Page:History of Iowa From the Earliest Times to the Beginning of the Twentieth Century Volume 2.djvu/172

 power to instigate resistance to the measures adopted by the Government to overthrow the Rebellion. It was in the midst of this momentous political contest that the draft was taking place to reënforce the Union armies in the field. The draft at this time was a crucial test of the patriotism of the people, and was watched with intense anxiety by the National and State Administrations, Congress and the army. It was the most critical period of our national existence. Would the Government stand the strain, and would the people sustain the Administration, and, decree in the approaching election, that the war would go on and the army be reënforced by drafts until the Rebellion was overthrown? These were the problems that the election would settle. There could be no doubt as to the answer that Iowa would give. Every indication pointed to an overwhelming indorsement of the Administration. In the East there was a widespread feeling of apprehension. But the October State elections in Ohio, Indiana and Pennsylvania, relieved the anxiety as all gave large Republican majorities.

At the November election, twenty-two out of the twenty-five states remaining in the Union gave their electoral votes for Lincoln and Johnson. Of these votes, Lincoln received two hundred and twelve, and McClellan twenty-one. In fifteen of the States, the soldiers in the field were permitted to vote. In twelve of these States the soldiers’ vote was 119,754 for Lincoln, and 34,291 for McClellan. In Iowa, the soldiers’ vote was 16,844 for Lincoln, and 1,183 for McClellan. The total vote in Iowa was 88,966 for Lincoln, and 49,586 for McClellan. On the State ticket the average vote for the Republican candidates was 90,033, and for the Democratic candidates 49,500. The election of the members of the new congress was also an overwhelming approval of the Administration. Of the one hundred and eighty-four Representatives chosen, one hundred and