Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1924-01-08

A PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN SIXTY
YEARS AGO
BY MRS.

YN the year 1864-just sixty years ago
national election was held in all the
- United States except the Confederate
States, Virginia, North and South Carolina,
Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Lou
isiana and Texas, for president of the United
States.
A political convention was held in Balti-
more on June to make nominations, just
as the Republicans will meet in June this
year for the same purpose, for Republican
| leaders,. The nomination of Mr.. Lincoln was
unanimous, except in Missouri. The vote OF
| Missouri went for General Grant Hon. An
| dy Johnson, of Tennessee, got solid-vote, or
nearly so, for vice president.
| The platform adopted favored maintenance
of the union against all enemies; rebellion to
be crushed by force Of arms; all traitors to
be punished; refusal to accept any terms but
unconditional surrender. 1t called for con-
stitutiOnal amendment abolishing slavery
approval of the Lincoln administration; in
dorsing immigration; approving a National
Pacific railroad; protection to soldiers with
out regard to color, also denouncing all at
tempts of foreign powers to supplant Repub-
lican institutions in this country.
(When the Republican convention meets
in Cleveland, Ohio, next June, some of these
things will again be recommended. Perhaps
there will be a plank declining to recon-
mend immigration, but there will be some
words as to repudiating foreign propaganda
against the same old republican institutions. J
The national convention of the Democratic
party met in Chicago August 29 nearly
three months later. AS a Union party it was
committed to the prosecution of the war. The
great majority were unanimous in declaring
secession to be unwarrantable and iniquitOus
The war, therefore, was righteous in its OBJ
ject and only iniquitous in the way it had
been prosecuted. General George B. McClel-
Ian was nominated for president with little
opposition. Hon. George H. Pendleton, Of
Ohio, secured the second place on the ticket.
p1o4e
and navy and hopes for restoration of the
union were constantly repeated. Little or
nothing was said of the slavery question, but
in September, 1864, the fate of slavery was
already settled. President Davis, early in
the year had said it longer an issue
between the North and the South, in a pub
lished report. 1t was proposed during ses-
sion of the Confederate congress that slaves
should be conscripted to fight in the South
ern armies. The Radical party per Sc NOM
mated John G. Fremont. In his letter of &C
ceptance he favored the Baltimore nomina-
ton against the Democratic ticket. This
platform was similar to the Baltimore plat
form. There were two objective clauses:
First, that the reconstruction of the rebel
states should be done by congress and not
by the executive. Second, the lands of the
rebels should be confiscated and distributed
to soldiers and actual settlers The distinc-
tive clause was stated in Section 5: THAT
the rebellion has destroyed slavery and the
constitution should be amended to prohibit
its re-establfshment and to secure to all men
absolute equality before the law"
1t is notable that the demand for negro
suffrage and citizenship were entirely omit
ted in all these platforms. All repudiated
the rebel debt, directly or indirectly. When
the election day rolled around Georgia was
in the grip of Sherman's army from Dade
to Chatham, and, so far as Georgia was con-
cerned, it was conquered province six
months before formal surrender was made in
the city Of Macon in April, 1865.
We were refugees, four miles out from
Macon, on the day that surrender was made