A Changing America - The Second Lincoln Presidency and Beyond

[Huey Long is a Republican]

The 1884 Democratic and Republican Conventions and General Election and Arthur's Term in office

The years following the American Civil War had been a crazy time in United States politics. From the death of Lincoln to the inauguration of President Rutherford B. Hayes in 1877, the North implemented a policy of harsh reconstruction on the South, attempting to give the freedmen the right to vote and a great deal of many other things. However, due to the South's stubbornness and lynching campaigns against the Republicans and their attempts to help the former slaves, eventually, it was given up and Union soldiers were pulled out. In the years following, the Republican party had only barely held onto power. In 1876, they had won the electoral college but lost the popular vote and 1880 was the closest election in United States History at that time, with the Republican Garfield/Arthur ticket barely winning the Popular vote by .11% and winning due to New York's key 35 Electoral votes.

However, just seven weeks into what seemed to be a proto-progressive Republican's term into office, with many being hopeful of Garfield's presidency and what it could bring, the man was shot dead by a lunatic who believed himself the proper ruler of England, among other things. Garfield would then pass away in his home in mid-september with his wife, son, and cabinet by his side. Following his passing, Vice President Chester Arthur was inaugurated as America's 21st President of the United States with the hope he would continue at least some of Garfield's policies. But, he quickly came into conflict with several members of Garfield's cabinet, as most of them were his political opposite from within the Republican Party, cheif among these people being the corrupt James G. Blaine of Maine, Garfield's Secretary of State. By Early 1882, only Secretary of War and son of the 16th President Abraham Lincoln, Robert Todd Lincoln, was left of Garfield's original cabinet and for that, Lincoln felt a personal sense of loyalty to the President.

When the 1884 Election came, President Arthur had proven to be incredibly popular, having greatly reformed Civil Service with the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act in 1883, his anti-immigrant ideas with a 50 cent tax on them, and the signing of the mostly unsuccessful Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. However, Arthur's biggest passion was, in fact, the navy, having been Collector of the Port of New York in the 1870s. During his entire tenure, Arthur was able to create the Department of the Navy and worked to modernize and strengthen the United States Navy from its post Civil War neglect into a mighty power, with plans to continue to construct new ships well into the 1890s and 1900s. As this was going on, the President sought to build a Re-Adjuster-Republican coalition across the South by funding the Re-Adjuster Party in Virginia itself and hopefully growing it outside from there with aid from the federal Republican Party. The hope was that with the assistance of that party, Republican-ite policies can be passed and made into law in Southern States in a way to circumnavigate the Jim Crow laws popping up across them, with one of the biggest names being Senator William Mahone.

However, shortly after he became President, he had been diagnosed with Bright's disease and ever since his health had began to detoriate and quickly. Attempts to keep the illness private failed as by 1883, there were rumors due to him becoming thinner, more aged in appearance, and struggled to keep pace with the Presidency. After a failed vacation in Florida and a successful one at Yellowstone that rejuvinated his health, he readied himself for campaigning. At the 1884 Republican Convention, he would face Former Secretary of State James G. Blaine of Maine for the Nomination. Despite the numerous factions being unsure about their support and his health continuing to fail him, he mounted a serious bid for the Presidential Nomination and continously met with delegates in an attempt to gain their support, having been able to rally many Reformers, Business Leaders, and Southern Republicans and a handful of Stalwarts supported Arthur, though it still looked to be a battle between both Arthur and Blaine. That was, until, a telegram arrived and in that telegram was news that shifted the entire convention one way.

In the weeks leading up to the convention, there had been a serious push to get Robert Todd Lincoln of Illinois to run for the Presidency but he declined the offer several times, showing disinterest in the position (though it is likely the reason for this fact is that he had witnessed the assassinations of both his father and Garfield first hand and feared the same fate lay for him). However, out of a sense of personal loyalty to Arthur, he told several friends that Arthur were to be nominated at the Convention, he would possibly accept the Vice Presidential Nomination. Due to the massive nostalgia for the Lincoln name, the Republican Party always wanted to have Robert on their ticket and now, with this opportunity found, they would make sure to keep it. On the Third Ballot, Arthur would win the Nomination with 621 while Blaine would get 183 and the rest would go to various other candidates or would be absent. Following Arthur's victory, Lincoln was nominated to be Vice President by voice vote, winning all but 63 delegates, who stubbornly voted for another candidate instead. The next month, the Democrats would select New York Governor Grover Cleveland and Indiana Governor and 1876 Vice Presidential Nominee Thomas A. Hendricks. With the tickets selected, the 1884 election offically began but it was one of the most lopsided in American history.

The Arthur/Lincoln ticket, far more popular than the Cleveland/Hendricks ticket, capitalized on that, highlighting on Arthur's successes and refused to be on the offensive that much. At the same time, however, the Democrats played dirty tactics and stated that Arthur would pass away any day now from his disease and the Republicans only selected the ticket so they can have a second Lincoln in the White House. This, rather rightfully so, was attacked by many newspapers and politicans as downright evil and unneccessary and even Governor Cleveland denounced them himself, calling vile and despicable. However, the Republicans were not completely clean either, as in July they had found out Cleveland had fathered an illegtimate child. While the Governor had readily admitted it, the damage had been done and the Republicans went on the attack.

On Election Day, the result was the predictable and surprised few. The Republican ticket won handedly, winning 54.02% (5,434,315) of the National Popular Vote, 333 Electoral Votes, and 31 States to Cleveland's 43.55% (4,381,380), 68 Electoral Votes, and 7 States, becoming the first presidential landslide election since Abraham Lincoln's in 1864 against Democratic Nominee George B. McClellan. With President Arthur heading for a full term in office and former Secretary of War Robert Todd Lincoln being succeeded by former Maine Governor and Lion of Little Round Top Joshua Chaimberlain while he became America's 21st Vice President. However, weeks into the Job, on June 19th, 1885, President Arthur passed away when his health finally fell victim due to the stress of being President and his Bright's disease. Within hours, Vice President Lincoln was told about what had happened and was immediately brought to take the Oath of Office as America looked stunned at the news, realizing the Democrats' words were true. After twenty long, painful years, there was a second Lincoln in the White House and from here on out, American history would take a turn different from the one many was expecting.

1884 Presidential Election

President Chester Arthur (R-NY)/Secretary of War Robert Todd Lincoln (R-IL) : 333/54.02% (5,434,315) [31 States] ✔
Governor Grover Cleveland (D-NY)/Governor Thomas A. Hendricks (D-IN) : 68/43.55% (4,381,380)

1884 Senate, Governors, and House

Alabama Gov (D Hold)
Louisiana Gov (R Gain)
Michigan Gov (R Gain)
Missouri Gov (R Gain)
South Carlolina Gov (D Hold)
Vermont Gov (R Hold)
West Virginia Gov (R Gain)

Alabama Sen (D Hold)
Arkansas Sen (D Hold)
California Sen (R Gain)
Colorado Sen (R Hold)
Connecticut Sen (R Hold)
Florida Sen (R Gain)
Georgia Sen (D Hold)
Illinois Sen (R Hold)
Indiana Sen (R Gain)
Iowa Sen (R Hold)
Kansas Sen (R Hold)
Kentucky Sen (R Gain)
Louisiana Sen (R Gain)
Maryland Sen (R Gain)
Missouri Sen (R Gain)
Nevada Sen (R Hold)
New Hampshire Sen (R Hold)
New York Sen (R Hold)
North Carolina Sen (D Hold)
Ohio Sen (D Hold)
Oregon Sen (D Hold)
Pennsylvania Sen (R Hold)
Rhode Island Sen (Special) [R Hold]
South Carolina Sen (D Hold)
Vermont Sen (R Hold)
Wisconsin Sen (R Hold)
Republicans : 45 Seats (+7)
Democrats : 29 Seats (-7)
Re-Adjusters : 2 Seats (+-0)

Democrats : 174 Seats (-22)
Republicans : 150 Seats (+33)
Greenbacks : 1 Seat (-1)
Independents : 1 Seat (-2)

Robert Todd Lincoln, 35th United States Secretary of War (1881-1885), 21st Vice President of the United States (1885), and 22nd President of the United States (1885-)

Feel free to give thoughts on this everyone and if you want to suggest any ideas or help me in some of the stuff here, feel free to let me know via PM.

[Snazzrazz Mazzlejazz]

Well this should be interesting.

[Elcaspar]

Well this should be interesting.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

I’m hooked.

[Huey Long is a Republican]

I’m hooked.

Thanks, the next post is about to be posted and the 1888 DNC and RNC will be a bit interactive. At the same time, it was hard to figure out what the middle ground to Gold v Silver was and RTL literally has no political ideas stated on his page, so I'm just writing everything based off some assumption. Hopefully you'll enjoy it.

[Huey Long is a Republican]

The sudden inauguration of President Robert Todd Lincoln shocked many across the nation, in congress, and especially the Presidential Cabinet. He was young for the Presidency, being 41 years old at the time, and many were unsure if he could do the job properly and in fact, that was what many had a problem with potentially nominating him for President in 1880 or 1884 with his only actual experience at the time being the Secretary of War under Garfield and Arthur, though he was offered the position of Assistant Secretary of State by President Hayes in the 1870s (which he rejected). While Lincoln was popular, this lack of experience turned many people away from him for any future Presidential bids should he want it. However him being the Vice President for at least 4 years would've convinced people otherwise.

So, it was clear many were somewhat nervous about how the young and inexperienced Lincoln would govern and while there was some high hopes fueled by nostalgia for his father, there were others who remained cautious and pessimistic about his government. One of President Lincoln's first obstacles was to figure out the Presidential Cabinet and so, a week after his inauguration, the cabinet met with him in private and discussed what is to come. After several minutes of Discussion, Secretary of State John Sherman, Secretary of Treasury Hugh McCulloch, Attorney General Benjamin H. Brewster, and Secretary of the Navy William E. Chandler all agreed to stay in the Cabinet until 1889 to help Lincoln with the policies of Garfield and Arthur. At the same time, Secretary of War Joshua Chamberlain,  Postmaster General Frank Hatton, and Secretary of the Interior Henry M. Teller stated they would remain in the Cabinet for as long as Lincoln requests, thus meaning that until 1889 at the earliest, Lincoln's cabinet would be the same as Arthur's and for the most part would follow along those lines. However, there was one appointment that Lincoln did that would influence his later policies. Shortly after the meeting, Assistant Secretary of State at the time John Davis turned in his letter of resignation and stated that he'd feel more comfortable being at home than serving under a President who wasn't elected. So, Lincoln decided to replace him with his close personal friend and the former Assistant Secretary of State before Davis and Hitt, John Hay of Ohio, who eagerly accepted the position.

One of his first actions that made him extremely popular was his support of private pension bills for civil war veterans that the Party supported and he himself was in favor of due to the fact he served as a member of Grant's staff in the last weeks of the American Civil War and was present at Appomattox when Lee surrendered. Having known the veterans personally and having seen them do battle, he went against the Pension Bureau, which gave him the support of most veterans across the nations. What came next was the issue of Gold vs Silver for the backing of the United States Dollar with Western Republicans and Southern Democrats supporting free coinage of silver while members of both parties in the North supported the gold standard. With his secretary of the Interior being a pro-silver man, Lincoln sought after a moderate solution and after long debate and discussion, finally came up with one. The President, along with several silver and gold members of congress announced legislation that allowed for the free coinage of silver at a 16-1 ratio with the law set to be renewed in the 1890s. This law, known today as the Teller-McKinley Amendment, was Lincoln's moderate stance on an issue that would continue to be important even after a moderate position was taken.

On the Tariff front, President Lincoln and most of his party and cabinet was in favor of high tariffs, with the Government having continued to run a high surplus due to these tariffs that protected blossoming American industry from the predatory European markets. While debate emerged between the anti-tariff Democratic House and pro-tariff Republican Senate, President Lincoln met with the leaders of both parties in both chambers and by mid March of 1886, an agreement was reached. The tariff would go from 47% to 43.5% and, in return, around 75-90% of the Surplus would be focused on building public works, canals, railroads, and industry and a further 4% of it would be sent every six months to every American citizen as a check, granting them more cash. This policy, known as the Lincoln Tariff and Surplus Bill, barely passed Congress and would remain in use until the early 1920s, though the Tariff and Surplus areas of the bill would be changed at certain points. While this issue would continue into 1888, it, much like Gold v Silver, had been put to the way side for the time being. Then came Foreign Policy, as well as Military and Naval affairs.

While on Foreign Policy he was mostly a non-interventionist, Robert Todd Lincoln decided to restart the policies of Garfield before he passed away and continue the policies of Arthur at the same time. In order to make this happen, he sought to create a pan-American conference once more to help settle disputes in the western hemisphere peacefully while also continuing to the Nicaragua canal treaty of President Arthur and sought to create mutually Exclusive trade deals with Joseon, Merina, and Hawaii, with the latter being slowly brought more and more under the American fold than under the fold of the British, French or any other naval power. However, the President made clear that he didn't want to get involved in any wars with European powers and or get entangled in any European conflicts, though he was mostly a Anglo-and-Franco-skeptic who disliked the British and French due to what they attempted to do during the American Civil War, such as the Trent Affair and the Coup attempt in Mexico, two things many in the North took a long time to forget about after the war, As a result of this, President Lincoln's policy more or less favored their major enemy, Germany and, in fact, the President discussed the idea of creating mutually beneficial trade deals between the German Empire and the United States of America while increasing tariffs on France and Great Britain with his Minister to the German Empire, Phillip Becker of New York, who replied that while the Democrats may have some outrage at this and the British and French would no doubt be upset, the Republicans could be behind him and Republican leadership agreed with that sentiment, though they advised to wait until after the 1886 midterms to go for it, due to the fact that the Party was extremely confident that with Lincoln campaigning heavily across the country for them, many Republicans down ballot would go to congress and help pass his policies. As for the military and Navy, he sought for a 5% expansion of the military and an increased recruitment of African American soldiers as well as the building of military recruitment forts and camps across the nation to maximize the efficiency of recruitment. As for the navy, he signed off on a bill that allowed for the construction of 7 pre-dreadnought battleships and 8 monitors as well as the continual modernization of both branches of the armed forces. While he was still mostly following the ideas of his two predecessors, he was still able to bring in his own policy ideas every once and a while that allowed him to be his own man and be seen as his own president.

As expected, the Republicans were able to somehow barely take the House and keep the Senate, winning 25 more House seats from the Democrats and 8 Senate Seats with 7 from the Democrats and 1 from the Re-Adjusters, giving them majorities in both chambers of congress and their gubernatorial victories in Virginia in 1885 and Alabama (many historians believe the victory here and in Louisiana in 1884 was due to remnant Military presence or increased military presence due to the recruitment camps), California, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania in 1886 increased Republican control and gave President Lincoln more wiggle room, which he used to his advantage while he still could and so he was able to get his trade policy with Europe's big three accomplished after the new Congress was inaugurated. Widely popular amongst Republican circles, his 1887 State of the Union address that pleaded for the Department of Agriculture to officially join the Cabinet and for there to be a creation of a Department of Commerce and Industry. While there was some objections by the Party, they weren't the majority and both ideas passed overwhemingly and would later lead to the inaugurations of John James Ingalls of Kansas and Alanson W. Beard of Massachusetts as the first official Secretaries of Agriculture and Commerce and Industry respectfully. With the foreign policy dealt with for the most part and the policies that the President deemed less important than the one he truly cared the most for put on hold, he turned his efforts to relations with Native Americans and the idea of Civil Rights, which he believed was the true important issue of the time. He would go against his Secretary of the Interior Henry M. Teller and push for an allotment system in congress to ensure Native Americans to own land, as well as giving them better education through funding properly and while Congress was reluctant, they passed the legislation due to slight fear that going against President Lincoln could cause them to lose the House majority even if he won re-election. President Lincoln, well knowing of his popularity, used this to his advantage whenever he believed an idea of his might not pass muster and congress, sending out the idea to the Newspapers and his endorsement of said idea and due to Nostalgia, these ideas were seen in a mostly positive light, though Lincoln remained careful and did not want to look to heavy handed. Then, of course, came Civil Rights, which he believed was the issue to rule amongst all others.

Personally, he believed the idea of Reconstruction a failure but unlike the Democrats and Stalwarts, the reason he believed that was because he thought the North wasn't harsh enough on the South and push for much better conditions in the immediate aftermath of the war due to the Presidency of Andrew Johnson, and wanted to use federal power to enforce the 15th amendment even though it was clear his biggest obstacles would be both Congress and the Supreme Court and while the former was swayed by Lincoln's popularity amongst many in the party and nation, the latter was a problem in and of itself. However, with the passing of Chief Justice Morrison Waite in early 1888 and Associate Justice William Woods in 1887, the President was looking to slowly change the make-up of the court, with former Mississippi Governor and Pro-Civil Rights Republican Adelbert Ames being nominated to replace Waite and Grandson of Former President John Quincy Adams, as well as journalist, lawyer, and professor Henry Adams to replace Woods on the court. Due to there being 53 Republicans with the pro-civil rights William Mahone of Virginia serving as the Re-Adjuster's senator, the two men who appointed to the court relatively quickly.

While he was basking off these victories, he could not do so for long as at this point the 1888 Election was ramping up and while President Lincoln was still overwhelmingly popular with most Americans across the country, he knew he could not have everything up for granted and so he deiced instead to campaign on the successes of the last 8 years of reform-minded Republican Presidents and he will not go on the attack at any point in order to stay above political debauchery. In private when talking to Hay, the President stated that he was only running in 1888 to serve out a full term of his own, which wouldn't have shocked many, as he personally was never too interested in politics and wanted nothing more than to leave politics behind and live out a life of peace and solitude in his home. Upon his announcing he would run for re-election, he announced he would let the convention choose who his running mates would be and almost immediately the Convention consolidated around three major candidates : Former Mississippi Senator Blanche Bruce, who had significant backing in 1880 but soon petered out, Vermont Senator George F. Edmunds, and Indiana Senator Benjamin Harrison, with all three men providing their own pros and cons should they be picked as Lincoln's running mate. At the same time, the Democratic Convention was split between Grover Cleveland, Delaware Senator Thomas F. Bayard, South Carolina Senator Wade Hampton III, New York Senator David B. Hill, Ohio Senator George H. Pendleton, Illinois Senator John M. Palmer, and Former Nebraska Governor Julius Morton for the Presidential Nomination while Mississippi Senator Lucius Q. C. Lamar II, Tennessee Senator Isham G. Harris, U.S. Representative William Lynne Wilson of West Virginia, Former California Senator George Hearst, and Indiana Senator Daniel W. Voorhees sought the Vice Presidential Nomination. While the battles for these positions would be fierce, it was well believed that whoever became Lincoln's running mate would be his Vice President in March of 1889 baring anything tragic.
*- Bannock War Veteran and Son of Former President Ulysses S. Grant, Frederick D. Grant, won the 1887 New York Secretary of State Race with 50.6% of the vote.

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This took a while for me to type. I hope everyone enjoyed reading this and again, if you want to give some help, feel free to message me at any time.

[Continential]

Hopefully Lincoln's Presidency ends short as he did horrible things to his mother.

[Huey Long is a Republican]

Hopefully Lincoln's Presidency ends short as he did horrible things to his mother.

From what I could find on Wikipedia, he actually was very concerned for her finances and took care of them after Tad's death because she wasn't being careful with them. Really, no one was in the right or wrong and the entire lincoln family is a tragic gray coloring in the politics of america.

[Huey Long is a Republican]

By the way, the link I had in the post is a poll for the choices since I decided against putting it in Individual Politics. I'll erase it at noon tomorrow and start writing post #3 from there

[Huey Long is a Republican]

The 1888 Republican National Convention produced a clear result for both the Presidential and Vice Presidential Nominations despite many thinking early on the latter would be competitive. As expected, President Lincoln easily won the Republican re-nomination via voice vote as he had become too popular from within the party to move against. The decision for his running mate was a difficult one, however, at the very start. The top three candidates were former Mississippi Senator  and Register of the Treasury Blanche Bruce, a former Slave who was freed without fuss early on in his life, Indiana Senator and Grandson of Former President William Henry Harrison, Benjamin Harrison, or Vermont Senator George F. Edmunds. While Bruce seemed like he had a good chance, as he had in 1880, it seemed like Edmunds or Harrison was the most likely to get the nod. However, half an hour before the first ballot for the Vice Presidential Nomination, New York's Secretary of State and son of Former President Grant, Frederick D. Grant, gave a passionate speech endorsing and supporting Bruce for the Vice Presidency, though some believe he was pushed to do so by President Lincoln. While Grant's father didn't have that great of a Presidency, the name still held pull over the party and on the first ballot, Bruce got 71.4% of Delegates to Harrison's 28.1% and Edmunds' 0.5%, making the 1888 Republican ticket Lincoln/Bruce. With the convention finished and the two candidates selected, it was then off for the Democratic Convention.

On the Presidential level were several major candidates, including 1884 Nominee and New York Governor Grover Cleveland, South Carolina Senator Wade Hampton III, and Delaware Senator Thomas F. Bayrd. The convention was a practical tie and for 22 ballots, there wasn't a solid choice between them until Hampton won thanks to clever politicking with Delegates from the bigger states, allowing Hampton to snag the Nomination with 51% of the Delegates to Cleveland's 34% and Bayard's 15%. The choice for the Vice Presidency was just as contested, with the main candidates being Indiana Senator Daniel W. Voorhees, Mississippi Senator Lucius Q. C. Lamar II, and Former California Senator George Hearst. After 10 Ballots, Hampton was able to make a deal that'd see Lamar get the nomination with 56% to Voorhees' 35% and Hearst's 9%, settling the Democratic ticket at Hampton/Lamar, a ticket based entirely in the South.

Suffice to say, many in the Democratic Party disliked the party's ticket, especially when considering that Hampton had once fought for the Confederacy. This group of Democrats, nicknamed by some as the abandoned donkeys, were quickly seized upon by the Lincoln/Bruce ticket, attacking the Democratic Ticket for having a man like Hampton at the head and while some called foul, most remained silent. The main issues of the election was Tariffs and President Lincoln had a policy of High Tariffs that kept him extremely popular with the nation, along with his other ideas. Meanwhile, Hampton was unable to remove the stench of the past from his campaign, always being reminded that he served the Confederacy during the Civil War at every corner. It was due to these reasons that President Robert Todd Lincoln was able to win the 1888 Election in a landslide against the Democrats, winning 335 Electoral Votes, 63.08% of the Popular Vote, and 31 States to Hampton's 66 Electoral Votes, 33.52% of the popular vote, and 7 states, making Blanche Bruce the first African American to become Vice Presidency just over two decades removed from the Civil War and end of Slavery. While the first Black President was still quite a ways' away from the present, it was indeed a step in the right direction.

1888 Presidential Election

President Robert Todd Lincoln* (R-IL)/Register of the Treasury Blanche Bruce (R-VA) : 335/63.08% (7,184,291) [31 States]
Senator Wade Hampton III (D-SC)/Senator Lucius Q. C. Lamar II (D-MS) : 66/33.52% (3,817,730) [7 States]

DE, KY, NJ, both ND seats. both SD Seats, both WA seats, and WV in the Senate flips Republican, giving them 63 to the Democrat's 18 and Mahone as the lone Re-Adjuster.

Alabama and Louisiana flipped D while the rest remained the same for governors.

Following his immediate inauguration on March 4th, 1893, the President got to work with his cabinet. While Secretary of War Joshua Chamberlain, Attorney General Augustus L. Hart, Postmaster General Frank Hatton, Secretary of the Interior Henry M. Teller, and Secretary of Agriculture John James Ingalls were kept and the department that came to be in late June of 1888 thanks to the efforts of Congress, the Department of Commerce and Industry, had its first secretary, Alanson W. Bear, be kept in his position. At the same time, Secretary of State John Sherman, Secretary of the Treasury Hugh McCulloch, and Secretary of the Navy William E. Chandler announced they were leaving the cabinet to be replaced by John Hay, Charles T. Hinde, and George Dewey for each position respectfully.

With his Administration beginning, the Lincoln Administration decided to continue its foreign policy of trade and an increase in relations with Germany while continuing to be hostile to France and Britain. The Lincoln administration also moved to secure the American Sphere of influence in Hawaii. Truly, President Lincoln focused on keeping the Navy and Army strong and got massive backing from Chamberlain and Dewey and Congress on the behalf of both motions and his administration made sure that no outside power would interfere in the New World, something that happened during the Civil War with France's failed expedition in Mexico which had angered the administration of Robert's father, leading to this period in time being called the Monroe Enforcement Period.

On another note entirely, in March of 1889 Associate Justice Stanley Matthews passed away leaving his court vacant. President Lincoln, realizing now was his chance as more Pro-Civil Rights Republicans were coming out of the wood works for his ideas, pushed for Former Louisiana Governor P. B. S. Pinchback to be appointed to the Court. However, many Democrats, as expected, and even several Republicans, opposed the Nomination but decided to Filibuster the nomination process rather than vote against it, knowing full well that the President could be zealous and have their support in their state legislatures be turned against them. Unable to stop the filibuster, the President remained firm and continued to push for Pinchback's nomination. However, the President was forced to focus on other issues, such as Civil Service Reform, Pensions, Trusts, Monopolies, National Forests, the European Embargo on Pork, the Aleutian Islands seafaring rights conflict with Canada, Hawaii, and Chile. However, with Sherman re-entering the Senate shortly following the death of George Pendleton and the President being a successful negotiator with various leaders (and the good international relations between the German Empire and the United States), all of Europe excluding France lifted their embargo on American pork, with the President getting some help from the Meat Inspection Act while Sherman helped the President dealt with Trusts and Monopolies via the Sherman Anti-Trust Act.

On November 29th, however, the President was able to gain something he never thought he'd be able to receive, a way to gain support for Civil Rights in Congress and across the Nation. For several weeks, a New Yorker by the name of Jack Alanson who was in the city of Birmingham, Alabama was reporting of how African American citizens were being treated and his disgust at the situation they were in because of the White Supremacists in the South. While he did gain some favoritism and support in the North, he was mostly ignored by the Nation. on the day mentioned, however, he and his family, including 8 children, were harassed by a group of the KKK chapter in Birmingham and later in the day, it was discovered that he, his family, and several African Americans had been brutally beaten and lynched with them. His death was able to move many against the anti-civil rights wing of the Republican Party and the South. With Public support on his side, the President moved further, stating in his State of the Union on December 3rd, "There exists in this country a great evil in the South. In a land we had fought for so hard and for so long to defeat over 24 years ago, these monsters dare to keep those we fought so hard to liberate under their control. It is slavery by another name and it is something this country cannot, should not, and will not abide by, for in the United States, all men are created equally, no matter the race, and I believe it is time we make sure that this rule is enforced in full for good."

With the support for movement on Civil Rights, he was able to rally several moderates on his side to get Pinchback's Nomination passed and for him to finally take his seat in February of 1890 while he also got to work on supporting a Constitutional Amendment overturning the SCOTUS Ruling in the Civil Rights Cases (1883) that deemed the 1875 Civil Rights Acts unconstitutional. He also moved to see a Department of Civil Rights be created and supported a bill introduced by Massachusetts Representative Henry Cabot Lodge and Massachusetts Senator George Frisbee Hoar that would ensure elections, mainly in the South, were fair by allowing circuit courts (after being petitioned by a small number of citizens from any precinct) to appoint federal supervisors of congressional elections. These supervisors would then have the responsibility have attending each election, inspecting voter registration, verifying if a voter's information is in doubt, giving oaths to a challenged voter, halting the voting of illegal aliens, and certifying of vote counting. Finally, the President moved forward to pass a bill introduced by New Hampshire Senator Henry W. Blair that  granted federal funding to schools regardless of the students' races.

Suffice to say, while the North screamed for blood for what happened to Alanson, the South was beyond enraged with the reforms and mass attacks on African Americans happened, as well as attacks on US Military installations, with the worst of these actions taking place in the states of Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, Louisiana, South Carolina, and Arkansas, though there were some mild events such as this in Florida and some parts of Tennessee, North Carolina, and Virginia as well. As a response and with popular support, the President signed a still to this day controversial bill known as the Restoration of Peace Act that would send in large chunks of the military to occupy and hunt down members of the KKK, though it was made clear that unlawful massacres of non-KKK members would not be tolerated. While the states previously mentioned would not be prohibited from voting as what had happened during Reconstruction, their governors were removed with more pro-civil rights governors.

With 1890 mostly settling most of the Civil Rights issue though a part of the country was under some intense measures of violence, the President moved to settle all the other motions that he was able to do so successfully, though with Native Americans, he was highly sympathetic and did not authorize the use of military force against the Lakota Sioux at Wounded Knee. The years 1890 and 1891 passed with the President having had a mostly successful presidency and by January of 1892, he considered leaving office. The Department of Civil Rights was passed in the middle of 1890 and a new Department was made called the Department of Science and Technological Advancement in late 1891 with Jeremiah Haralson becoming the First Secretary of the Former while Edward Brooks became the First Secretary of the Latter. He was able to place George Washington Julian and Thomas C. Platt confirmed to the Supreme Court and many of his actions were deemed Constitutional by a ruling of 6-3 and it was further backed up with Pace v Alabama being overturned after a brief look into it by another 6-3 vote. However, the President considered not running for a term going from 1893-1897, feeling he had served long enough.

However, that changed following a conversation with Vice President Bruce.
"You can't be serious, Todd." The man's face was stunned and, to be honest, somewhat disappointed. The President remained firm, however.

"Of course I am, Bruce. I've served nearly eight years by March next year. I've done my time as President and I believe it's time someone else takes up the job." He responded nonchalantly, as if he had practiced this sentence over and over. He probably had, considering the circumstances as to how he became President in the first place. Still, the Vice President didn't like what he was talking about.

"Todd, think about this."

"I have...for eight years. It's time."

"Jesus, Todd, don't you know the Democrats are running on a platform on undoing everything you've done for us in the South so far?"

"Of course, it's to be expected." He nodded with a small smile. "But I have all the confidence that you, Hay, or maybe Sherman perhaps, can beat them."

"But what if we can't, Todd?" That silenced the President and he raised a brow in confusion.

"What do you mean?"

"Todd, Cleveland is the front-runner for the Democrats and this time, there is no Hampton that could possibly stand against him for the Nomination. He has a large backing in this nation amongst Democrats"

"So? Arthur and myself devastated him in 1884. What's so difference from then that he seems unbeatable?"

"A lot has happened in the past eight years, unless you've forgotten what your administration has done. Cleveland had little name recognition then. Now, he's one of the most popular politicians in the country, second only to you. If he gets elected, then all the progress you've made these past few years, he could simply overturn them and rally popular support around that."

"The occupation of the South will have to end, there are already some people requesting that it does."

"I know, Todd. I'm not saying we have it on Lock down indefinitely. We only keep it locked up until we are sure the Klan has been crushed and new State Constitutions have been ratified. The Sixteenth Amendment helped in overturning the horrible decision in 1883 and Pace v Alabama. You just need to be President a little longer to see these pushes come into fruition." The President remained silent for several long moments and the room was silent and thick before he finally spoke.

"I'll think about it." And with that, the Vice President nodded and left, hoping he had changed the President's Mind.
Several days after their conversation in May, President Lincoln was the first President to announce he was running for a Third Term in Office and the Republican Party announced they would give their full support to him, with Governor Frederick D. Grant (who had succeeded Cleveland in the office) had given him full support as well. Meanwhile, Former Governor Grover Cleveland had gathered and rallied massive support around him in the Democratic Party, with his only challenge being that of Kentucky Senator John G. Carlisle. 1892 looked to be Lincoln's own battle with Cleveland that could legitimize his Presidency as it had with Arthur's victory over him in 1884.
Lincoln did many of the same things that Harrison did on some issues, though he was able to keep his Tariffs at the level they were and refused to budge despite protests from McKinley. Sorry for how long it took to come up with this update, also it's interesting to see how things like this nearly did happen (the Lodge Bill only barely failed in the Senate, for example). Anyways, I'm keeping this somewhat realistic, but as we start to diverge more and more from OTL (such as with Europe (I have plans for it) and other areas), it could get a bit more wacky but also a bit more interesting. Also, the US backed German claims on Samoa just to Piss Off Britain and war almost happened but Italy jumped in and stopped it by holding a conference in which Germany paid Britain 15,000 Papiermark in return for them dropping their claims on the islands.

As for the 1889-1891 elections
VA - R Hold
NJ - R Hold
SD - R Hold
MS - D Hold
WA - R Hold (All Gubernatorial Elections)

MN - R Hold
SC - R Gain (Militarily Forced)
SD - R Hold
AL - R Gain (Militarily Forced)
CA- R Hold
MI - R Hold
OR -R Hold
PA - R Hold
VT - R Hold
WY - R Hold

1890 and 1891 Senate Elections

Both MT Seats - R Gains
KY Special - D Hold
Both WY Seats - R Gains
Both ID Seats - R Gains

AL - R Gain (Militarily Forced)
AR - R Gain (Militarily Forced)
CA - R Hold
CO - R Hold
CT - R Hold
FL - R Gain (Militarily Forced)
GA - R Gain (Militarily Forced)
ID - R Hold
IL - D Gain
IN - D Hold
IA - R Hold
KS - POP Gain
KY - D Hold
LA - R Gain
MD - D Hold
MO - D Hold
NV - R Hold
NH - R Hold
NY - R Hold
NC - R Gain (Militarily Forced)
ND - R Hold
OH - D Hold
OR - R Hold
PA - R Hold
SC - R Gain (Militarily Forced)
SD - I Gain
VT - R Hold
WA - R Hold
WI - D Gain

And that's it. Thoughts so far.