The 1868 Republican National Convention of the Republican Party of the United States was held in Crosby's Opera House, Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, on May 20 to May 21, 1868. Commanding General of the U.S. Army Ulysses S. Grant was the unanimous choice of the Republicans for president. At the convention he was unopposed and chosen by acclamation on the first ballot. For vice president the delegates chose Speaker Schuyler Colfax, who was Grant's choice. In Grant's acceptance telegram he said "Let us have peace", which captured the imagination of the American people.