Decision Five History

Why did people re-elect Lincoln? There are many reasons, including Sherman's success in Georgia and Lincoln's decision to replace Vice President Hannibal Hamlin with a Tennessee Democrat, Andrew Johnson. But the main reason Lincoln was elected was because he persuaded the citizens with these powerful words:

Lincoln's re-election surprised him. In August he wrote,

“This morning, as for some days past, it seems exceedingly probable that this Administration will not be re-elected. Then it will be my duty to so co-operate with the President elect [McClellan], as to save the Union between the election and the inauguration; as he will have secured his election on such ground that he can not possibly save it afterwards.”

Would you have voted for Lincoln? Would it have been a hard decision?

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