U.S. presidential election, 1868

Summary

The Civil War over, partisan politics immediately returned as Congress wrangled with the issue of reconstruction - the radical Republicans even going so far as to impeach President Andrew Johnson.

Republican Party Nomination

General Ulysses S. Grant, who had garnered 22 delegate votes at the 1864 convention without demonstrating any interest in being a candidate, was unanimously nominated as the party's standard bearer for 1868. Schuyler Colfax was chosen over Ohio's Benjamin Franklin Wade for Vice President.

Democratic Party Nomination

Two-time New York Governor Horatio Seymour emerged as the Presidential nominee for the Democrats, garnering 317 delegate votes to defeat 1864 Vice Presidential nominee George H. Pendleton (157 delegates), future Vice President Thomas Andrews Hendricks (146) and eventual 1880 Democratic presidential nominee Winfield Scott Hancock. Francis P. Blair, Jr. was nominated for Vice President.

Election Results

For More Information

President of the United States, U.S. presidential election, 1868, History of the United States (1865-1918)

Other Elections