Chapter 7 - The Election of 1868 - Triple Calamity

Due to the ratification of the 14th Amendment, Ulysses Grant would only get three years in his first term.  However, there was no shortage of things that the President had accomplished by the time election season returned in 1868. Reconstruction was well underway, the US had expanded in the Caribbean, and a terrified, angry populace had been mollified. Except for the occupied southern states. The prospect of a second election without a single southern voter being allowed to vote was too much to bear for many southerners. On election day, thousands took to the streets to protest this and other grievances, such as the 15th Amendment. Predictably, these protests turned to riots and lead to more lynchings. The soldiers stationed in the south were ordered to clear out the rioters and the Department of Equity handled their persecution. (The Grant administration was cracking down on the near constant lynchings that began after the ratification of the 15th Amendment.)

In the north, the election of 1868 was special for another reason; black men had gained the right to vote! Despite the fact that in states like Kentucky and Missouri this achievement was restricted, to say the least, in the Midwest and New England many black men felt they could go out and do their constitutional duty. As expected, President Grant would gain their votes by an overwhelming margin. Many say black votes in the extremely close state of New York were key towards a Grant victory. 

-From Reconstruction: A Complete History

by Doris Goodman, published 1999

Presidential Ballot		Vice Presidential Ballot
US. Grant	577	H. Hamlin	442
H. Greeley	73	S. Pomeroy	208

The Republican National Convention of 1868, held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was one of the smoother National Conventions of the reconstruction era. It was truly quite peaceful. Almost everyone threw their unapologetic support to President Grant for re-election. Only one man was crazy enough to try and beat him. Horace Greeley, a famed newspaper editorialist. It was his very newspaper that coined the term Triple Calamity back in 1865. At that time, Greeley supported Grant for the Republican nomination. He and his newspaper held very moderate stances on reconstruction as the war was coming to a close, but after the Calamity he saw that the national mood shifted towards progress. Over the course of Grant's term, Greeley became a critic. He supported the message behind the 15th Amendment, but thought it was a bit radical and that perhaps it could be toned down. He also supported reconstruction, but thought it was absurd they hadn't let any states re-enter the union. In the Convention Hall, Greeley said that the Grant Administration was supporting federal overreach. While he garnered some moderate support, many voted for Grant anyway. In all fairness, the President was an inspiring force, and even if some thought reconstruction was going too far, the economy was strong. Thus, on the first ballot, the President was re-nominated. Though Greeley was unhappy, he still congratulated the President and endorsed him (even though he very much entertained going to the Democratic convention the next month and trying once again for president). 

Hannibal Hamlin faced far more resistance, as many moderates blamed Hamlin's thinking for the radical reconstruction. Hamlin was also getting older and technically already had two terms as Vice President. Many believed he had to go. Moderates rallied around Samuel Pomeroy, a Senator from Kansas. For a moment, it looked like Pomeroy would beat out Hamlin - he certainly had the support of Greeley and even former President Foster - yet current President Grant avidly supported Hamlin and made that very clear to big players at the convention. To Grant, Hamlin was a close friend, and he didn't want to see him go. It was almost certainly Grant who handed Hamlin a third term as Vice President.

Presidential Ballot	1	2	3	4	5
T. Hendricks	102	123	132	132	162
J. English	120	115	128	127	155
J. Parker	55	60	52	54	2
WS. Hancock	37	19	5	3	7
H. Seymour	3	0	0	1	1

Vice Presidential Ballot	1	2	3
FP. Blair	107	141	171
T. Ewing	110	128	141
WS. Hancock	100	48	5

At the Democratic National Convention held in New York City, things were going far less smoothly. In this election, unlike the one back in 1865, many people thought they could win. The Democrats certainly knew it was a long shot but perhaps an excellent ticket could pull it off. Winfield Scott Hancock was considered the perfect choice, but for the fact that the General wasn't in the United States. He was doing a Grand Tour of Europe that he conveniently planned the day after the dates of the Democratic National Convention were announced, and the tour itself was to to last until June of 1869. On top of that, he left a letter that said very specifically for no one to nominate him at the 1868 convention. It seemed he had bad memories from the 1865 convention. This didn't stop some supporters, but most considered it clear that his wishes ought to be respected. With Hancock out, and the non-starters of Pendleton and Seymour following the landslide loss of 1865, the Democrats knew it was time for some new faces.

There were three real contenders in consideration. First was Thomas Hendricks, a Senator from Indiana, who said that should he be elected President, he would attempt to work with congress to find a compromise of ending reconstruction. After that, he would ensure that every former Confederate State was readmitted during his term and end the military districts in the south. Next was James English, the current Governor of Connecticut. English was controversial. In 1865, he was in the senate and voted in favor of the 13th Amendment. For that reason, many in the party saw him as far too moderate to nominate, and sided with Hendricks for his opposition to the Amendment. Others however saw English's vote as a good thing, that would moderate the Democrats to the people. On top of that, he was from Connecticut and could perhaps steal some of the North Eastern vote. If his VP was a staunch anti reconstructionist, it could be the beginning of something beautiful. The final man in contention was in between Hendricks and English, his name was Joel Parker. The former Governor of New Jersey who was considered the favorite son of the New Jersey delegation in 1865, this year he was seen as the choice for those that didn't want to choose one of the other two candidates. 

The actual voting came down along partisan lines. Hendricks and English supporters were locked in with their man, and constantly tried to convince delegates to switch from Parker or Hancock rather than “throw their votes away.” After Hancock voters mostly switched to Hendricks, it became far easier to pry Parker voters off. On the 4th ballot, these Parker voters were told to “pick a damn side.” Most went for Hendricks and thus a nominee was chosen.

Though tensions were high, English took the loss with grace, as he was surprised he had gotten that far at all. He asked his people to support Hendricks and then suggested to the floor that a Civil War veteran be selected as Vice President. The hall generally agreed, and three general's names were put forward. Francis Preston Blair of Missouri, Thomas Ewing Jr. of Ohio, and of course, Winfield Scott Hancock. Hancock never said in his letter that they couldn't nominate him as Vice President! On the first VP ballot the vote was very close, with all three within a few votes of one another. It would've been a Hancock sweep had he been within the US. Yet, right before the second ballot, the often mouthy and controversial Blair gained the endorsement of Hendricks (hoping to gather the more radical anti-reconstruction vote). Blair himself made a fiery speech after the Hendricks endorsement that caused many in the hall to believe they had a man who actually wanted to be the Vice President for a change. Meanwhile, Ewing had very little enthusiasm for the job. As a result, on the third ballot, Francis Preston Blair was selected.

From Every National Convention in American History

by Jacob Cohen, published 2012

The Presidential Election of 1868 was far more heated than the Special Election three years prior. This time, the Democrats were actually trying. Hendricks' surrogates really went on the attack against the Grant administration. The Democrats portrayed Grant as a tyrant that was blocking the admission of southern states, they said he believed black men and white men were one in the same, they said Hannibal Hamlin was running the whole administration and that radical thoughts had infected the good General Grant's skull. The Democrats droned on and on about how Hendricks was the choice of the white man and Grant the choice of the black.

Meanwhile, the Grant administration pointed to economic success. They called Blair an attack dog, and to a lesser degree, an incompetent general during the war. The Grant campaign also told the people that reconstruction was working and the two halves of the nation were healing, with the southern states soon to be readmitted. In the end, it was a sense of  hope and a high black turnout throughout the north that won the President his re-election.

-From GRANT

by Howell Leanman, published 1977 

(No southern states have been readmitted.)

Chapter 7 - The Election of 1868 - Triple Calamity