The 1868 National Convention of the Republican Party

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

 of the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 was held in Crosby's Opera House, Chicago, Cook County, Illinois

Cook County, Illinois

Cook County is a county in the U.S. state of Illinois, with its county seat in Chicago. It is the second most populous county in the United States after Los Angeles County. The county has 5,194,675 residents, which is 40.5 percent of all Illinois residents. Cook County's population is larger than...

, on May 20 to May 21, 1868.

Ulysses S. Grant

Ulysses S. Grant

Ulysses S. Grant was the 18th President of the United States as well as military commander during the Civil War and post-war Reconstruction periods. Under Grant's command, the Union Army defeated the Confederate military and ended the Confederate States of America...

 had emerged as the frontrunner for the Republican nomination after being the Union

Union (American Civil War)

During the American Civil War, the Union was a name used to refer to the federal government of the United States, which was supported by the twenty free states and five border slave states. It was opposed by 11 southern slave states that had declared a secession to join together to form the...

 commander in the Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

. He was nominated unopposed on the first ballot. To balance Grant, a former Democrat and a hard drinker, the convention chose House Speaker Schuyler Colfax

Schuyler Colfax

Schuyler Colfax, Jr. was a United States Representative from Indiana , Speaker of the House of Representatives , and the 17th Vice President of the United States . To date, he is one of only two Americans to have served as both House speaker and vice president.President Ulysses S...

, a former Whig and temperance

Temperance movement

A temperance movement is a social movement urging reduced use of alcoholic beverages. Temperance movements may criticize excessive alcohol use, promote complete abstinence , or pressure the government to enact anti-alcohol legislation or complete prohibition of alcohol.-Temperance movement by...

 man. In Grant's acceptance telegram he said "Let us have peace", which captured the imagination of the American people.

Candidates for the Vice-Presidential nomination

• Benjamin F. Wade (Ohio)
• John A. J. Creswell
  John A. J. Creswell
  John Angel James Creswell was an American politician from Maryland. He served as Postmaster General of the United States during the Grant administration.- Biography :...
  
   (Maryland)
• Andrew G. Curtin (Pennsylvania)
• Reuben E. Fenton (New York)
• Hannibal Hamlin
  Hannibal Hamlin
  Hannibal Hamlin was the 15th Vice President of the United States , serving under President Abraham Lincoln during the American Civil War...
  
   (Maine)
• James Harlan
  James Harlan (senator)
  James Harlan was a member of the United States Senate and a U.S. Cabinet Secretary.-Biography:Harlan represented the state of Iowa in the United States Senate as a member of the Free Soil Party in 1855. In 1857 the Senate declared the seat vacant because of irregularities in the legislative...
  
   (Iowa)
• William D. Kelley
  William D. Kelley
  William D. Kelley was a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania. Kelley was a lifelong advocate of civil rights, social reform, and labor protection.-Early life:...
  
   (Pennsylvania)
• Samuel C. Pomeroy
  Samuel C. Pomeroy
  Samuel Clarke Pomeroy was an American Republican Senator from Kansas in the mid-19th century, serving in the United States Senate during the American Civil War. Pomeroy served in the Massachusetts House of Representatives...
  
   (Kansas)
• James Speed
  James Speed
  James Speed was an American lawyer, politician and professor. In 1864, he was appointed by Abraham Lincoln to be the United States' Attorney General. He previously served in the Kentucky Legislature, and in local political office.Speed was born in Jefferson County, Kentucky, to Judge John Speed...
  
   (Kentucky)
• Henry Wilson
  Henry Wilson
  Henry Wilson was the 18th Vice President of the United States and a Senator from Massachusetts...
  
  (Massachusetts)