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— CH. 1 · ORIGINS AND IDEOLOGY —

Liberal Republican Party (United States)

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  • In May 1872, a group of men gathered in Missouri to form a new political party. They called themselves Liberal Republicans. Senator Carl Schurz led the effort. These men had once been loyal to the Republican Party after the Civil War. Now they felt betrayed by President Ulysses S. Grant. The Grant administration was riddled with scandals. Corruption seemed to be everywhere. Schurz and his allies demanded civil service reform. They wanted an end to federal military occupation in the South. They believed Reconstruction goals were already met. Slavery was gone. Confederate nationalism was defeated. It was time to restore self-government to southern states. Many original founders of the Republican Party joined this movement. Horace Greeley, Charles Sumner, Lyman Trumbull, Cassius Marcellus Clay, and Charles Francis Adams all supported the cause. They argued that African American rights had been secured. Amnesty for ex-Confederates should follow. States' rights became a central tenet. A fear of strong federal power drove their ideology. The party platform demanded immediate removal of disabilities imposed on account of rebellion. Thorough reform of the civil service was listed as one of the most pressing necessities of the hour. Tariff reduction also appeared on their list of priorities. Powerful industries had unfairly won protection for certain goods. This belief system emerged from within the Republican ranks. Former Democrats and Free Soil members found a new home here. By 1872, the Liberal Republicans had spread nationwide.

  • Cincinnati hosted the national convention in May 1872. Judge Stanley Matthews and editor William Grosvenor helped organize it. Carl Schurz chaired the meeting but could not run for president himself. He had been born in Germany. Supreme Court Justice David Davis entered with strong backing. His candidacy suffered from unfavorable newspaper coverage. Horace Greeley, publisher of the New-York Tribune, eventually won support. On the first ballot, Charles Francis Adams and Greeley led the pack. Trumbull retained significant support throughout the voting. The sixth and final ballot decided the outcome. Greeley secured just enough votes to clinch the nomination. Missouri Governor Benjamin Gratz Brown became the vice presidential nominee. Brown supported Greeley's nomination to increase his power within the state party at the expense of Schurz. Most pro-Greeley delegates backed him on the vice presidential ballot. Delegates held various motivations but shared opposition to Grant. Some hoped to recapture control of state party organizations. In Missouri, the Liberal Republicans were established as a major party. Other states lacked formal organization. Their delegations were little more than self-appointed committees. The atmosphere was charged with political ambition and ideological conviction.

  • Democratic leaders gave assurances that they would nominate the Liberal Republican ticket before the convention. They believed they could not win without anti-Grant Republicans. Southern Democrats wanted any candidate who might end Reconstruction policies. Yet Greeley's frequent attacks on the Democratic Party earned enmity among many Northeasterners. Despite qualms, most Democrats endorsed Greeley. Every state Democratic convention except Delaware's ultimately voted for him. A group led by Blanton Duncan nominated Charles O'Conor and John Quincy Adams II on a Straight-Out Democratic ticket. Both refused the nomination and neither actively campaigned. The Liberal Republican Party fused with the Democratic Party in all states except Louisiana and Texas. In Ohio, each party nominated half of a joint slate of candidates. Thomas F. Bayard came to support Greeley after initial reluctance. The campaign focused heavily on personalities rather than issues. Greeley attacked Grant's appointments as corrupt. His past associations with Republican leaders undermined this argument. Schurz and Sumner coalesced behind Greeley and campaigned actively. Grant's backers accused them of seeking to overturn Civil War results. Veteran organizations mobilized in support of Grant. Each party sought African American votes. Frederick Douglass successfully organized blacks in support of Grant. Many inside and outside the Liberal Republican Party believed their coalition would triumph. The outcome remained in doubt until October. Financiers like Jay Cooke backed the Republicans. Lingering Democratic doubts about Greeley helped seal the victory.

  • Greeley received 43.8% of the popular vote. He won just 66 of the 352 electoral college votes. O'Conor captured only 0.3% of the popular vote. Grant secured 286 of the 352 electoral college votes. Greeley died on the 29th of November 1872. Electoral electors had not yet met by that date. They were scheduled to cast votes on December 4. The Greeley electors could not coordinate their actions before meeting. Their scattered choices made no difference against Grant's landslide. The states Greeley won included Texas, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, and Maryland. The Liberal Republican Party vanished immediately after the election. A handful of its leaders continued to serve in Congress. Former members scattered into the Democratic and Republican parties. By cutting allegiance to the Republican Party, many moved to the Democrats. The national party organization disappeared completely. Reform efforts materialized in the following decade instead. Rutherford B. Hayes was nominated and elected in 1876. He brought Reconstruction to an end and removed some Grant appointments. Civil service reform passed during Chester Arthur's administration.

  • Several Liberal Republican members served in Congress after 1872. House members kept committee assignments and chairmanships. Liberal Republican Senators became de facto independents with inferior committee roles. Most eventually joined the Democratic Party. Outside the South, some sought a new opposition party. Wisconsin's Reform Party collapsed quickly. Even the Missouri Liberal Republican Party fell as Democrats became the major opposition force. Democrats won several congressional seats and numerous other offices in 1874. Dissatisfaction with Grant aided their success. Defection of former Liberal Republicans helped too. Republicans worried about 1876 chances and courted Schurz and Fenton. Both parties appealed directly to former supporters in that year. Supporters split roughly evenly between presidential candidates. Schurz campaigned for Hayes and later became Secretary of Interior. In subsequent years, former Liberal Republicans became members in good standing of both major parties. Many joined the Mugwump movement opposing James G. Blaine in the 1880s. Others entered the Greenback Party seeking inflationary policies and labor reforms. The national organization dissolved but individual influence persisted across decades.

  • Richard Gerber argues most historians view the Liberal Republicans as an aberration during Reconstruction. Two main interpretations dominate scholarly debate. One emphasizes the push for self-government restoration in the South and national unity. Another sees them primarily motivated by anti-corruption sentiment and tariff reduction support. Downey claims Greeley was nominated via crass political bargain against convention will. Adams was the true preference of many delegates. Schurz supported Adams but lacked professional political experience. Votes shifted decisively only after David Davis's candidacy collapsed. Lunde contrasts Grant's centralizing blood-and-iron nationalism with Greeley's benevolent vision. McPherson notes three-quarters of ex-abolitionists favored Grant despite key figures like Sumner supporting Greeley. Abolitionists feared Greeley's amnesty formula would harm freedmen welfare. Slap defends Liberal Republican reputation from allegations of opportunism and racism. He joins Heather Cox Richardson and David Quigley in concluding Northern decision-making ended Reconstruction, not Southern violence. The war goals were deemed achieved. Continuing Army rule would thwart republican ideals according to this perspective.

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Horace Greeley 1872 presidential campaign

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Liberalism in the United States

Common questions

Who led the Liberal Republican Party in 1872?

Senator Carl Schurz led the Liberal Republican Party. He organized the movement and chaired the national convention held in Cincinnati.

When did the Liberal Republican Party form and hold its first convention?

The Liberal Republican Party formed in May 1872 when a group gathered in Missouri. They held their national convention in Cincinnati during that same month to nominate candidates for the presidential election.

Why did members of the Liberal Republican Party oppose President Ulysses S. Grant?

Members opposed President Ulysses S. Grant because his administration was riddled with scandals and corruption. They demanded civil service reform and an end to federal military occupation in the South.

What happened to Horace Greeley after he lost the 1872 election?

Horace Greeley died on the 29th of November 1872 before the Electoral College met. His death meant his electoral votes could not be cast, contributing to Grant's landslide victory.

Where did the Liberal Republican Party vanish after the election?

The Liberal Republican Party vanished immediately after the 1872 election across all states except Louisiana and Texas. The national organization disappeared completely while individual members scattered into other parties.

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All sources

18 references cited across the entry

  1. 1journalAmnesty, Civil Rights, and the Meaning of Liberal Republicanism, 1862–1872Robert W. Burg — 2003
  2. 2journalLyman Trumbull, the States' Rights Issue, and the Liberal Republican RevoltMario R. DiNunzio — Winter 1973
  3. 3journalHorace Greeley and the Politicians: The Liberal Republican Convention in 1872Matthew T. Downey — March 1967
  4. 4bookReconstruction: America's Unfinished Revolution, 1863-1877Eric Foner — Harper & Row — 1988
  5. 5journalThe Liberal Republicans of 1872 in Historiographical PerspectiveRichard Allan Gerber — June 1975
  6. 6journalThe Ambiguity of the National Idea: the Presidential Campaign of 1872Erik S. Lunde — 1978
  7. 7journalGrant or Greeley? The Abolitionist Dilemma in the Election of 1872James M. McPherson — 1965
  8. 8webBaxter, JohnCharles A. Jr. Newell — 2013-04-08
  9. 9bookThe Liberal Republican MovementEarle Dudley Ross — The Rumford Press — 1919
  10. 10bookThe Doom of Reconstruction: The Liberal Republicans in the Civil War EraAndrew L. Slap — Fordham University Press — 2006
  11. 11bookThe Press Gang: Newspapers and Politics, 1865-1878Mark Wahlgren Summers — University of North Carolina Press — 1994
  12. 12bookParty of the People: A History of the DemocratsJules Witcover — Random House — 2003
  13. 13bookThe Civil War Party System: The Case of Massachusetts, 1848–1876Dale Baum — University of North Carolina Press — 1984
  14. 14bookCharles Sumner and the rights of manDavid Herbert Donald — Knopf — 1970
  15. 15journalCharles Eliot Norton, E.L. Godkin, and the Liberal Republicans of 1872Yonatan Eyal — 2001
  16. 16journalThe Meaning of Liberal Republicanism: The Case of OhioMichael E. McGerr — 1982
  17. 17bookHistory of the United States from the Compromise of 1850 to the McKinley-Bryan campaign of 1896James Ford Rhodes — Macmillan Co. — 1920
  18. 18bookHorace Greeley: Nineteenth-Century CrusaderGlyndon G. Van Deusen — University of Pennsylvania Press — 1953