The 1868 Republican National Convention of the Republican Party of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

was held in

Crosby's Opera House Crosby's Opera House (1865–1871) was an opera house in Chicago, Illinois, United States. It was founded by Uranus H. Crosby in 1865 with the goal of advancing the arts in Chicago by bringing opera to the city. The five-story building was design ...

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Cook County, Illinois Cook County is the most populous county in the U.S. state of Illinois and the second-most-populous county in the United States, after Los Angeles County, California. More than 40% of all residents of Illinois live within Cook County. As of 2 ...

, 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 Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union Ar ...

was the unanimous choice of the Republicans for

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

. At the convention he was unopposed and chosen by acclamation on the first ballot. For

vice president A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on ...

the delegates chose

Speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** I ...

Schuyler Colfax Schuyler Colfax Jr. (; March 23, 1823 – January 13, 1885) was an American journalist, businessman, and politician who served as the 17th vice president of the United States from 1869 to 1873, and prior to that as the 25th speaker of the Hous ...

, who was Grant's choice. In Grant's acceptance telegram, a letter to then President of the Republican National Convention

Joseph R. Hawley Joseph Roswell Hawley (October 31, 1826March 18, 1905) was the 42nd Governor of Connecticut, a U.S. politician in the Republican and Free Soil parties, a Civil War general, and a journalist and newspaper editor. He served two terms in the U ...

, Grant said "Let us have peace", which captured the imagination of the American people.

Presidential candidates

Withdrew before convention

File:Samuel Portland Chase.jpg, File:Benjamin Wade - Brady-Handy.jpg,

Presidential balloting

Vice Presidential candidates

Benjamin F. Wade Benjamin Franklin "Bluff" Wade (October 27, 1800March 2, 1878) was an American lawyer and politician who served as a United States Senator for Ohio from 1851 to 1869. He is known for his leading role among the Radical Republicans.

(Ohio) *

John A. J. Creswell John Andrew Jackson Creswell (November 18, 1828December 23, 1891) was an American politician and abolitionist from Maryland, who served as United States Representative, United States Senator, and as Postmaster General of the United States appo ...

(Maryland) * Andrew G. Curtin (Pennsylvania) * Reuben E. Fenton (New York) *

Hannibal Hamlin Hannibal Hamlin (August 27, 1809 – July 4, 1891) was an American attorney and politician who served as the 15th vice president of the United States from 1861 to 1865, during President Abraham Lincoln's first term. He was the first Republican ...

(Maine) * James Harlan (Iowa) * William D. Kelley (Pennsylvania) * Samuel C. Pomeroy (Kansas) * James Speed (Kentucky) *

Henry Wilson Henry Wilson (born Jeremiah Jones Colbath; February 16, 1812 – November 22, 1875) was an American politician who was the 18th vice president of the United States from 1873 until his death in 1875 and a senator from Massachusetts from 1855 to ...

(Massachusetts)

References

''Presidential election, 1868.: Proceedings of the National union Republican convention, held at Chicago, May 20 and 21, 1868./ reported by Ely, Burnham & Bartlett, Chicago, official reporters of the convention.''

External links