U.S. presidential election, 1864
| Presidential Candidate | Electoral Vote |
Popular Vote |
Pct |
Party
| Running Mate
(Electoral Votes) |
| Abraham Lincoln of Illinois (W) |
212 |
2,218,388 |
55.02% |
Republican |
Andrew Johnson of Tennessee (212) |
| George Brinton McClellan of New Jersey |
21 |
1,812,807 |
44.96% |
Democrat |
George Hunt Pendleton of Ohio (21) |
| Other |
1 |
692 |
0.02% |
|
| Total |
234 |
4,031,887 |
100.0% |
|
| Other elections: 1852, 1856, 1860, 1864, 1868, 1872, 1876 |
|
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Introduction
This election was conducted in the middle of the Civil War, and the Confederate States did not vote in the U.S. election. The war was taking a heavy toll in lives and resources, and the lack of perceived success made incumbent Lincoln vulnerable.
Nominees
The Democratic Party nominated General McClellan, who had previously commanded the U.S. Army in Virginia but had been replaced by Lincoln. Their platform was a peace platform, but the party was divided between peace and war Democrats, and McClellan himself rejected this component of the platform.
Lincoln replaced Vice-President Hannibal Hamlin on the ticket with Tennessee War Democrat Andrew Johnson in order to increase his appeal to Democrats and the border states. This caused some grumbling from Radical Republicans who attempted to nominate John C. Frémont in Lincoln's place, but Lincoln prevailed.
Election
Lincoln ran with a slogan "Don't change horses in the middle of the stream", and over time a series of Northern victories culminating in the capture of Atlanta by Sherman restored his popularity. Meanwhile, the absence of the Southern States that had opposed Lincoln in 1860 gave Lincoln an advantage, and on November 8, 1864, he won by ten points in the popular vote and overwhelmingly in the electoral vote.
Abraham Lincoln served only a month of his second term. He was shot the night of April 14, 1865 and died the next morning. He was succeeded by Vice President Andrew Johnson.
See also: President of the United States, U.S. presidential election, 1864, History of the United States (1776-1865), American Civil War
Other Elections
