The 1864 presidential election in the United States was a watershed event in American history. In this dissertation the issues resolved by that event are discussed in detail including: the continuation of the United States as one nation indivisible; the survival intact of the democratic government established by the founding fathers of the American republic less than a century earlier; the efficacy of a perpetual union of states defined by a written constitution as opposed to a voluntary association of independent states for purposes of commercial advantage and national defense; the exercise of the right to vote as the most fundamental right of the citizen of a democratic government; the emancipation of four million slaves; the permanent abolition of slavery in the United States as a matter of constitutional law. It was the issue of slavery and Lincoln's assertion of the war power to proclaim emancipation that threatened his ability to hold the border slave states in the Union in 1862-1863 and jeopardized his re-election in 1864. / In 1864 the last remaining possibility for Confederate victory was the prospective defeat of the Lincoln administration at the polls. Both the Confederate government and the Democratic party worked toward that goal. In some instances joint ventures were attempted, giving rise to the domestic treason issue that played a critical role in the election. At the same time President Lincoln's popular standing, largely because of emancipation but also due to the lack of military success by Union armies, reached an all-time low. It was then that the pressures on him to withdraw emancipation became almost irresistible. He did not yield, even though he expected to lose the election, and shortly thereafter a dramatic reversal in battlefield fortunes caused a major shift in voter perception of the war. Lincoln saved emancipation plus the life of the nation, making possible the growth of the United States into the powerful twentieth century democracy it is today. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 54-08, Section: A, page: 3178. / Major Professor: Joe M. Richardson. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1993.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_76992 |
| Contributors | Long, David Ellison., Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text |
| Format | 725 p. |
| Rights | On campus use only. |
| Relation | Dissertation Abstracts International |
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