The
election of 1864, conducted as the Civil War raged, was perhaps the most significant presidential election ever. Abraham Lincoln, revered by many but also savaged by a partisan press and a contentious Congress, faced an opponent of complex and sometimes puzzling motives, General
George McClellan. It's no exaggeration to say that the outcome of the election would not only influence the outcome of the war, but that it would affect the future direction of the U.S.
John C. Waugh's Reelecting Lincoln, which reads like a novel filled with remarkable characters, provides a lucid narrative of these events.
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Background Information
In November 1864, Abraham Lincoln carried the election to earn a second term as president that seemed very unlikely earlier in the year. George B. McClellan was a commander of the Union forces in the early part of the Civil War, much criticized for his extreme caution.
