"[478] Grant lowered customs duties, gave amnesty to former Confederates, and implemented a civil service merit system, neutralizing the opposition.[479] To placate the burgeoning suffragist movement, the Republicans' platform mentioned that women's rights would be treated with "respectful consideration."[480] Concerning Southern policy, Greeley advocated that local government control be given to whites, while Grant advocated federal protection of blacks.[481] Grant was supported by Frederick Douglass, prominent abolitionists, and Indian reformers.[482]
Grant won reelection easily thanks to federal prosecution of the Klan, a strong economy, debt reduction, lowered tariffs, and tax reductions.[483] He received 3.6 million (55.6%) votes to Greeley's 2.8 million votes and an Electoral College landslide of 286 to 66.[484][aw] A majority of African Americans in the South voted for Grant, while Democratic opposition remained mostly peaceful.[487] Grant lost in six former slave states that wanted to see an end to Reconstruction.[488] He proclaimed the victory as a personal vindication of his presidency, but inwardly he felt betrayed by the Liberals.[489] Grant was sworn in for his second term by Salmon P. Chase on March 4, 1873. 