Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1920-10-16
PRESIDENTIAL
CAMPAIGNS
BY FREDERIC J. HASKlN
XII. THE LINCOLN-Mc.
CLELLAN RACE OF 1864
WY ASHINGTON, D. c., Sept. %.
M tt is difficult for this gem
w era t IN, acknowledging
Abraham Lincoln as one Of

to realize the fact that he won his
denomination and reelection to the
presidency in 1864 over the greatest
| obstacles. Practically every leader
in the Republican party was opposed
to Lincoins denomination. Nearly
| every prominent Republican in the
country believed that Lincoln could
not defeat General McClelland if he
| were renominated. But the people
might, ran rough-shod over the poll
ticians and instructed their delegates
to vote for "Old Abe"
Months after the nomination was
made it seemed certain that McClel-
land would be elected. The Repub-
lican campaign leaders gave up hope
and Lincoln himself admitted defeat.
Two months before the election the
tide turned the other way, thanks
to a Democratic blunder and a vic
tory won by the Union armies in the
south.
The Democratic party had been a
wonderful political machine and had
dominated the country for sixty,
years. 1t had been more powerful
in the north the in the south for
a goodly portion of that six decades.
1t was too strong in the north TO
die in a brief four years. SO greatly
did the Republican organization fear
II, HOtWlIHS LdnoIIlS us pAOhSll SoHHA
tton, that the Republican leaders de-
liberately adjured their party name
and called a national Union" con-
vention to meet at Baltimore early
in June. The Union" party 1T was
that renominated Lincoln, not the
Republican.
Two Kinds Of Democrats
The Democrats of the states re-
naming in the union io were diyl aed
Peace Democrats. Both factions
were rather free with their. criticism
of Lincoln's administration, but
neither could say the hard things
that the Radical Republicans" were
saying. The, Peace, Democrats were fre
southern states go, or in anything
to bring peace. They were all &C
cused, and many were guilty, Of be
ing in sympathy with the Conted,,,
crates They were ne terce agd Bueh-
anan and Breckenridge in the past
Thev were now the hated and de-
spised "Copperheads." One OF the
most pleasant Republican campaign
songs of the period was:
"Of all the factious men we've seen'
Existing now or long since &c p naen
AS him we call a Copperhead'
a draft-evading Copperhead,
A rebel-aiding Copperhead,
A scowling, slandering, howNng'
vicious pAS stateseRights' Copperhead."
If the Copperheads were hatea'
they were not so dangerous 70 I'M NJ
coin politically as the radicals o.
his own party. He knew where "
place the Copperheads, put ~ Vie
hard F for min t2 Th fGAss stevens eve Ben
1nera opnosed to him because ne
wonId not agree to the. contlscarltG}il
of ali private property IN the sor sG I'm
1t was even even more nor de eter opposi-
finn IF men like Salmon T. ChdSSTT'
1 StGiI II Seward and Edwin M
etan+nn who held him in 1ll-concesa g.
ed contempt. And 1T was was! R Horace
to Lincoln to see men va onenly
GeneJ to his denomination on lhe
9proound that he could not possio1S No
e'0 wna,,,as within the Ranks
rha "Radical Republicans" held
t tiao1 mass convention at CleVe-
i loo week in advance t o. nc
union" convention at i Satvaf1f for
John G. Fremont ed 2obn w coc Rpa for vice
pres!aent "o nnd the platform declar-
pTes so' The confscation of all prop
er+v in the Confederate states. Lner4
we're comparatively few pro!ii ~ ,'5a g
leaders in the con ine1aence the the Baiti-
rn1 convention to take a radlcal
stand. Lincoln had already peer, neets
nominated. in fact, because niot =
than two-thirds of the delegates "
Baltimore had been instruete1,+ T1 Tim-
mil
coin, the people believed IN 1ao'Ae"'
Abe" ,+,o
Assured of his own renomlnatlon'
Lincoln set about the task Oh get
ting a war Democrat ana souCn-
erner for his running mate. AndreW
Johnson, of Tennessee was t1 3,r non :
ed because Lincoln personally con
Quoted the campaign for MS seiect
tion. He wanted to get the supporl
of the war Democrats and ne "anteu
to have a southerner on the tiGkel
because of it's effect in Europe. LIN
SION SION was uncons titutional and that
the eleven states of the contederaGy
We're not legally out of the union.
it had not been for this belief at tne
beginning of the war the norm n
sdvice to "let the hayward sisters
depart in peace"
The Baltimore convention held TO
Iincoln's ideas. Thaddeus Stevens
was there fighting against every
movement to indorse the Lincoln
policy of reconstruction, contendlng
that the seeded states were actual
iy and legally out of the union, ana
that when retaken they should be
treated as conquered territory. Stev-
ems was defeated at every turn IN
the Baltimore convention. But ms
opposition to Lincoln's policy ana
~. ho& nf An6raW Johnson WAS
not ended.
A Democratic Blunder
Nearly three months after he was
renominated, Lincoln and his advis-
ers reached the conclusion that Nc
Clellan, already agreed upon as the
Democratic nominee. would, win the
election. On August 70; ne wrote
and delivered to the Secretary of
Navy, Gideon Welles. with instruc-
lions not to open it until after the
election. Then it will be my duty to
cooperate with the presdent-elect so
as to save the union between the
election and Inauguration, as he will
have secured his election on such
grounds that he cannot possibly save
1t afterward."
Six days later, on August. 29 the
Democratic national convention met
in Chicago. 1t nominated General
MCNlGlidn LUZ ~ CoAuOiL anu NSSA . y
II. Pendleton, of Ohio, for vice pres
ident. Then it made the fatal mis-
take Of adopting a platform that de-
clared the war to be a failure. Al
most at the same time came the
news that Atlanta had fallen and of
union victories in Virginia. General
Mcclellan FASTENED to repudiate that
portion of the platform, but it was in
vain. The Confederacy was crumb-
ling to it's fall and the people turn
ed to Lincoln.
Still the campaign waxed on. The
October elections in Pennsylvania
showed great Democratic gains and
the administration was alarmed.
Lincoln got Generals Meade and
Sheridan each to furlough 5000
Pennsylvania soldiers to go home to
vote. He carried the state on the
home vote only by few over 5000
lIldi .acc Ia in ho