IV. Civil War & Reconstruction Cycle (1861-1881)

IV. Civil War & Reconstruction Cycle:

[5 Terms]

Major Parties: Democrats, Republicans
Major 3rd Parties: Southern Democrats, Constitutional Unionist, Unionist, Liberal Republican Party
Presidents: (R) Abraham Lincoln, (D) Andrew Johnson, (R) U.S. Grant, Rutherford B. Hayes
Vice Presidents: (R) Hannibal Hamlin, (D) Andrew Johnson, (R) Schuyler Colfax, Henry Wilson, William Wheeler

Dominant Issue: Civil War, Reconstruction and Slavery

Events: Civil War, Reconstruction, Emancipation of Slaves, Impeachment of Johnson, Alexander Bell receives U.S. patent for Telephone, Lincoln Assassination, Conflict with Japanese Pirates, Great Railroad Strike of 1877, Battle of Little Big Horn, Rise of KKK

--Democrat Party Factions: Moderate Democrats were those who supported the War to preserve the Union but didn't care about Slavery. Copperhead Democrats were the Anti-War Democrats.

--Republican Party Factions: Radical Republicans were those who

Lincoln

focused on ending Slavery, said it was God's Punishment upon the nation and wanted to severely punish the South when the War was over. Moderate Republicans agreed that Slavery needed to end but focused on preserving the Union more and wanted a less severe punishment of the South.

3rd Parties: 

Southern Democrats formed just for the Presidential Election and wanted to preserve Slavery at any cost. They received 18% and won

the states of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Texas, Florida, Arkansas, Maryland and Delaware.

Constitutional Unionist had formed from the ashes of the Whigs. They had seat in the House and Senate from the Border States since the previous midterms and were of Border State Whiggery with the focus on Compromise in any way to avoid War. They received 13% and won Tennessee, Kentucky and Virginia (which included West Virginia at that time).

Unionist Party formed when War broke out. They primarily followed the Constitutional Unionist views and

Johnson

focused on preserving the Union. They held seats in the House and Senate as well as state and local government, mostly in the Border States. As for Slavery they agreed it should be ended but preferred to end it slowly a little at a time so as not to crash the economy and as for Union states that still had Slaves (Kentucky, Missouri, Delaware and Maryland) they wanted to pay the Slave owners to release their Slaves. In the 1864 Election they fielded their joint Ticket of a (R) Lincoln and (D) Johnson. The Republicans didn't field a ticket and

thereby not split the Lincoln vote so they endorsed the Unionist joint ticket.

Liberal Republican Party formed in the Border States from the ashes of the Unionist Party during Reconstruction. They had seats in the House and in state and local government. These were Anti-Reconstruction citizens burned out by War and Reconstruction who just wanted it to all end. They were financed by wealthy Republicans from the Northeast who opposed to Reconstruction on Constitutional grounds. In 1872 the Democrats panicked that the Liberal Republican ticket would split the Anti-Grant vote instead of fielding their own ticket they endorsed a joint Liberal Republican ticket.

End of Cycle: Lifting of Reconstruction brought it to an end.

Tickets for President:

1860:

Republican Convention: Across the MIdwest in Chicago, Illinois

Republican Ticket: Lincoln/Hamlin

President: Former Whig U.S. Congressman Abraham Lincoln (Illinois) Vice President: U.S. Senator Hannibal Hamlin (Maine)

Democrat Convention: Back East in Baltimore, Maryland

Democrat Ticket: Douglas/Johnson

President: U.S. Senator Stephen Douglas (Illinois) Vice President: Former Governor Herschel Johnson (Georgia)

Breckinridge

Southern Democrat Convention: Down South in Charleston, South Carolina

Southern Democrat Ticket: Breckinridge/Lane

President: Democrat Vice President John Breckinridge (Kentucky) Vice President: Democrat U.S. Congressman Joseph Lane (Oregon)

Constitutional Unionist Party Convention: Across the Midwest in Cincinnati, Ohio

Constitutional Unionist Party Ticket: Bell/Everett

President: Constitutional Party U.S. Senator John Bell (Tennessee) Vice President: Former Whig Governor Edward Everett

(Massachusetts)

1864:

Unionist Party Convention: Back East in Baltimore, Maryland

*Republicans decided not to hold a convention and instead endorse the joint Unionist Ticket.

Unionist Party Ticket: Lincoln/Johnson

President: Republican President Abraham Lincoln (Illinois) Vice

McClellan

President: Democrat U.S. Senator Andrew Johnson (Tennessee)

*Republican Lincoln would be assassinated and succeeded by Democrat Johnson.

Democrat Convention: Across the Midwest in Chicago. Illinois

Democrat Ticket: McClellan/Pendleton

President: Fired Union Army General George McClellan (New Jersey) Vice President: U.S. Congressman George Pendleton (Ohio)

*This was an open Copperhead Ticket.

1868:

Republican Convention: Across the Midwest in Chicago, Illinois

Republican Ticket: Grant/Colfax

Grant

President: Union Army General U.S. Grant (Illinois) Vice President: U.S. Congressman and Speaker of the House Schuyler Colfax (Indiana)

Democrat Convention: Back East in New York City, New York

Democrat Ticket: Seymour/Blair

President: Governor Horatio Seymour (New York) Vice President: Governor Francis Blair (Missouri)

1872:

Republican Convention: Back East in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Republican Ticket: Grant/Wilson

Greeley

President: President U.S. Grant (Illinois) Vice President: U.S. Senator Henry Wilson (Massachusetts)

Liberal Republican Convention: Across the Midwest in Cincinnati, Ohio

Liberal Republican Ticket: Greeley/Brown

President: Republican Newspaper Publisher Horace Greeley (New York) Vice President: Democrat Governor Benjamin Brown (Missouri)

Democrat Convention: Back East in Baltimore, Maryland

*Democrats decided during the convention to endorse the joint Liberal Republican ticket so as not to split the Anti-Grant vote.

1876:

Republican Convention: Across the Midwest in Cincinnati, Ohio

Tilden

Republican Ticket: Hayes/Wheeler

President: Former U.S. Congressman Rutherford B. Hayes (Ohio) Vice President: U.S. Congressman William Wheeler (New York)

Democrat Convention: Down South in St. Louis, Missouri

Democrat Ticket: Tilden/Hendricks

President: Governor Samuel J. Tilden (New York) Vice President: U.S. Congressman Thomas Hendricks (Indiana)

Hotly Contested Election of Cycle:

1860: 

4 Clear Cut Choices--- Republican Lincoln/Hamlin was a vote that every new state had to be a Free state. 

Democrat Douglas/Johnson was a vote for Popular Sovereignty which meant a referendum in each new state as to Slave of Free and everybody abide by it. But the critics would point out that it would lead to every new territory on the nearing of statehood degenerating into another "bleeding Kansas".

Southern Democrat Breckinridge/Lane was a vote that every state would allow for Slavery and IF Lincoln wins then Slave states would have the right to succeed and defend themselves if attacked.

Constitutional Unionist Bell/Everett was vote for a compromise of every other state be Free / Slave for a balance of power in the  Senate (since each state gets 2 Senators).

In the above map the Counties are colored Reddish for Republican
Lincoln, Blueish for Democrat Douglas, Greenish for Southern Democrat Breckinridge and yellowish for Constitutional Unionist Bell.

-Note of Interest--

In 1954 a 84 year old man named Samuel Seymour appeared on the
TV show I've Got A Secret of which it was revealed his secret was that he was in the theater when Lincoln was assassinated. He stated that as a child he remembers when Booth jumped from the balcony where he had shot Lincoln and fled.