Horatio Seymour 1868 presidential campaign

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Horatio Seymour for President
CampaignU.S. presidential election, 1868
Candidate
AffiliationDemocratic Party
StatusLost general election

In 1868, the

General Ulysses S. Grant and House Speaker Schuyler Colfax in the 1868 U.S. presidential election.[1]

Background

Andrew Johnson was the incumbent U.S. president in 1868 and made an unsuccessful bid for the 1868 Democratic presidential nomination.
United States Chief Justice Salmon P. Chase was a prominent early contender for the 1868 Democratic presidential nomination.
1864 Democratic vice-presidential nominee George Pendleton initially led in the delegate count at the 1868 Democratic National Convention.
For a time, General Winfield Scott Hancock led in the balloting at the 1868 Democratic National Convention.
1868 Democratic presidential nominee and former New York Governor Horatio Seymour.
George McCook nominated Horatio Seymour as a compromise candidate for the Democrats in 1868.
1868 Republican presidential nominee and former Union General Ulysses S. Grant.
A map of the results of the 1868 U.S. presidential election. In this election, Grant decisively won the electoral vote.

The 1868 election occurred three years after the end of the

U.S. Congress made ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment a precondition for the former Confederate states to rejoin the Union.[2]

The run-up to the 1868 Democratic National Convention

After the 1866 elections, some prominent Democrats considered nominating

Congressman George H. Pendleton.[2] Pendleton – the initial frontrunner for the 1868 Democratic presidential nomination[3] – was a principled opponent of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln during the American Civil War, was noted for his intelligence and civility, and had a lot of support in the Western United States.[2] What ultimately doomed Pendleton's bid was his "soft money views" and specifically his support of printing more money in order to spur inflation so that debtors can have some relief.[2] Thus, some Democrats searched for a "hard money" alternative (specifically someone who supported the gold standard) to Pendleton – with Indiana Senator Thomas A. Hendricks being a possible contender for this role.[2]

Another prominent candidate for the 1868 Democratic presidential nomination was

railroad president Asa Packer of Pennsylvania.[2] In addition, incumbent U.S. President Andrew Johnson attempted to secure conservative support for getting the 1868 Democratic presidential nomination.[2] However, many of President Johnson's initial supporters abandoned him as a result of his 1868 impeachment.[2]

The 1868 Democratic National Convention

On July 4, 1868, the

U.S. military from the Southern United States.[2] The platform also accused the Republicans – "the Radical party" – of violating the constitutional rights of the Southern states and of subjecting them to "military despotism and Negro supremacy."[2]

On the first ballot, George Pendleton led with 105 votes to President Johnson's 65, Sanford Church's 34, and General Hancock's 33.5.[2] For the next several ballots, Pendleton increased his support among the delegates while Hancock moved into a distant second place and while Hendricks moved into third place.[2] Meanwhile, support for President Johnson dwindled until it disappeared on the 14th ballot.[2] On the seventh and eighth ballots, Pendleton peaked at 156.5 delegates – which caused New York's delegation to switch their support from favorite son Sanford Church to Thomas Hendricks.[2] As Pendleton's support collapsed, Hendricks took the lead for a while but was unable to sustain it after General Winfield Scott Hancock's home state of Pennsylvania added its delegates to his column – thus allowing Hancock to overtake Hendricks and to take the lead for the first time.[2] Ultimately, Hancock led through the 21st ballot.[1] Meanwhile, Salmon Chase’s name was put into nomination on the 17th ballot and George Pendleton’s name was withdrawn on the 18th ballot.[1]

On the 22nd ballot, General

George McCook nominated former New York Governor Horatio Seymour, causing spontaneous cheering and demonstrations of approval.[1] Seymour did not want the nomination and thus declined it, but the delegates unanimously nominated him anyway.[1] For Seymour's running mate, the delegates unanimously voted for Missouri Congressman Francis Preston Blair Jr. (also known as Frank Blair Jr.).[1]

Campaign

The 1868 Republican presidential nominee, General Ulysses S. Grant, did not openly campaign and instead left the job to surrogates.

parades, and organized into pro-Grant clubs like the Tanners and the Boys in Blue.[1] The Republicans based their campaign on being the party that saved the Union, ended slavery, and began reforming the South.[1] They argued that the election of a Democratic president would result in gridlock which would hamper Reconstruction.[1] Meanwhile, the Democrats argued that Republicans were in favor of Black equality or even Black superiority not only in the Southern U.S., but throughout the entire United States.[1] They also attacked the Republican-backed military rule in the Southern U.S. and argued that they were the only truly national party and thus the only party that could bring national reconciliation.[1] The Democrats also attacked Grant as being "a besotted, uncouth, simple-minded, unprincipled, Negro-loving tyrant."[1]

As a result of the Democrats' feeling of hopelessness, Horatio Seymour—the 1868 Democratic presidential nominee – engaged in a speaking tour near the end of the 1868 campaign.

gaffes – such as predicting that a Grant Presidency would transform the U.S. into a military dictatorship.[1][4]

Results

In the U.S. presidential election on November 3, 1868, Ulysses S. Grant defeated Horatio Seymour in the popular vote by a 53% to 47% margin and in the electoral vote by a margin of 214 to 80.[1] 78% of the American electorate participated in this election – including 500,000 African-American men who voted for the first time in this election.[1] While Seymour lost the election, there were some bright spots for him.[1] Specifically, he won New Jersey, New York and Oregon and almost won California.[1] In addition, Seymour won Kentucky, Maryland, and Delaware.[1] In addition, it is worth noting that Grant only managed to win the popular vote in 1868 as a result of Black suffrage.[5] Historian Paul F. Boller Jr. wrote that "[i]t is apparent that if [Grant] had not won the 450,000 to 500,000 votes cast by the freedmen in the Southern states under military occupation, he would not have won his popular majority."[5]

In spite of the fact that Grant won the 1868 election, the Republicans largely lost interest in Reconstruction within the next several years – thus paving the way for the eventual emergence of the

literacy tests).[1] This is a notable development since, just a couple of years earlier, Republicans had refused to guarantee African-American suffrage in the Fourteenth Amendment due to their belief and fear that this will prevent the Fourteenth Amendment from being ratified.[6]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y "HarpWeek | Elections | 1868 Overview (Page 2)". Elections.harpweek.com. Retrieved August 18, 2018.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w "HarpWeek | Elections | 1868 Overview (Page 1)". Elections.harpweek.com. Retrieved August 18, 2018.
  3. ^ "H-Net Reviews". H-net.org. April 2008. Retrieved September 22, 2018.
  4. ^ "HarpWeek | Abraham Lincoln Cartoons". Abrahamlincolncartoons.info. Retrieved September 22, 2018.
  5. ^ a b "Ulysses S. Grant Elected in 1868 Thanks to Black Suffrage in the South | World History". Worldhistory.us. July 4, 2017. Retrieved September 22, 2018.
  6. ^ Raoul Berger. "Government by Judiciary: The Transformation of the Fourteenth Amendment - Online Library of Liberty". Oll.libertyfund.org. Retrieved September 22, 2018.
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