Introduction of President Lincoln
- Abraham Lincoln is the sixteenth President of the United States, as many consider him to be one of the greatest leaders in American history. Born in 1809 in a log cabin in Kentucky, he went on to become the president who preserved the Union during one of the most tumultuous periods in U.S. history, the American Civil War.
- He presided over the nation from 1861 to 1865 during some of its most profound challenges: preserving the Union; destroying slavery; and transforming the moral foundations of the country.
Lincoln was political maturity, yet he also had a powerful commitment to justice and equality, as well as to the ideal of democracy.
The Emancipation Proclamation he issued in 1863 curtailed military hostilities and laid down the terms for freedom to be achieved with the ratification of the 13th Amendment. In addition, his speeches, particularly the Gettysburg Address, form a continuing example for the ideals of national unity and freedom.
- Tragically, Lincoln's life was cut short in April 1865 when he was gunned down by John Wilkes Booth shortly after General Robert E. Lee's surrender and the conclusion of the Civil War. Even so, Lincoln's impact would only increase with the passing years.
- His legacy is summed in his vision of a nation "of the people, by the people, for the people"; a nation forever shaped by his leadership, his moral courage, and his dedication to human equality.
- This biography covers the illustrious life and legacy of Abraham Lincoln by indicating key moments, decisions, and moral imperatives in his leadership that will continue to inspire generations.
Abraham Lincoln Biography: Early Life and Family
- The Lincoln family was part of another larger wave of settlers moving west in search of better opportunities but faced all kinds of other difficulties starting from an economic one to harsh living conditions to the instability of frontier life.
- They moved searching for better opportunities, and young Abraham spent most of his childhood in many different places, including Indiana and Illinois.
- Soon after, Thomas married Sarah Bush Johnston, who brought along children from a prior marriage. She was an affectionate stepmother who encouraged Abraham's studies and intellectual pursuits during his formative years.
- During his childhood, he attended school irregularly, mostly with itinerant teachers who traversed the frontier settlements. He attended school for about a total of eighteen months but took every advantage to read and self-educate.
- He used to read long into the night by firelight after toiling all day at farm work. Because of his great thirst for knowledge and self-improvement, he read voraciously, always working to enhance his understanding of the world.
The harrowing experiences of early frontier living, compounded with the loss of his mother, created for him a certain quiet degree of resiliency and steely determination which would serve in his leadership later in life.
- which provided him with a paired contrast of love, loss, and nurture. The love of learning instilled in him by his stepmother further strengthened Lincoln's intellectual curiosity, which propelled him forward in his pursuit of becoming a better person, a lawyer, and a politician.
- The zeal with which Lincoln confronted the injustices of life was perhaps born in these early years when he weathered hardship, loss, and scant resources. His devotion to universal justice, equality, and the liberties of mankind found rich roots in these days.
The Formative Years: Education and Personal Struggles
- Hardship, perseverance, and self-improvement characterized the early formative years of Abraham Lincoln. Born into a poor family living in a log cabin, from the very first moment, Lincoln faced challenges.
- Although he had little formal education, with intellectual curiosity and self-discipline, Lincoln overcame obstacles and prepared himself for future successes.
Difficulties and Very Little Formal Schooling
- Lincoln came into existence in 1809, in a log cabin in Sinking Spring Farm, Hardin County, Kentucky, now LaRue County. His parents, Thomas and Nancy Hanks Lincoln, were farmers, and they lived in poverty. Abraham's early life was a life of unsteady movements because the Lincolns were always moving around, searching for better places.
- Abraham's father was Nancy Hanks Lincoln, and she had a very great effect on early life. She was described as a very sweet and kind woman, and it is she who first inspired Abraham with a love of reading and learning. Even with that misery around them, Nancy favored education and passed on to Abraham how important knowledge is.
But Lincoln's schooling was all interrupted when young. There was almost no formal schooling available in the frontier environment, and Lincoln probably went to school for about one year altogether during his entire youth. The few schools that existed were very rudimentary, generally run by itinerant teachers, and Abraham's education was patchy.
Lincoln was, however, an intensely determined self-motivating student. He was fond of reading any books available in his gravesite; such as the Bible, Aesop's fables, and some law and history books. Lincoln had a very limited formal education, but his craving for knowledge had no known bounds.
- He read by firelight and in any spare moments, attending to whatever sources he could find. This was the implacable love of his reading that built the foundations of a formidable intellect despite the limited time he was able to spend in formal schooling.
- This was when Abraham was only nine years old. In the year, 1818, his mother, Nancy, died of milk sickness, which stemmed from consuming poisonous plants by cows, which, in turn, contaminated the milk from which the disease emerged. His mother's death greatly influenced the young Lincoln, and he later moved on to have memories of his mother as a significant influence in his childhood development.
- Life became unbearable for Abraham with the death of Nancy, something from which he never completely recovered. In his own words, he later wrote that "All that I am, or hope to be, I owe to my angel mother".
- This also marked the start of a new phase in life for Abraham due to the death of his mother. His father, Thomas Lincoln, remarried to Sarah Bush Johnston, a widow that had three children of her own, in 1819. Sarah was nice, understanding, and spurred Abraham to further education. In her insight, she saw potential in his intellectual abilities, thus making sure that he was able to get books that would continue nurturing his desire to learn.
- It was Sarah's influence at this critical time in Abraham's life that gave him the emotional support he needed. Even though he maintained a particularly strained relationship with his father-his father was known to be distant and unsympathetic to the intellectual aspirations of Abraham-Lincoln found solace in his stepmother's encouragement. While growing older, he worked on his family farm, helping his father with the horrendous task of clearing land and building fences. The work was often grueling, and at the end of every day Lincoln would stagger home, feeling as though he might not rise again. Yet amid these toils horrifying, Abraham would make use of his free times to continue self-education, reading whatever he could procure.
Once again, in the year 1830, Lincoln decided to relocate, now to Macon County, Illinois, along with his family. After briefly staying on the new farm, Abraham went out on his own. He was very determined to be free from farming and to find fortune beyond the farm.
- He found employment in the nearby town of New Salem working mostly as a storekeeper for a man named Denton Offutt. Though a very short period of employment, this was the start of his shift from farm labor toward public service.
- All through his stay in New Salem, Lincoln was part of the local community. He was popularly considered a man endowed with muscles, clever and honest. He had quickly earned respect from the townsfolk because of his reputation for giving a fair deal.
- One of the outstanding events about this time was a wrestling bout where he trounced an opponent far larger than him; this gave rise to the nickname "Honest Abe". The physical prowess was not the only element in his favor, but he also indicated his interest in public affairs by taking on roles such as surveying land, being postmaster, and, at last, running for political office.
- He taught himself all the principles of the law and finally took the bar examination in 1836 and became an attorney. His achievement in the legal profession as a self-taught lawyer was a tribute to his mental abilities and motivation.
Abraham's father was Nancy Hanks Lincoln, and she had a very great effect on early life. She was described as a very sweet and kind woman, and it is she who first inspired Abraham with a love of reading and learning. Even with that misery around them, Nancy favored education and passed on to Abraham how important knowledge is.
- But Lincoln's schooling was all interrupted when young. There was almost no formal schooling available in the frontier environment, and Lincoln probably went to school for about one year altogether during his entire youth. The few schools that existed were very rudimentary, generally run by itinerant teachers, and Abraham's education was patchy.
- He read by firelight and in any spare moments, attending to whatever sources he could find. This was the implacable love of his reading that built the foundations of a formidable intellect despite the limited time he was able to spend in formal schooling.
The Lincoln-Douglas Debates: The Defining Moment in Politics
In the year 1858, a political life-defining moment for Abraham Lincoln happened when, facing Senator Stephen A. Douglas in a series of debates, Lincoln forever molded the course of American politics. The Lincoln-Douglas debates took place as part of the Illinois Senate race of 1858, and are considered as a turning point in the struggle over slavery and its expansion into new territories.
The American Civil War stems from those debates, and while they put Lincoln on the national stage, they also highlighted rising divisions within the U.S. that would soon lead to civil war. Context and Background: The Kansas-Nebraska Act
In fact, in the 1850s the slavery question was tearing the United States, and the country was violently divided as to whether or not the institution should spread into newer territories through the Kansas-Nebraska Act: It might pass for self-evident that the over which settlers in those two territories could choose for themselves whether they would permit slavery- actually.
This provoked repeal of the Missouri Compromise of 1820, for slavery was upheld beyond a certain latitude, after all, and led to a bloody internal conflict between pro-slavery and anti-slavery factions in Kansas, which is now known as "Bleeding Kansas". Enraged much of the North, and demand repugnance and even rage-given-forth, started the Republican Party-the party of 1854-born from the opposition to slavery's further extension. Founded with a focus on stopping the slavery extension into the territories, such party had never considered calling for the end of slavery in the Southern states.
The new party adapted rapidly throughout the North, soon after running its first presidential candidate, John C. Frémont, in 1856. Additionally, the act stimulated the polarization between pro-slavery forces in the South and anti-slavery forces in the North, paving way for a fierce political battle. A long-time firm advocate and devotee of the Whigs, Abraham Lincoln served an initial business term in the Illinois State Legislature. He had vehemently opposed Kansas-Nebraska Act. Lincoln, in an exposition widely reported throughout the nation, gave a very outstanding speech in Springfield, Illinois, in 1854, condemning the act and asserting the immorality of slavery- an argument that should not go to the territories.
Its instant opposition of slavery and insistence that the Union could not survive half slave and half free caused him to become a figure on the wrong side of many Southern politicians but began to gain him a growing reputation in the North as a fine, articulate, and principled spokesperson for the cause against slavery.
1858 Illinois Senate Race
In 1858, the Senate seat for Illinois was up for grabs, and the incumbent, Stephen A. Douglas, ran again. Douglas was a Democrat, and long had been one of the most powerful political figures in the country.
He was charged with being among the initiators of the Kansas-Nebraska Act, and also his position on slavery had created quite the political hullabaloo. Douglas was an ardent believer in popular sovereignty: the people of a territory should decide for themselves whether they wanted slavery. This thinking, however, landed him into a difficult challenge as political divisions deepened over slavery. To challenge Douglas for the Senate seat was Abraham Lincoln, now a member of the newly formed Republican Party. Lincoln had not much experience in national politics and did not enjoy considerable fame beyond Illinois. Nevertheless, he had won some renown as a strong critic of the expansion of slavery and as an emerging light in the Illinois Republican Party.
The idea around which Lincoln's campaign was centered was this: ''A house divided against itself cannot stand-that it will become all one thing, or all the other. Either it will be all free, or all slave. Neither precedent nor law can save it, and it would seem that slavery would get all, or else. This, he argued, was the immorality of slavery, which should not be increased to our territories''.
The Lincoln-Douglas Debates It was a series of seven debates that occurred across Illinois between October 13 and October 13, 1858. These debates were held in cities and large towns and succeeded in attracting massive crowds. The arrangement where each participant was to share long amounts of time with respect to open and close speeches was also used.
There was a distinct rebuttal to closing speeches. Accordingly, such intensive discussion with regard to the political views of both candidates was formed on the matter of slavery. The first debate was held in Ottawa, Illinois, on October 13, 1858. It was then found very clear that this debate will be characterized by the topic of slavery. Douglas-the seasoned politician and the master of rhetoric in that election-would argue that popular sovereignty- the decision of the settlers in the territories themselves whether to allow slavery-was the optimal solution to the slavery issue.
He also asserted that slavery concern, in the territories, should better not be meddled with by Congress, but be left to the people themselves. In his opening speech, Douglas tried to frame the debate as one between the popular sovereignty and what he called the dangerous, radical abolitionism of some of the anti-slavery activists.
The 1860 Presidential Election and Lincoln's Victory
This was the election event that rocked America, deciding the future leadership of the United States and heralding the Civil War. Lincoln's entry into this election as victor was a watershed moment in the history of the nation, and it laid bare some of the differences between North and South over issues like slavery and states' rights.
The coming of the win was, apart from being a success for the Republican Party, bound to become a watershed of defining change for the ever-important struggle of saving the Union.
The Political Landscape Leading to the Election
By 1860 the United States was in the middle of a national political and social crisis. The subject matter of slavery was the dominant national question, and most of the country was split over how slavery should be allowed to expand into the new territories acquired during the Mexican-American War. The attempted compromise that the Compromise of 1850 had imposed on the issues of slavery and territorial admission only postponed the climax of passions and tensions.
With the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854, the old wounds were reopened and hemophilias came to include pro-slavery and anti-slavery in the scenes of violent conflict in Kansas. It led to fracture after fracture on an increasingly fractured nation. Taking quickly roots in Northern states, the party had been founded in the mid-1850s, during which time the group stood against the view of expanding slavery. The platform of the party represented a campaign for abolishing slavery in the territories along with economic modernization through infrastructure projects, a national banking system, and protective tariffs.
Republicans were an array of opposition to the extension of slavery, but they did not push immediately for the abolishment of slavery from the Southern states legally entrenched, as the most of them would still be. On the other hand, the Democratic Party was badly split by the issue of slavery. In fact, throughout the 1850s, the party became the preeminent political organization of the United States. By 1860, however, it had divided into two factions: the Northern Democrats, who supported popular sovereignty under Stephen A. Douglas, and the Southern Democrats, who wished to spread slavery into the territories and objected to anything that might inhibit it. A third party, formerly made up of Whigs and Know-Nothings, called the Constitutional Union Party, avoided strong slavery views and sought to preserve the Union without sectional conflict. The 1860 election would prove to be one of those moments in history, on a crossroads for the nation, which would decide much about the future configuration of the nation in this era of profound division and unrest.
The Republican Convention of 1860 and Lincoln's Nomination
The Republican Party met in May 1860 in Chicago for its national convention, and like all national conventions, it was a critical affair. The party was divided regarding its candidate, and very few prominent Republicans were mentioned in the nominations.
Among the possible candidates were Senator William H. Seward, the great New Yorker, and Salmon P. Chase, governor of Ohio. Initially, Seward seemed to be the candidate to beat because he was so outspokenly against slavery, but many felt that he was just too radical for a party that had yet to win the support of moderates in the North. Despite being a relatively unknown figure on the national scene compared with Seward and Chase, Lincoln gained some important advantages from his previous exposure and success. Lincoln enjoyed modesty on the slavery question, which meant that he could appeal to both abolitionists and nonslavery extensionists, who opposed the expansion of slavery but did not call for its immediate abolition in the South.
Moreover, he was considered one of the most skilled debaters and clear communicators, with strong moral conviction. Most especially, his rise in the party was based on the unity that he could create among a faction that was divided by the slavery issue and his capacity to argue for a modern, industrialized America.
At the Republican National Convention in Chicago, the campaign of Lincoln's supporters paid off, as he was selected during the third ballots to be his party's standard bearer for the presidency. His victory came, above all else, due to the party unity behind his moderate position on slavery in addition to what appealed to such a broad range of voters in the Northern states.
The Democratic Split and Multiple Candidates
The Democratic Party had usually been the most significant party of American politics, but it became highly factionalized by the times of 1860's election. This so-called split had a prophetic say at the Democratic National Convention at Charleston, South Carolina, with agreement on neither the candidate nor the platform.
The issue was slavery, and on this ground, the party was thus into two: Northern Democrats-those led by Stephen A. Douglas-and Southern Democrats, to be headed by sitting Vice President John C. Breckinridge. Douglas was, of course, the leading voice in the demand for popular sovereignty, that is, that the territory's inhabitants should decide for themselves whether they would permit slavery. This position was rejected by Southern Democrats for they claimed that the federal government ought to protect slavery in the territories.
That was how, instead of resulting in a consensus, the Democratic Convention's inconsistency shaped two separate conventions: one in the North that nominated Douglas, and another in the South that nominated Breckinridge. Meantime, the other party which now came into being was the Constitutional Union Party, made up of moderates from both the Whig and Know-Nothing parties, and it nominated John Bell of Tennessee. The Constitutional Unionists preferred not to touch the slavery question at all, but instead concentrated their efforts on the Union and the Constitution.
The election of 1860 has thus become a fourway contest: for the presidency: Abraham Lincoln-Republican; Stephen A. Douglas-Northern Democrat; John C. Breckinridge-Southern Democrat; and John Bell-Constitutional Union.
The Campaign and Regional Divisions
The warring factions deepened during the election season, and Lincoln pushed right up to the northern borders, insisting that it was against the Republican platform to permit the expansion of slavery into the territories while advocating for economic development and internal improvements by focusing on capturing the votes in the north as much as possible, making no call for immediate abolishment of slavery in the Southern states.
He instead emphasized the need of stopping its dissemination. The moderateness of Lincoln's position on slavery made him a candidate for a wide spectrum of possible Northern votes involving not even the abolitionists but jibe at the prohibition of making new territories from Slave Zone into Free Zone.
In contrast, therefore, he concentrated his campaign on the principle of popular sovereignty: that is, such should be established in each territory between those who favor slavery and those who oppose it. Thus Breckinridge campaigned as a southern Democrat from a platform that is protective to slavery and further expansion of it to territories. The attention of Bell and the Constitutional Union Party was more towards continuance of the Union than confrontation over slavery.
This election of 1860 was almost entirely decided by the issue of region. With the above claimed victories for Lincoln in almost every Northern state, he had thus gained a conclusive victory in the North where the strongest Republican support was concentrated. Nevertheless, Lincoln did not carry a single Southern state, belonging almost only to the North, thus reflecting the great contrast of the issues concerning slavery between the two sections.
Lincoln's Victory-and the Nation's Response
On November 6, 1860, Abraham Lincoln won the presidency by popular vote plurality and a decisive victory at the Electoral College. Lincoln received 1,866,452 votes (39.8% of the total popular vote) while Douglas received 1,375,157 votes (29.5%), Breckinridge received 847,953 votes (18.1%), and Bell received 590,901 votes (12.6%). In the Electoral College, Lincoln secured 180 votes out of 152 necessary to victory. He received a commanding electoral majority from northern states.
But Lincoln's victory came very harshly to many of them in the southern states. After his election as president, the Southern states announced their secession from the Union, under the impression that a Lincoln administration would threaten their slavery institution. Within weeks after Lincoln was elected, South Carolina left the Union, soon to be followed by other states of the South into which secession, altogether and after the event, seceded, would lead to the outbreak of the Civil War.
Aftermath and Legacy
From Lincoln's victory in the 1860 election, it heralded in a new era for American history. Lincoln's election, while a success for the Republican Party, brought to the forefront the irreconcilable differences of North and South regarding slavery. While Lincoln election was actually a trigger for the secession of southern states and later led to the U.S. Civil War, his exercise of leadership during the war would help in preserving the union and in abolishing slavery, but the division will still continue to mark the nation for years to come.
In addition, the election of 1860 consolidated Lincoln's place in American legend as one of the greatest presidents. The victory obtained amid fierce political hostility and sectional strife demonstrated the leader's ability to take charge of a divided nation. Thus, the election of 1860 was not just a political contest but was one of the defining moments in the struggle for the future of the United States.
Re-election in 1864 and the Progress of the War
Abraham Lincoln's re-election in 1864 was, beside the Emancipation Proclamation, one of the most crucial moments in his presidency and a landmark in American history. His leadership in those times determined the fate of the Union and the fate of slavery. Lincoln's re-election ensured his leadership through the final throes of the conflict and transformed him into a historic figure in American politics.
State of the War as of 1864
By the time of the 1864 election, there had been nearly four years of Civil War-union. The earlier years of the war had seen a series of Union backsets, including such major defeats as suffered by the First Battle of Bull Run and by Fredericksburg. Yet, by 1864 the Union army began an impressive array of preparations for an all-out war under the Generalship of Grant.
Appointing Ulysses S. Grant as General in Chief of the Union Army on March 1864 was already one turning point of great significance in the war. Grant soon proved to be a determined and aggressive military leader, widely respected for his skill and performance.
His strategy, now a break with tradition, was to press and pursue his Confederate adversaries without letup: wherever they went, his army would follow. Under his direction, the Union was gradually eating away at the and weakening of the Confederacy, while the heavy price in blood and war still continued to take its toll.
The strategy of attrition that Grant had employed was becoming increasingly effective one as the Union applied continuous pressure on the Confederates in battle until the Confereates became incapable of fighting. A beautiful picture is also unfolding in the theaters to the west, where the Union began its campaign in earnest after victories at Vicksburg in 1863 and continued affront in Georgia and Tennessee.
The Confederate army, under General Robert E. Lee, was being stretched to the absolute limit with each new week, and the new finding would hold down with effective concerted actions. However, for all their troubles, the rebel Confederacy was bouncing along, taking the war with grim determination.
The general public was demoralized by 1864; indeed, many people had grown so exhausted by the war that they felt almost ready to give up. These were the years of rising casualty figures, a slowly dissipating hope in the feasibility of putting the war behind them and an ever-growing disillusionment with pressing for an end to the war.
The 1864 elections were also meant to serve as a verdict on Lincoln's leadership, to provide a momentous ultimatum for the choice of assuring that the Union was ultimately committed to winning the war and keeping together the United States.
The Political Context of the Election
Lincoln was viewed as a controversial figure ever since the war broke out. On the home front he was respected for his determination to preserve the Union; but politicall,y he earned the wrath of many factions. Northern Democrats, a big segment of which were Copperheads, wanted an end to fighting while favoring a peaceful settlement of the conflict through a negotiated peace and recognizing the independence of the Confederacy.
Some went as far as favoring an immediate armistice irrespective of outcome. Lincoln also had tensions with factions within the Republican party where some were openly critical of him for his prosecution of the war and for being slow to achieve military successes.
There were two factions within the Republican party. One faction, known as the Radical Republicans, was calling for aggressive measures, especially the immediate emancipation of slaves and punishment of the Southern leaders.
The Radical Republicans believed Lincoln was not serious about either ending slavery or destroying the Confederacy. Lincoln emphasized on the other hand preserving the Union and realized that restoring the Southern states to membership was more important than grudgingly seeking vengeance against them.
Further divisions took place among Democrats. A goodly number of Northern Democrats sided with the war effort while others opposed it. The Democrats picked George B. McClellan for their presidential nominee in 1864: a former Union general ousted by Lincoln in 1862 for his inability to win decisive victories.
McClellan was moderate and favored a more conciliatory approach toward South, coming out in favor of negotiations with the Confederacy. His platform of an immediate end to the war under a peace agreement with the South found favor with many tired of the bloody conflict.
Apart from all else complicating the election was the fact of timing. With the war still raging on, nobody knew how the election would turn out. Had the Union been losing ground in the field, had the populace in the North stayed somewhat in favor of peace, then the chance for Lincoln was almost dead. The election would therefore become a referendum on public opinion about the war and Lincoln's leadership.
Lincoln’s Reelection Campaign
Lincoln's re-election campaign in 1864 operated against a backdrop of grim realities concerning the war, problems of governance, and political divisions throughout the country. Lincoln was not a very popular figure among all sections of the population. Many Northern Democrats and war-weary citizens viewed him as too hesitant, and the war was deeply unpopular with many families who had lost loved ones.
Lincoln's opponents accused his administration of violating certain civil liberties, such as the writ of habeas corpus, while they felt his powers were growing tyrannical as commander-in-chief during the very war he was waging. Furthermore, many perceived the 1863 Emancipation Proclamation-A proclamation for the abolition of slavery in Confederate territories-as very dubious, likely to alienate important border states, and to prolong the conflict.
The election was further complicated by timing. Throughout the war, the outcome of the election remained uncertain. If the Union had not been winning any battles, or if the political mood in the North had remained very much in favor of peace, Lincoln could have had a hard time. Public opinion, therefore, was to be tested in this election, on the war and on Lincoln's leadership.
Lincoln's campaign for reelection
Lincoln's 1864 reelection campaign was fought under grim circumstances, against the challenge of governance, and against divided factions of the country. Not everyone on the American political spectrum thought of Lincoln as a great leader. Lincoln was seen, in the eyes of many Northern Democrats and citizens, as too moderate and mindful of the public's feelings regarding the war, which had become most unpopular among families mourning their loved ones.
Again, this presidency was under constant criticism for restrictions he placed on civil liberties, such as habeas corpus, and for his undeniable puffing of powers, by the war itself, as commander-in-chief. In addition, the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863, which liberating slaves in the territory held by the Confederates, was viewed by many as a step so controversial as to alienate border states and carry on the duration of the conflict.
Nevertheless, Lincoln's campaign benefited from the support of the Radical Republicans sympathizing with his aspiration of a defeated Confederacy and abolished slavery. Lincoln also managed to gain the support of significant political figures and military leaders, working hard to keep the Republican Party united under his leadership.
The next great step in political stratagem was to nominate Andrew Johnson, a Southern Unionist and Democrat, as running mate for vice president. Johnson was senator from Tennessee and went about showing himself to the South by his loyalty to the Union on Southern ground: An olive branch therefore! This had a dual purpose: One was to send out a signal to the South that the Union would forgive and forget after the war, and thus attract voters present and conservative alike.
Impact of Military Victories on the Election
Military victory meant everything to Lincoln in 1864. By the time November rolled around, the election was buoyed by many military successes that restructured the very nature of war. The fall of Atlanta was in many ways the last nail in the Confederate coffin: A key city, a key supply route, an incredible blow to Southern morale that fell on the backs of the already war-weary North and a political platform upon which Lincoln could feel assured of victory. After Atlanta, Sherman would make his famous "March to the Sea" and really take the Southern will to fight away.
Grant's offensive campaign in Virginia against General Lee was becoming finally effective: There was much weariness going down to the campaign under Grant, and all those losses put upon Lee made the very decision for ultimate surrender that much easily. Such victories powered Lincoln politically with an assurance to the Northern majority that however endless and difficult, victory in the war was now insight.
The Outcome of the Election
On November 8, 1864, Lincoln was re-elected in a hotly contested election. The Electoral College confirmed Lincoln's decisive victory, 212 votes to McClellan's 21. Lincoln secured a clear majority of the popular vote, receiving approximately 55 percent to McClellan's 45 percent. Lincoln's victory was an endorsement for him and his way of continuing to fight until total victory.
However, this cleaves further into various pieces the bitter reality of a polarized condition. Lincoln's electoral success was almost entirely within the Northern states, while McClellan won the vast majority of the Southern states remaining true to the Union. The election showed that the country was still deeply split on both the issues of war and slavery, but Lincoln's victory lent tremendous weight to his ongoing battle for the Union and the abolition of slavery.
The Legacy of Lincoln's Re-election
Lincoln's re-election of 1864 empowered him to continue leading the nation until the close of the Civil War, thus doing a lot towards keeping unionism alive, with the essence of liberty not being allowed to die. In 1865, he called for "malice toward none" and "charity for all" in his second inaugural address, showing his vision in fostering the nation's wounds toward reconciliation after the war.
In just months from the date of his re-election, Lincoln would triumph over the South with the formal defeat and surrender of Lee at Appomattox in April 1865. But days after the resignation of the Confederate army from Lincoln, he faced an assassination by John Wilkes Booth, who denied him the opportunities to supervise the whole process of Reconstruction and the nation's rebuilding.
Nevertheless, Lincoln's re-election and his leadership in the final phases of the war were pivotal in securing the Union victory and in laying tribute to the demise of slavery through ratification of the 13th Amendment, which occurred in December 1865, after Lincoln's death. His second term remains one of the most significant periods in American history because it saw the end of slavery, preservation of the Union, and beginning of the tortuous process of healing in a divided nation.
