overall: 38 1/4 in x 28 1/2 in; 97.155 cm x 72.39 cm
Object Name:
broadside
Place made:
United States: New York, New York City
Depicted:
United States
Date made:
1864
Associated date:
November 8, 1864
Description:
This 1864 election poster shows portraits of the candidates for president and vice president, their parties’ platforms, and the candidates’ letters accepting their parties’ nominations.
Lincoln had good reason to doubt his chances for reelection. No president since Andrew Jackson in 1832 had won a second term.
The Democratic Party nominated Gen. George McClellan, whom Lincoln had removed from command. McClellan ran on an anti-Lincoln and anti-Emancipation Proclamation platform and left open the possibility of a negotiated peace with the South.
As the election approached, Union triumphs on the battlefield helped propel Lincoln to victory. He declared the election results a mandate to press on for an unconditional victory and a constitutional amendment to end slavery.
