Andrew Johnson as VP

[wpbinzel]

(06-26-2019 09:02 PM)AussieMick Wrote:  I cannot find any solid reasons why Hamlin had lost favour.

Mick - I don't think it was so much that Hamlin "had lost favour" [and thank you for the "u"] as much as it was that it was feared that Lincoln and the war had lost favor. Grant was stalled outside of Petersburg and Sherman was stalled outside of Atlanta. The public willingness to continue a war with no end in sight was wearing thin, so much so that even Lincoln was convinced in the summer of 1864 that he would not be re-elected. In order to try to broaden support for Lincoln beyond Republicans to include pro-Union Democrats, the label of the Republican Party was abandoned in 1864 in favor of a "big political tent" label of the National Union Party. And in order to distinguish the National Union Party from the Republican Party, a pro-Union Democrat (Johnson) was added to the ticket as Vice President. It was politics, plain and simple, and not about anything Hamlin had said or done. (As an aside, under the U.S. Constitution, the Vice President is President of the U.S. Senate and consequently, back then was considered to be part of the Legislative Branch of government. Under the concept of the separation of power of the three branches of government, the VP did not attend Cabinet meetings or confer on a regular basis with the President or any other members of the Executive Branch. From the time that they were sworn in, there is only one recorded meeting between Lincoln and Johnson. Hamlin as well rarely met with Lincoln and/or other members of the Executive Branch during his term as VP.) I enjoy and appreciate your postings, and thank you for being on the Forum.