What political effects did the Civil War have?

The Civil War resulted in some 1862 midterm losses for Republicans as the war seemed to be going poorly, but gains as the Union fared better soon before the 1864 elections. In the South, a new constitution was adopted by the Confederacy. The Confederate States of America had no political parties.

Who ran in 1861 election?

In the 1861 Confederate elections, there were no political parties. Jefferson Davis, who had already been made the provisional President, ran unopposed.

Why was the Election of 1864 notable?

The election of 1864 was notable for the landslide victory of abolitionist and unionist Abraham Lincoln, under the National Unity Party coalition that brought together Redpublicans, Unionists, and War Democrats.

What was the Unionist party during the civil war?

The Unionist Party was a collections of War Democrats and former Whig Party members who favored maintaining the Union.

What helped Abraham Lincoln win reelection?

The Civil War turned sharply in favor of the Union

Why did the Elections of 1862 stretch into 1863?

West Virginia was admitted to the Union in 1863

Civil War Democracy: Abraham Lincoln & Democracy

Civil War Democracy

For four long, terrible years, the Civil War dragged on, but did this mean an interruption in Democracy? No, the Union held elections in 1862 and 1864, in addition to the inaugural Confederate elections in 1861. While if the Confederate States of America could be considered "democratic" with an economy based upon the enslavement of human beings is questionable, they abided by their constitutional election rules despite the outbreak of war. How did Democracy survive, not just through the end of the Civil War but amid its most significant challenges?

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1861 Election

In February 1961, the Confederate States of America had drawn up a constitution. It was not until November, months into the Civil War, that election would be held. Jefferson Davis had been decided as the provisional President at the constitutional convention and was elected that November. Davis ran unopposed and garnered a whopping 97% of the popular vote. Like in the Union, a popularly chosen Electoral College decided the election, except in South Carolina, where the state legislature chose electors.

In the Confederacy, the office of President was held for six years, and office holders were barred from running for a second term.

US History Jefferson Davis StudySmarter Fig.1 - Jefferson Davis

Southern Independence

Confederate politicians had not just declared independence from the Union but also political parties. While the South had been heavily Democratic before the Civil War, no organized political parties existed in the Confederacy. Feeling a need to stand together against the Union, there was little political division in the Confederacy.

In a zeal to protect state-level sovereignty, there was little power given to the Confederate national government. This, combined with the lack of political organizations, created a government that had difficulty functioning effectively. With no large political organizations to keep officeholders on the same page, the system had little active debate, produced low public interest, and had low election turnout.

Another factor adding to the weakness of the Confederate government was that many influential leaders were much more interested in taking a military command than in running a civilian government.

Unionist Party

Since 1850, politicians who were not Republicans, but opposed secession, had started to identify as "Unionists." The version of the Unionist Party known as the Unconditional Union Party sprung up in Missouri in 1861 before spreading to other border states. While it did endorse national candidates, such as Lincoln, in 1864, the party was primarily concerned with holding states in the Union. Therefore, states like Missouri and Maryland were the primary home of the party, as they had active voices arguing for Union and secession. The party members were mostly pro-Union Democrats and those who had been members of the Whig Party, which dissolved in 1854.

Some notable members of this party, such as Benjamin Gatz Brown, later formed another third party, the Liberal Republican Party, during the Reconstruction Period.

1862 Midterm Elections

The midterm elections of Lincoln's first term effectively stretched into 1963. This was because West Virginia was admitted into the Union in June of that year, holding elections in August 1863. In the House of Representatives, which was directly elected, public sentiment regarding the American Civil War had a much more significant effect than on the Senate, which was still chosen by state legislatures. The failure to end the war quickly upset many Americans, but it also resulted in the suspension of habeas corpus, conscription, and higher taxes to pay for the war.

US History 1862 Election Baltimore Maryland StudySmarter Fig .2 - 1862 Election in Baltimore, Maryland

Emancipation Proclamation

The Emancipation Proclamation, which freed those enslaved persons in the Confederate states, had a significant impact on the elections. Public opinion on the proclamation was not always favorable towards Lincoln and the Republican Party for making the war more explicitly about human enslavement. Many White Northerners still viewed Black Americans as inferior. They were not pleased to engage in a violent conflict that they were increasingly beginning to view as on behalf of Black Americans.

Voting in the 1862 Elections

A significant issue facing the elections of 1862 was that many of those eligible to vote at the time, white men over 21, were off fighting the Civil War. Democrats opposed absentee ballots because many soldiers supported the Republican Party, identifying Democrats with the Confederates. Military commanders had to struggle to find ways to allow their soldiers to briefly return home to vote in the elections in some locations.

Senate

The Senate elections resulted in Republican control of the Senate, with 31 seats, plus 7 Unionist and Unconditional Unionist allies against 10 Democratic seats. Several elections had to be held as Senators died, resigned, or were expelled during the period for reasons ranging from supporting the Confederacy to corruption.

House of Representatives

Republicans and Unionists lost 24 seats, while Democrats gained 27. Emancipation and a seemingly endless war had cost the Republican Party. Despite this, by allying with Unionists, Republicans maintained their dominance in the House and the Senate.

Joint Committee on Conduct of the War

The Civil War was the first military conflict to be heavily overseen by Congress. Congressional investigations managed the battlefield effectiveness of commanders and the honesty of contractors. The Congressional criticism of his decisions influenced General McClellan's dismissal from command.

1864 Election

In 1864 a briefly existing coalition known as the National Union Party, formed from the Republican Party bringing on allies from the Unionist and Democratic parties, nominated Abraham Lincoln for his second term. His running mate was a former Democrat and a former slave owner, Andrew Jackson, against the Democratic Party nominee, George B. McClellan. McClellan was one of the leading Generals conducting the Civil War under Lincoln until he was dismissed from duty. How did this strange arrangement of nominees come to pass?

US History Lincoln Reelection Notice StudySmarter Fig.3 - Lincoln Reelection Notice

1864 Party Divisions

On the Republican side, not all were happy with Lincoln and how the war was progressing. A group of radical Republicans broke off to form what was confusingly called the Radical Democratic Party and nominated 1856 Republican Party Presidential candidate John Fremont as their 1864 candidate. Across the aisle were Democrats who strongly opposed the war, pejoratively known as "Copperheads," and those who favored the war, sometimes called "War Democrats."

National Unity Party

To bring together an alliance capable of winning the 1864 election, the Republican Party became The National Unity Party for the 1864 election, welcoming members of the Unionist parties and "War Democrats." Lincoln stressed this alliance by taking on Southern Democrat Andrew Johnson as his running mate.

While Johnson supported human enslavement, he had also tried to hold the Southern states in the Union as Senator from Tennessee. This led to a significant rift between him and man Southerners, causing him to flee for his life when his Tennessee seceded from the Union. Johnson was the only Senator from a seceding state who stayed to serve in the Union Congress. He was next appointed Military Governor of Tennessee by Lincoln when parts of the state were taken back during the war. Johnson only came around to supporting abolition late in the war.

1864 Campaign Victory

With the war turning sharply in favor of the Union, Lincoln's political fortunes also improved. The most dramatic of these was Sherman's taking of Atlanta on September 1. Fremont agreed to drop out of the race on the condition that Lincoln fire his enemy, Postmaster General Montgomery Blair. This was in contrast to the Democratic Party, where nominee George McClellan directly opposed his party's platform. McClellan opposed abolition but believed in continuing the war, while the Democratic Party wanted an immediate end to the conflict through negotiation with the Confederacy.

With an end to the war now in sight, many wished to stay the course. This meant a landslide victory for Lincoln, with 212 electoral votes for Lincoln against only 21 for McClellan.

Democracy during the Civil War - Key takeaways

Democratic elections were not interrupted by the Civil War
In 1861, The Confederate States of America held elections
There were no political parties in the Confederate States of America
In the 1862 elections, Republicans suffered in the House of Representatives from public dissatisfaction with the Civil War
In 1864, a coalition of those believing in maintaining the Union nominated Abraham Lincoln for a second term as the American Unity Party
With the war turning in favor of the Union, Lincoln easily won reelection

Civil War Democracy

StudySmarter Editorial Team