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Part Sixty-One: The 1872 Election
Update time! I'll post the election results in a few days. Feel free to speculate. 
Part Sixty-One: The 1872 Election
Election of 1872:
As Fremont's presidency began drawing to a close, the Republican Party had entrenched itself in the new system of American politics. The institution of slavery had been eradicated in the United States, and the former Confederate states were steadily being readmitted to the Union. By the time the election season started, all the former Confederate states had rejoined the Union except for Alabama, Georgia, and South Carolina.
While many people at the time suspected that Fremont would run for a third term as president, Fremont announced that he would not be running in early 1872. In the 1872 Republican National Convention in Chicago, the party leaders struggled to find another man as popular as Fremont who had a good national standing. Vice President David Wilmot was considered, but in the end Wilmot lost the nomination as we was "not considered popular or well known enough in the public view"[1]. Also considered were Chief Justice Abraham Lincoln, Senator Salmon P. Chase, and Winfield Representative Robert E. Lee. After five rounds of voting, Lee was named the Republican presidential candidate, with former general Ambrose Burnside the Vice Presidential candidate. Lee had gained recognition throughout the country for his loyalty to the Union and his part in the creation of the state of Vandalia, while Burnside had a good military record from the National War.
On the other hand, the 1872 election highlighted the state of disarray that the Democratic Party had fallen into after the National War as several candidates sporting a wide variety of issues vied for the Democratic nomination. Some Democrats were concerned that some former Confederate states had not been fully admitted back into the Union yet and wanted to expedite the process. The main issue at the 1872 Democratic Convention, however, was the path the post-war economy should take. One wing believed that the country should pursue protectionist trade policies to help rebuild the southern states and promote industrial growth across the country, while the other wing advocated free trade policies in support of growing businesses and opposed the minting of silver. The free trade wing was known as the "Bourbon Democrats" and won out in the convention as Samuel Tilden of New York and Henry Hastings Sibley of Itasca won the Democratic nomination.
In the general campaign, Tilden ran the more vigorous campaign in an effort to unite the Democrats and regain the dominance the Democratic Party had held in the presidency from 1853 to the start of the National War. Tilden criticized what many southerners considered Lee's overbearing role in the creation of Winfield as a political power grab. The Democratic Party's southern campaigners issued pamphlets in North Carolina, Virginia, and Chickasaw claiming that the Republicans were out to overthrow the plantation society in the southern states, just as Lee encouraged free staters to move to Winfield. Tilden also campaigned intensively on promoting free trade and lowering tariffs, cementing the issue as part of the Democratic political platform.
Lee, on the other hand, promoted the Republican triumph of outlawing slavery and praised the quick readmission of the Confederate states back into the Union. Lee also supported further settling and railroad expansion into the west. The Republican campaign slogan of "LEE Stands for Liberty, Equality, and Expansion" was popular in the cities and in the Old Northwest. When the electoral votes were counted, Lee won handily over Tilden, although the popular vote was much closer. Most of Tilden's victories in the electoral college came from the Democratic political machines like Tammany Hall in New York City and the continuing skepticism toward the Republicans in many states in the south. With Lee set to be inaugurated in March, President Fremont secured his legacy as the president who saved the Union when Georgia, Alabama, and South Carolina were readmitted to the Union on January 14, 1873.
Lee/Burnside: 206 EV
Tilden/Sibley: 98 EV
[1] In-universe quote from Republican Realignment: The Formation of the Third Party System.
Part Sixty-One: The 1872 Election
Election of 1872:
As Fremont's presidency began drawing to a close, the Republican Party had entrenched itself in the new system of American politics. The institution of slavery had been eradicated in the United States, and the former Confederate states were steadily being readmitted to the Union. By the time the election season started, all the former Confederate states had rejoined the Union except for Alabama, Georgia, and South Carolina.
While many people at the time suspected that Fremont would run for a third term as president, Fremont announced that he would not be running in early 1872. In the 1872 Republican National Convention in Chicago, the party leaders struggled to find another man as popular as Fremont who had a good national standing. Vice President David Wilmot was considered, but in the end Wilmot lost the nomination as we was "not considered popular or well known enough in the public view"[1]. Also considered were Chief Justice Abraham Lincoln, Senator Salmon P. Chase, and Winfield Representative Robert E. Lee. After five rounds of voting, Lee was named the Republican presidential candidate, with former general Ambrose Burnside the Vice Presidential candidate. Lee had gained recognition throughout the country for his loyalty to the Union and his part in the creation of the state of Vandalia, while Burnside had a good military record from the National War.
On the other hand, the 1872 election highlighted the state of disarray that the Democratic Party had fallen into after the National War as several candidates sporting a wide variety of issues vied for the Democratic nomination. Some Democrats were concerned that some former Confederate states had not been fully admitted back into the Union yet and wanted to expedite the process. The main issue at the 1872 Democratic Convention, however, was the path the post-war economy should take. One wing believed that the country should pursue protectionist trade policies to help rebuild the southern states and promote industrial growth across the country, while the other wing advocated free trade policies in support of growing businesses and opposed the minting of silver. The free trade wing was known as the "Bourbon Democrats" and won out in the convention as Samuel Tilden of New York and Henry Hastings Sibley of Itasca won the Democratic nomination.
In the general campaign, Tilden ran the more vigorous campaign in an effort to unite the Democrats and regain the dominance the Democratic Party had held in the presidency from 1853 to the start of the National War. Tilden criticized what many southerners considered Lee's overbearing role in the creation of Winfield as a political power grab. The Democratic Party's southern campaigners issued pamphlets in North Carolina, Virginia, and Chickasaw claiming that the Republicans were out to overthrow the plantation society in the southern states, just as Lee encouraged free staters to move to Winfield. Tilden also campaigned intensively on promoting free trade and lowering tariffs, cementing the issue as part of the Democratic political platform.
Lee, on the other hand, promoted the Republican triumph of outlawing slavery and praised the quick readmission of the Confederate states back into the Union. Lee also supported further settling and railroad expansion into the west. The Republican campaign slogan of "LEE Stands for Liberty, Equality, and Expansion" was popular in the cities and in the Old Northwest. When the electoral votes were counted, Lee won handily over Tilden, although the popular vote was much closer. Most of Tilden's victories in the electoral college came from the Democratic political machines like Tammany Hall in New York City and the continuing skepticism toward the Republicans in many states in the south. With Lee set to be inaugurated in March, President Fremont secured his legacy as the president who saved the Union when Georgia, Alabama, and South Carolina were readmitted to the Union on January 14, 1873.
Lee/Burnside: 206 EV
Tilden/Sibley: 98 EV
[1] In-universe quote from Republican Realignment: The Formation of the Third Party System.
- wilcoxchar
- Word Count: 690