The Consequences Will Never be the Same!: Lincoln Lives

The Second Term of President Abraham Lincoln
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The Civil War: The most pressing issue that President Lincoln was forced to deal with from the outset of his second term was brining an end to the Civil War. Despite the crucial Union victories at Gettysburg and Vicksburg in the summer of 1863, decisive Northern victories had been few and far between ever since. However one victory did stand out, and helped assure Lincon's return to the White House. On September 2, 1864, the Union Military Division of the Mississippi marched triumphantly into the city of Atlanta after it was abandoned by the Confederate Army of Tennessee. The victory was a major boost to Norhtern moral, and helped to offset negative opinion over the horrendous bloodletting taking place in Virginia.

Following Lincoln's reelection over Democrat George McClellan, the Union Army of the Cumberland would score a crushing victory over the Army of Tennessee at Nashville, essentially destroying it's capability to wage war. In Virginia, General Grant was slowly wearing down Robert E. Lee's war-weary Army of Northern Virginia besieged in Petersburg. Meanwhile, Sherman marched through Georgia and up through the Carolinas, destroying the South's last remaning source of supplies. The vice was closing around the Confederacy, but an end to the fighting was anything but secure. Lincoln worried about the possibility of a long-term guerilla campaign that would be waged by the remnants of the Confederate armies, preventing peace from returning to the divided nation. However Lincoln's fears would be averted, as on April 9th of 1865 Robert E. Lee would surrender what was left of the Army of Northern Virginia to General Grant at Appomatox Court House. In the following weeks and months, the rest of the remaning Confederate forces would also surrender, ending the war in a far smoother fashion than it began.

Reconstruction: Ever since Southern states had begun to fall into Union control in 1862, President Lincoln was forced to cope with the harsh realities of defining a policy for readmitance to the Union. Lincoln devised a plan later known as the Louisiana Plan which only required 10% of a formerly Confederate state's population to swear allegiance to the Union, and for the state to abolish slavery, to reenter the United States and receive representation in congress. However the Radical Republicans in Congress saw this as being far to easy on the South. Instead they advocated the far harsher Wade-Davis Bill which required 50% of a state's population to pledge allegiance. The bill narrowly passed the Senate by a vote of 18-14, with all the yeas coming from the Republican Party. President Lincoln pocket-vetoed the bill, enraging the Radicals. In response, they refused to seat newly elected Southern congressman. This was the begining of a difficult and often oppenly contentious period between the Radical and moderate branches of the Republican Party.

President Lincoln's other major plans for Reconstruction, the 13th Ammendment and the Freedman's Bureau, were both strongly supported by the Radicals and passed through congress. The Freedman's Bureau would be headed by General Grant, a close ally of Lincolns. It's job was to help former slaves and displaced whites find lodging, food, and jobs. The most controversial aspect of the Bureau was that it provided for confiscated land to be leased for three years and then to be sold in chunks of no more than 40 acres. The Radicals and President Lincoln strongly supported this measure as a means to preventing the rich whites to acquiring massive swaths of land, leading to wage slavery for blacks. With the support of Lincoln, Grant was given a small military force that was dedicated to preventing mob violence from killing and driving blacks of their new land. On several rare occasions, the military forces would clash with the racist Ku Klux Klan in bloody encounters.

The President would also pass a Civil Rights Bill through Congress in 1866. The bill was in response to the Black Codes that had been passed to disenfranchise and punish freedmen in the South. The Bill was lobbied for by President Lincoln in an agressive manner, and helped relations between the Radicals and the Administration. However it was becoming clear that the Radicals wanted to have a greater say in the handling of reconstruction. Lincoln agreed, but with the condition that the former Confederate states be given representation in Congress. Despite staunch opposition from some Radicals and some Democrats who opposed giving the power to Congress, the compromise legislation would pass.

Following the compromise, the Radicals went about extending the Freedman's Bureau and increasing the scope of it's military wing. They also passed the 14th and 15th ammendments, both of which the President tacitly supported. In both cases the Democrats launched a heated opposition, but were unnable to block their eventual ratification. All and all, Lincoln had suscessfully pulled the nation back together. But he had done so at great risk to himself politically. Southern whites were furious with what they saw as the Federal government's attempt at land redistribution, and resented the lingering military presense. It was clear that they would not be voting for a Republican for a very long time.

Foreign Policy: While the focus of Lincoln's second term in office was on rebuilding the Union, he did make several strides in foreign policy. The purchase of Alaska in 1867 would reap dividends in the future, while his policy of greater animosity towards Great Britain helped to foster Canadian Confederation. Lincoln also pushed the French out of Mexico by threatening to invade. In the American West, Lincoln continued to fund the Transcontinental Raildroad and continued the Indian Wars.

Legacy: President Lincoln's legacy is defined primarily by the Civil War and the events surronding it, including slavery and Reconstruction. In this regard Lincoln must be ranked among this nations great Presidents. He saved the nation itself, and made it a better place for an entire race. However his handling of Reconstruction has been criticzed by both sides. At the time, many Radicals attacked him for being too easy on the South. In recent years this message has resurfaced. Historian Ann Coulter has commented "Lincoln's entire mindset was at fault here. He was so wittled away by age and hte stresses of war that he couldn't see the writing on the wall. The Confederates were traitors, and needed to be punished as such. When his second Vice-President Andrew Johnson said it was time to hang the bastards he was right! But the feeble old President simply wanted to die knowing he had brought the Union together, no matter what the price in the long run."

Lincoln's other definining legacy is a little bit harder to recognize. Prior to Lincoln, the basis for the United States Government had strictly been the Constitution. Ever since the Presidential victory of Thomas Jefferson in 1800, the Constitution had been the most revered document in the nation. However Lincoln's presidency saw a shift backwards, to the Declaration of Independence. Using the moral arguments presented in that document, Lincoln was able to passionately argue for emmancipation. This brought two new faces to government: a centralized one, and a morality based one. This was a significant shift from the days of strict constructionalism, and would shift the entire American political discourse.​
 
President Lincoln's other major plans for Reconstruction, the 13th Ammendment and the Freedman's Bureau, were both strongly supported by the Radicals and passed through congress. The Freedman's Bureau would be headed by General Grant, a close ally of Lincolns. It's job was to help former slaves and displaced whites find lodging, food, and jobs. The most controversial aspect of the Bureau was that it provided for confiscated land to be leased for three years and then to be sold in chunks of no more than 40 acres.​

What "confiscated land" have you in mind? There was hardly any confiscation and no evidence that Lincoln ever contemplated any.​


The Radicals and President Lincoln strongly supported this measure as a means to preventing the rich whites to acquiring massive swaths of land, leading to wage slavery for blacks. With the support of Lincoln, Grant was given a small military force that was dedicated to preventing mob violence from killing and driving blacks of their new land. On several rare occasions, the military forces would clash with the racist Ku Klux Klan in bloody encounters.

This dosn't seem to represent any change form OTL. There were small military forces in the South (or at least parts of it) until 1877. They achieved little.​
 
Interesting! Basicly we have radical reconstruction put through in Lincoln second term, but in ITTL it´s seen as not radical enough. I always thought that the conflict with Andrew Johnson hurt the legitimation of the Reconstruction. Looks like this doesn´t happend ITTL. So its even in the 21. century possible to wave the bloody shirt (Okay, its Ann Coulter. So it maybe a bit over the top).
Some warning: Its possible some CSA-trolls show up, shouting that Lincoln was a bloodthirsty tyrannt and that he wanted to deport all Blacks to Liberia. Normally happens in this kind of threads.
 
What "confiscated land" have you in mind? There was hardly any confiscation and no evidence that Lincoln ever contemplated any.​






This dosn't seem to represent any change form OTL. There were small military forces in the South (or at least parts of it) until 1877. They achieved little.​


The confiscated land that was held by the Union army.

The military issue was that Grant was given a force of troops to administer the role of the Freeman's Bureau. ITTL there is no military reconstruction as administered by congress.
 
Great start, HC! :D Is the National Union Party still around, or will the party system go back to being Republicans and Democrats?
 
Liking it so far -- though a little sceptical in parts (how much land is "held by the Union Army" to be sold?), I'm enjoying the thrust and style so far.

If you're interested in another take, here's my old attempt at such a TL (which I admittedly have left languish for a while now...)
 
Interesting! Basicly we have radical reconstruction put through in Lincoln second term, but in ITTL it´s seen as not radical enough.

Only in the assessment of some 21C historian. There is no reason why it should be seen as "not enough" at the time. The only thing likely to cause that is a revived secessionist movement, and there seems no likelihood of that happening.

Basically, Radical Reconstruction only made sense if the ex-Rebs were expected to be permanently estranged from the Union, and likely to be a disloyal element for the indefinite future. Once it became clear that this was not the case, there was no real reason to bother with it. It carried on for a few years under its own momentum, but northern public opinion soon lost interest, and greeted its overthrow with a shrug. Keeping Lincoln alive doesn't really alter this dynamic in any big way.

I always thought that the conflict with Andrew Johnson hurt the legitimation of the Reconstruction.

I'd have thought the reverse - that it was mainly Andrew Johnson (and the reaction to his policies) that made Radical Reconstruction possible at all.

Had he insisted on some form of "impartial" suffrage in the Southern States (say letting all literate men vote, regardless of race), this would almost certainly have satisfied enough Republicans to get the South readmitted - while the Southern governments could have used rigged literacy tests etc to keep the Black electorate too small to threaten white supremacy in any big way. By conceding "too much, too soon" to the ex-Rebs, while most northerners were still suspicious of how loyal to the restored Union they would be, Johnson united the Republican Party against him, and cleared the way for the more drastic measures of OTL

By the 1870s, though, if not sooner, it was clear that such concerns were anachronistic, and that no one in the South was seriously thinking of another revolt. Once that sank in, Reconstruction was living on borrowed time - whoever was President.
 
The Presidential Election of 1868

The Republican Nomination: As Abraham Lincoln's tenure in office wound down to a close, the Republican Party was faced with a difficult decision. For just the third time in it's short history it would have to nominate a new man for the Presidency. They were gifted with the power of incumbency, but also the curse of internal divisions. Many within Lincoln's moderate wing supported keeping the National Union ticket allive. They saw cooperation with a war Democrat as the key to sustained political sucess. After all, had it not been for the divisions within the Democratic Party in 1860, it is quite possible that a Republican never would have been in the White House! However the Radicals were completely unwilling to link arms with the Democrats. This view was supported by a majority of delegates to the GOP's Convention, despite President Lincoln's strong urges to the contrary.​

Early speculation was that General Ulysses S. Grant would be a candidate for the party's nomination. However Grant, who was in charge of admnistering the Freedman's Bureau, was not interested in assuming the role of President. Also, many Radicals held suspicions that Grant was too moderate due to his close personal ties to Lincoln. Therefore, the party was forced to look within it's own ranks for a candidate. The Radicals rallied behind Senator Benjamin Wade of Ohio. Wade had helped lead the charge for congressional reconstruction, and had made many allies and enemies in the process. His primary competition for the nomination was the more moderate New York Governor Reuben Fenton. Behind the scenes, Fenton was backed by President Lincoln and his staff. Wade was also opposed by Senator Henry Wilson of Massachusetts, an ally of labor. Speaker of the House Schuyler Colfax was a strong supporter of Wade's, and was interested in potentially being on the ticket as Vice-President. With his backing, Wade was able to receive the needed support to take the nomination on the sixth ballot. Colfax defeated a slew of more minor candidates, including fomer Vice-President Hannibal Hamlin, for the Vice-Presidential Nomination on the first ballot.​
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The Democratic Nomination: For the Democrats, 1868 represented an awkward reunification of a party that had divided more ways than one could count. Eight years earlier, slavery had split the party of Jefferson and Jackson into two, and it had cost them dearly. Then the issue of the war had come up, dividing those within the north into war and peace camps. Therefore, when the Democratic Party convened in Tammany Hall in 1868, there was much to be sorted out.​

The initial frontrunners for the nomination were Vice-President Andrew Johnson of Tennessee and Representative George Pendleton of Ohio. Interestingly, the geographic support of these two candidates was the opposite of what one might expect. Johnson, due to his agressive anti-secession rhetoric (most notably his desire to hang the Confederates), drew most of his support from staunch unionists in the North. Pendleton, the leader of the copperheads and the party's 1864 Vice-Presidential nominee, was supported by Southerners who saw his staunch opposition to Reconstruction and voting rights for blacks as necessary for any nominee. The convention was ugly from the start. Shouts of "traitor!" wrang out from the Southern delegations as Johnsons supporters took to the stage. When Pendleton's men spoke, his ravenous opponents let fly "rebel!" and "stratch him!" (a reference to the saying that if you were to scratch a Democrat you would find a Confederate). After several rounds of balloting it became clear that neither man held the necessay 2/3 support to take the nomination.​

The first compromise candidate sent forth was Chief Justice Salmon Chase. Chase was supported by Convention Chairman Horatio Seymour and many others who saw his candidacy as a means to bring the party back together and unite it under an ideology of constructionalism. However Chase lacked the support of any of the Democrats key constituencies and was unnable to break the deadlock. The next man up was General Winfield Scott Hancock. Hancock was a moderate who had served bravely in the Civil War. To many within the party he was a logical choice. He believed in Union yet opposed what he called "the politicized excesses of Reconstruction." However Hancock was brutally opposed by Southerners, many of whom still bore resentment for the critical role he played in the Union victory at Gettysburg. However Hancock was able to gain enough support to completely logjam the convention. At this point, every faction was simply looking for someone, anyone, to be the nominee.​

It was at this point that Horatio Seymour, the former Governor of New York and the Convention's Chairman, finally accepted his placement on the ballot. Seymour had been urged to run by many within the party, but had been quite simply had little interest of becoming President. However he was the strongest possible candidate. He had the backing of Tammany Hall and the New York interests. He was a Unionist, yet advocated a settled peace to the war. In short, it was clear that he would have had the support to win the nomination if he had run at any point. But now, with the convention completely deadlocked, Seymour finally bit the bullet and ran. His supporters were right, and Seymour was swept to the nomination. For Vice-President, the convention would choose Hancock over the more fiery Francis Blair, also a former general.​
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The General Election: The question for voters in 1868 was not so much which candidate to support, but rather which means of governance. Wade represented the continuation of radical congressional Reconstruction, which was begining to go out of favor among many northerners. Seymour on the other hand supported phasing out reconstruction in all it's forms, primarily through the dissolution of the Freedman's Bureau and the removal of government agents from the South. The legacy of the Civil War was still fresh in voters minds, and this issue actually helped the Democratic ticket. Seymour had always been a supporter of unionism, and while he had advocated peace agreement, he could not be called much of a traitor. Also, with the presense of the war hero Hancock, the Democratic ticket had a much larger presense.​

While the Republican Party was begining to loose it's vice grip on the issues, it still had the support of much of the Northern monied interests and the media. This allowed Wade to constantly be on the offensive without actually being forced into breaking tradition and taking the stump. The battle was more between Hancock and Colfax. The General attacked the Speaker as "a radical who wants nothing more than a government without limits, a government without boundaries, and a government with ultimate power." Colfax fired back that "simply because one stands at the ready in battle does not make them ready for government" and "the bloody shirt of the war still hangs above this nation. We should not be so fast to turn back power to those that brought us to the brink of collapse."​

The election results would prove that while the nation had reconciled, divisions still ran deep in society. Seymour's narrow victory was due in large part to Southern anger over Reconstruction and the war itself. In the North, he narrowly prevailed in many of the most skeptical Union states, and the ones which Democrats traditionally did best in. Westerners also proved crucial in this election, as California and Oregon both supported Seymour. This was due to many veterans both North and South supporting the Democratic ticket for very different reasons. Wade could take solace in the fact that in many Northern states he ran up rediculous margins of victory, so at the very least it was clear that some voters were simply not willing to give power back to the Democrats. Others blamed Lincoln for allowing the South back into the Union so fast, therefore helping Seymour and the Democrats. Whatever the case, it was clear that the Republican lock on power was over, or at the very least loosing it's grip. The extreme narrowness of the results also led to several Republican inquiries into vote fraud, especially in the South. But President Lincoln stepped in to urge Congress to verify the results rapidly and apolitically. In the end this led to enough moderate Republicans to prevent a bitterly divided battle over who should truly take office.​

Seymour/Hancock (D): 50.1% of the PV, 168 EVs
Wade/Colfax (R): 49.9% of the PV, 153 EVs​
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What causes Grant to be not interested in the White House?

He seems to have been interested enough OTL, and is in the enviable position that if he is denied the Republican nomination, the Democrats will be glad to have him.
 
What causes Grant to be not interested in the White House?

He seems to have been interested enough OTL, and is in the enviable position that if he is denied the Republican nomination, the Democrats will be glad to have him.

There were several reasons that I chose Grant not to run
1) He was closely affiliated with Lincoln. This means that the Radicals don't trust him, and that he is discouraged by the inter-party biccering in Washington. He was never too fond of politics in OTL, so I believe this could tip him over.
2) He wouldn't run with the Democrats because of his close relationship to Lincoln and his belief that they were a weak party against secession.
3) It wouldn't be that interesting a story!
 
The extreme narrowness of the results also led to several Republican inquiries into vote fraud, especially in the South. But President Lincoln stepped in to urge Congress to verify the results rapidly and apolitically. In the end this led to enough moderate Republicans to prevent a bitterly divided battle over who should truly take office.​



As luck would have it, Vice President Johnson would have the responsibility for counting the electoral votes, and he is unlikely to favour Wade, even on a TL where he hasn't been impeached.

Incidentally, did the Dems win control of the House of Representatives? I'm reasonably sure that it's mathematically impossible for them to win the Senate. There could be some lovely gridlock here.​
 
Only in the assessment of some 21C historian. There is no reason why it should be seen as "not enough" at the time. The only thing likely to cause that is a revived secessionist movement, and there seems no likelihood of that happening.

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I'd have thought the reverse - that it was mainly Andrew Johnson (and the reaction to his policies) that made Radical Reconstruction possible at all.


.

I thought more of the longterm effects. I mean till the 1960th it seems that it was a poltical consensus in the USA (even under liberals) that enforcing Reconstruction against Johnson and the impeachment against him were immoral, maybe illegal acts.
 
I thought more of the longterm effects. I mean till the 1960th it seems that it was a poltical consensus in the USA (even under liberals) that enforcing Reconstruction against Johnson and the impeachment against him were immoral, maybe illegal acts.


Indeed. I think the point was that nobody was eager to take up the cudgels for Black rights, so it suited people to believe that Johnson was right all along. Hence the popularity of movies like Birth of a Nation and Gone With the Wind. They told people what people mostly wanted to hear.

When civil rights became a fashionable cause again, Johnson got reassessed. I agree that Lincoln could have been reassessed likewise had he survived and Radical Reconstruction not happned. OTL, of course, he conveniently died, so that his admirers can persuade themselves that he'd have turned into some kind of radical reconstructionist "if only" he had lived. Imho not very likely, but you can't prove a negative.
 
The First Term of President Horatio Seymour
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Reconstruction: One of the Demcrats key campaign pledges was the abolishment of the Freedman's Bureau and the end of Congressional Reconstruction. However these were particulary difficult, as Congress was controlled by the Republicans. Needless to say they were not to keen on working with the narrowly and controversially elected new President. Several attempts by Seymour to pass through bills cutting funding to the Bureau or outright aboloshing it failed. However Seymour did order all of the federal troops assinged to the Bureau out of the South. This took a fair ammount of the muscle out of Reconstruction, and therefore allowed the Democrats to begin taking real power back in the South. Seymour would also grant a blanket pardon to all former members of the Confederacy.

Civil Rights: Seymour was an opponent of the 14th Ammendment, and as President did little to enforce it. He was a believer that the state's should have the right to decide who could vote and who couldn't. While not an adamant racist, he opposed any expansion of civil righs legislation. With the American public shifting against Reconstruction and civil rights, Seymour was able to block any significant legislation in this regard. On the issue of Indian Rights, Seymour took the middle ground. Much like Andrew Jackson and James Polk, Seymour supported westward expansion and the movement of the American people out west. However he also supported a reduction of the Army and Navy from Civil War levels. Therefore he attempted to limit the role of the army in opperations against the Western Tribes. Seymour also supported shifting more Indians to reservations. While his focus was not on peace, that was a positive side effect.

Civil Service Reform: The issue of corruption in government was becoming a major issue during President Seymour's time in Washington. Voters were more and more frustrated with corruption in all levels, and wanted to see strong reform to increase the efficiency by which hte government opperated. Seymour understood the political importance of this issue and urged congress to pass tough reform, though he made sure to keep the focus on the federal government, lest his backers in Tammany Hall grow angry. Congress did take up the President's plan, and actually passed a more thorough peace of legislation. Despite some reservations, Seymour signed the bill into law. Essentially it required competency tests on the part of government employees, and while they were not particulary tough they were widespread enough to root out some innept officials.

Economy: One issue where Seymour and Congress clashed particularly violently was the debate over how to pay off war debts. Seymour supported paying them off in paper money. This would keep the price of gold stable while still increasing the ammount of money in circulation. Congress opposed this measure and passed a bill requiring they be payed back in gold exclusively. Seymour fought back and repeatedly used the veto pen to send the legislation back to congress. However the Republicans would override the veto after intense and heated debate. Seymour would also go about cutting the number of government workers on the payroll during his tenure. He opposed a large and wastefull government, and went about doing the best he could to limit it's size and scope under his administration. Seymour also cut government spending, a logical step due to the end of the War and the end of the military presense in the South.

Foreign Policy: Seymour's first foreign policy fight with congress came over the issue of annexing Santo Domingo. Seymour, much like Lincoln before him, sought to annex the island as a strategic naval base. However unlike his predescor, Seymour did not see the new colony as a means for spreading civil rights and emmancipation. Senator Charles Sumner would amost single handidly block this attempt, as he saw the expansion as imperialism and encroachment into Latin America. A far more explosive issue was Cuba. Cuban rebels had long been fighting against their Spanish colonists. Seymour, seeing an oppurtunity to boost his popularity and pick up a political victory, urged Congress to pass a resolution allowing the US to support the rebels. Despite much grumbling from the Republicans, the resolution passed. The tipping point was that many Radicals saw Cuba as another oppurtunity to emmancipate slaves, and therefore to stake out the United States as a bastion of freedom and liberty. The US would send troops to Cuba and engage in a naval war with Spanish troops. Over the next two years US troops commanded by Phillip Henry Sheridan would drive the Spanish out of Cuba. Several major naval engagements occured, with the American Iron Clads proving decisive. On the land, Colonel Custer's infamous "Charge at San Jacinto" led to a decisive American victory in the battle. Custer was a hero, and proved to be one of the military's fastest rising stars. The one drawback to this conflict was that it further damaged the American relationship with Great Britain, and led to a far smaller settlement in the Alabama Claims than the US had hoped for. The eventual Treaty of Washington contained a British admission of guilt, but narrowly passed congress due to the smaller reparations. However it did stave off any possibility of war between the two nations.
 
Seymour would also grant a blanket pardon to all former members of the Confederacy.

Small point. Is section 3 of the 14th Amendment worded the same as OTL's?

If so, while President Seymour can free ex-Rebs from any criminal penalties, and restore any property that hasn't been restored already, he will not be able to make them eligible for political office if they fall within any of the categories covered by Section 3. That's more or less anyone who supported the Confederacy after previously having taken an oath to support the Costitution of the United States. He would need a two-thirds vote in both Houses.

OTL, Congress lifted these disabilities in 1872, but if this turns into a partisan brawl, they may take longer about it.
 
Small point. Is section 3 of the 14th Amendment worded the same as OTL's?

If so, while President Seymour can free ex-Rebs from any criminal penalties, and restore any property that hasn't been restored already, he will not be able to make them eligible for political office if they fall within any of the categories covered by Section 3. That's more or less anyone who supported the Confederacy after previously having taken an oath to support the Costitution of the United States. He would need a two-thirds vote in both Houses.

OTL, Congress lifted these disabilities in 1872, but if this turns into a partisan brawl, they may take longer about it.

The amendment is worded differently, as Lincoln wasn't eager to see the South lose it's political rights while blacks gained theirs. Therefore Seymour is able to grant a blanket pardon.
 
The 1872 Presidential Election

The Democratic Nomination: Quite frankly, Horatio Seymour was sick and tired of being President. He had gotten little of his domestic agenda achieved, outside of trinket legislation and the use of executive power. The Federal Government still wielded exceptional power over the states and the Freedman's Bureau was still doing it's best to "redistribute the political and economic power of the South". However Seymour also knew that if he failed to run that his legacy would be forever tainted as a loser. Also, as a Democratic Party loyalist he understood the electoral implications of an open election. Therefore he bit the bullet and ran for reelection unopposed at the convention. Once again it was General Winfield Scott Hancock who would take the Vice-Presidential spot on the ticket.
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The Republican Nomination: The Republican Party saw 1872 as an opportunity to take back what they saw as rightfully theirs. Several prominent candidates ran for the party's nomination, including Senator Henry Wilson of Massachusetts, former House Speaker Schuyler Colfax of Indiana, and Congressman Charles Francis Adams of Massachusetts. Wilson represented the growing middle ground of the party. He opposed much of Seymour's legislation but also saw that the policies of the Radicals were simply not popular enough to win over the people of the Republic. Colfax was the opposite. As a leader of Congressional Reconstruction he saw a Radical Republican candidate as the best possible answer to Seymour's conservative policies. Finally, Adams represented the large swath of party reformers who supported Seymour's civil service reform, military spending cuts, and opposition to Reconstruction. Several other candidates also sought the nomination, but it was Wilson with his broad coalition of support that would carry the day.To draw in Southern votes, the convention nominated Tennessee Congressman Horace Maynard. Maynard had been a Whig initially, and had served as Governor of Tennessee as an Unconditional Unionist during the War.
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General Election: The dramatic polarization of America during this period was highlighted in its Presidential elections. Voters for both parties were highly passionate and could be easily clumped into different groups. For instance Southern whites were reliable Democratic votes, while the immigrants from Scandinavia routinely showed gave their support to the GOP. The election of 1872 was a further example of this deep ethnic, religious, and racial polarization. The Republicans campaigned hard for Wilson across the country, pledging to end the "rebel loving, saloon supporting, Papist pleasing" policies of the Seymour administration. They repeatedly waved the bloody shirt of the Civil War, and emphasized that they would bring back stability to government. The Democrats responded by focusing on the "elitist" Republicans who wanted nothing more than to "turn this nation over to the bankers and factory owners to do as they pleased". Both sides had active party machines that did their best to funnel in votes. In the South, agents of the Freedman's Bureau went door-to-door to get blacks to vote for Wilson. On the other side, the so-called "Redeemers" did their best to maximize white turnout. In the North, political machines in cities like New York and Boston mobilized the Democratic vote, while clergymen touted the dangers of "the drink and the Democrats" in the Anglo precincts. It was sure to be yet another close election. In the end, it would be the sense of many Americans that Seymour was unable to effectively pass legislation that led to his defeat. Wilson was also seen as more moderate than the Radicals, and believed that he was more like Lincoln than Wade.

Wilson/Maynard (R) 51% of the PV, 193 EVs
Seymour/Hancock (D) 49% of the PV, 173 EVs
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The Federal Government still wielded exceptional power over the states and the Freedman's Bureau was still doing it's best to "redistribute the political and economic power of the South".


How would it do so with no troops to back it? One thing Seymour could (and surely would) have done is withdraw Federal troops from the South, as Hayes did. As CinC he doesn't need Congressional consent for that.
 
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