History That Doesn't Suck - 66: The Election of 1864: Lincoln's Bid for Reelection

Episode Date: June 8, 2020

“Johnson is either drunk or crazy,” This is the story of the fight for the presidency in 1864. No US President since Andrew Jackson has seen a second term. Few are even nominated by their party for a second term. Will the Republicans choose Abraham Lincoln again? More to the point--will war-weary American voters, including moderates who disapprove of Lincoln making the abolition of slavery a war aim, choose Lincoln again?  The Democrats have a strong candidate: General George B. “Little Mac” McClellan. He might be out of the war, but he’s certainly ready to fight the man who fired him. Welcome to a presidential election amid an actual Civil War. ____ Connect with us on HTDSpodcast.com and go deep into episode bibliographies and book recommendations join discussions in our Facebook community get news and discounts from The HTDS Gazette  come see a live show get HTDS merch or become an HTDS premium member for bonus episodes and other perks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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and long-term success. Join us in creating positive change at yorku.ca slash write the future. Welcome to History That Doesn't Suck. I'm your professor, Greg Jackson, and as in the classroom, my goal here is to make rigorously researched history come to life as your storyteller. Each episode is the result of laborious research with no agenda other than making the past come to life as you learn. If you'd like to

help support this work, receive ad-free episodes, bonus content, and other exclusive perks, I invite you to join the HTDS membership program. Sign up for a seven-day free trial today at htdspodcast.com slash membership, or click the link in the episode notes. It's a warm Southern night, July 17th, 1864. Two Northerners exit Richmond, Virginia's elegant five-story Spotswood Hotel. One is the brown-haired, hazel-eyed, Boston-born-and-bred author, James Gilmore. The other is the tall, handsome, eloquent Methodist minister and Quincy College president-turned-commander of the 73rd Illinois, Colonel James F. Jacquez.

The two men head to the former U.S. Custom House, now housing the Confederate government. They have a 9 o'clock appointment to attempt informal peace talks with Confederate President Jefferson Davis and his Secretary of State, Judah Benjamin. But will Jeff entertain a peace that includes reunification? The Bostonian civilian and the Illinoisian colonel intend to find out. As they enter a room with the words State Department over its door, the rail-thin, gray-haired Confederate president and Colonel Jacquez exchange pleasantries. I'm glad to see you, gentlemen. You are very welcome in Richmond. We thank you, Mr. Davis. It is not often you meet men of our clothes and our principles in Richmond. Not so often as I could wish. And I trust your coming may lead to a more frequent and friendly intercourse between the North and the South.

We sincerely hope it may. Our people want peace. We have come to ask how it can be brought about. In a very simple way. Withdraw your armies from our territory. Peace will come at once. Yeah. The two parties' different views of this war have already manifested. The divide only sharpens as the Confederate president describes

the North as the aggressor and the Union colonel pushes back. I know your motives, Colonel Jacquez, and I honor you for them, but it is with your own people you should labor. It is they who desolate our homes, burn our wheat fields, break the wheels of wagons carrying away our women and children, and destroy supplies meant for our sick and wounded. At your door lie all the miseries and the crime of this war. Mr. Davis, elements of barbarism are entering the war on both sides. In God's name, let us stop it.

You cannot expect, with only four and a half millions to hold out forever against 20 millions. Do you suppose there are 20 millions at the North determined to crush us? I do. A small number of our people are your friends, secessionists. The rest differ about measures and candidates but are united in the determination to sustain the Union. Whoever is elected in November, he must be committed to a vigorous prosecution of the war. James Gilmore sees that Jeff doesn't quite buy

that the CSA has so few friends up north. The Bostonian now engages the gangly Confederate leader. It is so, sir. The majority are in favor of Mr. Lincoln, and nearly all of those opposed to him are opposed to him because they think he does not fight you with enough vigor. The radical Republicans, who go for slave suffrage and thorough confiscation, are those who will defeat him if he is defeated.

They will give you no terms. They will insist on hanging every rebel south of... Pardon my terms. I mean no offense. You give no offense? This is frank, free talk, and I like you the better for saying what you think. Go on. I was merely going to say, they will insist on hanging every one of your leaders.

I can't see how it affects opposition. There are some things worse than hanging or extermination. We reckon giving up the right of self-government one of those things. By self-government, you mean disunion, southern independence. Yes, and slavery, you say, is no longer an element in the contest. No, it is not. It never was an essential element. It was only a means of bringing other conflicting elements to an earlier culmination.

It fired the musket which was already capped and loaded. There are essential differences between the North and the South that will, however this war may end, make them two nations. Well, sir, if I understand you, the dispute between your government and ours is narrowed down to this. Union or disunion? Yes, or to put it in other words, independence or subjugation. The Bostonian pivots from debating the war's causes to detailing a hypothetical special election in which Americans, North and South, vote between Southern independence or reunification with emancipation and universal amnesty. But as an extreme states' rights supporter, Jeff isn't having it.

That the majority shall decide, you mean. We seceded to rid ourselves of the rule of the majority, and this would subject us to it again. But the majority must rule finally, either with bullets or ballots. I am not so sure. Sir, you let the majority rule in a single state. Why not let it rule in the whole country? Because the states are independent and sovereign. The country is not. It is only a confederation of states. Or rather, it was. It is now two confederations. Then we are not a people. We are only a political partnership? That is all. Secretary of State Judah Benjamin interjects, Your very name, sir, United States, implies that. But tell me, are the terms you have named,

emancipation, no confiscation, and universal amnesty, the terms which Mr. Lincoln authorized you to offer us? No, sir, Mr. Lincoln did not authorize me to offer you any terms, James replies. But that softening won't diffuse Jeff's rising temper. They are very generous, but amnesty, sir, applies to criminals. We have committed no crime and emancipation. You have already emancipated nearly two millions of our slaves, and if you will take care of them, you may emancipate the rest.

I had a few when the war began. I was of some use to them. They never were of any to me. Against their will, you emancipated them. And you may emancipate every Negro in the Confederacy, but we will be free. We will govern ourselves. We will do it.

If we have to see every Southern plantation sacked and every southern city in flames. I see. Mr. Davis, it is useless to continue this conversation. You will pardon us. We love the old flag, and that must be our apology for intruding upon you at all. You have not intruded upon me. I am glad to have met you both. I once loved the old flag as well as you do. I would have died for it. But now, it is to me only the emblem of oppression.

The Bostonian and the Illinoisian got their answer. Jeff will not consider reunification. For that to happen, the sword must remain unsheathed. Welcome to History That Doesn't Suck. I'm your professor, Greg Jackson, and I'd like to tell you a story. We're going to see if Colonel Jacques' claim in that opening is right. Does whoever wins the 1864 presidential election have to prosecute war? We'll start by hearing about Republicans nominating Abraham Lincoln for a second term. While that might seem obvious to a 21st century American, it is by no means something that should be taken for granted in 19th century America,

especially when the Illinois Rail Splitters Party is split between radicals and moderates. Then we'll follow the Democrats to Chicago for their convention. And this is ugly. Things are so messy between their war and peace slash copperhead factions here, you'll start to think the Republican camps actually have a functional relationship. Ultimately, it's a showdown between Lincoln's unification and emancipation platform and the Democrats,

well, it's complicated, you'll see, but some sort of peace-ish platform that definitely does not include emancipation. So, shall we see what it looks like to hold a presidential election in the midst of a civil war? Let's do it. And we start in early 1864. Rewind. It's February 13th, 1864, and Attorney General Edward Bates sits in a private meeting with

President Lincoln. Edward has been in bed with a cold for the past two weeks, and he's finally feeling well enough to visit his boss. But this isn't a friendly chat about the spring-like temperatures and sunshine. Edward's worried about the game a fellow cabinet member is playing behind Lincoln's back. To Edward's relief, Lincoln knows what's up. He calls the political backbiting by radical Republicans, quote unquote, fiendish. Edward points out that Secretary of the Treasury, Salmon Chase, is probably leading this charge against Lincoln, and the president agrees.

But what exactly are Salmon and his radical Republican buddies up to? Well, last December, a bunch of guys got together and formed the Organization to Make S.P. Chase President. Snappy name, right? Notice how they glossed over Salmon's fishy first name? Good call. Since December, this group led by Kansas Senator Samuel Pomeroy

has been quietly canvassing support for Salmon's presidential run. And the ambitious Treasury Secretary is on board. He tells a friend that he's excited about his political prospects and thinks this committee is stacked with, quote, men of great weight, close quote. But some people think that Salmon's ego is getting the better of him. Radical Republican Ben Wade sums it up this way, quote, Chase is a good man, but his theology is unsound. He thinks there is a fourth person in the Trinity.

Close quote. That false belief is about to cause the over-eager politician to make a huge mistake. Salmon and his committee misinterpret harmless congressional grumbling against Lincoln as the beginnings of an actual anti-Lincoln political movement. In response, they write up a document called The Next Presidential Election and send it to 100,000 Republicans in early February.

This ill-conceived six-page article delineates everything that Lincoln has done wrong during his tenure. It ends by claiming that Lincoln can be blamed as, quote, the real cause why our well-appointed armies have not succeeded in the destruction of the rebellion. Close quote. Damn, that's a low blow, gents. Of course, this pamphlet is just the start.

The organization to make S.P. Chase president is just getting warmed up. A letter marked strictly private starts making the rounds right after the first pamphlet drops. And of course, if you label something private, everyone and their cousin is going to read it. On February 20th, the Washington Constitutional Union even prints the damn thing. This letter, which is thankfully much shorter than the last one, states, quote, Should Lincoln be re-elected, his manifest tendency toward compromises and temporary expedience of policy

will become stronger during a second term than it has been in the first. Close quote. But then it goes one step further. It suggests a replacement of the gangly, uncouth Illinois rail splitter. The note ends by saying, quote, We find in Honorable Salmon P. Chase more of the qualities needed in a president during the next four years than are combined in any other available candidate. Signed, Samuel Pomeroy.

Close quote. Like I said, big mistake. Most people see this letter for what it is, a fumbling, obvious ploy to get Sam and Chase nominated as the Republican presidential candidate. Lincoln's Secretary of the Navy, Gideon Wells, knows exactly what's going to happen to his fellow cabinet member. Gideon, whom Lincoln loves to call Neptune, predicts, quote, its recoil will be more dangerous, I apprehend, than its projectile. That is, it will damage Chase more than Lincoln. Close quote. The astute master of the seas is right. When Salmon sees the Pomeroy circular, as it comes to be known, in print, he freaks out. Yeah, he knew it was coming.

He just didn't expect it to be so blunt. Salmon immediately sends a letter to Lincoln, distancing himself from it, the writer, and the whole committee that wants to make him president. The panicky treasury secretary defends himself to his boss. Quote, You are not responsible for acts not your own, nor will you hold me responsible except for what I do or say myself.

Flows quote. He then offers to resign his cabinet post. Lincoln plays it cool. He lets Salmon know that he got the letter. He just simply hasn't had time to respond. That's right. He's going to let Salmon sweat it out for a few days. In the meantime, enraged Republicans all over the North

hastily write resolutions stating their desire to have Lincoln run for a second term. Looks like Gideon's prediction that the letter would damage Salmon more than Lincoln is coming true. On February 29th, more than a week after Salmon's letter, Lincoln responds. He simply tells the balding, overly ambitious Salmon not to worry about the letter and not to resign. I guess Lincoln is following the wisdom of Michael Corleone from Godfather Part II. Keep your friends close,

keep your enemies closer. Salmon wises up and withdraws his name from the presidential race. The Treasury Secretary may be out of the running, but radical Republicans still want to find a candidate to unseat Lincoln. A few prominent men soon gravitate toward John the Pathfinder Fremont. The Western trailblazer-turned-politician-turned-Army-General has all the right credentials. He's an abolitionist. Remember his ill-conceived Missouri Emancipation Proclamation from episode 46? He's popular, thanks to the PR skills of his wife, Jessie, and he hates Lincoln for relieving him of his army post back in 1862. James Bennett realizes that John is, quote, really a more dangerous rival to President Lincoln than Mr. Chase, close quote. So radical Republicans call for a May convention where they will outline a platform based on their

extreme political views and nominate the Pathfinder as their presidential candidate. Most Republicans are wary of this convention and its frontrunner. Navy Secretary Gideon Wells supported John Fremont's Republican presidential candidacy back in 1856, but he doesn't think much of the weather-beaten retired explorer. Gideon calls John, quote, reckless, improvident, wasteful, pompous, purposeless, vain, and incompetent. On all occasions, he puts on airs, is ambitious, and would not serve under men of superior military capacity and experience. Close quote. With an opinion that low, I don't think Gideon would vote for John as mayor of a town,

let alone president of the United States. Anyway, this convention of people calling themselves the radical democracy gets underway on May 31st in Cleveland, Ohio. Only about 400 people attend. In Washington, D.C., Lincoln hears about the low attendance. He pulls out his Bible and reads 1 Samuel 22, verse 2. And every one of them was discontented, gathered themselves unto him, and he became a captain over them. And there were with him about 400 men. Smiling, Lincoln closes the good book, proving that he could just as easily come up with a Bible verse as a country metaphor to make light of a tricky situation. In Cleveland, the Radical Democracy Convention quickly outlines a platform that calls for a constitutional amendment to prohibit slavery and another to limit presidents to one term.

The convention quickly moves on to nominating their candidate. John the Pathfinder Fremont gets the nomination by acclamation that evening. On June 4th, John accepts and vows to run against Lincoln, quote, to prevent the misfortune of his re-election, close quote. But first, the Republicans have to choose whether to even nominate the Illinois rail splitter for a second term. Growth is essential for every entrepreneur. At BDC, we get that. And the businesses we support grow at double the average rate. Accelerating the pace. We're on it.

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Historians like Barry Strauss, podcasters like Liv Albert, Mike Duncan, and authors like Joanne Harris and Ben Aronovich. We take you to the top of Hadrian's Wall to watch the Roman Empire fall at the end of the world. We walk the catacombs beneath the Temple of the Feathered Serpent under Teotihuacan. We walk the sacred spirals of the Nazca Lines in search of ancient secrets. And we explore mythology from ancient cultures around the world. Come find us at ancienthistoryfangirl.com or wherever you get your podcasts. On June 7th, the Republican convention gets underway in Baltimore, Maryland. Party leaders call it the National Union Convention

in hopes of attracting war Democrats and independent Lincoln supporters to their camp. The delegates have to meet in the cramped, hot-as-hell Front Street Theater. Spectators, politicians, and party bigwigs are wedged in like sardines. Still, these delegates have a mission, and the muggy Baltimore summer heat won't hold them back. Republican National Party Chairman Edwin Morgan opens the convention at 11 a.m. sharp and remarks, It is not my duty nor my purpose to indicate any general course of action for the convention, but in my view of the dreaded realities of the past and of what is passing at this moment,

and with the knowledge of the further fact that this has all been caused by slavery, the party will fall short of accomplishing its great mission, unless, among its other resolves, it shall declare for such an amendment of the Constitution as will positively prohibit African slavery in the United States. The crowd cheers Edwin's call to action and gets down to business. They need to vote on which delegates to seat. This is not as easy as it sounds.

Missouri has sent two competing delegations, and six Confederate states have sent people. It's up to convention leaders to defuse this political bomb. Early on June 8th, convention leaders vote to allow the delegates from reconstructed Tennessee, Arkansas, and Louisiana to take seats with full voting rights. Florida and Virginia delegates can stay but not vote, and the South Carolina cohort gets kicked out of the theater altogether. But what to do about Missouri's two delegations? It's like watching MacGyver try to choose between cutting the green wire or the blue wire on the bomb tied to the innocent kids. Okay, maybe it's not that dramatic,

but in the end, Lincoln makes the call. From Washington, D.C., he quietly instructs convention leaders to seat the radical Missouri group. He needs a unified party with radical and conservative elements working together. As one delegate puts it, the politically deft president has, quote, a maddening habit of being, in a kind of tooth-sucking way, wiser and sharper than you, close quote. Hammering out a platform will be decidedly easier than seating disparate delegates. Even though this National Union Convention invited people from any party, their planks are purely Republican. The Committee on Resolutions reads 11 items, but number three gets the biggest response.

We are in favor, furthermore, of a constitutional amendment to terminate and forever prohibit the existence of slavery within the limits or jurisdiction of the United States. William Lloyd Garrison, the lifelong abolitionist whom we met in episode 38, reports, The whole body of delegates spring to their feet in prolonged cheering. Was not a spectacle like that rich compensation for more than 30 years of personal opprobrium? On the afternoon of June 8th, the delegates get to the good stuff, nominating a presidential candidate. A lot of people think that Lincoln will clinch it. If he does, it will be a huge deal. No president has served two terms for 30

years, all the way back to Andrew Jackson. Yeah, let that sink in. So the fact that most delegates are even considering renominating Lincoln is a big deal. As the roll call gets underway, Illinois delegate Burton Cook stands and declares, I move that Abraham Lincoln of Illinois be declared the choice of this convention. Thompson Campbell of California agrees. I rise, sir, to second denomination by the honorable gentleman from Illinois. Nobody wants to drag this out.

The front street theater is a sauna full of hot, sweat-stained men. The delegates shout, No speeches! call the roll. Maine goes first, giving all of its 14 votes to Lincoln. Down the line, each delegation votes for Lincoln except Missouri.

These guys have been instructed to vote for General Grant, whether he wants the job or not. But by the time the last delegation votes for Lincoln, Missouri switches its 22 votes to the president. Abraham Lincoln, the Illinois lawyer from humble beginnings, gets re-nominated by a unanimous vote. Now it's time to nominate a VP for him. The delegates could go with Hannibal Hamlin,

the sitting vice president for Maine, but he's colorless and has lost his political appeal over the last four years. They could also go with Daniel Dickinson from New York. But there's this unwritten rule that each significant post in the president's inner circle should belong to a different state. Since Secretary of State William Henry Seward

is from New York, there's no room for Daniel Dickinson. That leaves the military governor of Tennessee, war democrat Andrew Johnson. After only two rounds of balloting, Andrew gets the not-so-glamorous VP nomination. Now, I don't want to spoil anything for you, so let me just say that Andrew is going to play a major role within the next year. Keeping that in mind, we should probably get to know the paunchy, graying military governor of Tennessee a little bit. Andrew was born to poor, illiterate parents in North Carolina. He literally grew up in a log cabin, not unlike his running mate, President Lincoln. Andrew's dad died before he was 10, and his mom apprenticed him and his

older brother to a local tailor. Here, Andrew learned the basics of reading and writing, along with the tailoring trade. When the almond-eyed, round-nosed kid was 15, he and his brother ditched their apprenticeship. Andrew bounced around the South, finally landing in Tennessee when he was 18. Andrew met and married Eliza McArdle in 1827. Get this, the young couple was married by Justice of the Peace Mordecai Lincoln, the first cousin once removed of Abraham Lincoln. Small world. Anyway, Eliza helped Andrew learn math, get better at writing, and establish his tailoring business. Within a few years, Andrew bought a farm and several slaves, and then got into politics. Andrew slowly rose to prominence in the Tennessee Democratic Party.

But he was definitely not a party insider, probably due to his stubborn nature and the chip on his shoulder from his humble beginnings. President James Polk remembered meeting Andrew in 1849. Quote, Professing to be a Democrat, Johnson had been politically, if not personally, hostile to me during my whole term. He's very vindictive and perverse in his temper and conduct.

If he had the manliness and independence to declare his opposition openly, he knows he could not be elected by his constituents. Close quote. Despite the president's low opinion, Andrew continued to win elections and, by 1861, he was a senator from the volunteer state. As the secession crisis hit that year, Andrew stood with the union. He told his fellow senators, I will not give up this government. No, I intend to stand by it,

and I invite every man who is a patriot to rally around the altar of our common country and swear by our God and all that is sacred and holy that the Constitution shall be saved and the Union preserved. Andrew's the only senator from a Confederate state to keep his seat in Washington, D.C. When the Union Army gained control of most of Tennessee in 1862,

Lincoln appointed Andrew as the military governor. This did not mean that the lifelong Democrat wholeheartedly agreed with Lincoln's dual war aims of union and abolition, but as a war Democrat, Andrew was on board enough to have Lincoln's trust. So now, in a sweltering Baltimore theater in June 1864, War Democrat Andrew has been nominated for the second highest office in the land alongside the great emancipator, Abraham Lincoln.

I guess somebody should tell the president the news. There are a few different stories floating around of how Lincoln hears about his and Andrew's nomination, but I'll tell you the version that gets the most traction. On the afternoon of June 8th, Lincoln's hanging out in the War Department's telegraph office. Messages are pouring in from the war front in Virginia and from the convention in Baltimore. A clerk hands Lincoln a telegram from the convention proclaiming Andrew Johnson the VP pick. But Lincoln's confused. He hasn't even heard about his own nomination yet. The tall, bearded man looks down at the clerk and exclaims, what? Do they nominate a vice president before they do a president?

It's not that putting the cart before the horse. The clerk goes red. He mumbles that the telegram notifying Lincoln of his nomination came in a few hours ago and had been sent over to the White House. Ah, that makes more sense. Lincoln reassures the lowly clerk, It is all right. I shall probably find it on my return. The next day, a delegation shows up to officially inform the president he has been nominated for another term. He responds in his typical self-effacing country style, I do not permit myself to conclude

that I am the best man in the country for the job, but I am reminded, in this connection, of a story of an old Dutch farmer who remarked to a companion once that it was not best to swap horses when crossing streams. The press has a lot to say both positive and less positive about the unconventional Republican ticket or rather National Union ticket but the New York Times hits the nail on the head. Quote, the selection of the vice presidency strikes

dismay into the ranks of the copperheads who feel that it has strengthened the union cause tremendously. Flows quote. Nonetheless, the party unity that produced the Lincoln-Johnson ticket soon fades as the rift between radical and

moderate Republicans grows. On July 2nd, the radical Republican congressman passed the Wade Davis bill. The bill lays out a plan to reconstruct Confederate states, you know, bring them back into the union. But its terms are harsh, to the point of impossibility. For example, Lincoln's reconstruction plan calls for 10% of voters in a state to swear allegiance to the Union. The Wade-Davis bill calls for 50. Not even Unionist stronghold Tennessee could meet that bar. And the bill denies suffrage to any Confederate officers or government employees. Finally, it emancipates slaves by congressional fiat. In short, the bill's sponsors, Ben Wade and Henry Davis,

want to take Reconstruction out of the president's purview and put it under congressional jurisdiction. Their bill would do just that. Summer recess begins at noon on July 4th, so Lincoln needs to sign the Wade-Davis bill before then. Once he does, Re on Congress's terms can begin. But on July 4th, as Lincoln sits in the president's room just off the Senate chamber, signing every piece of last minute legislation shoved at him, he doesn't sign the bill. Radical Republicans who wish they could join their friends and family at 4th of July picnics start to get nervous. The U.S. Senator from Michigan, Zachariah Chandler, takes matters into his own hands. The hulking man marches in Lincoln's ornately furnished Senate office

and demands to know whether the Wade Davis bill has been signed. Lincoln, who matches Zachariah in height but definitely not in weight, calmly replies, no. Mr. Chandler, this bill was placed before me a few minutes before Congress adjourns. It is a matter of too much importance to be swallowed that way, Lincoln explains. Zachariah won't take no for an answer. If it is vetoed, it will damage us fearfully in the Northwest.

The important point is that one, prohibiting slavery in the reconstructed states. Legal-minded Lincoln responds, that is the point on which I doubt the authority of Congress to act. See, if Congress claims the right to abolish slavery, it would legitimize secession by showing that slave-holding states had actually left the union. Lincoln doesn't want that. It's the main reason he backed a constitutional amendment to end slavery. Lincoln explains to the men in his office,

I do not see how any of us now can deny and contradict all we have always said, that Congress has no constitutional power over slavery in the states. And with that, the president pocket vetoes the Wade Davis bill, not signing it before the congressional session ends. A few days later,

he issues a statement explaining the veto. Lincoln states that he wants to find a reasonable reconstruction plan, move forward with a slavery abolishing amendment, and promise to keep both union and emancipation as war aims. But radicals are pissed. Let's not forget about conservative Republicans, though. The poor president has to juggle both factions of his party.

To keep conservative Republicans happy and appeal to peace Democrats, Lincoln authorized negotiations with CSA President Jeff Davis and the brilliant CSA Secretary of State Judah Benjamin. And by the way, I think it's worth noting that Judah happens to be the first Jewish member of a presidential cabinet, north or south. You already heard how these talks went down in the episode's opening, but all of Lincoln's political fancy footwork can't heal the riff in his party. The president can't even turn to his faithful generals

to get a bit of good news these days. General Ulysses Grant's offensive against Robert E. Lee has stalled at Petersburg, Virginia. And General William Tecumseh Sherman's advance on Atlanta is moving at a snail's pace. Things look bleak for the Illinois rail splitter. And the creators of the Popular Science Show Things look bleak for the Illinois rail splitter. everyone you know. Why do rivers curve? Why did the T-Rex have such tiny arms? And why do so many more kids need glasses now than they used to? Spoiler alert, it isn't screen time. Our team of scientists digs into the research and breaks it down into a short, entertaining explanation,

jam-packed with science facts and terrible puns. Subscribe to MinuteEarth wherever you like to listen. When Johann Rall received the letter on Christmas Day 1776, he put it away to read later. Maybe he thought it was a season's greeting and wanted to save it for the fireside. But what it actually was, was a warning delivered to the Hessian colonel, letting him know that General George Washington was crossing the Delaware and would soon attack his forces. The next day, when Raw lost the Battle of Trenton and died from two colonial Boxing Day musket balls, the letter was found, unopened in his vest pocket. As someone with 15,000 unread emails in his inbox, I feel like there's a lesson there.

Oh well, this is The Constant, a history of getting things wrong. I'm Mark Kreisler. Every episode we look at the bad ideas, mistakes, and accidents that misshaped our world. Find us at constantpodcast.com or wherever you get your podcasts. By August, Lincoln's beyond nervous about his odds of re-election. The nation is so war-fatigued. Fighting for reunification is one thing, but his public letter last month calling emancipation a prerequisite for peace has upset everyone from Democrats to moderate Republicans. Meanwhile, the radical Republicans still think him too moderate.

Good grief. So, ever the master of posturing, Lincoln writes a letter to war Democrat Charles D. Robinson on August 17th. Hoping to rebuild some cred with moderates, he says, in part, If Jefferson Davis wishes to know what I would do if he were to offer peace and reunion, saying nothing about slavery, let him try me. What? Don't worry too much. Lincoln can't bring himself to send it. His morals shine through while discussing this with political allies in the next few days. There have been men, base enough, to propose to me to return to slavery the black warriors of Port Hudson and Olustee

and thus win the respect of the masters they fought. Should I do so, I should deserve to be damned in time and eternity. Come what will, I will keep my faith with friend and foe. And if Lincoln had any lingering temptation to send this note that might even make some characters on the show Game of Thrones squeamish, Frederick Douglass' wisdom ends it. When these two American titans meet for their second time on August 19th. Lincoln asks for his thoughts on the letter. Frederick informs him this is a terrible idea that won't play as intended. It would be taken

as a complete surrender of your anti-slavery policy and do you serious damage, he tells the rail splitter. Okay, message received. Lincoln drops it and they talk emancipation as the president's next appointment waits so long, his secretary interrupts twice, telling him to move it along. Lincoln doesn't appreciate it. Tell Governor Buckingham to wait. I wish to have a long talk with my friend Douglas. He replies,

Wow, forgive me for belaboring the point. I want the significance of this to hit fully. In a time when slavery still exists, a full century before the future civil rights movement, Lincoln just told the governor of Connecticut to sit his ass in the hall and wait while he, the president, visits with a black man. Any qualms Frederick had about Lincoln's candidacy

for another term are gone by the end of this interview. But by sticking to his guns on requiring emancipation for peace, Lincoln can't help feeling he's got a snowball's chance in hell of winning reelection, at best. He tells his friend, recently retired General Skyler Hamilton, I'm going to be beaten.

And unless some great change takes place, badly beaten. On August 23rd, the rail splitter writes what will become known as his blind memorandum. It seems exceedingly probable that this administration will not be reelected. Then it will be my duty to so cooperate with the president-elect as to save the union between the election and the inauguration, as he will have secured his election on such grounds that he cannot possibly save it afterwards. Damn, talk about a bleak mixture of pessimism and realism. The Dems haven't even nominated a candidate yet. By the way, in case you're wondering, yes, our favorite West Indian founding father, Alexander Hamilton, and his wife, Eliza Schuyler, are Schuyler Hamilton's grandparents. And while Alex checked out

over half a century ago, Eliza only died 10 years back. But let's not get distracted. The Democrats are out in Chicago and about ready to nominate the presidential candidate that Lincoln assumes will beat him. Let's see how that plays out. As the Democrats gather in the Windy City to start their national convention on August 29th, 1864, they first have to sort out a platform.

Now, most party members across the nation are war Democrats. They won't fight for emancipation, but they will fight for union, even amidst their war fatigue. That's not reflected in how the platform comes together, though. Remember Clement Vlandingham, the former congressman from Ohio whom Ambrose Burnside arrested in episode 59 for talking crap about Lincoln? Well, Clement and his neckbeard are both back from his 1864 banishment to the Confederacy, and he and his fellow Peace Democrats are ready to fight for a platform of their liking at this convention. With disproportionate convention representation and a willingness to fight that belies their name, the Peace Democrats get four out of the seven votes

on the subcommittee forming the party's platform. They use it to attack the Lincoln administration and cram an extreme peace platform down the party's throat. Pennsylvanian and committee secretary William Wallace reads it aloud at the convention. Silence fills the massive amphitheater as he begins. Then he reaches the platform's second plank, or war failure plank as it's known. Resolved that after four years of failure to restore the Union by the experiment of war,

during which, under the pretense of a military necessity or war power higher than the Constitution, the Constitution itself has been disregarded in every part, and public liberty and private right alike trodden down. A thousand strong chorus of convention attendees drowns out the Secretary's voice. When the reading is finally finished, the convention falls over itself in approving it as war democrat Samuel Cox's head drops in despair. Let me sum up the platform for you. It's dressed up in pretty words, but this thing basically says the Dems are game for an unconditional armistice to negotiate peace.

It doesn't even maintain that preserving the union is essential. Republican New Yorker George Templeton Strong reacts to the platform by writing, quote, Jefferson Davis might have drawn it. The word rebel does not occur in it. It contemplates surrender and abasement. Close quote.

Wow. And that, ladies and gents, is a perfect example of why the peace dems are derogatorily called copperheads. Their positions are traitorous in the eyes of many, even within their own party. So who did they nominate as their man to carry out this copperhead platform as president

of these fractious states? None other than George B. McClellan. Yes, the former Union General-in-Chief and General of the Army of the Potomac, aka Little Mac, aka the general who always thought himself far more intelligent and capable than the president, even as old Uncle Abe fired him. Handsome, mustachioed, unemployed, Little Mac doesn't personally attend the convention, but his nomination isn't a shocker either. He's still popular. Even with a minor challenge from Connecticut Governor Thomas Seymour, Little Mac cruises to absentee victory in the first round of votes on August 31st. Okay, popular guy gets the nomination. I get that. But they have a major problem here. The convention just created the most

peace Democrat platform possible, then placed arguably the most famous forward general in the nation on the ticket. Yeah, Little Mac might not care about emancipation, but he's a war Democrat through and through. Oh, and just to make sure things stay as awkward and contradictory as possible, the convention then nominates Ohio's staunch peace Democrat, George Pendleton, as his VP.

Talk about strange bedfellows. Still, things look bad for Lincoln, and Democrats are confident. Little Mac appears poised to exact revenge on Lincoln for firing him. As his party puts it while campaigning, Old Abe removed McClellan, we'll remove old Abe. But then, the great changes Lincoln rightly told Skyler Hamilton would have to come for him to win the election suddenly start happening. As you likely recall from the last episode, William Tecumseh Sherman, or Cump as we know him, takes Atlanta.

He does so only one day after Little Mac's nomination. Kumpf's victory is such a devastating blow to the CSA, Southern diarist Mary Boykin Chestnut predicts in its aftermath that, quote, we are going to be wiped off the earth, close quote. As this news makes its way north in the coming days, cannon in Union cities fire 100 gun salutes in celebration.

And Kumpf's victory gives Union Admiral David Farragut's August victory at Mobile, Alabama, new meaning as well. Union winds now seem to be piling up on each other like falling dominoes, especially as Union General Phil Sheridan out in the Shenandoah Valley vests Confederate General Jubal Early at the battles of 3rd Winchester and Fishers Hill between September 19th and the 22nd. Phil also destroys this breadbasket of the Confederacy. In order to prevent the fertile lands of the Shenandoah from continuing to feed the CS Army, General U.S. Grant has ordered Phil to go scorched earth on it,

and the 30-something general follows this order to the letter. The people must be left with nothing but their eyes to weep with over the war, Phil instructs his men. Literally thousands of southern farmers watch their barns, livestock, and livelihood go up in flames. Some of these civilians are loyal unionists, or at least claim it, and beg to be spared. Doesn't matter. Damn the collateral damage and the costs.

Phil won't leave a single grain to feed the Rebs. This is total war. The following month, Jubal Early manages to strike back. He does so while Phil is attending meetings nearly 100 miles east in the U.S. capital of Washington City. Moving out before dawn and with a thick fog, the Virginian general and his men fall upon Phil's men as they sleep near Cedar Creek. The ripped from their sleep blue-clad soldiers suffer losses and scatter as they fall back three miles that morning.

Jubal doesn't press his advantage, though. Instead, he lets his fatigued, famished troops breakfast in the wake of their seemingly easy morning victory. Big mistake. Unbeknownst to the Confederate general, Phil's back from D.C. He spent the night only 15 miles north in Winchester, Virginia. Getting word of the battle below, he mounts his speed and charges to the scene. His broken and bruised men cheer his arrival.

The Union general responds with tough love and inspiration. God damn you, don't cheer me! If you love your country, come up to the front! There's a lot of fight in you men yet. Come up, god damn you, don't cheer me. If you love your country, come up to the front. There's a lot of fighting you men yet. Come up, God damn you, come up. And come up they do. That afternoon, Phil's cavalry and infantry charge, taking prisoners, capturing cannon,

and regaining all the ground lost that morning. Phil Sheridan becomes a legend. Jubal Early will live in infamy. From David Farragut at Mobile to William Tecumseh Sherman at Atlanta and Phil Sheridan in the Shenandoah, these were the victories Lincoln needed. In a matter of weeks, the flagging executive has been reborn in the eyes of the North as their stalwart commander. The path seems to clear all the more for him as John the Pathfinder Fremont gives up his third party bid for the presidency on September 22nd. But one question remains, is all of this enough to capture the votes of moderates? It is, especially since the Dems offer a peace platform

with a war Democrat candidate. It confuses moderate Republicans and war Democrats unwilling to yield on reunification. To Little Mac's credit, he refuses the peace platform. I could not have run on that platform. I would not do so for a thousand presidencies, he tells Samuel Cox. He also says as much in his September 8th letter, accepting his party's nomination. I could not look in the faces of gallant comrades of the Army and Navy and tell them that their labors and the sacrifice of our slain and wounded brethren had been in vain. But having a Democratic candidate who disagrees with his own party's

platform is just too confusing. People can't split the difference. As one Republican campaigner brilliantly put it, quote, neither you nor I nor the Democrats themselves can tell whether they have a peace platform or a war platform, close quote. Meanwhile, Union soldiers who once fought proudly under Little Mac have lost their trust in him. One Army of the Potomac soldier from Vermont, who called himself a McClellan man clear to the bone, said he, quote, couldn't vote for Little Mac on the Chicago platform.

Rather than have peace by surrendering to the rebels, I would let my bones manure the soil of Virginia. Close quote. Damn. Moderates might not care about emancipation, but they stand firm on preserving the Union. As soldiers receive furloughs to vote or take advantage of absentee ballots, they collectively give Uncle Abe nearly 80% of their votes. And so, for the first time since Andrew Jackson, the United States re-elects its president in November. Lincoln receives 55% of the popular vote to Little Max 45.

But it's far worse for the former general in the Electoral College. You know, where it really matters. Lincoln beats him 212 to 21. Across the 25 states, including the newly formed state of Nevada, which had to telegraph in its state constitution in order to participate, Lincoln takes 22 of them. Little Mac only wins the border states

of Kentucky and Delaware and his home state, New Jersey. I suppose Lincoln was right that the election would result in someone being beaten badly. He was just wrong about which candidate that would be. From the 13th Amendment to Appomattox and more, we still have a number of important civil war events to cover. But let's see this election through. Let's inaugurate Lincoln. It's March 4th, 1865.

The morning is wet and windy in Washington City, but no amount of bad weather and muddy roads can take away from the Capitol's excitement. Today is Lincoln's second inauguration. The ceremony starts with the swapping out of vice presidents in the packed Senate chamber. Outgoing VP Hannibal Hamlin delivers a beautiful farewell. Then incoming Andrew Johnson rises. From the gallery to the seats on the floor, the audience can't help but notice the redness of his full cheeks and prominent nose, as well as his lack of balance.

Then things get worse. He speaks. Rambling incoherently, he boasts of his accomplishments and pointedly addresses several people in the room. What's the name of the Secretary of the Navy? He asks as he tries to address the cabinet member. Johnson is either drunk or crazy. Forgotten Navy Secretary Gideon Wells whispers to War Secretary Edwin Stanton Gideon's right Andrew, who can't hold his liquor to begin with Helped himself to some nerve-soothing whiskey right before the ceremony

Lincoln's face shows his trepidation Do not let Johnson speak outside He whispers to the parade marshal as Andrew takes his oath of office. And thankfully, the tipsy VP won't take away from the main event. The ceremony now moves outside to the U.S. Capitol's east front, and what a sight it is to see. The Capitol building is gorgeous. No scaffolding encloses an under-construction dome, as was the case at Lincoln's first inauguration. Now the eye is drawn up to the nearly 20-foot-tall bronze Statue of Freedom as she stands atop the building's long-labored-over dome.

Beneath this is the East Front's columned portico, and of course, the long staircase leading up to the Capitol. A temporary platform has made these stairs a stage. This is where the ceremony will take place. 50,000 excited Americans, including Frederick Douglass, watch as their bearded, gangly executive walks to the platform's front. In what seems an act of the divine, the clouds part and the sun shines down

just as the sergeant-at-arms silences the audience so their president may deliver his second inaugural address. Lincoln doesn't exult over the Union's victories and the preservation of the nation. Instead, he speaks plainly of the role slavery has played in the war. He doesn't lay all the blame on the South, though. Instead, he speaks plainly of the role slavery has played in the war. He doesn't lay all the blame on the South, though. Instead, Lincoln also notes Northern, or at least Federal, willingness to abide its existence,

even calling the war a punishment from God for 250 years of American slavery, from the colonial era to the present. But he will let God do the judging. Lincoln ends by calling for reconciliation, forgiveness, and healing. He bellows this out in his unique, high-pitched voice. Fellow countrymen, on the occasion corresponding to this four years ago, all thoughts were anxiously directed to the impending civil war. All dreaded it. All sought to avert it. Slaves constituted a peculiar, powerful interest. All knew that this interest was somehow the cause of the war. To strengthen, perpetuate, and extend this interest was the object for which the insurgents

would rend the Union even by war, while the government claimed no right to do more than to restrict the territorial enlargement of it. Fondly do we hope, fervently do we pray, that this mighty scourge of war may speedily pass away. Yet, if God wills that it continue until all the wealth, piled by the bondsmen's two hundred and fifty years of unrequited toil shall be sunk, and until every drop of blood drawn with the lash shall be paid by another drawn with the sword. So still it must be said, the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.

With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations. Though generally well received, some, especially Copperheads or Peace Democrats, don't love this speech. It's a bit too honest, but that's what you get with Honest Dave.

The speech concluded, Chief Justice Salmon Chase administers the oath of office. The people cheer, the band strikes up, and cannons fire salutes. That evening, a public reception is held at the White House. Black Americans have never attended such events as guests. But Frederick Douglass was so moved by that honest speech, he wants to compliment his, well, dare he say friend, the president.

Besides, do black men not fight in the army now? Is slavery not ending with a 13th constitutional amendment in the works? He makes the trek to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

As he enters, two guards roughly seize him and push him away. Stand back, they yell, claiming they have orders not to admit people of Frederick's color. Frederick doesn't believe them. There must be some mistake, for no such order could have emanated from President Lincoln, the famed abolitionist assures them. The guards still refuse him. At this point, a man walking in recognizes the famous abolitionist. Frederick asks him to tell Lincoln of his predicament. The gentleman does so, and within minutes, the guards, who never received such orders, by the way, are forced to let Frederick in the White House. Hundreds of

well-wishers and handshakers throng Lincoln in the East Room. How many, I wonder, agree with the guards and think a black man like Frederick has no place here? Lincoln doesn't stop to think about those political considerations. The moment he sees Frederick in the reception line, the Illinois rail splitter calls out, letting all in loud, boisterous room hear him. Here comes my friend, Douglas. I am glad to see you. The gangly president tells Frederick as he shakes his hand. I saw you in the crowd today,

listening to my inaugural address. How did you like it? Mr. Lincoln, I must not detain you with my poor opinion when there are thousands waiting to shake hands with you, Frederick demurs. No, no, you must stop a little, Douglas. There is no man in the country whose opinion I value more than yours. I want to know what you think of it. Mr. Lincoln, that was a sacred effort. I am glad you liked it. Mr. Lincoln, that was a sacred effort. I am glad you liked it.

Frederick feels immensely honored as he walks away from Lincoln's reception line. Truly, President Abraham Lincoln is his friend. But little does Frederick know that within a matter of weeks, he'll be eulogizing the murdered president. HTDS is supported by premium membership fans. You can join by clicking the link in the episode description. My gratitude to Kind Souls providing additional funding to help us keep going. And a special thanks to our members, whose monthly gift puts them at producer status. Thank you. Ellis, Matthew Mitchell, Matthew Simmons, Melanie Jan, Nate Seconder, Nick Caffrell, Noah Hoff, Owen Sedlak,

Paul Goringer, Randy Guffrey, Reese Humphries-Wadsworth, Rick Brown, Sarah Trawick, Samuel Lagasa, Sharon Theisen, Sean Baines, Steve Williams, Creepy Girl, Tisha Black, and Zach Jackson.