November 1862 did not begin well for the national Republican Party and President Abraham Lincoln. On November 4 the Democrats continued their impressive gains made in October, picking up critical seats in Wisconsin. The Republicans kept control of the House of Representatives, with victories in New England, the border slave states, California, and Michigan. Northern commentators acknowledged war weariness as a reason for Democratic Party inroads, but many Northerners voted Democratic because of their opposition to the Emancipation Proclamation. Many in the North, for the first time, had to consider the fate of the black race in America if free. To many Northerners, that was an unpopular consideration.
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.