George H. Pendleton

George Hunt Pendleton was the 18th President of the United States of America, from 1868-1873. Pendleton was originally thrust into the position of President right before the 1868 election when his predecessor, Thomas H. Seymour, died. Pendleton was already Seymour's Vice President and pitted to be his running mate again in 1868, and in a unanimous decision, the Democratic Convention agreed for Pendleton to take his predecessor's place as the nomination.

The start of the Pendleton administration was very much so the same as his predecessor. He oversaw the remainder of the Union reconstruction period, and maintained steady relations with the Confederate States. However, Pendleton was also the President at the time of the First Confederate-Mexican War. Many believed that the Union should have been involved, but Pendleton was wary of diplomatic intervention, specifically from the United Kingdom.

With the Confederate annexation of Mexican lands in the north, many believed Pendleton was "appeasing the enemy" and he grew unpopular in the Union. In the 1872 election, he ran for the Democratic primary again, but was betrayed by his own Vice President, Horatio Seymour. Seymour went on to become President. Pendleton spent the rest of his life in Britain as an honorary citizen, but also as a vocal critic of Union intervention in the South.