The 1872 presidential election was held in the United States on November 5, 1872. It featured incumbent President Ulysses S. Grant, representing the Republican Party, running for re-election against Horace Greeley, the candidate for the Democratic Party and the Liberal Republican Party. The election took place during a period of Reconstruction following the Civil War. Ulysses S. Grant won the election decisively, securing 286 electoral votes compared to Greeley's 66. However, Greeley died shortly after the election, and his votes were largely split among various candidates, including Benjamin Gratz Brown and others. This election highlighted the divisions within the political landscape of the time.