At the end of the Civil War Ulysses S. Grant was one of the North's leading heroes second only to Abraham Lincoln. Grant had emerged from obscurity to lead the Union Army to victory over the South. After the war he had shown some political skill. He had been able to serve President Andrew Johnson loyally, during the beginning of the difficult Reconstruction period, when Congress had impeached the president. Yet Grant was able to avoid the political chaos that had engulfed Johnson and ruined the political careers of some of those who had been associated with the embattled president. This shell token from the 1868 presidential campaign featured U.S. Grant on the obverse and Schuyler Colfax, the vice presidential candidate. A shell token is made from two thin empossed disks of metal that are joined with a bezel. In 1868 Grant was the odds-on favorite to win the Republican presidential nomination despite the fact that he had been a Democrat before the war. Genuine military heroes and those who could create a positive military record had been successful presidential candidates in the past. They had included George Washington, Andrew Jackson, William Henry Harrison and Zachary Taylor among the real military heroes and Franklin Pierce who had pretended to be one. For the second spot on the ticket, the Republicans chose Schuyler Colfax who was Speaker of the House. Colfax was one of those glad handing politicians with an infectious grin who had a knack for pleasing most anyone he met. Geroge Pendleton, shown right on this very scarce 1864 Civil War token, ran with George McClellan for president and vice president in 1864. Pendleton ran as a "soft money" candidate who favored the extensive use of paper money. Pendleton was a "copper head," southern sympathizer in 1864. This shell token featured presidential candate, Hortio Seymour and vice presidental candidate Frank Blair. Much of the silver plating is still on this piece. The Democrats had harder time nominating their candidate. With no obvious choices, George Pendleton, who had been the Democrats' vice presidential candidate in 1864, was the early frontrunner. Pendleton was a "soft money" man who advocated the extensive issuance of paper money to inflate the economy. Pendleton could not get the required number of delegate votes however, and the party turned to a reluctant candidate, former New York Governor, Horatio Seymour. Seymour, who had earlier refused to run, had been preparing to nominate Supreme Court Chief Justice, Salmon Chase, who had been a Republican. The delegates rushed the speaker's platform before Seymour could begin his nominating speech and literally carried him on their shoulders. Seymour might be the only presidential candidate who was actually drafted for the position. Francis Blair, who came from a prominent political family, won the second spot on the ticket. This Grant and Colfax jugate featured the slogan, "Let us have peace," on the reverse. In his acceptance letter Grant used the phrase, "Let us have peace." That sentiment immediately struck a positive chord, and it became the most widely used slogan during the Grant campaign. It appeared on a number of medals and tokens that the Republicans issued in 1868. Democratic vice presidential candidate, Frank Blair, gave vehemently racist campaign speeches. This token spelled out the Democratic position that "White men (were to) govern." Like most early to mid 19th century presidential candidates, Grant and Seymour did not make campaign speeches, but Grant did tour the Midwest with generals Sherman and Sheridan. Vice presidential candidates Colfax and Blair give many campaign speeches as was the custom for men in the second spot on the ticket in those days. Blair, who was virulent racist, became so offensive with his anti African-American rhetoric that even the Democrats asked him to curtail his bigoted attacks. Race did play a major role in the campaign for the Democrats. In 1864 one of their campaign slogans had been "The Union as it was (united); Constitution as it is," (with slavery still intact). By 1868 slavery was dead, but resistance to African-American voting rights, led by the Ku Klux Klan, in the South was strong. These racist policies were supported by slogans like, "White men to govern the restoration of constitutional liberty," which appeared on the reverse of one Horatio Seymour medalet. Another very common Seymour medalet bore the more moderate slogan, "General amnesty (for former Confederates), uniform currency, equal taxes & equal rights." This Seymour and Blair jugate medal called for amnesty and equal rights (for sourthern Whites) on the reverse. This large medal (50 mm) featured the Grant campaign slogan, "Let us have peace." The reverse referred to the agreement between Grant and Lee at Appomatox that the Southern soldiers could take their horses with them so that they could do their spring plowing. The Grant medalets emphasized his military record as he was usually depicted in his general's uniform. One particularly interesting medal recalled Grant's acceptance of Lee's surrender at Appomattox. The obverse features a handsome portrait of Grant with the slogan, "Let us have peace," around the top. The reverse features a farmer plowing a field with a pair of horses and "Appomatix" (sic) below it. At the top are four groups of stacked rifles and the phrase, "The men will need their horses to plow with." This referred to the lenient terms Grant offered to Lee which included provisions that allowed the solders to take their horses with them for the upcoming spring planting season. A number of other Grant campaign pieces featured references to his military record and achievements. One piece included the phrase, "I propose to move immediately on your works." This referred to Grant's response to Confederate General Simon Buckner's request for terms of surrender during the battle at Fort Donelson in February 1862. Grant responded that there would be no terms, only unconditional surrender. In the northern papers, Grant would be renamed "Unconditional Surrender Grant." Another piece featured the phrase, "I propose to fight it out on this line if it takes all summer." This was taken from a telegram that Grant sent to Abraham Lincoln during the Battle of Spotsylvania Courthouse in 1864. This sentence summed up Grant's approach to winning the war. In past the Army of the Potomac had rested after it had fought a big battle. This had given the Rebels time to rest and re-group. In the spring of 1864 Grant attacked the Army of Northern Virginia relentlessly with no respites which would ultimately force the South into submission. This Grant token recalled the capture of the Confederate capital, Richmond, on April 3, 1865. Token makers sometimes made their pieces to look like coins. This piece resembles a $20 gold on the obverse. The illusion was more convincing when this piece was new and bright. The direct results of Grant's strategy were noted on two other campaign pieces. One pieces reads in bold lettering on the reverse, "Capture of Richmond April 3d 1865" and another proclaims, "Surrender of Gen. Lee to Gen. Grant April 9th 1865." Finally the Republicans summed up their case for the election of Grant and Colfax with the slogan, "Loyalty shall govern what loyalty has preserved." In other words Grant and Colfax deserved to be elected to high office because they had fought to preserve the Union and had earned the right to assume high leadership roles. In the general election Grant won 53% of the popular vote and swept the Electoral College by a margin of 214 to 80. Most of Seymour's support came from the southern and border states although he was able to win his home state, New York, and neighboring New Jersey.
