*Post written by James Wethington, library assistant of the University Archives and Special Collections.

National Union Party Ticket, 1864. Source: University Archives and Special Collections

The National Union Party was a short-lived political party. The party began in 1864 until they dissolved in 1868. They believed in the preservation of the Union, the concept of Reconstruction, and the abolition of slavery in the United States. After the Johnson presidency, the party started to merge in with the Republican Party when Ulysses S. Grant was nominated and won the 1868 election. (Wikipedia, 2017a).

As the 1864 presidential election, the remaining Union war-torn states still participated in elected their congressional representatives and the president. The National Union Ticket featured Abraham Lincoln (IL) and Andrew Johnson (TN); moreover, the electors-at-large and state electors were fellow Hoosiers to elect and serve. In the national election, Lincoln and Johnson ran against Democrat George McClellan (NJ) and George Pendleton (OH). Lincoln and Johnson won the 1864 election in a landslide; however, Lincoln was assassinated shortly after in April 1865 (Cunningham, n.d.; Wikipedia, 2017b).

References

Cunningham, J. M. (n.d.). United States presidential election of 1864. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/event/United-States-presidential-election-of-1864

Wikipedia. (6 June 2017). National Union party (United States). Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Union_Party_(United_States)

Wikipedia. (9 July 2017) United States presidential election, 1864. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_presidential_election,_1864