The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1904-06-26
GREAT CONVENTIONS
OF YEARS GONE BY

~ n sta1nrede to Insure Ills noniliia tior
rhis plan was now rewarded With sue
cess. Pierce's vote steadily increased
TIL the forty-ninth and last ballot, whei
the convention gave him 22 votes, WITT
only SIX scattering. William r. King, o
Alabama, was. nominated for Vice-Pres!
dert, but did not live to fill the oitice.1
/ rho Democratic National Convention
| held at Cincinnati on June 2, 1856, lastec
| four DAYS. THE nomination was contested
/ for by President Pierce, Buchanan ano
Douglas The part Pierce and Douglas
had taken lii the repeal of the missouri
/ compromise weighed against them. while
| Buchanan who had been out OF the
! country for several years MS Minister TO
| England had kept aoof from the dis
| putes that were disruptlig his party.
4 Moreover, II was urged Iii his behalf that
| he could carry tho admittedly doubtful
| state Of Pennsylvania. He led IN every
| ballot to the sixteenth. when he received
| 16s votes to 121 for Douglas and syn seat :
| terlng. Then Douglas ended the pattlc
by telegraphIng that, ms Buchanan was
clearly the choice of the majority or tne
delegates he should be given the neces-
sary two-thlrd vote. This was done on
the next ballot and the convention COM
Dleted It's work by nominating John O.
breckenridge, OF Kentucky for Vice
President
The Conventions Of the Civil
War Period.
The Democratic National Convention
which met at Charleston, S. G.. on April
candidate was chosen, though the con-
vention lasted many days. this because
OF disagreement between the Northern
and Southern sections of the party on the
slavery question. The Southern end Of
the party, supported by az few delegates
from the free States, insisted upon the
adoption of the doctrine absolute non
interference by Congress or any other au-
thority with slavery In the Territories
while an overwhelming majority Of tho
Northern end Of the party was commits
ted to Douglas and his dogma of popular
sovereignty. A long and desperate wran-
ge revealed an impossible gulf between
the factions and when a majority Of the
delegates voted for a popular sovereignty
platform the representatives Of the cotton
States withdrew from the convention.
Those who remained proceeded to ballot
for President. F'ifty-seven ballots were
taken in three days. with Douglas always
in the lead, but the previous adoption Of
the two-thirds rule made a choice impos-
slble, and on May the convention ad-
iourned to meet in Baltimore on June IS.
When the convention met In that place
at that time there was a new hegira,
which his time included most Of the dele
cations which had replaced the previous
seceders from the Southern States. Then,
after taking two ballots. the convention
decided that two-thirds Of the vote should
nominate, and Douglas was declared the
candidate. IIerschell ". Johnson. of Geor-
ga- was afterward put on the ticket for
Unoe I,, fla Matt r,o1 CO, ,,,,jf-
tee. benjamin Fitzpatrick of Alabama.
nominated by the convention, having de-
cided to serve as candidate.
Those who bolted at Charleston met In
another hall in that city, adopted an ex-
IRENE pro-savery PLATFORM, and decided
to meet In Richmond on the second Mon
! day in June. From that date they adj
| journed to June 81 Meantime the seced-
| ers from the Baltimore Convention organ
lied a second convention In that city
and adopting an anti-Southern platform
Z nominated John G. Breckinridge, Of Ken
lucky, for President, and Joseph Lane
i Of Oregon, for Vice Presidenx These
| nominations were endorsed BIZ tn.
Charleston scceders in their final session
(; at Richmond.
| The main purpose OF holding the Demo
cratic National Convention, which met In
| Chicago on August 30. 1864, was to pre-
wholly to pieces. 1t did little more than
serve this purpose. Eleven Southern
States. being then In rebellion. could not,
of course, be represented, while in tho
North vast numbers, formerly associated
with the Democratic party had, at the
opening of the war. allied themselves
with the Republicans. A few days before
!, the meeting Of the convention, President
Lincoln said to a friend: They must
| nominate peace Democrat on a war
platform, or war Democrat on peace
platform" The convention chose the sec
ond of these alternatives, 1t adopted a
platform which declared the war fail
| ure. and 1t nominated for President tho
best known Of all the war Democrats,
| General George B. Mcclellan. The nomi-
nation for Vice-President. after brief
, contest. was given to George H. Pendle-
ton. Of Ohio Only three States ratified
! the conventions action.