As the title suggests, what if this had occurred? Hamlin would have been president for the remainder of the term. Who would the Republicans have nominated for the upcoming election and what effect would this have on the war?
And what exactly would that mean? Getting sniped at a fort?"You just got Lincolned!" enters the American vocabulary.
Haha, nice. I like that.Getting oneself eliminated, often unnecessarily, when they are so close to victory.
Cyrus the Younger would be described by post Civil War historians as "Pulling a Lincoln" or that He "Got Lincolned"
It would also evolve to cover less lethal instances like in sports.
Seattle throwing in Superbowl 49 fits the remark.
Back in the nineties, I actually read a short story about what might have happened if Lincoln had been shot at Fort Stevens. The story said Hamlin would have become President, and he would avenge Lincoln's death. Leading not only the defeat of the Confederacy, but eighty years of occupation. Unfortunately, I can't recall the name of the story, and it was in one of those alternate history paperback books that came out in the nineties.
I doubt that there would be eighty years lasting military occupation. It is politically and probably economically too unviable thing. But surely there would be very big will to revebnge.