Lincoln: October 2008 Archives

An image made popular in a later war.

Next Tuesday, November 4, is Election Day. I have exercised my right to vote in nearly every election since I was 18 and in college at Miami of Ohio, missing only a few years when I was unexpectedly on the road and could not cast an absentee ballot or when I was ill. As Americans, I believe it is our civic duty to have our voice heard in the government, and it is a privilege that some in this world do not share.

The presidential election of 1864 occurred during the heart of the Civil War. A string of late summer / autumn victories by the Union army cemented President Lincoln's reelection over the former commander of the Army of the Potomac, George B. McClellan. Little Mac's influence and popularity among the troops had waned, and Lincoln won a solid majority of the military vote, including that of the 24th Michigan of the famed Iron Brigade, a regiment that fought at the Battle of Gettysburg.

I received a copy of Harold Holzer's latest book on Abraham Lincoln, Lincoln: President-Elect. This is, in my opinion, the finest analysis I have ever seen on the crucial four-month period between Lincoln's election and inauguration.

To read my review, click here.

A. Lincoln

Honest Abe. The Rail Splitter. The Great Emancipator. The Buffoon. In his lifetime, Abraham Lincoln elicited many nicknames, most positive and some decidedly unflattering. Lincoln was a polarizing figure, with almost as many detractors as admirers. Newspapers of the period were biased, depending upon political backing, and hundreds of anti-Lincoln cartoons exist.

Speaker Andrew Martin will present what promises to be a fascinating talk on the life of Lincoln at the next meeting of the York Civil War Round Table on Wednesday, November 19 at 7 p.m. at the York County Heritage Trust in downtown York. The meeting, as always, is free to the public, so be sure to mark your calendars! His presentation is entitled "Abraham Lincoln as Seen Through the Eyes of Many Historians."