James Swanson in the Wall Street Journal

[Jim Garrett]

While I don't pretend to know much about the inner politics of the republican party in 1864, I always found the choice of Andrew Johnson as the VP running mate beyond my comprehension. Johnson was a Southern Democrat who stayed in the Union, and the only thing I can see that AL would want him as a running mate in 1864 was that he was from Tennessee and was loyal to the Union. Am I missing something? Otherwise, I think James Swanson's assessment is pretty much on the mark.