| 1868 presidential election | |
  Nominees Grant and Colfax | |
| Convention | |
|---|---|
| Date(s) | May 20–21, 1868 |
| City | Chicago,Illinois |
| Venue | Crosby's Opera House |
| Candidates | |
| Presidential nominee | Ulysses S. Grant ofIllinois |
| Vice-presidential nominee | Schuyler Colfax ofIndiana |
| ‹ 1864 · 1872 › | |
The1868 Republican National Convention of theRepublican Party of theUnited States was held inCrosby's Opera House,Chicago,Cook County, Illinois, on May 20 to May 21, 1868. Ulysses S. Grant won the election and became the 18th president of the United States.
Commanding General of the U.S. ArmyUlysses S. Grant was the unanimous choice of the Republican convention delegates forpresident. Forvice president the delegates choseSpeakerSchuyler Colfax, who was Grant's choice. In Grant's acceptance telegram, a letter to then President of the Republican National ConventionJoseph R. Hawley, Grant said "Let us have peace".[1]
Republicans, led by theirRadical faction, had scored decisive victories in the1866 elections. If that trend continued in the 1867 elections, then the party's presidential nomination would likely go to a Radical like Chief JusticeSalmon P. Chase or SenatorBenjamin Wade. Chase had the support of important figures like SenatorCharles Sumner and financierJay Cooke. More moderate Republicans, such as SenatorWilliam P. Fessenden,Charles Francis Adams Jr., andThe New York Times, had interpreted the 1866 elections not as a mandate for radicalism, but as a rejection of President Andrew Johnson's programs and personality; therefore, they were wary of a Radical nominee.
The Grant candidacy, though, took on momentum in the wake of the state elections in 1867. The electorate rejected the Radical Republican agenda by voting for Democratic control in the key Northern states of New York, Pennsylvania, and Ohio, and by rejecting black manhood suffrage amendments in Kansas and Ohio. The election results bolstered the case of the moderate Republicans and seemed to close the door to a Radical nominee.Georges Clemenceau, a Paris Temps journalist who would later be the French premier, reported accurately that "The real victims of the victory of the Democrats are Mr. Wade and Mr. Chase."
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As Republicans convened in Chicago in May 1868, Grant had no serious opposition for the nomination; he was nominated unanimously on the first ballot.
| Presidential Balloting | |
|---|---|
| Candidate | 1st |
| Grant | 648 |
| Absent | 2 |
Presidential Balloting / 2nd Day of Convention (May 21, 1868)
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Colfax was selected for vice president on the fifth ballot.[2] Colfax was popular among Republicans for his friendly character, party loyalty, and Radical views onReconstruction.[2] Wilson received a large amount of support from the southern delegations.[3]
| Vice Presidential Ballot | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th (Before Shifts) | 5th (After Shifts) | |
| Colfax | 115 | 145 | 165 | 186 | 226 | 541 |
| Wade | 147 | 170 | 178 | 206 | 207 | 38 |
| Fenton | 126 | 144 | 139 | 144 | 139 | 69 |
| Wilson | 119 | 114 | 101 | 87 | 56 | 0 |
| Curtin | 51 | 45 | 40 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Hamlin | 28 | 30 | 25 | 25 | 20 | 0 |
| Speed | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Harlan | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Creswell | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Pomeroy | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Kelley | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Absent | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
Vice Presidential Balloting / 2nd Day of Convention (May 21, 1868)
| Preceded by 1864 Baltimore | Republican National Conventions | Succeeded by 1872 Philadelphia |
18thPresident of the United States (1869–1877) | |||||||||
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