The 1864 Presidential Election

                The election of 1864 took place at the height of the Civil War. The election of 1864 was between the incumbent Republican candidate Abraham Lincoln, and the Democratic challenger, George B. McClellan.  McClellan had served as a Union general during the Civil War and in 1861 was made General - in- Chief of all Federal Armies.[1] McClellan's military background was a large part of what made the election of 1864 so interesting.

McClellan Campaign Banner From the 1864 Election

  

              In 1864, the reelection of Lincoln was very much in doubt. In early 1864, it did not appear that the outcome of the war would be in the Union's favor.[2] This situation hurt the Republican cause while at the same time boosting the Democrat's chances. The perceived Union failures made the Lincoln administration look bad, and so lessened its chances for victory in the coming election.[3] However, the Democratic platform caused some problems for McClellan's chances in the election.

A McClellan Campaign Button From the 1864 Election

               One of the problems of George McClellan's candidacy was the platform that he was running on. Gorge McClellan had been nominated on a Democratic plank of peace at any cost, in favor of ending the war as quickly as possible, even if that meant allowing the Confederacy to remain independent and render the sacrifices of the war redundant.[4] Unfortunately for McClellan, his actual feelings were overshadowed by his party's official platform.

A pro-McClellan Broadside from 1864

                The Democrat peace platform proved troublesome for McClellan. The 1864 election was the first election in U.S. history where soldiers would cast absentee ballots, and the soldier vote would prove to be decisive in the campaign.[5] The main difficulty was the Democratic peace platform, as mentioned before. Generally, Union soldiers were adverse to supporting a party that advocated peace at the expense of all the soldier's sacrifices in the war.[6] The anti-McClellan cartoon below illustrates this point.

  

              In this cartoon, the two Union soldiers say that they will vote for Lincoln because McClellan is tied to the Democrat peace platform, while McClellan tries to tell them that it is not his fault, and that it was forced upon him when he accepted the nomination. On the right, two peace Democrats are scheming as to how they can best make peace to benefit the Confederacy if McClellan wins the election. Clearly the opposition wanted to propagate the perception of McClellan and the peace platform was that a victory for McClellan was essentially a victory for the Confederacy.

    

            Songs were a popular means of spreading a candidate's message in the 19th Century. The following song is a pro-McClellan song that explains the Democratic platform.

                This song uses the apparent lack of progress in the war to demonstrate that a new president is needed, and that McClellan is the answer. It also refutes the assertion that McClellan wanted peace with the Confederacy at any cost, as the song claims that while McClellan will in fact attempt peaceful reconciliation, if the South refuses then he will force them back into the Union with military force. This is perhaps what McClellan himself wanted, but that did not necessarily reflect the rest of his party. Again, there were many Democrats who were actually proponents of immediate peace and the independence of the Confederacy.[7] Unfortunately, McClellan was associated with this peace platform whether that was what he believed or not.

               Another anti-McClellan cartoon displays that McClellan's personal views and his party's views hurt his candidacy.

                This cartoon contrasts McClellan's acceptance of the Democratic nomination on the peace platform, while at the same time speaking in favor of continuing the war. Obviously this provoked some criticism, but at the same time it is understandable. McClellan clearly wanted the nomination, he accepted it after all, but would also obviously have to embrace his party's policy to at least some degree. His acceptance of the nomination and the peace plank, and his attempt to propagate his own opinion made him appear to be hypocritical or indecisive.

               A final problem for the McClellan presidential campaign was that the war was swinging in favor of the Union. While the war was going poorly for the Union in early 1864, by September confidence in the Lincoln administration was restored by Sherman's march into Georgia and Grant's assault on Richmond.[8] The following cartoon reflects how the course of the war impacted the election.

                The dog in the cartoon represents General Grant, with the dogs cowering in the doghouse (which represents Richmond) representing the Confederate leaders. Lincoln and McClellan are looking on, with McClellan saying that Lincoln should call Grant off before he hurts the other dogs, while Lincoln points out that those were the same Confederates that chased McClellan off  and that they are now helpless before Grant.

                Ultimately the problems of McClellan's presidential campaign lay in his unfortunate connection to the Democratic peace platform, the contradictions of the platform and his own view, and the turn of the tide of the Civil War in favor of the Union.

Bibliography

Primary Sources:

“Daily National Republican. (Washington, D.C.) 1862-1866, August 31, 1864, Second Edition, Image 2.” Accessed on April 24, 2015. http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn86053570/1864-08-31/ed-1/seq-2/.

"Gen. George McClellan Campaign Button for 1864 Presidential Election." Accessed on April 25, 2015. http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2011661491/

"McClellan for President, by John C. Cross." Accessed on April 26, 2015. http://www.loc.gov/item/amss003085/

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"The Chicago Platform and Candidate." Accessed on April 24, 2015. http://www.loc.gov/pictures/resource/pga.04752/

"The Old Bull Dog on the Right Track." Accessed on April 25, 2015. http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2003674579/

"The Political "Siamese" Twins, the Offspring of Chicago Miscegenation." Accessed on April 25, 2015. http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2003674598/

Secondary Sources:

"George B. McClellan- 1864 Election Broadside." Accessed on April 24, 2015. http://www.civilwar.org/education/history/primarysources/george-b-mcclellan-1864.html

Harris, William C. "Conservative Unionists and the Presidential Election of 1864." Civil War History 38, no. 4 (December 1992): 298-318. http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/cwh/summary/v038/38.4.harris.html

Kamaras, Nicholas Paul. "George B. McClellan and the Election of 1864." PhD diss., University of                Delaware, 1976. http://search.proquest.com/docview/302788157?accountid=12085

Weintraub, Stanley. "1864: McClellan vs. Lincoln MTQ: The Quarterly Journal of Military History                 22, no. 3 (Spring 2010):  98-104. http://search.proquest.com/docview/223674500?            accountid=12085

Winther, Oscar Osburn. "The Soldier Vote in the Election of 1864." New York History 25, no. 4 (October, 1944): 440-458. http://www.jstor.org/stable/23148753

Recommended Reading

Kamaras, Nicholas Paul. "George B. McClellan and the Election of 1864." PhD diss., University of                Delaware, 1976. http://search.proquest.com/docview/302788157?accountid=12085

Waugh, John. Reelecting Lincoln: The Battle for the 1864 Presidency. Boston: De Capo Press, 2009. 

Weintraub, Stanley. "1864: McClellan vs. Lincoln MTQ: The Quarterly Journal of Military History 22, no. 3 (Spring 2010):  98-104. http://search.proquest.com/docview/223674500?            accountid=12085

Winther, Oscar Osburn. "The Soldier Vote in the Election of 1864." New York History 25, no. 4 (October, 1944): 440-458. http://www.jstor.org/stable/23148753

                [1] Nicholas Paul Kamaras, "George B. McClellan and the Election of 1864"  (PhD diss., University of Delaware, 1976), 4-5.

                [2] Stanley Weintraub, "1864: McClellan vs. McClellan," MHQ: The Quarterly Journal of Military History 22, no. 3 (Spring 2010): http://search.proquest.com/docview/223674500?accountid=12085

                [3] Ibid.

                [4] Ibid.

                [5] Ibid.

                [6] Ibid.

                [7] Kamaras, "Election of 1864," 101.

                [8] Ibid., 127.

Visiting Independence Hall (Historic Site Visit)

So, this past week I decided to visit Independence Mall (or, Independence National Historical Park according to the Park Service), the location of Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell, and several other historic sites. The first thing that I visited was the Liberty Bell, which is located in a large building conveniently named the Liberty Bell Center. There are several alcoves featuring displays that show the Liberty as a symbol of freedom through the history of the United States, and the Liberty Bell itself is at the end of the building, just across the street from Independence Hall, as seen here.

                The Liberty Bell was originally the bell in the Pennsylvania State House (which became Independence Hall) and was forged in 1752. The famous crack in the bell was not a result of the bell being rung on July 4th, 1776 however, the bell was actually poorly cast and the first cracks appeared almost as soon as it was delivered to the State House. The current crack was likely caused sometime during the 18th century.

                After visiting the Liberty Bell I visited the burial site of Benjamin Franklin who is buried in the  Christ Church Burial Ground,  only two blocks from Independence Hall. While not as grandiose or famous as Independence Hall or the Liberty Bell, it was fascinating to see the burial site of one of the U.S. founders.

  

              Finally, there was Independence Hall. The only way to view the interior is to join a tour of the building. Following a brief summary of the causes of the Revolution and the Revolution itself up to 1776. Inside Independence Hall, there are two restored rooms on the ground floor, the Pennsylvania State Courtroom, and the Assembly Room where the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were both signed. Both rooms have been heavily restored, but hold a number of original artifacts. Below are images of Independence Hall, the Courtroom, and the Assembly Room, in that order.

  

             If you're interested in Colonial America or the American Revolution, or just history in general, you should visit Independence National Historical Park. Even if you are already familiar with the subjects there, actually seeing them in person is amazing.

My Philosophy of History

                Part of my philosophy of history is that the purpose of studying history is to learn from the past. I would argue that the tendency for the historian to focus on the importance of knowing facts and dates is a detriment to the study of history. Too often the historian makes the focus of history the memorizing facts and dates and who was who, often getting caught up in the minutiae of history. There is nothing wrong with facts, dates, and knowing who historical figures are, the issue is when a historian makes knowing facts about the past the purpose of studying history. In my view, the importance of history is in learning from the past, not simply learning about it. I see very little point in studying the past for the sake of knowing the past; there is no practicality in that. Studying the past for the sake of itself can be very enjoyable of course, but it should not be the historian's priority. I see the importance of history in the lessons that can be learned from it. The events, ideas, and people of the past can have valuable lessons for the current day.

                Another aspect of my philosophy of history is that history is in a way the story of mankind. It is important to remember that history is about real people and real events. When learning about history and evaluating, it is important for historians to be careful not to judge the people of history too harshly.  Historical figures were real people who made mistakes, so it is important to be objective when studying them. This is not to say that were not evil or good people in history, but it is essential for the historian not to idolize or demonize them. 

Goals

As required by the class that I created this blog for, my first blog post is a statement of my career aspirations and possibilities. 

My goal is to become a military historian in the realm of public history. By this I mean that I wish to find work at a historic site or museum that is related to military history. While I would prefer to work in a military history museum as opposed to working at a historic site, both are appealing to me. Modern military history is my main area of interest, but I love any era of military history, and naval history for that matter, which I have also considered seeking a career in. There are plenty of opportunities for work as a military historian when it comes to historic sites, due to battlefield sites from the Revolutionary War and the US Civil War. The US National Park Service oversees a large number of military history sites, including Gettysburg National Military Park, Manassas National Battlefield Park, and the Aleutian World War II National Historic Area. There are also opportunities for a military historian within the US military as a civilian. There also other museums that are not run by either the National Park Service or the military. One example of an independent museum is the American Armored Foundation Tank Museum located in Danville, VA. I don't want to become a military historian simply because I have a strange fascination with warfare and military equipment, although I do. I want to help to educate the people of the United States about warfare and the reasons behind many of the wars that the United States has been in and why they turned out the way that they did.

For the record, check out the AAF Tank Museum in Danville, it's awesome.