Exploring the most important 55 months in American history
Former Ohio Congressman Clement L. Vallandigham is arrested and tried by a military court for violating an order prohibiting citizens from speaking out against the war effort. This action inadvertently causes mass protest in the North for violating freedom of speech.
Calls for peace grow louder in the North, especially among Democrats known as “Copperheads.” The military responds with draconian orders against civilian protest.
Outgoing Democratic Congressman Clement L. Vallandigham of Ohio delivers a speech excoriating President Abraham Lincoln’s war policies and calling for peaceful coexistence with the Confederacy.
September 8, 1864 – Former General-in-Chief George B. McClellan officially accepted the presidential nomination by the Democratic Party. However, he alienated the peace wing of
August 29, 1864 – Delegates assembled at Chicago to nominate an opponent for Abraham Lincoln, but they were split over how to deal with the
August 23, 1864 – President Abraham Lincoln asked his cabinet members to endorse a confidential memo acknowledging that he would probably not win the upcoming