"Due to the ratification of the 14th Amendment, Ulysses Grant would only get three years in his first term. By mid 1868 election season had returned. Yet even though it had been a shorter term, there was no shortage of things that the President had accomplished. Reconstruction was well underway, the US had expanded in the caribbean and a terrified angry populous was feeling much more mellow. Except for the occupied southern states... The prospect of a second election without a single southern voter being allowed to vote was too much to bear for many southerners. On election day, thousands took to the streets to protest this and other grievances, like that of the 15th Amendment. Like always, these protests turned to riots and lead to more lynchings. The soldiers stationed in the south were ordered to clear out the rioters and the Department of Equity handled their persecution. (The Grant administration was cracking down on the near constant lynchings that began after the ratification of the 15th Amendment.)
In the north the election of 1868 was special for another reason. Black men had gained the right to vote! While in states like Kentucky and Missouri this was,
restricted to say the least, in the Midwest and New England many black men felt they could go out and do their constitutional duty. As expected President Grant would gain their votes by an overwhelming margin. Many say black votes in the extremely close state of New York were key towards a Grant-..."
-From Reconstruction: A Complete History
by Doris Goodman, published 1999
| Presidential Ballot | 1 | Vice Presidential Ballot | 1 |
| US. Grant | 577 | H. Hamlin | 442 |
| H. Greeley | 73 | S. Pomeroy | 208 |
"The Republican National Convention of 1868 held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania was one of the smoother National Conventions of the reconstruction era. Truly it was quite peaceful. Almost everyone threw their unapologetic support to President Grant for re-election. Only one man was crazy enough to try and beat him. Horace Greeley. A famed Newspaper Editorialist. Back in 1865 it was his very newspaper that coined the term
Triple Calamity. Back then Greeley supported Grant for the Republican nomination. He and his newspaper held very moderate stances on reconstruction as the war was coming to a close but, after the Calamity he saw that the national mood was towards progress. Over the course of Grant's term however Greely became a critic. He supported the message behind the 15th Amendment but thought it was a bit radical and that perhaps it could be toned down, he supported reconstruction but thought it was absurd they hadn't let any states re-enter the union yet. In the Convention Hall Greeley said that the Grant Administration was supporting federal overreach. While he garnered some moderate support, many voted for Grant anyway. In all fairness he had done a pretty good job and while to them reconstruction was going a bit far, the economy was also really strong and Grant overall was an inspiring force. Thus, on the first ballot the President was re-nominated. Though Greeley was unhappy he still congratulated the President and endorsed him. (Though he very much entertained going to the Democratic convention the next month and trying once again for president).
Hannibal Hamlin faced far more resistance. Many moderates blamed Hamlin's radical thought for the radical reconstruction, at this point Hamlin was also getting older and had technically had two terms as Vice President. Many believed he had to go. Moderates rallied around Samuel Pomeroy, a Senator from Kansas. For at least a second, it looked like Pomeroy would beat Hamlin out, he certainly had the support of Greeley and even former President Foster! Yet current President Grant avidly supported Hamlin and he made that very clear to big players in the convention. To Grant, Hamlin was a close friend, and he didn't want to see him go. It was almost certainly Grant who handed Hamlin a
third term as Vice President.
| Presidential Ballot | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Vice Presidential Ballot | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| T. Hendricks | 102 | 123 | 132 | 132 | 162 | FP. Blair | 107 | 141 | 171 |
| J. English | 120 | 115 | 128 | 127 | 155 | T. Ewing | 110 | 128 | 141 |
| J. Parker | 55 | 60 | 52 | 54 | 2 | WS. Hancock | 100 | 48 | 5 |
| WS. Hancock | 37 | 19 | 5 | 3 | 7 | N/A | | | |
| H. Seymour | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | N/A | | | |
Over at the Democratic National Convention held in New York City, things were far less smooth. In this election, unlike the one back in 1865, people thought they could win. The Democrats certainly knew it was a long shot but perhaps an excellent ticket could pull it off. Many believed that Winfield Scott Hancock was the perfect choice! But, uh, well the General wasn't in the United States. He was doing a Grand Tour of Europe that he convently planned the day after the dates of the Democratic National Convention were announced, and the tour itself was to to last until June of 1869. On top of that he left a letter that said very specifically for no one to nominate him at the 1868 convention... It seemed he had bad memories from the 1865 convention. This didn't stop some supporters but it was clear to most that his wishes ought to be respected. With Hancock out and Pendleton and Seymour with very dead careers after the 1865 landslide loss, the Democrats knew it was time for some new faces.
In consideration were three real contenders. 1st Thomas Hendricks, a Senator from Indiana, Hendricks said that should he be elected President, he would attempt to work with congress to find a compromise of ending reconstruction in the near future. After that he would ensure every former Confederate State is quickly re-admitted during his term, ending the military districts in the south. Next was James English the current Governor of Connecticut. English was... controversial. In 1865 he was in the senate and voted in favor of the 13th Amendment. Many in the party saw him as far too moderate to nominate for that exact reason, and sided with Hendricks a man who voted against the Amendment. Others however saw English's vote as a good thing. It would moderate the Democrats to the people. The slavery issue was dead and gone anyway. On top of that he was from Connecticut, perhaps he could steal some of the North Eastern vote. If his VP was a staunch anti reconstructionist, it could begin something beautiful. The final man in contention was in between Hendricks and English. Joel Parker was the former Governor of New Jersey. Back in 1865 he was the favorite son of the New Jersey delegation but this year he was seen as the choice for those that didn't want to chose one of the other two candidates, he had no real shot of winning.
The actual voting was quite, partisan. Hendricks and English supporters were locked in with their man, and constantly tried to convince the other delegates, that were throwing their votes away to Parker or Hancock to switch. After Hancock voters mostly switched to Hendricks, prying Parker voters off became far easier. On the 4th ballot these Parker voters were told to pick a damn side. Most of them went for Hendricks and thus a nominee was chosen.
Though tensions were high English himself took the loss with grace (surprised he had gotten that far at all) and asked his people to support Hendricks. He then suggested to the floor that a Civil War veteran be selected as Vice President. The Hall generally agreed on that and three general's names were cast forward. Francis Preston Blair of Missouri, Thomas Ewing Jr. of Ohio and of course Winfield Scott Hancock. Hancock never said in his letter that they couldn't nominate him as
Vice President! on the first VP ballot the vote was really close, all three within a few votes of one another. It would've been a Hancock sweep had he been
within the US. Yet right before the second ballot the often mouthy and controversial Blair gained the endorsement of Hendricks (hoping to gain the more radical anti-reconstruction vote), Blair himself made a fiery speech after the Hendricks endorsement that made many in the hall believe they had a man who actually wanted to be the Vice President (something that was not common). Ewing meanwhile had very little enthusiasm towards the job. It was because of this that on the third ballot, Francis Preston Blair was selected."
From Every National Convention in American History
by Jacob Cohen, published 2012
"The Presidential Election of 1868 was far more heated than the Special Election three years prior. This time the Democrats were actually trying. Hendricks' surrogates really went on the attack against the Grant administration. The Democrats portrayed Grant as a tyrant that was blocking southern states admission, they said he believed Black men and White men were one in the same, they said Hannibal Hamlin was running the whole administration and that radical thoughts had infected the good General Grant's skull. The Democrats droned on and on about how Hendricks was the choice of the White man and Grant the choice of the black.
Meanwhile the Grant administration pointed to economic success. They attacked Blair as a attack dog and to a lesser degree an incompetent general during the war. The Grant campaign also told the people that reconstruction was working, that the two halves of the nation were healing and that southern states were soon to be readmitted. It was this sense of hope that resonated more with the american people. In the end it was hope and also high black turnout throughout the north that would win the President his re-election."
-From GRANT
by Howell Leanman, published 1977
(No southern states have been readmitted.)
Another election in the series. Fell free to pick apart to your own pleasure. Next chapter we will be talking about the 2nd term of old President Grant!
-
