The American Vote
ReconstructionCycle 21 / 60

1868

Ulysses S. Grant and the 1868 map.
Ulysses S. Grant (Republican) defeated Horatio Seymour (Democratic), 52.7% to 47.3%.
Grant
214 EV
Seymour
80 EV
0270 to win → 148294
The map · 1868
24 states for Rep · 10 for Dem
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Narrative

Ulysses S. Grant and the 1868 map

Civil War hero Ulysses S. Grant won the presidency for the Republicans over Democrat Horatio Seymour of New York. Grant ran on the slogan 'Let us have peace,' promising reconciliation while supporting Reconstruction. His popular vote margin was provided largely by newly enfranchised Black voters in the South. The election took place just three years after the Civil War's end, with former Confederate states still under military Reconstruction. Grant's victory secured the Radical Republicans' Reconstruction program.

Key issue

Reconstruction policy; Black suffrage; wartime debt repayment

Notable

Grant's popular vote margin came largely from newly enfranchised Black Southern voters