- ›› Coverage People : George B. McClellan
Glossary Term – Event
Abraham Lincoln was elected to a second term as president, with 212 of 233 electoral votes and 55 percent of the popular vote. The 1864 presidential election was one of the most critical in American history. At stake was whether the war would end in unconditional surrender or a negotiated settlement. Deeply anxious about the election’s outcome, Republicans and pro-war Democrats formed the National Union Party, which re-nominated Lincoln and selected Andrew Johnson for vice president. The Democrats nominated General George B. McClellan, who...
James M. McPherson, George Henry Davis ’86 Professor of History at Princeton University and Pulitzer Prize winner, examines the Battle of Antietam and establishes that Antietam was a critical victory that ensured the continuance of Lincoln’s presidency, raised Northern morale, and enabled Lincoln to issue the Emancipation Proclamation.