Reelecting Lincoln: The Battle for the 1864 Presidency

Reelecting Lincoln: The Battle for the 1864 Presidency tells the dramatic story of perhaps the most critical election campaign in American history. Taking place in the midst of the Civil War, this election would determine the very future of the nation. Would the country be unified or permanently divided? Would slavery continue?

Weaving corroborative detail and rich anecdotal material into a fast-paced narrative, John C. Waugh succeeds in placing this pivotal election in its proper context while evoking its rich human drama. In these pages, the men and women who figured in this epic campaign emerge in bold relief, with all their strengths, weaknesses, and idiosyncrasies. The result is a page-turner that also happens to be a true story.

The best historical writing is the kind that makes the past come alive. Waugh, a former newspaper correspondent, proves that history need not be dry: he uses his journalistic skills to infuse the pages with the sights, sounds, and atmosphere of those times. Drawing from an extensive array of sources, including published and unpublished reminiscences, memoirs, autobiographies, letters, newspapers, and periodicals, he clearly evokes the drama and uncertainty of that fateful year with all the immediacy of a political reporter covering a national presidential election today.