Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1888-03-29
MARTIN VAN BUREN. @. NJ. DALLAS.

q ...f. STEPHEN A. DOUGLAS.
JAMES BUCHANAN. ]. C. BRECKENRIDGE.
The Wings, like their Republican sue
cessors, complacently claimed that the in
telligence of the country was on their
side-all the colleges, the bankers, the
greatest writers and two-Uhirds of the
newspapers-hence they must succeed.
The result astonished everybody-219
electoral votes for Jackson, 40 for Clay,
and for Writ and Ellmaker those of one
state, Vermont! 1t wouldn't do to quote
the popular gibes on the Wings they were
too coarse for this age. The friends OF
Clay were utterly Frustrated for time;
the United States bank was doomed; the
Democrats went into power to stay, with
very brief interruptions, for thirty years.
Among the amazed spectators of this
amazing campaign was one Louis Ma
poleon Bonaparte, an exile, who wrote to
his French friends that ''the dissolution
Of authority seems imminent; the central
power is weak" w
The next Democratic convention was
also held ut Baltimore, and the next and
many more; for of sixteen national DEM
ocratic conventions nine have been held in
that city, Cincinnati and Chicago have
had two each, New York and st. Louis
one each, and Charleston one. Balti-
more witnessed the conventional organ
ization of the old Democratic party in
1889 and its practical dfssolunon in 1850
The nomination and election of Martin
Van Buren, in 1886 were almost matters
of course; but the next year came the
great panic, and in 1840 the scepter passed
to the Wings, but only for few months.
The Democratic convention met again at
Baltimore in 1S44-May 27--and was
plunged at the start into furious contro-
versy, ending in the enforcement of the
''two-thirds rule,n avowedly adopted to
defeat Mr. Van Buren, who had u major
| ity of votes on the first ballot. Since that
day u two-thirds vote has been necessary
| to nominate in Democratic conventions,
while other parties require only maJor-
| ity. BY the nomination of james *.
| Polk and George NJ. Dallas, aud forcing
| the question of annexation of Texas into
the campaign, the Democrats completely
| outflanked the Wings, whose candidates,
Henry Clay and Theodore Frelinghuysen,
were defeated by q popular majority of
238, ,294 in a total vote of 1884, 10S. New
York did it''--and all the judges conceded
that ssSilas Wright saved New York, " his
popularity as a candidate for governor Sc
curing the state for Polk and Dallas.
Mr.. Van Buren, had his revenge;for in
194S the Slavery question" had becomes u
great issue, and the convention gain at
Baltimore, May 22-nomi1ated Lewis
Cass, of Michigan, and Gen. William
c.. Butler, of Kentucky, on platform
which gave Free Soil Democrats good ex-
cuse for ''bolting." Mr.. Van Buren, led
the 'sbolt'' in New York, and divided the
Democrats, giving the state to the Wings
and thus insuring the election of Gen.
Zackary Taylor and Millard Fillmore. 1t
4 was too late, however, for the old Wing
4 doctrines to be revived; ''Tarfff, Bank and
4 Distribution'' were quietly ignorek in
4 1863 the Democrats were united'bs neyer
before and the Whig party was annihi
lated. The Democratic convention of 1S5S
! met June /, again at Baltimore, noni
mated Franklin Pierce for president, ant
adopted tho longest platform ever knowr
down to that time. embodying
/