In the 1868 presidential election, new voters cast their first ballots. The Republican candidate was Ulysses S. Grant; he supported Reconstruction and promised to protect the rights of African Americans. His Democratic opponent, Horatio Seymour, promised to end Reconstruction and return the South to white Democrats. Grant was elected as President with the help of half a million black votes. If Republicans wanted to keep control of the White House and Congress, they needed support from African American voters.
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