 The dissenters formed a "Liberal Republican" Party in 1872, only to have it smashed by Grant's reelection.By the mid-1870s it was clear that Confederate nationalism was dead; all but the most ardent Republican 'Stalwarts' agreed that the southern Republican coalition of African-American freedmen, scalawags and carpetbaggers was helpless and hopeless.In 1874 the Democrats won big majorities in Congress, with economic depression a major issue.