1868 Medal DeWitt USG 1868-14 Copper Grant & Colfax Campaign

Coin Details

Description

This copper campaign medal for the Grant & Colfax ticket from the 1868 presidential election is cataloged as DeWitt USG 1868-14. Ulysses S. Grant, the hero of Appomattox, was the overwhelming Republican choice for president in 1868. His running mate Schuyler Colfax, Speaker of the House, was selected to balance the ticket with a professional politician. Grant's campaign slogan "Let Us Have Peace" resonated with a nation exhausted by war and the tumult of Reconstruction. The copper composition indicates a moderate-quality production for this campaign piece. Grant's 1868 campaign was notable for his refusal to actively campaign — following the precedent set by earlier military heroes, he remained at his home in Galena, Illinois while surrogates carried his message. His opponent, Democrat Horatio Seymour, faced the impossible task of appealing to both Northern moderates and Southern whites hostile to Reconstruction. Grant won with 214 electoral votes to Seymour's 80 and 52.7 percent of the popular vote, inaugurating a presidency that would be marked by both genuine reform efforts and notorious corruption scandals.

Rarity Notes

Copper campaign medal from 1868. DeWitt USG 1868-14. Grant & Colfax ticket. The 1868 Grant campaign produced substantial medallic material.

Cross References

PCGS #626681; DeWitt USG 1868-14; 1868 Presidential Election; U.S. Grant; Schuyler Colfax