1872 Republican National Convention


The 1872 Republican National Convention was held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, June 5–6, 1872. President Ulysses S. Grant was unanimously nominated for reelection by the convention's 752 delegates. Massachusetts Senator Henry Wilson replaced sitting Vice President Schuyler Colfax as the Republican vice presidential nominee.

Presidential nomination

Presidential candidate

Vice President Colfax was considered a potential rival to Grant for the presidential nomination. Although Colfax declared himself open to the prospect should Grant decide not to run for a second term, his stance alienated him from both the President and his many supporters.
Grant's nomination was co-seconded by William Henry Grey of Arkansas, the first African-American to address a major U.S. political party national convention. Grant received the nomination unanimously on the first ballot. Grant's re-nomination would be the last time the Republican party nominated a candidate unanimously until McKinley's re-nomination in 1900.


'''Presidential Balloting / 2nd Day of Convention '''

The platform

The platform, significantly so in the first section, boasted of the party's achievements since it had attained power in 1861:

The Republican party of the United States, assembled in National Convention in the city of Philadelphia, on the 5th and 6th days of June, 1872, again declares its faith, appeals to its history, and announces its position upon the questions before the country:

Anti-Temperance and the Raster Resolution

The late 19th century saw a massive and nationwide growth of the temperance movement, and until 1872 the Republican Party had not formally adopted a stance on the prohibition of alcohol. Famous German American editor and political figure Hermann Raster of Chicago wrote a passionate and carefully worded resolution, dubbed the Raster Resolution, for the 1872 convention. The resolution attacked the temperance movement and solidified the Republican Party's opposition to prohibition, and it was inserted in condensed form as the sixteenth section of the official platform.

Vice Presidential nomination

Not Nominated

Colfax's chances for re-nomination were further damaged when a small movement within the Liberal Republican Party sought to enter his name for their presidential nomination. While the rumors of Colfax's nomination for either party's nomination amounted to little more than speculation, it likely cost him his bid for re-nomination. Colfax narrowly missed the mark by garnering 308.5 delegates compared to Massachusetts Senator Henry Wilson's 399.5 on a revised first ballot. President Grant was among many notables who remained on the sideline during the vice presidential balloting.


'''Vice Presidential Balloting / 2nd Day of Convention '''