Video: 'The American Presidential Election of 1868'

(Tuesday, November 3, 1868, during the United States presidential election, 1868) — Commanding General of the U.S. Army Ulysses S. Grant of Illinois, a Republican, was elected President of the United States today, defeating former Democratic Governor Horatio Seymour of New York in the first presidential election since the American Civil War and the abolition of slavery.

Grant and his running mate, Speaker of the House Schuyler Colfax of Indiana, defeated Seymour and his running mate, Rep. Francis Preston Blair Jr. of Missouri, 52.66-47.34% in the national popular vote, which would result in a 214-80 victory in the Electoral College.

Incumbent President Andrew Johnson, who had succeeded to the presidency in 1865 following the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, received some support for another term at the 1868 Democratic National Convention, but, after several ballots, the delegates nominated Seymour.

Grant and Colfax would be sworn in for four-year terms on March 4, 1869.