United States presidential election of 1872
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What was the United States presidential election of 1872?
In the United States presidential election of 1872, incumbent Republican Ulysses S. Grant defeated Horace Greeley, who ran as a Liberal Republican and Democratic candidate. Although Greeley received 66 electoral votes, he passed away shortly after the election. These votes were subsequently divided among five other candidates. Grant won the election with 286 electoral votes and 3,597,132 popular votes.
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Who were the main candidates in the 1872 presidential election?
The main candidates in the 1872 presidential election were Ulysses S. Grant, the Republican incumbent, and Horace Greeley, who ran as the Liberal Republican and Democratic candidate. Grant secured 286 electoral votes, defeating Greeley, who died shortly after the election. The 66 electoral votes pledged to Greeley were divided among five other candidates. Other candidates included Charles O'Conor, Thomas A. Hendricks, B. Gratz Brown, Charles J. Jenkins, and David Davis.
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What political parties were involved in the election?
In the 1872 United States presidential election, the main political parties involved were the Republican Party, the Democratic Party, and the Liberal Republican Party. Incumbent Ulysses S. Grant of the Republican Party ran against Horace Greeley, who represented both the Democratic and Liberal Republican parties. Other parties that nominated candidates included the Straight-Out Democratic Party, and the Independent-Democratic Party. Grant won the election with 286 electoral votes, while Greeley died shortly after the election, and his votes were divided among five other candidates.
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What were some key issues debated during the 1872 election?
The 1872 United States presidential election centered on several key issues, most notably corruption and reform. Dissident Liberal Republicans challenged President Ulysses S. Grant's administration, citing corruption, cronyism, and inefficiency.
Key debates included:
* Civil Service Reform Calls for a merit-based system to replace political patronage gained traction.
* Reconstruction Policies Grant's approach to Reconstruction, including federal military occupation of the South and ensuring civil rights for formerly enslaved people, faced resistance.
* Currency Standards The Liberal Republican platform advocated returning to a gold and silver currency standard.
* Tariffs The Liberal Republicans also called for lower tariffs.Horace Greeley, the Liberal Republican and Democratic nominee, supported a protective tariff and temperance, but the Republican party ultimately retained the presidency.
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- Horace Greeley
- What is the difference between a Democrat and a Republican?
- United States presidential election of 1872: Results of the 1872 election
- United States presidential election of 1868: Reconstruction era election
- Pendleton Civil Service Act
- Liberal Republican Party
- Democratic Party: Slavery and the emergence of the bipartisan system
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What unusual event happened to one of the candidates during the election?
In the 1872 presidential election, several unusual events occurred. Horace Greeley, the Liberal Republican and Democratic candidate who ran against Ulysses S. Grant, died shortly after the election but before the electoral votes were cast. As a result, the 66 electoral votes that had been pledged to him were divided among five other candidates. Greeley was mercilessly criticized during the campaign, and he said that he scarcely knew whether he was running for the presidency or the penitentiary. Before the electoral votes were tallied, Greeley was institutionalized, perhaps as a result of the intensity of the attacks he had sustained and his loss of control over his newspaper.
Also noteworthy, Victoria Woodhull became the first female candidate for U.S. president, nominated by the Equal Rights Party. However, she did not receive any electoral votes.
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How did the outcome of the 1872 election impact U.S. politics and government at the time?
The results of the 1872 election had a significant but complex impact on U.S. politics and government at the time. The election occurred during the Reconstruction era, a period after the Civil War when the country was trying to rebuild and address issues of race and civil rights.
The Republican party favored civil rights for all, while the Democratic party opposed the Republicans' approach to Reconstruction. Reconstruction began to wane during the 1870s, as many Republicans retreated from racial egalitarianism. A series of Supreme Court decisions limited the scope of Reconstruction laws and constitutional amendments.
In the 1876 election, negotiations between Southern political leaders and representatives of Hayes produced a bargain: Hayes would recognize Democratic control of the remaining Southern states, and Democrats would not block the certification of his election by Congress. Hayes was inaugurated; federal troops returned to their barracks; and Reconstruction came to an end.
6 Britannica Sources- Reconstruction: The end of Reconstruction
- Eight Elections That Changed History: Learn more
- United States presidential election of 1876: The disputed election
- What Is a Quid Pro Quo (and Is It Always Bad)?: Rutherford B. Hayes and Reconstruction
- United States presidential election of 1868: Reconstruction era election
- Pendleton Civil Service Act
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
United States presidential election of 1872, American presidential election held November 5, 1872, in which Republican incumbent Ulysses S. Grant defeated Liberal Republican and Democratic candidate Horace Greeley with 286 electoral votes. Though 66 electoral votes had been pledged to Greeley, he died shortly after the election, and the votes were divided between five other candidates.
At a glance: the election of 1872
Republican factionalization
Early in Grant’s first term as president, it became apparent that his civil service appointments and those made by his political allies had been largely motivated by cronyism rather than merit. The pervasive appointment of unqualified friends and associates of Grant and his allies, coupled with the adherence of the party leadership to Reconstruction policies such as federal military occupation of the South and the ensuring of civil rights for former slaves, bred resentment among Republicans who had been shut out of positions of power. This faction rallied around a new platform that advocated a reduction in government intervention in the economy (particularly protective tariffs), a return to a gold and silver currency standard, and a reduction in patronage.
Rallied by Sen. Carl Schurz of Missouri and Sen. Charles Sumner of Massachusetts, the dissidents, now calling themselves Liberal Republicans, held a convention in Cincinnati, Ohio, in May to nominate a challenger to Grant. Though the early favorite was Charles Francis Adams, son of former president John Quincy Adams, the diplomat lacked personal magnetism and proved unpopular. New York Tribune editor Horace Greeley emerged from the pack, jockeying for the nomination after his supporters engineered a deal with those advocating for B. Gratz Brown, governor of Missouri. The prominence of his newspaper accounted for much of his support, as his positions were more conservative that those held by most Liberal Republicans: he was a proponent of the protective tariff and of temperance. Brown filled the vice presidential slot on the ticket. The Democrats, fearing that this new faction would detract from their vote, refrained from nominating their own candidate and instead supported Greeley and Brown.
The election also saw the first female candidate for U.S. president (though women had not yet achieved suffrage). Victoria Woodhull, a radical social campaigner and one of the first female stockbrokers, had announced her candidacy in 1870 and was officially nominated by the Equal Rights Party in May 1872, with famed abolitionist Frederick Douglass as her ostensible running mate, though it is not certain that he ever accepted the position.
Grant, as expected, ran for reelection, though he replaced Vice Pres. Schuyler Colfax with Henry Wilson as his running mate. Grant engaged in no active campaigning, while Greeley was pilloried in the press as a Southern sympathizer—he advocated amnesty for Southern leaders, including Jefferson Davis. He famously commented that he “hardly knew whether [he] was running for the presidency or the penitentiary.” Nevertheless, Greeley ultimately captured some 44 percent of the popular vote (to Grant’s 56 percent). Before the electoral votes were tallied, however, Greeley was institutionalized (perhaps as a result of the intensity of the attacks he had sustained and his loss of control over his newspaper), and he died before the electoral votes were cast. Greeley’s electors went on to divide their votes between several splinter parties. (Woodhull did not receive any electoral votes.) Grant easily won reelection with 286 electoral votes.
For the results of the previous election, see United States presidential election of 1868. For the results of the subsequent election, see United States presidential election of 1876.
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Results of the 1872 election
The results of the 1872 U.S. presidential election are provided in the table.
| presidential candidate | political party | electoral votes | popular votes |
|---|---|---|---|
| *Greeley died shortly after the election in November. Three electors pledged to him cast their votes for him, but they were not counted; the others cast their votes for the other candidates listed. | |||
| Sources: Electoral and popular vote totals based on data from the United States Office of the Federal Register and Congressional Quarterly's Guide to U.S. Elections, 4th ed. (2001). | |||
| Ulysses S. Grant | Republican | 286 | 3,597,132 |
| Horace Greeley* | Democratic/Liberal Republican | 2,834,125 | |
| Charles O'Conor | Straight Out Democratic | 18,602 | |
| Thomas A. Hendricks | Independent-Democratic | 42 | |
| B. Gratz Brown | Democratic | 18 | |
| Charles J. Jenkins | Democratic | 2 | |
| David Davis | Democratic | 1 | |
| not voted | 17 | ||