October 12, 1864

WASHINGTON (Routers) Amidst continuing insurgent action, and fearing disenfranchisement of a large part of the population and the almost certainty of even greater violence in the months ahead, many are now recommending that next month's Presidential election be delayed until the broken nation can be pacified.

"It's absurd to hold an election when so much of the country is in rebellion, and won't accept its results," said a spokesman for General McClellan's campaign. "This election will be properly viewed as a farce, and simply provide an excuse for the insurgents in the southern and western regions of the country to continue to fight."

Many Democrats are frustrated because they fear that with recent Union atrocities resulting from General Sherman's brutal Atlanta campaign, the voters in the south of the country, which should be largely sympathetic to them and their candidate, will be demoralized and unable to show up at the polls. Moreover, even the "liberated" slaves will continue to support the insurgency in the face of such depravity on the part of the occupiers. To justify their position, they point out that, in fact, the insurgents continue to fight on, making the war seem inevitably unwinnable. Just last week, at Alatoona Pass, they inflicted over 700 Union casualties on General Sherman's troops.

Even parts of the country that the Unionists claim have been pacified remain under threat. Armed insurgents, often inflamed by the ruthless persecution of southern sympathizers, have taken Union men from their homes, whipped them, and on some occasions, shot them. Thousands have been terrorized even in central and southern Illinois. Gangs of rebel sympathizers from Missouri, opportunistic horse thieves and other criminals, and deserters have joined with the Illinois guerillas to threaten entire towns.

In response, both the War Department and the State Department have released a joint statement, claiming that postponing the fall election would only grant an unearned victory to the rebels, and show them that their terroristic tactics can be successful.

"While we understand General McClellan's concern that this election is unwinnable for him in light of recent Union victories--victories, we should add, to which he contributed nothing--delaying the election would be a tragic mistake. For three score and fifteen years, this nation has regularly held elections per the Constitution, in war and in peace. We stand unique in the world in our ongoing commitment to free elections, and letting the people speak. It is all the more important to maintain that unsullied record in the face of the greatest crisis to face our young nation. In fact, we quote the president with an excerpt from an upcoming speech: 'We can not have free government without elections; and if the rebellion could force us to forego, or postpone a national election it might fairly claim to have already conquered and ruined us.'"

This statement has failed to satisfy administration critics. "It's clear that Secretary Stanton never had a plan for the pacification of this region after Sherman's brutal invasion," grumbled an undersecretary at the War Department, who wished to remain nameless.

Others note that it just shows the continuing mistake of going to war on false pretenses. "The president said that this was about keeping the Union together, but with the Emancipation Declaration two years ago, we can now all see that this was a lie, and that it was only an excuse to free slaves, and destroy the southern economy for the benefit of rich northern industrialists," a Copperhead campaign staffer said. "It's unreasonable to think that we will ever be able to defeat this enemy, fighting on their home ground against foreign occupation."

He continued, "...how can we have an election in which large numbers of the electorate are effectively cut off from the political process? All it will do is prolong the day until the nation can coalesce, if that's even ever possible. It would probably be better to simply admit right now that trying to build a country out of so many fractious viewpoints, cultures and religions was a mistake born of ignorance of history."

Nice, Rand, except I think Sherman's "March to the Sea" didn't start till after the election. He took Atlanta September 2, 1864, but didn't leave till November 12th.

Maybe you could talk about the many casualties in Sherman's Atlanta campaign (this page says over 6,000 Union "men lost"). Reading between the lines, it sounds like Atlanta-area civilians had a pretty bad August.

Another in an excellent series, Rand. PJ is right though about Sherman's march not commencing until November 12, a week or so after the election. Also, Secretaries Seward and Stanton seem to be a little mixed up on their history, or at least their math. Four score and nine years before 1864 would be 1775! We had been having elections under the constitution since before independence? That's a neat trick. Actually the first elections under the constitution were held in 1779 so that in order to paralell Lincoln's phrase they would have to say, "Three score and fifteen."