Striking Civil War Maps of the Territory Gains That Saved Lincoln's Presidency How a military campai

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Striking Civil War Maps of the Territory Gains That Saved Lincoln's Presidency How a military campaign helped a political campaign prevail
By Susan Schulten
We’ve just survived another election season, with the attendant (and often hyperbolic) claims that the nation’s future hinges on the outcome. In the aftermath, it seems fitting to recall another campaign—exactly 150 years ago—that really did influence the fate of the republic.

In the fall of 1864, President Lincoln faced a series of obstacles in his bid for reelection. The civil war had dragged on for over three years, and the inability of the Union Army to capture Richmond and control Virginia led many Americans to doubt that victory was in sight. Lincoln himself faced criticism on all sides: many anti-war Democrats insisted he was a tyrant who cavalierly imposed a draft and violated civil liberties, while his fellow Republicans charged that he was insufficiently prosecuting the war against the Confederacy. The big gains of 1863—Gettysburg and Vicksburg—began to seem like distant memories. The party even flirted with the idea of dumping Lincoln for another candidate, and a pesky third-party candidate, John Fremont, threatened to steal away the votes of unsatisfied Republicans.

More: http://www.newrepublic.com/article/120410/civil-war-maps-territory-gains-saved-lincoln
 
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