# 1868 Republican National Convention

The 1868 Republican National Convention of the Republican Party of the United States was held in Crosby'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. Army Ulysses S. Grant was the unanimous choice of the Republican convention delegates for president. For vice president the delegates chose Speaker Schuyler Colfax, who was Grant's choice. In Grant's acceptance telegram, a letter to then President of the Republican National Convention Joseph R. Hawley, Grant said "Let us have peace".

## Background

Republicans, led by their Radical faction, had scored decisive victories in the 1866 elections. If that trend continued in the 1867 elections, then the party's presidential nomination would likely go to a Radical like Chief Justice Salmon P. Chase or Senator Benjamin Wade. Chase had the support of important figures like Senator Charles Sumner and financier Jay Cooke. More moderate Republicans, such as Senator William P. Fessenden, Charles Francis Adams Jr., and The 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."

## Presidential nomination
### Presidential candidates

* Commanding General Ulysses S. Grant of Illinois
* Chief Justice Salmon P. Chase of Ohio (Speculated)
* President pro tempore Benjamin Wade of Ohio (Speculated)
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)
* 1st Presidential Ballot

## Vice presidential nomination
### Vice presidential candidates

* Speaker Schuyler Colfax of Indiana
* President Pro Tempore Benjamin Wade of Ohio
* Governor Reuben Fenton of New York
* Senator Henry Wilson of Massachusetts
* Former Governor Andrew Curtin of Pennsylvania
* Former Vice President Hannibal Hamlin of Maine
* Former Attorney General James Speed of Kentucky
* Senator James Harlan of Iowa
* Former Senator John Creswell of Maryland
* Senator Samuel C. Pomeroy of Kansas
* Representative William D. Kelley of Pennsylvania (Improper Nomination)
Colfax was selected for vice president on the fifth ballot. Colfax was popular among Republicans for his friendly character, party loyalty, and Radical views on Reconstruction. Wilson received a large amount of support from the southern delegations.
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)
* 1st Vice Presidential Ballot
* 2nd Vice Presidential Ballot
* 3rd Vice Presidential Ballot
* 4th Vice Presidential Ballot
* 5th Vice Presidential Ballot (Before Shifts)
* 5th Vice Presidential Ballot (After Shifts)