AHC: Southern Republican elected President between the end of the Civil War and 1900

[Juumanistra]

Let me go at this a diffrent way. Can we get a Southern Republican, not necessarily an officeholder in OTL, in a high office, like Secretary of Treasury or such, and parley that into a run for the Presidency later on? I ask because it seems to me like there is very little suggestions for any real candidates, which probably mimics the enthusiasm most of those men faced nationwide.

James Longstreet, after the Civil War, actually became a Republican and served as both a state official (adjutant-general for the Louisiana militia) and federal appointee (having been the ambassador to the Ottoman Empire under Garfield and Commissioner of Railroads under McKinley/Teddy Roosevelt). He was also, supposedly, briefly considered by Rutherford B. Hayes to be Secretary of the Navy. Remove the blemish of the Battle of Liberty Palace, in which he and his Reconstruction-loyalist militia were routed by an anti-Reconstruction mob, and he might've soared even higher.

Of course, the idea of a successful Confederate general becoming President of the United States is...well, it's something that ought to have a TL done about, because there's enough fodder there OTL to kludge together something with a thin veneer of plausibility re: Longstreet.

 

[Nofix]

...Bump...

 

[Wendell]

Why not have Hayes take Longstreet as his running mate?

People may not be happy, but it's seen as a sign of reconciliation, and the election still ends up disputed, only a funny thing happens; instead of providing two slates of electors, South Carolina provides a slate supporting Longstreet for President and Hendricks for VP. Due to reasons, the election still goes to Congress to resolve, and, because Longstreet receives electoral votes for president, he gets to be considered by the House for that office. The Southern states decide that a southerner is preferable to Tilden. Northerners outside of Ohio come to be won over o that view, and pretty soon, he has the votes of enough delegations to be elected POTUS. For reasons, Hendricks gets to be VP.