The 1868 United States presidential election was the 21st quadrennial
presidential election
A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President.
Elections by country
Albania
The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public.
Chile
The pre ...
, held on Tuesday, November 3, 1868. In the first election of the
Reconstruction Era,
Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
nominee
Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union Ar ...
defeated
Horatio Seymour
Horatio Seymour (May 31, 1810February 12, 1886) was an American politician. He served as Governor of New York from 1853 to 1854 and from 1863 to 1864. He was the Democratic Party nominee for president in the 1868 United States presidential elec ...
of the
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to:
*Democratic Party (United States)
Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to:
Active parties Africa
*Botswana Democratic Party
*Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea
*Gabonese Democratic Party
*Demo ...
. It was the first presidential election to take place after the conclusion of the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...
and the abolition of
slavery
Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
. It was the first election in which
African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
s could vote in the reconstructed Southern states, in accordance with the
First Reconstruction Act.
Incumbent president
Andrew Johnson had succeeded to the presidency in 1865 following the
assassination of Abraham Lincoln, a Republican. Johnson, a
War Democrat
War Democrats in American politics of the 1860s were members of the Democratic Party who supported the Union and rejected the policies of the Copperheads (or Peace Democrats). The War Democrats demanded a more aggressive policy toward the Con ...
from Tennessee, had served as Lincoln's running mate in
1864 on the
National Union ticket, which was designed to attract Republicans and War Democrats. Upon accession to office, Johnson clashed with the Republican Congress over Reconstruction policies and was
impeached and nearly removed from office. Johnson received some support for another term at the
1868 Democratic National Convention, but, after several ballots, the convention nominated Seymour, who had formerly served as Governor of New York. The
1868 Republican National Convention unanimously nominated Grant, who had been the highest-ranking Union general at the end of the Civil War. The Democrats criticized the Republican Reconstruction policies, and "campaigned explicitly on an anti-black, pro-white platform," while Republicans campaigned on Grant's popularity and the Union victory in the Civil War.
Grant decisively won the
electoral vote, but his margin was narrower in the popular vote. In addition to his appeal in the North, Grant benefited from votes among the newly enfranchised
freedmen
A freedman or freedwoman is a formerly enslaved person who has been released from slavery, usually by legal means. Historically, enslaved people were freed by manumission (granted freedom by their captor-owners), emancipation (granted freedom a ...
in the
South, while the temporary political disfranchisement of many Southern whites helped Republican margins. As three of the former Confederate states (
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...
,
Mississippi
Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...
, and
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
) were not yet restored to the Union, their electors could not vote in the election.
Background
Reconstruction and civil rights of former slaves was a hotly debated issue in the Union. Grant supported the Reconstruction plans of the
Radical Republicans
The Radical Republicans (later also known as "Stalwarts") were a faction within the Republican Party, originating from the party's founding in 1854, some 6 years before the Civil War, until the Compromise of 1877, which effectively ended Recons ...
in Congress, which favored the 14th Amendment, with full citizenship and civil rights for freedmen, including manhood suffrage. The Democratic platform condemned "Negro supremacy" and demanded a restoration of states' rights, including the right of southern states to determine for themselves whether to allow suffrage for adult freedmen. Republicans charged that Democrats were determined to deny any freedman the vote, regardless of fitness. Democrats charged that Republicans wanted to give all freedmen the vote, regardless of fitness.
Nominations
Republican Party nomination
![GrantColfax1868](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/48/GrantColfax1868.png)
By 1868, the Republicans felt strong enough to drop the Union Party label, but wanted to nominate a popular hero for their presidential candidate. The Democratic Party controlled many large Northern states that had a great percentage of the electoral votes. General Ulysses S. Grant announced he was a Republican and was unanimously nominated on the first ballot as the party's standard-bearer at the Republican convention in Chicago, held on May 20–21, 1868. House Speaker
Schuyler Colfax
Schuyler Colfax Jr. (; March 23, 1823 – January 13, 1885) was an American journalist, businessman, and politician who served as the 17th vice president of the United States from 1869 to 1873, and prior to that as the 25th speaker of the Hous ...
, a
Radical Republican
The Radical Republicans (later also known as "Stalwarts") were a faction within the Republican Party, originating from the party's founding in 1854, some 6 years before the Civil War, until the Compromise of 1877, which effectively ended Recon ...
from Indiana, was nominated for vice president on the sixth ballot, beating out the early favorite, Senator
Benjamin Wade
Benjamin Franklin "Bluff" Wade (October 27, 1800March 2, 1878) was an American lawyer and politician who served as a United States Senator for Ohio from 1851 to 1869. He is known for his leading role among the Radical Republicans. of Ohio.
The Republican platform supported black suffrage in the South as part of the passage to full citizenship for former slaves. It agreed to let northern states decide individually whether to enfranchise blacks. It opposed using
greenbacks to redeem U.S. bonds, encouraged immigration, endorsed full rights for naturalized citizens, and favored Radical Reconstruction as distinct from the more lenient policy of President Andrew Johnson.
Democratic Party nomination
Image:Hon. Horatio Seymour, N.Y - NARA - 528568 (cropped).jpg, Former Governor
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
Horatio Seymour
Horatio Seymour (May 31, 1810February 12, 1886) was an American politician. He served as Governor of New York from 1853 to 1854 and from 1863 to 1864. He was the Democratic Party nominee for president in the 1868 United States presidential elec ...
of New York
Image:GeorgeHPendleton.png, Former Representative
Representative may refer to:
Politics
* Representative democracy, type of democracy in which elected officials represent a group of people
* House of Representatives, legislative body in various countries or sub-national entities
* Legislator, som ...
George H. Pendleton
George Hunt Pendleton (July 19, 1825November 24, 1889) was an American politician and lawyer. He represented Ohio in both houses of Congress and was the unsuccessful Democratic nominee for Vice President of the United States in 1864.
After study ...
of Ohio
Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
Image:ThomasAHendricks-small.png, Senator Thomas A. Hendricks
Thomas Andrews Hendricks (September 7, 1819November 25, 1885) was an American politician and lawyer from Indiana who served as the 16th governor of Indiana from 1873 to 1877 and the 21st vice president of the United States from March until his ...
of Indiana
Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...
Image:WinfieldSHancock.png, General
A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry.
In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED ...
Winfield Scott Hancock
Winfield Scott Hancock (February 14, 1824 – February 9, 1886) was a United States Army officer and the Democratic nominee for President of the United States in 1880. He served with distinction in the Army for four decades, including service ...
of Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
Image:Aj17.gif, President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
* President (education), a leader of a college or university
* President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...
Andrew Johnson
Image:SanfordEChurch.png, Former Lieutenant Governor Sanford E. Church of New York
Image:AsaPacker_small.png, Former Representative
Representative may refer to:
Politics
* Representative democracy, type of democracy in which elected officials represent a group of people
* House of Representatives, legislative body in various countries or sub-national entities
* Legislator, som ...
Asa Packer
Asa Packer (December 29, 1805May 17, 1879) was an American businessman who pioneered railroad construction, was active in Pennsylvania politics, and founded Lehigh University. He was a conservative and religious man who reflected the image of th ...
of Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
Image:JamesEdwardEnglish.png, Governor
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
James E. English of Connecticut
Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...
Image:JoelParker-small.png, Former Governor
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
Joel Parker of New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
Image:JamesRDoolittle.png, Senator James Rood Doolittle
James Rood Doolittle (January 3, 1815July 27, 1897) was an American politician who served as a U.S. Senator from Wisconsin from March 4, 1857, to March 4, 1869. He was a strong supporter of President Abraham Lincoln's administration during the ...
of Wisconsin
Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...
Image:StephenField.png, Associate Justice
Associate justice or associate judge (or simply associate) is a judicial panel member who is not the chief justice in some jurisdictions. The title "Associate Justice" is used for members of the Supreme Court of the United States and some sta ...
Stephen J. Field
Stephen Johnson Field (November 4, 1816 – April 9, 1899) was an American jurist. He was an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court from May 20, 1863, to December 1, 1897 ...
of California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
Image:Samuel Portland Chase.jpg, Chief Justice Salmon P. Chase
Salmon Portland Chase (January 13, 1808May 7, 1873) was an American politician and jurist who served as the sixth chief justice of the United States. He also served as the 23rd governor of Ohio, represented Ohio in the United States Senate, a ...
of Ohio
Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
The Democratic National Convention was held in New York City on July 4–9, 1868. The front-runner in the early balloting was
George H. Pendleton
George Hunt Pendleton (July 19, 1825November 24, 1889) was an American politician and lawyer. He represented Ohio in both houses of Congress and was the unsuccessful Democratic nominee for Vice President of the United States in 1864.
After study ...
(1864 Democratic vice presidential nominee), who led on the first 15 ballots, followed in varying order by President Johnson,
Winfield Scott Hancock
Winfield Scott Hancock (February 14, 1824 – February 9, 1886) was a United States Army officer and the Democratic nominee for President of the United States in 1880. He served with distinction in the Army for four decades, including service ...
,
Sanford Church,
Asa Packer
Asa Packer (December 29, 1805May 17, 1879) was an American businessman who pioneered railroad construction, was active in Pennsylvania politics, and founded Lehigh University. He was a conservative and religious man who reflected the image of th ...
,
Joel Parker,
James E. English,
James Rood Doolittle
James Rood Doolittle (January 3, 1815July 27, 1897) was an American politician who served as a U.S. Senator from Wisconsin from March 4, 1857, to March 4, 1869. He was a strong supporter of President Abraham Lincoln's administration during the ...
, and
Thomas A. Hendricks
Thomas Andrews Hendricks (September 7, 1819November 25, 1885) was an American politician and lawyer from Indiana who served as the 16th governor of Indiana from 1873 to 1877 and the 21st vice president of the United States from March until his ...
. The unpopular Johnson, having narrowly survived impeachment, won 65 votes on the first ballot, less than one-third of the total necessary for nomination, and thus lost his bid for election as president in his own right.
Meanwhile, the convention chairman
Horatio Seymour
Horatio Seymour (May 31, 1810February 12, 1886) was an American politician. He served as Governor of New York from 1853 to 1854 and from 1863 to 1864. He was the Democratic Party nominee for president in the 1868 United States presidential elec ...
, former governor of New York, received nine votes on the fourth ballot from the state of North Carolina. This unexpected move caused "loud and enthusiastic cheering," but Seymour refused, saying,
By the seventh ballot Pendleton and Hendricks had emerged as the two front-runners, with Hancock the only other candidate with much support by this point. After numerous indecisive ballots, the names of
John T. Hoffman,
Francis P. Blair
Francis Preston Blair Sr. (April 12, 1791 – October 18, 1876) was an American journalist, newspaper editor, and influential figure in national politics advising several U.S. presidents across party lines.
Blair was an early member of the De ...
, and
Stephen Johnson Field
Stephen Johnson Field (November 4, 1816 – April 9, 1899) was an American jurist. He was an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court from May 20, 1863, to December 1, 1897, the second longest tenure of any justice. Prior to this a ...
were placed in nomination, but none of these candidates gained substantial support.
For 21 ballots, the opposing candidates battled it out: the East battling the West for control, the conservatives battling the radicals. Pendleton's support collapsed after the 15th ballot, but went to Hancock rather than Hendricks, leaving the convention still deadlocked. The two leading candidates were determined that the other should not receive the presidential nomination; because of the two-thirds rule of the convention, a compromise candidate was needed. Seymour still hoped it would be Chief Justice
Salmon P. Chase
Salmon Portland Chase (January 13, 1808May 7, 1873) was an American politician and jurist who served as the sixth chief justice of the United States. He also served as the 23rd governor of Ohio, represented Ohio in the United States Senate, a ...
, but on the 22nd ballot, the chairman of the Ohio delegation announced, "at the unanimous request and demand of the delegation I place Horatio Seymour in nomination with 21 votes—against his inclination, but no longer against his honor."
Seymour had to wait for the rousing cheers to die down before he could address the delegates and decline.
"Take the nomination, then!" cried someone from the floor.
Seymour left the platform to cool off and rest. No sooner had he left the hall than the Ohio chairman cried that his delegation would not accept Seymour's declination; Utah's chairman rose to say that Seymour was the man they had to have. While Seymour was waiting in the vestibule, the convention nominated him for president unanimously.
Exhausted, the delegates unanimously nominated General
Francis Preston Blair, Jr.
Francis Preston Blair Jr. (February 19, 1821 – July 8, 1875) was a United States Senator, a United States Congressman and a Union Major General during the Civil War. He represented Missouri in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, ...
, for vice president on the first ballot after
John A. McClernand
John Alexander McClernand (May 30, 1812 – September 20, 1900) was an American lawyer and politician, and a Union Army general in the American Civil War. He was a prominent Democratic politician in Illinois and a member of the United States H ...
,
Augustus C. Dodge, and
Thomas Ewing, Jr., withdrew their names from consideration. Blair's nomination reflected a desire to balance the ticket east and west as well as north and south.
Blair had worked hard for the Democratic vice presidential nomination and accepted second place on the ticket, finding himself in controversy. He had gained attention for an inflammatory letter addressed to Colonel
James O. Broadhead, dated a few days before the convention met, in which he wrote that the "real and only issue in this contest was the overthrow of Reconstruction, as the radical Republicans had forced it in the South."
General election
Campaign
![Let Us Have Peace](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/93/Let_Us_Have_Peace.jpg)
The 1868 campaign of Horatio Seymour versus Ulysses S. Grant was conducted vigorously, being fought out largely on the question of how Reconstruction should be conducted.
![Then and now - 1862 and 1882 The stalwart medal - Puck's idea of the design - - G](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/61/Then_and_now_-_1862_and_1882_The_stalwart_medal_-_Puck%27s_idea_of_the_design_-_-_G._LCCN2004672483.jpg)
Grant's antisemitic
General Order No. 11 during the Civil War became a campaign issue. This phenomenon is represented in a powerful cartoon by Bernhard Gillam. In the comic, Grant is depicted in crocodile skin and crying tears that fall onto the words "Jewish vote 1884." Additionally, he is sitting in front of a bill on the wall stating, "Order No. 11 by U.S. Grant, 1862, excluding Jews from the army." Gillam comments on this and writes at the bottom of the cartoon, "Oh, now you weep, and I perceive you feel the dint of pity. These are Gracious Drops."
He apologized in a letter for the controversial order, stating "I have no prejudice against sect or race, but want each individual to be judged by his own merit. Order No. 11 does not sustain this statement, I admit, but then I do not sustain that order. It would never have been issued if it had not been telegraphed the moment it was penned and without reflection." In his army days he had traded at a local store operated by the Seligman brothers, two Jewish merchants who became Grant's lifelong friends. They became
wealthy bankers who donated substantially to Grant's presidential campaign.
![Card1868USElectionGrantAndColfaxTanners](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e4/Card1868USElectionGrantAndColfaxTanners.jpg)
Grant took no part in the campaign and made no promises. The Republican campaign theme, "Let us have peace," was taken from his letter of acceptance. After four years of civil war, three years of wrangling over Reconstruction, and the attempted impeachment of a president, the nation craved the peace Grant pledged to achieve.
![SeymourBlair1868](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e0/SeymourBlair1868.png)
Seymour answered none of the charges made against him, but made a few key speeches. Some newspapers exaggerated his faults. As governor, Seymour had sent troops to
Gettysburg, but some press tried to portray him as disloyal to the Union. The ''
New York Tribune'' led the cartoon campaign with the picture of Seymour standing on the steps of the City Hall calling a mob of
New York draft rioters "my friends." The ''Hartford Post'' called him "almost as much of a corpse" as ex-President
James Buchanan, who had just died. Additionally, Republicans alleged that insanity ran through the Seymour family, citing as evidence the suicide of his father.
Blair went on a national speaking tour in which he framed the contest with Ulysses S. Grant and the pro-Reconstruction Republicans in stark racial terms, warning of the rule of "a semi-barbarous race of blacks who are worshipers of fetishes and
poligamists" and wanted to "subject the white women to their unbridled lust." Republicans advised Americans not to vote for Seymour, as Blair might succeed him.
Blair had a reputation for outspokenness and his campaign speeches in 1868 attacked Radical Republicans.
Samuel J. Tilden, a member of the national committee, asked Blair to confine his campaigning to Missouri and Illinois for fear he "would hurt the ticket" because of his stance on Reconstruction.
Seymour, who had not taken an active role in the campaign to this point, went into the canvass, seeking to steer the campaign away from the harshness of Blair's attacks on Radical Reconstruction. Seymour emphasized his idea that change in the South should be accomplished at the state level, without national interference. The Democrats campaigned for immediate restoration of all states, the "regulation of the elective franchise in the states by their citizens", and amnesty for past political offenses,
[Henry, Robert Selph; ''The Story of Reconstuction''; p. 330-332 ] while State civil authority should take precedence over military action. The president and the Supreme Court should be respected rather than attacked, as he claimed the Republicans had done. The Democrats would be careful to reorder national priorities.
Results
Horatio Seymour polled 2,708,744 votes and Grant 3,013,650.
The closeness of the popular vote surprised the political elite at the time.
[Irving Stone (1943), ''They Also Ran,'' pg. 282] Republican Representative
James G. Blaine called the slender popular majority for Grant "a very startling fact."
[Stewart Mitchell, ''Horatio Seymour of New York,'' pg. 483] Blaine, an acute judge of popular sentiment, was at a loss to explain the size of the Democratic vote. Ethnic Irish Catholic and other immigrants had been settling in New York for nearly a quarter century. The narrow margins by which Seymour lost several of the northern states like Indiana, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania, and the effects of new black votes in the South provoked the suspicion that a majority of white men voted for Seymour.
Democrats did not fare well in the South, where newly freed African Americans voted in large numbers. Republicans carried every southern state except Georgia and Louisiana, where
Ku Klux Klan and
Knights of the White Camelia
The Knights of the White Camelia was an American political terrorist organization that operated in the Southern United States in the late 19th century. Similar to and associated with the Ku Klux Klan, it supported white supremacy and opposed free ...
violence and fraud gave Democrats majorities.
Along the border, Kentucky, Maryland, and Delaware went overwhelmingly Democratic, in Kentucky's case influenced by hostility toward the
Radical Reconstruction
The Reconstruction era was a period in American history following the American Civil War (1861–1865) and lasting until approximately the Compromise of 1877. During Reconstruction, attempts were made to rebuild the country after the bloo ...
ists, which had led to the state's first postwar government being almost entirely composed of former Confederates. No Democratic presidential candidate before or since has attained a higher percentage of the vote in Kentucky or Maryland, where hostility toward black suffrage was very widespread. As for Delaware, only the Democratic tickets of
Johnson
Johnson is a surname of Anglo-Norman origin meaning "Son of John". It is the second most common in the United States and 154th most common in the world. As a common family name in Scotland, Johnson is occasionally a variation of ''Johnston'', a ...
/
Humphrey
Humphrey is both a masculine given name and a surname. An earlier form, not attested since Medieval times, was Hunfrid.
Notable people with the name include:
People with the given name Medieval period
:''Ordered chronologically''
*Hunfrid of P ...
in
1964
Events January
* January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved.
* January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarc ...
(which was elected with the largest percentage of the popular vote since
1824) and
Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...
/
Biden in
2008
File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
(which had the first Delawarean on a national ticket) carried the state with a larger percentage of the vote.
Two
border states, Missouri and West Virginia, both under Republican control, gave their electoral votes to Grant. Seymour narrowly carried his home state of New York, but Blair, largely because of the Radicals' registry system, failed to carry Missouri. The ''Missouri Democrat'' exulted: "General Blair is beaten in his ward, his city, his county and his State." In West Virginia, former Confederates were temporarily forbidden from voting or holding public office. About 15,000 to 25,000 white residents were disfranchised as a result.
Of the 1,708 counties making returns, Grant won 991 (58.02%) and Seymour 713 (41.74%). Four counties (0.23%) split evenly between Grant and Seymour. Hence the Democrats, even with all the burdens of the war, still carried only 278 fewer counties than the Republicans. That cemented a solid party comeback at the grassroots level that had begun in local elections in 1867.
The 1868 election is the only election since the Civil War in which the two major party candidates won over 99.9% of the vote. Out of a total of over 5.7 million votes, just 46 ballots were cast for anyone other than Grant and Seymour.
That was the last election in which the Republicans won Tennessee until 1920, the last in which the Democrats won Oregon until 1912, and the last in which the Republicans won Missouri until 1904.
That Grant lost New York to Seymour by 10,000 votes was a source of shame and anger to Republicans. Seymour's victory in New York was made the subject of a federal investigation. On November 4,
Horace Greeley spoke at the
Union League Club
The Union League Club is a private social club in New York City that was founded in 1863 in affiliation with the Union League. Its fourth and current clubhouse is located at 38 East 37th Street on the corner of Park Avenue, in the Murray Hill ...
. The ULC promptly petitioned Congress to look into the state vote. The petition was presented to the House of Representatives on December 14 and accepted by a vote of 134-35 (52 abstained). Speaker of the House Schuyler Colfax, the Republican candidate for vice president, appointed a committee of seven: five Republicans and two Democrats. The committee was most likely created because the Republicans could not lose New York without a protest. It reported to the House of Representatives on February 23, 1869. The committee decided to take no action, and Seymour retained New York's 33 electoral votes. He was willing to return to the subject as long as he lived.
According to Seymour's biographer, Stewart Mitchell, the Republican Party claimed credit for saving the Union and was bound, bent, and determined to continue to rule it. The margin of Grant's popular majority resulted largely from winning a high percentage of the half-million newly enfranchised men or color. This strategy contrasted strongly with later years, when Republicans could not stop black disfranchisement in the former Confederate states, since they had many new and secure votes in new states in the
Western United States
The Western United States (also called the American West, the Far West, and the West) is the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. As American settlement in the U.S. expanded westward, the meaning of the term ''the We ...
.
Source (Popular Vote):
Source (Electoral Vote):
(a) ''
Mississippi
Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...
,
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...
, and
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
did not participate in the election of 1868 due to Reconstruction. In
Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
, the state legislature cast its electoral vote for Grant by a vote of 40 to 9.''
Geography of results
Cartographic gallery
PresidentialCounty1868Colorbrewer.gif, Map of presidential election results by county
RepublicanPresidentialCounty1868Colorbrewer.gif, Map of Republican presidential election results by county
DemocraticPresidentialCounty1868Colorbrewer.gif, Map of Democratic presidential election results by county
OtherPresidentialCounty1868Colorbrewer.gif, Map of "other" presidential election results by county
CartogramPresidentialCounty1868Colorbrewer.gif, Cartogram
A cartogram (also called a value-area map or an anamorphic map, the latter common among German-speakers) is a thematic map of a set of features (countries, provinces, etc.), in which their geographic size is altered to be directly proportiona ...
of presidential election results by county
CartogramRepublicanPresidentialCounty1868Colorbrewer.gif, Cartogram of Republican presidential election results by county
CartogramDemocraticPresidentialCounty1868Colorbrewer.gif, Cartogram of Democratic presidential election results by county
CartogramOtherPresidentialCounty1868Colorbrewer.gif, Cartogram of "other" presidential election results by county
Results by state
Source: Data from
Walter Dean Burnham
Walter Dean Burnham (June 15, 1930 – October 4, 2022) was an American political scientist who was an expert on elections and voting patterns. He was known for his quantitative analysis of national trends and patterns in voting behavior, th ...
, ''Presidential ballots, 1836–1892'' (Johns Hopkins University Press, 1955) pp 247–57.
Close states
Red font color denotes states won by Republican Ulysses S. Grant; blue denotes those won by Democrat Horatio Seymour.
States where the margin of victory was under 1% (8 electoral votes)
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California 0.48% (520 votes)
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Oregon 0.74% (164 votes)
States where the margin of victory was under 5% (93 electoral votes)
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New York 1.18% (9,995 votes)
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New Jersey 1.76% (2,870 votes)
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Alabama 2.50% (3,746 votes)
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Indiana 2.79% (9,572 votes)
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Connecticut 2.98% (2,944 votes)
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Pennsylvania 4.41% (28,898 votes)
States where the margin of victory was under 10% (35 electoral votes)
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North Carolina 6.82% (12,380 votes) (tipping point state for a Grant victory)
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Arkansas 7.37% (3,034 votes) (tipping point state for a Seymour victory)
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Ohio 8.01% (41,546 votes)
Statistics
Counties with highest percent of vote (Republican)
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Hancock County, Tennessee
Hancock County is a county located in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, the population was 6,662, making it the fourth-least populous county in Tennessee. Its county seat is Sneedville.
History
Hancoc ...
100.00%
#
Monona County, Iowa
Monona County is a county located in the U.S. state of Iowa. As of the 2020 census, the population was 8,751. The county seat is Onawa.
History
The area around present-day Onawa was a stopping point in 1804 for Meriwether Lewis and William C ...
100.00%
#
Ottawa County, Kansas
Ottawa County (standard abbreviation: OT) is a county located in the U.S. state of Kansas. As of the 2020 census, the county population was 5,735. The largest city and county seat is Minneapolis.
History
Early history
For many millennia, ...
100.00%
#
Jefferson County, Nebraska
Jefferson County is a county in the U.S. state of Nebraska. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 7,240. Its county seat is Fairbury. The county was named for Thomas Jefferson, third President of the United States of America.
...
100.00%
#
McDowell County, West Virginia
McDowell County is a county in the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 19,111. Its county seat is Welch. McDowell County is the southernmost county in the state. It was created in 1858 by the Virginia Gener ...
100.00%
Counties with highest percent of vote (Democratic)
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St. Landry Parish, Louisiana 100.00%
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Lafayette Parish, Louisiana
Lafayette Parish (french: Paroisse de Lafayette) is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. According to the 2020 U.S. census, the parish had a population of 241,753, up from 221,578 at the 2010 United States census. The parish seat is ...
100.00%
#
Jackson Parish, Louisiana
Jackson Parish (French: ''Paroisse de Jackson'') is a parish in the northern part of the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 15,031. The parish seat is Jonesboro. The parish was formed in 1845 from parts of Clai ...
100.00%
#
De Soto Parish, Louisiana
DeSoto Parish (French: ''Paroisse DeSoto'') is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish was formed in 1843. At the 2010 U.S. census, the population was 26,656; at the 2020 census, its population increased to 26,812. Its pa ...
100.00%
#
Franklin Parish, Louisiana
Franklin Parish (french: Paroisse de Franklin) is a parish located in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2010 census, the population was 20,767. The parish seat is Winnsboro. The parish was founded in 1843 and ...
100.00%
Counties with highest percent of vote (Other)
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DeKalb County, Alabama 0.70%
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Sullivan County, New Hampshire 0.11%
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Strafford County, New Hampshire
Strafford County is a county in the U.S. state of New Hampshire. As of the 2020 census, the population was 130,889. Its county seat is Dover. Strafford County was one of the five original counties identified for New Hampshire in 1769. It was ...
0.09%
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Carroll County, New Hampshire
Carroll County is a county in the U.S. state of New Hampshire. As of the 2020 census, the population was 50,107, making it the third-least populous county in New Hampshire. Its county seat is Ossipee. The county was created in 1840 and organ ...
0.02%
See also
*
American election campaigns in the 19th century
In the 19th century, a number of new methods for conducting American election campaigns developed in the United States. For the most part the techniques were original, not copied from Europe or anywhere else. The campaigns were also changed by a g ...
*
First inauguration of Ulysses S. Grant
*
History of the United States (1865–1918)
The history of the United States from 1865 until 1918 covers the Reconstruction Era, the Gilded Age, and the Progressive Era, and includes the rise of industrialization and the resulting surge of immigration in the United States. This article foc ...
*
History of the United States Democratic Party
*
History of the United States Republican Party
*
Reconstruction era
*
Third Party System
In the terminology of historians and political scientists, the Third Party System was a period in the history of political parties in the United States from the 1850s until the 1890s, which featured profound developments in issues of American n ...
*
1868 United States House of Representatives elections
Events
January–March
* January 2 – British Expedition to Abyssinia: Robert Napier, 1st Baron Napier of Magdala, Robert Napier leads an expedition to free captive British officials and missionaries.
* January 3 – The 1 ...
*
1868 and 1869 United States Senate elections
Events
January–March
* January 2 – British Expedition to Abyssinia: Robert Napier leads an expedition to free captive British officials and missionaries.
* January 3 – The 15-year-old Mutsuhito, Emperor Meiji of J ...
*
Ohio idea
Footnotes
Notes
Bibliography
* ''American Annual Cyclopedia ... 1868'' (1869)
online highly detailed compendium of facts and primary sources
* Coleman, Charles Hubert. ''The election of 1868 : the Democratic effort to regain control'' (1933
online*Gambill, Edward. ''Conservative Ordeal: Northern Democrats and Reconstruction, 1865-1868.'' (Iowa State University Press: 1981).
* Henry, Robert Selph. ''The Story of Reconstruction'' (1938)
* Prymak, Andrew. "The 1868 and 1872 Elections," in Edward O. Frantz, ed. ''A Companion to the Reconstruction Presidents 1865-1881'' (Wiley Blackwell Companions to American History) (2014) pp 235–5
online* Rhodes, James G. ''History of the United States from the Compromise of 1850 to the McKinley-Bryan Campaign of 1896. Volume: 6.'' (1920). 1865–72; detailed narrative history
*
Simpson, Brooks D. ''Let Us Have Peace: Ulysses S. Grant and the Politics of War and Reconstruction, 1861-1868'' (1991).
* Summers, Mark Wahlgren.''The Press Gang: Newspapers and Politics, 1865-1878'' (1994)
* Summers, Mark Wahlgren. ''The Era of Good Stealings'' (1993), covers corruption 1868-1877
Primary sources
* Chester, Edward W ''A guide to political platforms'' (1977) pp 86–8
online*
Official proceedings of the National Democratic convention, held at New York, July 4-9, 1868'
Edward McPherson. '' The Political History of the United States of America During the Period of Reconstruction'' (1875)large collection of speeches and primary documents, 1865–1870, complete text online.
he copyright has expired.
* Porter, Kirk H. and Donald Bruce Johnson, eds. ''National party platforms, 1840-1964'' (1965
online 1840-1956
External links
from the Library of Congress
Election of 1868 in Counting the Votes
{{Authority control
Presidency of Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant
November 1868 events