By 1864 President Abraham Lincoln was in political trouble. When elected in 1860 Lincoln had won a majority of the Electoral College votes. But he only won 39.8% of the popular vote. He was probably the least popular president when he took office in 1861. Seven southern states had broken away and formed the Confederate States of America. On April 12, 1861, the Civil War began. The war had gone badly for the Union. Even though they had a much larger army, they had lost a number of battles. By 1864 Lincoln needed some victories if he wanted to be reelected that November. If successful, the Atlanta Campaign could guarantee Lincoln would remain president.