President Grant, although popular with the American people, had lost the support of some Republican leaders.  These Liberal Republicans split from their party and  nominated newspaper mogul Horace Greeley.  The Democrats agreed, nominating him as well.

The issue of the day was again Reconstruction.  Grant wanted to keep federal intervention in the southern governments, while the Democrats wanted to return the south to local control.  Grant was also struggling with stories of corruption in his administration. Even still, Grant won by a large margin.

This is the first election that the 15th Amendment applied, giving African-American men the right to vote. Also interesting to note, Greeley died before the electoral votes were cast.

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Campaign Poster

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Election of 1872 Map

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© 2021 Periodic Presidents, PJ and Jamie Creek