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00000174-b11b-ddc3-a1fc-bfdbb1a20000The Schreiner University Department of History is honoring the sesquicentennial of the American Civil War with a series of short vignettes focusing on events from 1861 through 1865. The Civil War was the most destructive conflict in American history, but it was also one of our most defining moments as a people and as a nation. Let us know what you think about "This Week in the Civil War." E-mail your comments to Dr. John Huddleston at jhuddles@schreiner.edu.Airs: Weekdays at 5:19 a.m., 8:19 a.m., 4:19 p.m. on KTXI and 4:49 a.m., 9:29 p.m. on KSTX.

This Week in the Civil War - 418

On Tuesday, October 14, 1862, elections were held throughout the North.  Democrats won 35 congressional seats previously held by Republicans and won the governor’s post in both New York and New Jersey, while taking statewide races in Illinois, Pennsylvania, and Indiana.  Vastly outnumbered in New England, Democrats still achieved nearly 45 percent of the vote in all state races and nearly 50 percent in the congressional contests.  Even where Republicans won their vote, totals declined in comparison to their 1860 vote. 

Many blamed Lincoln’s September Emancipation Proclamation for Republican losses.  Horace Greeley complained that it had taken Lincoln too far ahead of the Northern electorate, and Northern newspaper editors complained that the fate of the black man was why Republican voters stayed home, boycotting the election.