The Election of 1864 was the first presidential election held in the midst of a war since 1812. With the Civil War raging and the Union’s future uncertain, Abraham Lincoln’s bid for a second term became one of the most dramatic contests in American history.
America’s Darkest Hour
Since Lincoln’s election in 1860, the country had been torn apart by civil war. Eleven Southern states seceded to form the Confederacy after the attack on Fort Sumter in April 1861.
The conflict had dragged on far longer and bloodier than anyone anticipated, with horrific losses mounting on both sides. While Union victories at Gettysburg and Vicksburg in 1863 boosted morale, the Confederacy refused to collapse, and by mid-1864 the war seemed endless.
Opposition to Lincoln’s war leadership was intense. The New York City Draft Riots of July 1863 left over 100 dead, as working-class men, many Irish immigrants, protested conscription and expressed fears of job competition from Black Americans. Lincoln had also suspended habeas corpus, drawing accusations of tyranny.
By the summer of 1864, Lincoln himself believed he might lose the election of 1864. In August he drafted a secret memorandum pledging to cooperate with his successor “to save the Union” during the transition, so convinced was he of defeat.
Divided Parties
Both major parties entered the campaign fractured.
- The Democrats split between Peace Democrats (nicknamed “Copperheads”), who wanted an immediate ceasefire and negotiations with the Confederacy, and War Democrats, who insisted on victory first. The party nominated General George B. McClellan, Lincoln’s former commander, with George H. Pendleton of Ohio as his running mate. Their official platform called for peace talks, but McClellan openly rejected it, pledging to continue the war — leaving his campaign message confused.
- The Republicans rebranded themselves as the National Union Party to appeal to War Democrats and moderates. Lincoln replaced his first-term vice president, Hannibal Hamlin, with Andrew Johnson, the pro-Union military governor of Tennessee, symbolising national unity across party and sectional lines.
- Dissident Republicans formed the short-lived Radical Democracy Party, nominating John C. Frémont (the 1856 Republican nominee) with General John Cochran. But Frémont withdrew in September after recognising that staying in would split the anti-Democratic vote.
Lincoln vs. McClellan
The race quickly became a referendum on Lincoln’s leadership and the war itself.
Lincoln had dismissed McClellan in 1862 after the general repeatedly hesitated to confront Confederate forces, culminating in a failure to decisively follow up the Battle of Antietam. McClellan’s arrogance and clashes with Lincoln had made their rivalry personal as well as political.
McClellan’s campaign portrayed Lincoln as a tyrant who had shredded civil liberties and bungled the war. Lincoln’s supporters countered by portraying McClellan as indecisive and beholden to peace Democrats.
The Turning Point: Atlanta
For much of 1864, Lincoln looked headed for defeat. Casualties mounted, and Union armies seemed bogged down in bloody stalemates.
Then, in September, General William Tecumseh Sherman captured Atlanta. The victory electrified the North, proving the Confederacy could be beaten. The timing was decisive: Lincoln’s fortunes turned almost overnight, and calls for peace lost credibility.
The Soldiers’ Vote
For the first time, Union soldiers were allowed to cast absentee ballots. Their votes reflected their loyalty to Lincoln as commander-in-chief: about 78% of Union soldiers backed him. Their support helped swing close states and symbolised the army’s determination to see the war through.
Results of the Election of 1864
By 1864, Kansas, Nevada, and West Virginia had joined the Union, bringing the electoral vote total to 233. A candidate needed 117 to win.
- Abraham Lincoln (National Union Party) – 212 electoral votes; 55% of the popular vote
- George B. McClellan (Democrat) – 21 electoral votes (from Kentucky, New Jersey, and Delaware); 45% of the popular vote
Lincoln’s victory made him the first Republican president to win a second term. His re-election ensured the war would be fought to Union victory and positioned the nation to move toward abolition with the 13th Amendment.
Aftermath and Assassination
Lincoln’s triumph was short-lived. On April 14, 1865, just days after Lee’s surrender at Appomattox, Lincoln was assassinated at Ford’s Theatre by John Wilkes Booth, a Confederate sympathiser. He died the next morning, becoming the first U.S. president to be assassinated.
His death left the task of Reconstruction to Vice President Andrew Johnson, whose mishandling of postwar politics deepened sectional bitterness. Lincoln’s second term, cut short, remains one of the greatest “what ifs” in American history.
Significance
The Election of 1864 was far more than a contest for the presidency. It was a referendum on whether the Union would fight on or seek peace with the Confederacy. Lincoln’s re-election ensured that the Civil War would end in victory for the Union and set the stage for the abolition of slavery.
It followed the Election of 1860, when Lincoln’s first victory triggered secession, and it led directly to the Election of 1868, when the nation, still reeling from war and Lincoln’s death, would confront Reconstruction and the question of who would lead it.
