Abraham Lincoln’s ascendancy, to many, is what caused this war in the first place. Despite running his campaign in 1860 as a moderate, his abolitionist background led many Southern states to not even include him on their ballots. Many states seceded before he was even sworn into office, precipitating the outbreak of the ongoing Civil War.

Lincoln remains popular in Illinois, but faces trouble from all sides. Radical Republicans hold great sway in the upper Northwest, and the Mid-Atlantic is torn between the twin forces of Horace Greeley’s New York Tribune (where Lincoln is regularly admonished), and the Democratic establishment that still holds ardor after the draft riots of 1863. If not for Gettysburg and Vicksburg, his candidacy itself may never have occurred, and the shadow of the first two years of the war looms large as voting day approaches.

Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!

O Captain! My Captain!

No candidate has captured a majority of electoral votes.

By way of your congressional majorities, it is all but guaranteed that you will be confirmed as President despite this outcome. However, this most unlikely of outcomes has heightened tensions across the Union. Already, word comes from New York City of unrest in the streets. McClellan’s motley coalition of War Democrats and Copperheads nearly managed to wrest the seat of power from your party’s hands, and they will see this outcome as a great vindication.

You know, however, that a negotiated peace as they demand is impossible. Your plan from the outset was to save this Union before the beginning of the next Presidential term, and save it you will, regardless of this disappointment. With the election out of the way, you have a free hand to focus on the war, and hopefully any damage done to your legitimacy will be remedied when Savannah is captured. Richmond will be next—you are sure of it.

George B. McClellan goes into this race attempting to right many wrongs. After the stalemate at Antietam in the center of his Maryland campaign, McClellan was removed from his position of Commanding General of the Army by President Lincoln. McClellan and his acolytes, however, point out that the battle was a tactical victory, and allowed Lincoln to issue the Emancipation Proclamation due to the improved Union position.

While running for the nomination as a War Democrat hoping to fight the war as Lincoln would not, the party has nominated him on a peace platform, hoping for an end to the violence. This disconnect has led to his once peerless popularity amongst soldiers all but disappearing, a sore spot he hopes to overcome. McClellan must decide if he should follow his instincts, or appease his party establishment. Either could lead to political mayhem, depending on how he finesses the issues.

McClellan Wins

McClellan Loses

Placeholder for a truce.

Congratulations on deadlocking this election! Just wait for this part to be written. Hopefully that'll happen by the time the Congress meets to elect the next president.

Non-playable. Potentially bipolar, impulsive but gallant War Hero, responsible for many of the most drastic actions taken in Missouri earlier in the War, major liability for Lincoln as he no could split the party, particularly popular in the West.

Andrew Johnson is a War Democrat, as well as the current Military Governor of the recently-reclaimed state of Tennessee. Before the war he was the state’s elected Governor, followed by Senator, and became the highest ranking Southern politician to remain in his post in government when his state seceded from the Union. Hannibal Hamlin, your incumbent Vice President, is expected to be renominated—however, a small push from your end could get party leaders to pick Johnson instead.

Picking him would do you no favors with Radical Republicans, but a joint National Union ticket could strike many voters as an ideal way to end national turmoil. He would also help nail down support in the border states, who have been drifting further away from your platform. He has some views that are anathema to your own when it comes to post-war policy, but it is unlikely he’ll ever be in any position to carry out those ideas.

Hannibal Hamlin was a Senator and Governor from Maine, and is Lincoln’s current Vice President. Staunchly anti-slavery throughout his career, he switched parties in 1856 to join the Republicans on the wave of popularity carried by John C. Frémont’s nomination for President. He much loathes his position, his true love being the Senate, but is pursuing renomination nonetheless out of a sense of duty.

Affirming Hamlin’s position would keep the Radicals in line, but do nothing to expand your coalition when you may desperately need to do so—Maine is a safely Republican state. He might be too popular with the Radical Republicans to win over the border states, yet not popular enough to win over those most likely to be drawn away by Frémont.

Daniel Dickinson, the “Sage of Binghamton”, is a former Senator and War Democrat from New York, currently serving as that state’s Attorney General. A former Hunker with a hatred of Horatio Seymour, he sought the Republican nomination for Governor two years ago. Dickinson would be a good choice for a National Union ticket, and would almost assure the Empire State’s loyalty come November.

Dickinson has a reputation as a Northern friend of the South, supporting John C. Breckinridge in 1860. But since the war’s start, he has been a Union stalwart, making fiery speeches against secession. Despite his own protestations against being nominated, an anti-Seward faction within New York’s delegation may coalesce to send him onto the ticket in Hannibal Hamlin’s place. As it is not customary for one state to hold the offices of the Vice Presidency and Secretary of State, this would pose a major problem where Seward is concerned.

Schuyler Colfax’s ascendancy to the Speakership of the House was notable for many reasons. Initially making his name as a journalist covering Senate procedure from a Whig perspective, Colfax was one of the youngest men to be brought in at the creation of the nascent Republican Party. Colfax also served under John C. Frémont earlier in the war, finding him to be impetuous and self-aggrandizing. If there is to be a schism among the Radicals, Colfax is the most influential among them who is certain to stay loyal.

While Hannibal Hamlin expects to be renominated at the upcoming National Union convention, there are rumors that the Radicals may be conspiring to prevent the possible selection of a War Democrat and increase their leverage by nominating Colfax instead. Any dream of a unity ticket would be crushed were this to happen, but perhaps a rejuvenation of Radical support in the Northwest and New England could provide new avenues to victory?

Benjamin Franklin Butler is a political chameleon and a man of great ambition. A cloth mill owner, former Democratic state legislator, and a Major General, Butler has a history of overstepping his powers—he patented the technique of declaring fugitive slaves as ‘contraband,’ preventing potential return to their oppressors. His foresight in the runup to the war led to him being given command of several militias, which he used to put down riots in Baltimore and keep it in Union hands.

He took control of New Orleans in 1862, and ruled with an iron fist: censoring newspapers, seizing cotton, persecuting foreign consuls and especially Jews, and even executing a man on treason charges for tearing down a Union flag after his troops entered the city. These actions earned him a recall, and the epithet of “Beast Butler.” His ordinances for the harsh treatment of women who disrespected Union soldiers earned him scorn the world round, even inviting the denunciation of the British Prime Minister himself, Lord Palmerston. Many have accused him of war profiteering as he rampaged through Louisiana, declaring as contraband whichever items he saw fit; he retains a reputation for corruption, antisemitism, authoritarian tendencies—and the unwavering admiration of soldiers throughout the Union.

Originally a Southern sympathizer and a supporter of Jefferson Davis in 1860, Butler’s unilateral and uncompromising actions to destroy the rebellion by any means necessary received support from Radical Republicans; consequently, he now rallies in Radical circles. As uncertainty abounds at the upcoming National Union convention, it is thought that a personal outreach might convince him to join the ticket. Butler may be the only man who can tie together the Radicals, War Democrats, and the soldier vote, be wary of what concessions you will have to make in order to secure his acceptance…

George H. Pendleton is a Peace Democrat and congressman from Ohio. He is also the son-in-law of Francis Scott Key, a fact that amuses many among the Democratic coalition in light of Republican accusations of anti-patriotism. He is also a Midwesterner, and could be seen as an olive branch to the German voters throughout the region.

This said, Pendleton is the ultimate choice among Peace Democrats. His views on the war being so utterly opposed to yours would make him a frustrating man to campaign with, and he is not one to moderate on the issue, which could lead to a disjointed ticket. Taking advantage of Frémont’s splinter ticket will be vital with Pendleton at your side.

Horatio Seymour is the Governor of New York and a moderate Peace Democrat, vying for a negotiated peace that would restore the Union without further bloodshed, a more nuanced plan than most Democrats have offered. Seymour was widely expected to be the Democratic nominee for President, but the day before the Convention began he proclaimed he would not accept nomination in favor of McClellan.

It would take a great deal to get Seymour on the ticket, as he largely dropped out thinking your candidacy would set him up to run in a more peaceful 1868, but not only do his views more closely match yours than most of the party’s, his popularity would not create the rift that most other war or moderate Democrats would. Seymour could lock up the Mid-Atlantic, however he would do little to win over Midwesterners, whom you need to make inroads with and quickly.

Daniel W. Voorhees is one of the leading Peace Democrats in the House, hailing from the swing state of Indiana. Despite being a Copperhead, Voorhees is widely liked and respected throughout Congress. He is also known for his bilingual campaigning throughout the Midwest, appealing to German voters as the son of a Dutch immigrant himself.

Voorhees would comfortably be one of the most popular candidates for the Vice Presidency, but he carries baggage that could easily damage a unity ticket. As one of the most vocal Peace Democrats, he would rebuild ties within the party, but at the end of the day his ideas are anathema to yours. He is also close personal friends with Lincoln, and prolonged attacks on him could lead Voorhees to cause issues for the ticket.

Franklin Pierce is a Democrat from New Hampshire and the 14th President of the United States. He was suggested as a candidate for President in 1864, but turned it down with a strongly worded letter.

Pierce ended his presidency wildly unpopular, having signed the Kansas-Nebraska Act and spending much of his Administration in a depressed stupor after the death of his child. He has re-emerged as a vocal critic of Lincoln, even writing in Republican Horace Greeley’s New York Tribune, and has become a central figure in the new Democratic Party. He is outgoing and a great orator, and could potentially outshine McClellan among voters, which could be a plus or a minus. Added to rumors of a fondness for drink, though, he could be a liability when campaigning. Is the American public ready for Pierce to make a return to public life?

To be clear, Daniel Sickles is controversial. He is a War Democrat; he is a boisterous campaigner; he lost his leg leading a corps at Gettysburg; and before the war he shot and killed his wife’s lover, winning the ensuing trial case by arguing insanity (the first case in the country to do so successfully). He also hates Lincoln, as well as General Grant, and Meade, his commander from Gettysburg, with deep and seething passions, and has been decrying the decision to not give him the Medal of Honor high heresy.

Many, though, think he is right, and due to his daring on the field and blue language he is highly popular with soldiers. He speaks fluent Spanish, which could help in the West; he’s a New Yorker, which could help out East; and he has served in several Democratic administrations, which could be popular with the party establishment. You merely need to sell an all War Democrat message to an almost entirely Peace Democratic base.

Attorney General of New York, veteran of Fredericksburg. Not a well known figure outside New York but a staunch party man, as well as well respected enough to cause the removal of Ambrose Burnside from command of the Army of the Potomac.

General Resources

The Campaign and the Candidates

The Civil War

Lincoln's Presidency