1864 Presidential Election

The presidential election of 1864 was one of the most important in American history. It was, first of all, remarkable that it even occurred. It took place in the Union states during a bloody civil war, with no precedent for voting in a divided nation, and with seemingly ample justification for postponement. The spirited yet orderly process of the 1864 elections, with relatively little corruption and negligible violence, became a sterling example and vindication of the democratic process itself. Furthermore, it was an election in which voters cast ballots to determine crucial questions about the direction of the war, the government, and the society. Should the war be sustained or a settlement sought? What role would blacks play in the war and in a post-war society? Those and similar questions raised some of the most fundamental issues to be considered since the founding of the republic.

http://elections.harpweek.com/1864/Overview-186...