While the Republicans were successful in 1868 in not only electing the President and Vice-President and a safe majority in both branches of Congress, yet the closeness of the result had the effect of preventing the abandonment of the hope on the part of the supporters of the Johnson administration that the administration Plan of Reconstruction would ultimately be adopted and accepted as the basis of Reconstruction.  Hence bitter and continued opposition to the Congressional Plan of Reconstruction was declared by the ruling class of the South to be the policy of that section.  While the Republicans were again successful in the Congressional elections of 1870 yet the advocates of the Johnson plan did not abandon hope of the ultimate success and acceptance by the country of that plan until after the Presidential and Congressional elections of 1872.  In the meantime a serious split had taken place in the Republican party which resulted in the nomination of two sets of candidates for President and Vice-President.  The Independent or Liberal Republicans nominated Horace Greeley of New York, for President, and B. Gratz Brown, of Missouri, for Vice-President.  The regular Republicans renominated President Grant to succeed himself, and for Vice-President, Senator Henry Wilson, of Massachusetts, was selected.

The Democratic National Convention endorsed the ticket that had been nominated by the Liberal Republicans.  The Republicans carried the election by an immense majority.  With two or three exceptions the electoral vote of every state in the Union was carried for Grant and Wilson.  The Republicans also had a very large majority in both branches of Congress.

Since the result of the election was so decisive, and since every branch of the government was then in the hands of the Republicans, further opposition to the Congressional Plan of Reconstruction was for the first time completely abandoned.  The fact was then recognized that this was the settled and accepted policy of the Government and that further opposition to it was useless.  A few of the southern whites, General Alcorn being one of the number, had accepted the result of the Presidential and Congressional elections of 1868 as conclusive as to the policy of the country with reference to Reconstruction; but those who thought and acted along those lines at that time were exceptions to the general rule.  But after the Presidential and Congressional elections of 1872 all doubt upon that subject was entirely removed.

The Southern whites were now confronted with a problem that was both grave and momentous.  But the gravity of the situation was chiefly based upon the possibility,—­if not upon a probability,—­of a reversal of what had been the established order of things, especially those of a political nature.