Election Day 1864

On November 8, 1864, Abraham Lincoln was chosen by voters in the loyal states for a second term as president. Many historians find the election’s most notable feature to be that it was held at all. Some observers in 1864 blanched at the idea of risking a change of national leadership and policy in the midst of a civil war. Others, including Lincoln, felt differently. The president himself said (after having been safely reelected), "We cannot have free government without elections; and if the rebellion could force us to forgo or postpone a national election, it might fairly claim to have already conquered and ruined us."