Assesses Ohio congressman George Hunt Pendleton's impact on national Democratic politics during Reconstruction. An opponent of the Republican-backed National Bank System, Pendleton campaigned for the 1868 Democratic presidential nomination that eventually went to New York governor Horatio Seymour. Pendleton had attempted to set a more moderate and unified course for the Democratic Party, both in Ohio and nationally, by trying to reach consensus on national issues, but intra-party factionalism subverted his efforts. The lack of party unity among Democrats was a major factor in the 1868 Republican presidential election victory.