randomperson
Banned
How bad could it have gotten for the USA, or CSA, had McCellan been elected president of the USA? Does he give away the farm, or does he keep a hard line agaisnt giving to much away to the South?
It depends on the circumstances of his election.
1) Does he get elected because the Union is gaining little ground in 1864? If so, the Peace Democrats might get the war to end. I doubt if he gives away the farm because the Union would still be negotiating from a position of strength. That means you would only see the 11 states that actually seceded minus West Virginia and possibly plus Indian Territory. That means no Kentucky, no Missouri, no Maryland, and no Arizona Territory.
2) Does he get elected due to some crazy circumstances? a) Lincoln dies in 1864 due to getting shot while he was observing the war. Maybe voters judge McClellan as less crazy than Hamlin. Who knows? If this is the situation, I wouldn't see much changing beyond the initial POD unless Hamlin really screws up. b) Lincoln opts not to run for another term. I don't see why he wouldn't, but maybe the war takes an enormous toll on him and his wife manages to talk him into not running for a second term. Thus we get the whole issue of whether or not McClellan would be competent enough to handle the end of the war as opposed to Hamlin. You'd get a vastly different Reconstruction in this scenario either way.
Regardless of how he gets elected, he will fight to perpetuate the Union. The problem will be that he will want a Union with the Peculiar Institution intact, vigorous, alive, and well......![]()
Off hand, I can think of a bad scenario: Mac gets elected because the war is going so shitty - as does a slate of Copperheads and Peace Democrats. Mac micromanages and bungles the war up further, and the Peace faction starts really pushing for a settlement. In fact, some start talking up impeaching him to let George Pendleton secure an end to the war. Meanwhile, war weariness leads to increased support for Copperheads, and there's some anti-government violence. Mac starts thinking maybe he was wrong, Dictator doesn't sound SO bad, then he can deal with all those traitors and Copperheads and secessionists right...