“Your administration is menaced by great opposition, and it must needs possess a unity among the people and in Congress. The Head of a great party, the President of the United States, has much to forget and forgive, but he can afford to be magnanimous and forgiving. I want to see the President and Congress in harmony, the Republican Party united and victorious. To accomplish this, we must all be just, careful, and forgiving.”
General Grant’s wonderful success as a soldier, however, was not equalled by the same type of success as a statesman. The opposition to his reëlection grew, and no less than seven candidates were thrown into the field against him. To the campaign of 1872 was given the name, “Go as you please,” the watchword of the factions being “Anything to beat Grant.” A serious opposition was met in the combination of the Liberal Republican and Democratic parties who nominated Horace Greeley, but the victory was again given to the hero of Appomattox.