Unlike Grant, McClellan did have political aspirations for the presidency. By the fall of 1863 McClellan was making public political statements and endorsements of candidates. He agreed with Lincoln about the need to preserve the Union but did not feel that the slavery issue needed to be addressed. McClellan was courted by the Democratic Party for the 1864 presidential contest and became their candidate while still serving in the army. McClellan found himself in the unique position of being a candidate who felt that the war should be fought to preserve the Union, while running on a Democratic platform that advocated peace, and concluded that the war was a failure.

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