Part 15

It was at this convention that Stephen A. Douglas first developed as an aggressive candidate for President, and as he had led the battle for the repeal of the Missouri Compromise, he was in harmony with the Pierce administration. As will be seen by the ballots, his strength was almost wholly given to Pierce until Pierce’s unavailability was clearly established, when the Pierce vote was mostly transferred to Douglas. The following table presents the 17 ballots in detail, resulting in the nomination of Buchanan:

═════════╤═══════════╤═════════╤══════════╤══════ BALLOTS. │ Buchanan. │ Pierce. │ Douglas. │ Cass. ─────────┼───────────┼─────────┼──────────┼────── 1 │ 135 │ 122 │ 33 │ 5 2 │ 139 │ 119-1/2 │ 3-1/2 │ 6 3 │ 139-1/2 │ 119 │ 32 │ 5-1/2 4 │ 141-1/2 │ 119 │ 30 │ 5-1/2 5 │ 140 │ 119-1/2 │ 31 │ 5-1/2 6 │ 155 │ 117-1/2 │ 28 │ 5-1/2 7 │ 143-1/2 │ 89 │ 58 │ 5-1/2 8 │ 147-1/2 │ 87 │ 56 │ 5-1/2 9 │ 146 │ 87 │ 56 │ 7 10 │ 150-1/2 │ 80-1/2 │ 59-1/2 │ 5-1/2 11 │ 147-1/2 │ 80 │ 63 │ 5-1/2 12 │ 148 │ 79 │ 63-1/2 │ 5-1/2 13 │ 150 │ 77-1/2 │ 63 │ 5-1/2 14 │ 152-1/2 │ 75 │ 63 │ 5-1/2 15 │ 168-1/2 │ 3-1/2 │ 118-1/2 │ 4-1/2 16 │ 168 │ ―― │ 121 │ 6 17 │ 296 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― ═════════╧═══════════╧═════════╧══════════╧══════

As Buchanan was from the North, the Vice-Presidency was conceded to the South, and 10 candidates were placed in nomination. The 1st ballot resulted as follows:

J. A. Quitman, Miss. 59 Linn Boyd, Ky. 33 A. V. Brown, Tenn. 29 J. A. Bayard, Del. 31 T. J. Rusk, Texas 2 J. C. Breckenridge, Ky. 55 B. Fitzpatrick, Ala. 11 H. V. Johnson, Ga. 31 Trusten Polk, Mo. 5 J. C. Dobbin, N. C. 13

When the 2d ballot was called, a number of the candidates had their names withdrawn, and Mr. Breckenridge was given a unanimous nomination. He was the idol of the young Democracy of the South, having won his spurs by two of the most remarkable Congressional campaigns in the history of Kentucky, in which he had defeated Governor Letcher and Leslie Combs, two of the ablest of the old Clay leaders in the Ashland district. His success was due entirely to his own personal popularity. He was not only one of the ablest of all the Breckenridges, but he was a most accomplished, genial, and delightful companion, and his nomination greatly strengthened the Democratic ticket in all sections of the country.

The platform was finally adopted without a contest. It recited first the preamble adopted in 1844, followed by ten resolutions from other previous platforms, embracing the first five of 1840, and others embracing the Democratic views on the proceeds of the public land; in opposition to a national bank; in favor of the subtreasury system; in support of the veto power, and opposing any new limitations upon naturalization. To these the following new resolutions were added:

_And whereas_, Since the foregoing declaration was uniformly adopted by our predecessors in national convention, an adverse political and religious test has been secretly organized by a party claiming to be exclusively American, and it is proper that the American Democracy should clearly define its relations thereto, and declare its determined opposition to all secret political societies, by whatever name they may be called—

_Resolved_, That the foundation of this Union of States having been laid in, and its prosperity, expansion, and pre-eminent example of free government built upon entire freedom in matters of religious concernment, and no respect of persons in regard to rank or place or birth, no party can be justly deemed national, constitutional, or in accordance with American principles which bases its exclusive organization upon religious opinions and accidental birthplace. And hence a political crusade in the nineteenth century, and in the United States of America, against Catholics and foreign-born, is neither justified by the past history nor future prospects of the country, nor in unison with the spirit of toleration and enlightened freedom which peculiarly distinguishes the American system of popular government.

_Resolved_, That we reiterate with renewed energy of purpose the well-considered declarations of former conventions upon the sectional issue of domestic slavery and concerning the reserved rights of the States—

1. That Congress has no power under the Constitution to interfere with or control the domestic institutions of the several States, and that all such States are the sole and proper judges of everything appertaining to their own affairs not prohibited by the Constitution; that all efforts of the Abolitionists or others made to induce Congress to interfere with questions of slavery, or to take incipient steps in relation thereto, are calculated to lead to the most alarming and dangerous consequences, and that all such efforts have an inevitable tendency to diminish the happiness of the people and endanger the stability and permanency of the Union, and ought not to be countenanced by any friend of our political institutions.

2. That the foregoing covers, and was intended to embrace, the whole subject of slavery agitation in Congress, and therefore the Democratic party of the Union, standing on this national platform, will abide by and adhere to a faithful execution of the acts known as the “Compromise” Measures, settled by the Congress of 1850, the act for reclaiming fugitives from service or labor included; which act, being designed to carry out an express provision of the Constitution, cannot, with fidelity thereto, be repealed, or so changed as to destroy or impair its efficiency.

3. That the Democratic party will resist all attempts at renewing, in Congress or out of it, the agitation of the slavery question, under whatever shape or color the attempt may be made.

4. The Democratic party will faithfully abide by and uphold the principle laid down in the Kentucky and Virginia resolutions of 1797 and 1798, and in the report of Mr. Madison to the Virginia Legislature in 1799; that it adopts these principles as constituting one of the main foundations of its political creed, and is resolved to carry them out in their obvious meaning and import.

And that we may more distinctly meet the issue on which a sectional party, subsisting exclusively on slavery agitation, now relies to test the fidelity of the people, North and South, to the Constitution and the Union—

1. _Resolved_, That, claiming fellowship with and desiring the co-operation of all who regard the preservation of the Union under the Constitution as the paramount issue, and repudiating all sectional issues and platforms concerning domestic slavery which seek to embroil the States and incite to treason and armed resistance to law in the Territories, and whose avowed purpose, if consummated, must end in civil war and disunion, the American Democracy recognize and adopt the principles contained in the organic laws establishing the Territories of Nebraska and Kansas as embodying the only sound and safe solution of the slavery question, upon which the great national idea of the people of this whole country can repose in its determined conservation of the Union, and non-interference of Congress with slavery in the Territories or in the District of Columbia.

2. That this was the basis of the compromise of 1850, confirmed by both the Democratic and Whig parties in national conventions, ratified by the people in the election of 1852, and rightly applied to the organization of the Territories in 1854.

3. That by the uniform application of the Democratic principle to the organization of Territories, and the admission of new States with or without domestic slavery, as they may elect, the equal rights of all the States will be preserved intact, the original compacts of the Constitution maintained inviolate, and the perpetuity and expansion of the Union insured to its utmost capacity of embracing, in peace and harmony, every future American State that may be constituted or annexed with a republican form of government.

_Resolved_, That we recognize the right of the people of all the Territories, including Kansas and Nebraska, acting through the legally and fairly expressed will of the majority of the actual residents, and whenever the number of their inhabitants justifies it, to form a constitution, with or without domestic slavery, and be admitted into the Union upon terms of perfect equality with the other States.

_Resolved_, Finally, that in view of the condition of popular institutions in the Old World (and the dangerous tendencies of sectional agitation, combined with the attempt to enforce civil and religious disabilities against the rights of acquiring and enjoying citizenship in our own land), a high and sacred duty is devolved, with increased responsibility, upon the Democratic party of this country, as the party of the Union, to uphold and maintain the rights of every State, and thereby the Union of the States; and to sustain and advance among us constitutional liberty, by continuing to resist all monopolies and exclusive legislation for the benefit of the few at the expense of the many; and by a vigilant and constant adherence to those principles and compromises of the Constitution which are broad enough and strong enough to embrace and uphold the Union as it was, the Union as it is, and the Union as it shall be, in the full expansion of the energies and capacity of this great and progressive people.

1. _Resolved_, That there are questions connected with the foreign policy of this country which are inferior to no domestic question whatever. The time has come for the people of the United States to declare themselves in favor of free seas, and progressive free trade throughout the world, and by solemn manifestations to place their moral influence at the side of their successful example.

2. _Resolved_, That our geographical and political position with reference to the other States of this continent, no less than the interest of our commerce and the development of our growing power, requires that we should hold sacred the principles involved in the Monroe Doctrine. Their bearing and import admit of no misconstruction, and should be applied with unbending rigidity.

3. _Resolved_, That the great highway, which nature as well as the assent of States most immediately interested in its maintenance has marked out for free communication between the Atlantic and the Pacific oceans, constitutes one of the most important achievements realized by the spirit of modern times, in the unconquerable energy of our people; and that result would be secured by a timely and efficient exertion of the control which we have the right to claim over it; and no power on earth should be suffered to impede or clog its progress by any interference with relations that it may suit our policy to establish between our Government and the governments of the States within whose dominions it lies. We can, under no circumstances, surrender our preponderance in the adjustment of all questions arising out of it.

4. _Resolved_, That, in view of so commanding an interest, the people of the United States cannot but sympathize with the efforts which are being made by the people of Central America to regenerate that portion of the continent which covers the passage across the inter-oceanic isthmus.

5. _Resolved_, That the Democratic party will expect of the next administration that every proper effort be made to insure our ascendancy in the Gulf of Mexico, and to maintain permanent protection to the great outlets through which are emptied into its waters the products raised out of the soil and the commodities created by the industry of the people of our Western valleys and of the Union at large.

_Resolved_, That the administration of Franklin Pierce has been true to Democratic principles, and therefore true to the great interests of the country. In the face of violent opposition he has maintained the laws at home, and vindicated the rights of American citizens abroad; and therefore we proclaim our unqualified admiration of his measures and policy.

When Buchanan was nominated for President everything indicated his election by a very large majority and without a serious struggle. It was evident to all that the antislavery sentiment was making rapid strides in the North. The Democrats felt certain of a solid vote in the South, and they did not regard it as possible for the Republican party to unite the American and conservative Whig elements to sufficient extent to enable it to make a hopeful contest in Pennsylvania, New York, and the Western Democratic States; but very soon after the meeting of the first Republican National Convention the new party grew with such rapidity that the Democratic leaders finally looked the fact in the face that they had a very desperate and doubtful contest before them.

The Republican party first appeared in the political arena in 1854. It had then a small organization in New York State, and cast a sufficient number of votes to elect Clark, the Whig candidate, for Governor, over Seymour, the Democratic candidate, who lost the Governorship by 309 majority. I was at the cradle of the Republican party; was a delegate to its first State convention, held in Pittsburg, Penn., in 1855. It was a mass convention, composed of a loose aggregation of political free-thinkers, but a number of very able men, including Giddings and Bingham, of Ohio, and Allison, of Pennsylvania, who presided, delivered addresses. There was but one State office to fill in Pennsylvania, that of Canal Commissioner. The convention was made up very largely of the aggressive Abolition element of the State, small in number, but bold and assertive in action, as was shown by the spontaneous nomination of Passmore Williamson, who was then in prison for contempt of court in a fugitive slave case. The nomination was resented by all the conservative Whigs and by the Americans, and without the votes of those parties the Republican organization could not carry a township in the State. Williamson was finally persuaded to retire, and the Whig, American, and Republican committees united on Thomas Nicholson, of Beaver, but the elements were too discordant, and the State was lost by some 12,000.

I was a delegate to the first Republican National Convention, that met in Philadelphia on the 17th of June, 1856. It was also a mass convention, as the party had no organization, and States sent large or small delegations as was most convenient. I went to the convention, hoping to aid in the nomination of Judge McLean for President, who was sufficiently conservative to command both the Whig and American votes, and I had no faith whatever in the success of a distinctive Republican candidate and party. I was surprised to find the Republicans of New England and of New York who were attending the convention in favor of a radical Republican policy, and I was so much dissatisfied with the evident outcome of the convention that, although I attended its first session, I did not enroll as a delegate, and did not participate in any of its important proceedings. I well remember meeting Mr. Greeley among the first of those who came to the convention, and wondered how he had lost all his political cunning when he told me, in the most enthusiastic way, that Fremont would carry New York by 50,000 majority, and that the Republican party would be sufficiently strong to win the battle without any concessions whatever to the other elements opposed to the Democratic party. I had no faith in Fremont, either as a candidate or as a President. I shared the general conservative Whig sentiment of Pennsylvania that the Republican convention in nominating Fremont on a square-toed Republican platform was altogether too “wild and woolley” in flavor to win at the election. Greeley was mistaken as to New York only in making the Republican majority one-third less than it turned up on election night, when Fremont had nearly as many votes as Buchanan and Fillmore combined.

The nomination of Fremont was engineered by some of the shrewdest of the old Democratic leaders, most conspicuous of whom was the elder Francis P. Blair, who had been one of the most sagacious of the Democratic politicians during the administrations of Jackson, Van Buren, and Polk. They believed it best to take a candidate for the Presidency who had no political record whatever to antagonize the conflicting political views which must be united to give the party success; and Fremont was young, had served in the army with credit, had made what then were regarded as wonderful explorations in the Rocky Mountains, and had the distinction of having been forced to retire from the army for what was claimed to have been conspicuously heroic and patriotic action on his part. He had never said anything or done anything to offend any political prejudice. It turned out that he was strongest where he was least known. The old California Forty-niners, who were back in Pennsylvania, and some of them prominent in politics, did not enthuse over Fremont’s nomination. I distinctly recollect the trite summing up of Fremont’s qualities by one who had been with him in California by saying: “Fremont is a millionaire without a dollar, a soldier who never fought a battle, and a statesman who never made a speech;” but that his nomination was altogether the strongest that could have been made in the Philadelphia convention cannot be doubted by any who study the history of that contest and the marvellous political revolution it wrought. Henry S. Lane, of Indiana, presided over the convention, and a single ballot was had for President, as follows:

══════════════╤══════════╤════════ STATES. │ Fremont. │ McLean. ──────────────┼──────────┼──────── Maine │ 13 │ 11 New Hampshire │ 15 │ ―― Vermont │ 15 │ ―― Massachusetts │ 39 │ ―― Rhode Island │ 12 │ ―― Connecticut │ 18 │ ―― New York │ 93 │ 3 New Jersey │ 7 │ 14 Pennsylvania │ 10 │ 71 Delaware │ ―― │ 9 Maryland │ 4 │ 3 Ohio │ 30 │ 39 Indiana │ 18 │ 21 Illinois │ 14 │ 19 Michigan │ 18 │ ―― Wisconsin │ 15 │ ―― Iowa │ 12 │ ―― Minnesota │ ―― │ 3 Kansas │ 9 │ ―― Nebraska │ ―― │ 3 Kentucky │ 5 │ ―― California │ 12 │ ―― ├──────────┼──────── Totals │ 359 │ 196 ══════════════╧══════════╧════════

The nomination of Fremont was made unanimous with great enthusiasm, and there was only one ballot for Vice-President, resulting as follows:

William L. Dayton, N. J. 259 Abraham Lincoln, Ill. 110 N. P. Banks, Mass. 46 David Wilmot, Penn. 43 Charles Sumner, Mass. 35 Jacob Collamer, Vt. 15 John A. King, N. Y. 9 S. C. Pomeroy, Kan. 8 Thomas Ford, Ohio 7 Henry Wilson, Mass. 5 Cassius M. Clay, Ky. 4 Henry C. Carey, Penn. 3 Wm. F. Johnston, Penn. 2

Mr. Dayton was then declared the nominee of the convention by a unanimous vote, and the following platform was adopted:

This convention of delegates, assembled in pursuance of a call addressed to the people of the United States, without regard to past political differences or divisions, who are opposed to the repeal of the Missouri Compromise, to the policy of the present administration, to the extension of slavery into Free Territory; in favor of admitting Kansas as a Free State, of restoring the action of the Federal Government to the principles of Washington and Jefferson; and who purpose to unite in presenting candidates for the offices of President and Vice-President, do resolve as follows:

_Resolved_, That the maintenance of the principles promulgated in the Declaration of Independence and embodied in the Federal Constitution is essential to the preservation of our republican institutions, and that the Federal Constitution, the rights of the States, and the union of the States, shall be preserved.

_Resolved_, That with our republican fathers we hold it to be a self-evident truth, that all men are endowed with the unalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, and that the primary object and ulterior designs of our Federal Government were to secure these rights to all persons within its exclusive jurisdiction; that, as our republican fathers, when they had abolished slavery in all our national territory, ordained that no person should be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law, it becomes our duty to maintain this provision of the Constitution against all attempts to violate it for the purpose of establishing slavery in any Territory of the United States, by positive legislation, prohibiting its existence or extension therein. That we deny the authority of Congress, of a Territorial Legislature, of any individual or association of individuals, to give legal existence to slavery in any Territory of the United States while the present Constitution shall be maintained.

_Resolved_, That the Constitution confers upon Congress sovereign power over the Territories of the United States, for their government, and that in the exercise of this power it is both the right and the duty of Congress to prohibit in the Territories those twin relics of barbarism, polygamy and slavery.