Grant Elected on Platform Protecting Black Voting Rights

Ulysses S. Grant won the 1868 presidential election with the slogan 'Let Us Have Peace.' Approximately 500,000 Black votes in Southern states were decisive in his victory. Grant won the popular vote by only about 300,000, demonstrating Black voting's political importance. His administration would initially take strong action against Klan violence before federal will weakened under Liberal Republican pressure and Northern fatigue with Reconstruction.