U.S. presidential election, 1872

In the U.S. presidential election of 1872, incumbent President Ulysses S. Grant was easily elected to a second term in office despite a split within the Republican Party that resulted in a defection of many key Republicans to opponent Horace Greeley.

Nominations

Republican Party nomination

President Grant was unanimously renominated for a second term by the convention's 752 delegates. Vice President Schuyler Colfax however narrowly missed renomination, garnering 322 delegates but falling short of Henry Wilson's 400.

Related Topics:
Grant - Schuyler Colfax - Henry Wilson

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Liberal Republican Party nomination

An influential group of dissident Republicans split from the party to form the Liberal Republican Party, which nominated New York Tribune editor (and Democratic nominee) Horace Greeley for President and Missouri Governor Benjamin Gratz Brown for Vice President.

Related Topics:
Liberal Republican Party - New York Tribune - Horace Greeley - Missouri - Benjamin Gratz Brown

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Democratic Party nomination

As the Liberal Republicans did, the Democratic Party chose the Greeley/Brown ticket. Greeley received 686 of the 724 delegate votes cast, while Brown received 713.

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Other nominations

Victoria Woodhull became the first woman to be nominated for the Presidency, running on the platform of the Equal Rights Party. She was not legally able to vote, and was in jail on charges of indecency on Election Day in any case. (Fellow suffragette Susan B. Anthony would be arrested and fined for attempting to vote on Election Day.) She would also not have been eligible to the Presidency on Inauguration Day, being only 34 years old, although theoretically her running mate could have served as Acting President until she qualified on September 23, 1873. She is not listed in "Election results" below, as she received a negligible percentage of the popular vote and no electoral votes.

Related Topics:
Victoria Woodhull - Susan B. Anthony - September 23 - 1873

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