Presidential Biographies | Lincoln Administrations - Lincoln and Congress

Lincoln and Congress

Three Congresses met during the Lincoln administration: the Thirty-seventh, Thirty-eighth, and Thirty-ninth Congresses. Because southerners removed themselves from the halls of Congress leaving the Republicans and a small number of northern Democrats in control of the Senate and the House of Representatives, Lincoln and Congress experienced good personal and political relations. However, differences did emerge within the respective parties.

The Democrats

Among the Democrats, two general groups appeared: the peace Democrats and the war Democrats. Peace Democrats supported the continuation of the Union but wanted a negotiated end to the conflict. They also opposed the blockade of the Confederacy, Lincoln's expansion of the army, and the issuance of paper money (greenbacks) to fund the war effort. War Democrats wanted the Union...