At the Republican National Convention held in Chicago on May 20, 1868, Ulysses S. Grant was officially nominated for the presidency. More significantly, this event marked the national debut of African American political participation at a major party convention. Among the delegates were P.B.S. Pinchback of Louisiana and James J. Harris of North Carolina. Harris made history by being appointed to the committee that formally notified Grant of his nomination—an early sign of the growing political influence of Black Americans during the Reconstruction era.
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