1868 Republican National Convention

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 File:Ulysses S Grant by Brady c1870-restored (3x4 crop).jpg|Commanding General Ulysses S. Grant of Illinois File:Samuel Portland Chase.jpg|Chief Justice Salmon P. Chase of Ohio(Speculated) File:Benjamin F Wade - Brady-Handy (cropped).jpg|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 / 2nd Day of Convention (May 21, 1868) File:1868RepublicanPresidentialNomination1stBallot.png|1stPresidential Ballot ==Vice presidential nomination==

Vice presidential candidates File:Schuyler Colfax portrait.jpg|Speaker Schuyler Colfax of Indiana File:Benjamin F Wade - Brady-Handy (cropped).jpg|President Pro Tempore Benjamin Wade of Ohio File:Reuben Fenton - Brady-Handy.jpg|Governor Reuben Fenton of New York File:Henry Wilson, VP of the United States.jpg|Senator Henry Wilson of Massachusetts File:Andrew Curtin2 (3x4a).jpg|Former Governor Andrew Curtin of Pennsylvania File:Hannibal Hamlin, photo portrait seated, c1860-65-retouched-crop.jpg|Former Vice President Hannibal Hamlin of Maine File:James Speed.jpg|Former Attorney General James Speed of Kentucky File:James-Harlan.jpg|Senator James Harlan of Iowa File:John Angel James Creswell, sitting.jpg|Former Senator John Creswell of Maryland File:Samuel C. Pomeroy - Brady-Handy.jpg|Senator Samuel C. Pomeroy of Kansas File:William D. Kelley - Brady-Handy (1).jpg|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 Balloting / 2nd Day of Convention (May 21, 1868) File:1868RepublicanVicePresidentialNomination1stBallot.png|1stVice Presidential Ballot File:1868RepublicanVicePresidentialNomination2ndBallot.png|2ndVice Presidential Ballot File:1868RepublicanVicePresidentialNomination3rdBallot.png|3rdVice Presidential Ballot File:1868RepublicanVicePresidentialNomination4thBallot.png|4thVice Presidential Ballot File:1868RepublicanVicePresidentialNomination5thBallotBefore.png|5thVice Presidential Ballot(Before Shifts) File:1868RepublicanVicePresidentialNomination5thBallotAfter.png|5thVice Presidential Ballot(After Shifts) ==See also==