Politics and Elections: The 1864 Presidential Campaign and Wartime Politics (1863–1865)

1. Lincoln issues Reconstruction “Ten Percent Plan”

   Dec 8, 1863Labels: Abraham Lincoln, Ten Percent

   President Abraham Lincoln issued the Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction, offering pardons to many former Confederates who swore loyalty and accepting new state governments when 10% of voters took an oath. The plan signaled that the 1864 election would be fought not only over winning the war, but also over how to rebuild the Union afterward. It immediately raised tensions with Republicans in Congress who wanted stricter terms for the South.

   • HISTORY
   • Britannica

2. Wade–Davis Reconstruction Bill introduced in House

   Feb 15, 1864Labels: Wade Davis, Radical Republicans

   Radical Republicans in Congress introduced the Wade–Davis Bill to set tougher requirements for Confederate states to return to the Union. It reflected a major wartime political divide: whether Reconstruction should be controlled mainly by the president’s policies or by Congress. That debate became part of the background struggle shaping the 1864 campaign.

   • House History
   • Senate History

3. National Union Convention renominates Lincoln, picks Johnson

   Jun 7, 1864Labels: National Union, Andrew Johnson

   Meeting in Baltimore, Lincoln’s supporters adopted the “National Union” label to attract War Democrats and emphasize unity during the Civil War. The convention renominated Lincoln for president and replaced Vice President Hannibal Hamlin with Andrew Johnson of Tennessee as the vice-presidential nominee. The ticket and party name were meant to strengthen Lincoln politically for a wartime election.

   • Convention
   • Britannica

4. Lincoln pocket-vetoes the Wade–Davis Bill

   Jul 2, 1864Labels: Pocket Veto, Wade Davis

   Congress passed the Wade–Davis Bill near the end of the session, but Lincoln used a pocket veto (letting a bill die by not signing it before adjournment). The veto deepened conflict between Lincoln and Radical Republicans over who should direct Reconstruction and how strict it should be. Those tensions spilled into the broader politics of 1864, including third-party and intraparty challenges to Lincoln.

   • Senate History
   • Britannica

5. Wade and Davis publish the Wade–Davis Manifesto

   Aug 5, 1864Labels: Benjamin Wade, Henry Winter

   Senator Benjamin Wade and Representative Henry Winter Davis publicly attacked Lincoln’s Reconstruction approach, arguing that the president was overstepping Congress. The manifesto showed how wartime politics included open conflict inside the Union’s governing coalition, not just competition between parties. It also underscored that Reconstruction policy was becoming a central election issue.

   • House Divided
   • Senate History

6. Lincoln drafts secret memo expecting defeat

   Aug 23, 1864Labels: Abraham Lincoln, Secret Memo

   As military casualties mounted and victory seemed uncertain, Lincoln privately assessed that he might lose the 1864 election. This pessimism reflected real political danger: war weariness, criticism of Lincoln’s policies, and divisions within the pro-war coalition. The moment helps explain why later battlefield successes mattered so much to the campaign’s outcome.

   • Election 1864
   • Britannica

7. Democrats nominate McClellan at Chicago convention

   Aug 29, 1864Labels: George B, Democratic Party

   The Democratic Party met in Chicago and nominated former Union general George B. McClellan for president, with George H. Pendleton for vice president. The convention highlighted internal party conflict between those urging a negotiated peace and those supporting continued war until reunion. That split shaped Democratic messaging and complicated McClellan’s effort to unify anti-Lincoln voters.

   • DNC 1864
   • Britannica

8. Union victory captures Atlanta

   Sep 2, 1864Labels: William T, Capture of

   Union forces under William T. Sherman completed the Atlanta Campaign by taking Atlanta, a major Confederate rail and industrial center. The victory boosted Northern morale and helped shift political momentum toward Lincoln by suggesting the war could be won. It weakened “peace” arguments that the conflict was hopeless or endless.

   • Atlanta Campaign
   • Election 1864

9. Frémont withdraws, easing anti-Lincoln vote split

   Sep 21, 1864Labels: John C, Anti-Lincoln Republicans

   John C. Frémont, who had been nominated by anti-Lincoln Republicans, withdrew from the race. His exit reduced the risk that Lincoln’s opponents inside the pro-war camp would divide votes and help the Democrats. The withdrawal strengthened the “National Union” strategy of holding together a broad coalition for victory and reunion.

   • House Divided
   • Election 1864

10. Election Day: Lincoln wins re-election during the war

    Nov 8, 1864Labels: U S, Abraham Lincoln

    Voters in the Union states held a presidential election while the Civil War was still underway—an unusual test of democratic politics under wartime stress. Lincoln and Johnson defeated McClellan and Pendleton, with Lincoln winning 212 electoral votes to 21 and a majority of the popular vote. The result was widely seen as a mandate to continue the war effort and pursue reunion under Lincoln’s leadership.

    • Presidency
    • Britannica

11. Congress counts 1864 electoral votes in joint session

    Feb 8, 1865Labels: Congress Joint, Electoral Count

    In a joint session, Congress counted the electoral votes and formally confirmed the outcome of the 1864 presidential election. This step mattered because it converted wartime voting into an official constitutional result, despite ongoing conflict and contested questions about which states could participate. It set the stage for Lincoln’s second inauguration and the next phase of wartime policy.

    • Joint Sessions
    • Presidency

12. Lincoln’s second inauguration frames war aims and reconciliation

    Mar 4, 1865Labels: Second Inaugural, Abraham Lincoln

    Lincoln was inaugurated for a second term and delivered the Second Inaugural Address as Union victory came into view. He connected the war to slavery and urged a forward-looking approach to rebuilding the nation, ending with a call for “malice toward none” and “charity for all.” The speech marked a closing point for the 1864 campaign era and a transition toward the political struggles of Reconstruction.

    • LOC Exhibit
    • Inauguration