The Soldier Vote in Lincoln's Critical Election of 1864

There is no doubt that the votes from active duty soldiers were decisive for Lincoln's re-election in 1864. Most historians have accepted that their votes were enthusiastically cast by men who now accepted the wisdom of the president's war policies and emancipation. The topic has recently been revisited by prominent academics in books that have proposed different hypotheses on this election phenomenon. The Lincoln Group proudly presents a program that features two of our presidents presenting the opposing views. Join us on October 15 for a Zoom only debate and discussion of this compelling issue.

In the end, the election of 1864 -- exactly 160 years ago -- wasn’t close, with President Abraham Lincoln getting 55 percent of the vote and taking the electoral college 212-21 over his Democratic rival Gen. George B. McClellan. But that easy victory came only after a year of high political drama, deep in…