1. The Election of 1864 and The Assassination of Abraham Lincoln
By: Autumn, Ashely, Chad, and Griffin

2. Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809, in Hardin County, Kentucky. Lincoln went through minimal schooling due to him being busy attempting to support his family. Lincoln became involved in politics when he began to support the Whig Party, he later became a legislature for the state of Illinois.

3. The election of 1864
The election of 1864 was running during the midst of the civil war
The candidates included Republicans, Abraham Lincoln and George B. McClellan and the Democrats were Andrew Johnson and George Pendleton
During this time, the Democratic Parties in the South and North split in two because while they debated whether slavery should continue or not, they found it difficult to agree on one candidate
The election of 1864 would be the most consequential presidential election in American history to that point and to this day, having occurred during a civil war

4. Lincoln in the election
The chances of Lincoln seemed very slim because the last president to be reelected for a second term was when Andrew Jackson ran almost 20 years prior
political allies of Lincoln plotted to remove him from running to nominate a better prospect

5. The election and the civil war
The war between the North and the South had persisted longer than many had anticipated
Many Northern Democrats who supported the war as a means of preserving the Union had been dismayed by the emancipation proclamation
The destruction and length of the war made the northerners wand peace between the north and south
The presidential election of 1864 would serve as a referendum on the war
The democrats would nominate a war candidate and adopted a peace platform

6. The outcome of the election
On November 8th, 1864 Lincoln as elected president winning the popular vote and the electoral vote, 212 out of The only states he did not gain were New Jersey, Delaware, and Kentucky.
Lincoln won 55 percent of the popular vote to McClellan’s 45 percent

7. The assassination of Abraham Lincoln
MOTIVE
The Civil War was coming to an end and it looked as though it would end in the Union’s favor. John Wilkes Booth sided with the Confederates and was pro slavery. The Union winning the war was a concern to all who sided with the Confederates. Booth as well as many others feared that Lincoln would ruin everything the south stood for. After the election of 1864, Booth wanted to prevent the further destruction of the south and everything the Confederates believed. He produced a plan to Kidnap Lincoln in hopes to use him for ransom for some of the Confederate Prisoners.
The assassination of Abraham Lincoln
On April 14, 1865, Lincoln was shot at Ford’s Theatre in Washington D.C. by John Wilkes Booth.

8. The assassination of Abraham Lincoln
RESULT OF THE ASSASSINATION
One of the major results of Abraham Lincoln’s death was that Andrew Johnson became President. The problem with Johnson becoming president was that he was a Southerner, former slave owner, and did not have a college education. The country being under the influence of a Southern slave owner was questionable especially as the civil war came to a close. The country needed a strong and qualified leader to repair the nation’s wounds.
Another problem after the death of Lincoln was that a group called the Radical Republicans wished to punish the south and teach them a lesson. Lincoln was able to prevent this group from doing any harm to the south, but with Lincoln gone there were no guarantees. The Wade-Davis Bill calling for severe Reconstruction measures was vetoed by Lincoln, but after the assassination the bill could be reexamined. Also the entire nation was devastated by the death and worried for the events to come without his wisdom and guidance.
The assassination of Abraham Lincoln

9. Citations
270towin.com. 270towin, 2004, Accessed 1 Nov
Achenbach, Joel. “The election of 1864 and the last temptation of Abraham Lincoln.” Washington Post, Fred Ryan, 11 Sept. 2014, Accessed 1 Nov
britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 2017, Accessed 4 Nov
Cunningham, John M., editor. United States presidential election of Encyclopedia Britannica, 22 Aug. 2017, Accessed 31 Oct
Hamner, Christopher. “Booth’s Reason for Assassination.” Teaching History, teachinghistory.org/history-content/ask-a-historian/ Accessed 1 Nov
“How did the assassination of Abraham Lincoln affect Reconstruction?” The Social Studies Help Center, Bill Jackson, Accessed 1 Nov
Library of Congress, editor. americaslibrary.gov. Accessed 1 Nov
Staff, Hisory.com. “Abraham Lincoln.” History.com, A+E Networks, 2009, Accessed 2 Nov
Staff, History.com. “Abraham Lincoln’s Assassination.” History.com, A+E Networks, 2009, Accessed 27 Oct
ushistory.org. Independence Hall Association, 2008, Accessed 4 Nov