"In August 1864, less than three months before the election, Republican leaders visited President Lincoln at the White House and told him that he had no hope of re-election. Their canvassing indicated that the country was so weary of the war that the Democratic candidate would triumph easily. Some Republicans were urging the President, for the sake of the party, to give up the party's nomination—which had been conferred only two months earlier—so a stronger candidate could be nominated. 'Mr. Lincoln is already beaten,' wrote Horace Greeley, the famous Republican editor of the New York Tribune. 'He cannot be elected. And we must have another ticket to save us from utter overthrow. If we had a ticket as could be made by naming Grant, Butler, or Sherman for President, we could make a fight yet.'..."For those tempted to draw parallels between 1864 and 2007 (and beyond), keep in mind that the events of the Civil War are a matter of historical fact, and current events are unfolding even as I type this brief comment.
Read the article, and if you feel moved to do so, comment on it. Keep it civil.
2 comments:
Interesting article. Thanks for the link. I love these historical comparison pieces.
Certainly gives food for thought.
We already know how Grant was as a president, but I wonder what Butler might have been like. His greatest accomplishment was getting himself "bottled up" on a piece of land surrounded by water on three sides. It did have the effect of requiring a detachment of Confederate troops to keep Butler where he was, but due to the geography, only a small force was needed.
That's what you get when you have "political" generals. Of course, who knows? Butler's skills as a politician might have served him well as president.
Ah well -- The events that unfolded are what they are. Lincoln got good news from Georgia and we were spared McClellan.
As for today -- I can't make a competent prediction, except to note that people are playing familiar roles. I hope I live long enough to read what sober historians think about the events of the past 20 years.
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