wood for a cease-fire and a negotiated settlement with the Confederacy to end the American Civil War. [1] However, the delegates also chose War Democrat George McClellan as their presidential nominee. [1] In his fight for the Democratic nomination, McClellan beat out New York Governor Horatio Seymour (who would become the Democratic presidential nominee himself just four years later) and former Connecticut Governor Thomas Seymour, both of whom ran as peace candidates. [1] Once former Treasury Secretary James Guthrie withdrew from consideration, the Democratic vice presidential nomination went to Ohio Congressman George Pendleton. [1]
After he captured the Democratic presidential nomination, McClellan repudiated the peace plank of the Democratic platform and instead vowed to continue the war effort and to do a better job with this than the incumbent Lincoln Administration was doing. [1] McClellan emphasized the fact that he previously led the Union military effort in the American Civil War and that he was and remains committed to "the restoration of the Union in all its integrity" due to his belief that the massive sacrifices that the Union endured during this war should not be in vain. [3] Incumbent U.S. President Abraham Lincoln worried about his reelection chances and was afraid that if McClellan won the election, the Copperheads (the Peace faction of the Democratic Party) would successfully pressure McClellan to recant his campaign promise to continue the war. [1] Thus, Lincoln made his Cabinet secretly promise to cooperate with McClellan if he won the election to win the war by the time that McClellan will be inaugurated. [1] [4] Fortunately for Lincoln, the tide of the war effort began to turn in the Union's favor in the autumn of 1864 as a result of Union General William Tecumseh Sherman's capture of Atlanta on September 2 as well as Sherman's subsequent military successes. [1] These successes increased Lincoln's popularity and reduced McClellan's chances of defeating Lincoln in November 1864. [1]
With a voter turnout of 78%, incumbent U.S. President Abraham Lincoln won a decisive victory in the November general election. [1] Lincoln won 55% of the popular vote to McClellan's 45% and received over 90% of the total electoral votes (212 for Lincoln versus 21 for McClellan). Lincoln's popular vote victory was the largest since 1828 and wouldn't be surpassed again until 1872. [1] In this election, McClellan did the best in the cities and among Irish-Americans and German-Americans (many of whom were immigrants). [1] Meanwhile, Lincoln received the votes of 78% of all Union soldiers and sailors—something that, while not being decisive in Lincoln's victory—did help Republicans win some additional seats in the U.S. Congress and recapture control of several state legislatures. [1] However, McClellan could bask in the fact that he won 48% of the total vote in a bloc of U.S. states stretching from Connecticut to Illinois (Lincoln's home state), that Lincoln underperformed in 1864 relative to 1860 in several crucial U.S. states (such as New York, Pennsylvania, and Indiana), and that the Republicans lost the Governorship in his (McClellan's) home state of New Jersey. [1]
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.
George Hunt Pendleton was an American politician and lawyer. He represented Ohio in both houses of Congress and was the unsuccessful Democratic nominee for Vice President of the United States in 1864.
Horatio Seymour was an American politician. He served as Governor of New York from 1853 to 1854 and from 1863 to 1864. He was the Democratic Party nominee for president in the 1868 United States presidential election, losing to Republican Ulysses S. Grant.
The 1864 Democratic National Convention was held at The Amphitheatre in Chicago, Illinois, United States.
The National Union Party, commonly the Union Party or Unionists, was a wartime coalition of Republicans, War Democrats, and border state Unconditional Unionists that supported the Lincoln Administration during the American Civil War. It held the 1864 National Union Convention that nominated Abraham Lincoln for president and Andrew Johnson for vice president in the 1864 United States presidential election. Following Lincoln's successful re-election and assassination, Johnson tried and failed to sustain the Union Party as a vehicle for his presidential ambitions. The coalition did not contest the 1868 elections, but the Republican Party continued to use the "Union Republican" label throughout the period of Reconstruction.
War Democrats in American politics of the 1860s were members of the Democratic Party who supported the Union and rejected the policies of the Copperheads. The War Democrats demanded a more aggressive policy toward the Confederacy and supported the policies of Republican President Abraham Lincoln when the American Civil War broke out a few months after his victory in the 1860 presidential election.
The 1864 United States presidential election in Pennsylvania took place on November 8, 1864, as part of the 1864 United States presidential election. Voters chose 26 representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.
The 1864 United States elections were held on November 8, 1864. National Union President Abraham Lincoln was elected to a second term, while the Republicans added to their majorities in Congress. The elections were held during the American Civil War. Lincoln would be assassinated shortly into his second term.
The 1864 United States presidential election in Wisconsin was held on November 8, 1864 as part of the 1864 United States presidential election. State voters chose eight electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.
The 1864 United States presidential election in Vermont took place on November 8, 1864, as part of the 1864 United States presidential election. Voters chose five representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.
The 1864 United States presidential election in Massachusetts took place on November 8, 1864, as part of the 1864 United States presidential election. Voters chose 12 representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.
The 1864 United States presidential election in Maine took place on November 8, 1864, as part of the 1864 United States presidential election. Voters chose seven representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.
The 1864 United States presidential election in Rhode Island took place on November 8, 1864, as part of the 1864 United States presidential election. Voters chose four representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.
The 1864 United States presidential election in New York took place on November 8, 1864, as part of the 1864 United States presidential election. Voters chose 33 representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.
The 1864 United States presidential election in Ohio was held on November 8, 1864 as part of the 1864 United States presidential election. State voters chose 21 electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.
The 1864 United States presidential election in Kentucky took place on November 8, 1864, as part of the 1864 United States presidential election. Kentucky voters chose 11 representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.
The 1864 United States presidential election in Kansas took place on November 8, 1864, as part of the 1864 United States presidential election. Kansas voters chose three representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.
The 1864 United States presidential election in Michigan took place on November 8, 1864, as part of the 1864 United States presidential election. Voters chose eight representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.
The 1864 United States presidential election in Missouri took place on November 8, 1864, as part of the 1864 United States presidential election. Voters chose 11 representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.
In 1868, the Democrats nominated former New York Governor Horatio Seymour for President and Francis Preston Blair Jr. for Vice President. The Seymour-Blair ticket ran on a platform which supported national reconciliation and states' rights, opposed Reconstruction, and opposed both Black equality and Black suffrage. Meanwhile, the Republican presidential ticket led by General Ulysses S. Grant benefited from Grant's status as a war hero and ran on a pro-Reconstruction platform. Ultimately, the Seymour-Blair ticket ended up losing to the Republican ticket of General Ulysses S. Grant and House Speaker Schuyler Colfax in the 1868 U.S. presidential election.