The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1908-07-17
BRIEF HISTORY OF PAST DEMO-
CRATIC CONVENTIONS.

DeHlOcIAtc party, White the ouc HCiu
recently in Chicago was only the
fourteenth republican national gath
ering. But the democratic party sur
passes the republican in age much
more than this difference would indi-
cate. Born in F91, and christened
by Jefferson year or SO later, the
democratic party has long since pass
ed the century mark in its life.
The convention system of choos-
ing candidates for president and
vice president superseded the con-
gressional caucus method in 1881. In
December of that year the wings met
in Baltimore and nominated Henry
Clay for president and John Serge
ant for vice president. In the fol-
lowing May the democrats met in the
same city, ostensibly for the purpose
of selecting a candidate for vice pres
ident, but it assumed the RESPONSE
bility of nominating candidate for
president, Andrew Jackson and Mar
tin Van Buren, for vice president
No platform was formed by the
democratic convention of 1882 but
it adopted a resolution which pro-
vided for the perpetuation of the del
egate convention system of selecting
the party candidates for president
and vice president. The two-thirds
rule was then adopted.
In 1885 the democrats met again
at Baltimore and nominated Martin
Van Buren, for president and Richard
M. Johnson of Kentucky for vice
president. The OPPOSITION declined to
make nomination in convention
hoping to throw the election into the
house of representatives Van Buren,
was successful in this election, the
opposition voting generally for Gen
eral Harrison instead of Henry Clay,
who was the idol of the whig party.
In 1874 the two-thirds rule was used
for Van Buren's overthrow. Though
he had been defeated in the election
four years previously by General
Harrison, the nomination of Van
Buren, was conceded by most of his
enemies. But the ex-president on
the eve of his nomination wrote a
letter on the subject of Texas an
nexation which offended a large por-
ton of his southern admirers and
resulted in his defeat in the con-
vention. On the first ballot, Van
Buren, had majority of the conven-
ton, but less than two-thirds. On the
eighth ballot, James X. Polk, ex-
governor of Tennessee, received the
nomination, and in the following
November he was elected.
In 184S the democratic convention
at Baltimore nominated Lewis Cass,
who was defeated in the election by
General Taylor, the whig candidate.
In 1852 the democratic convention
again assembled in Baltimore, this
time on the first day of June. Gen
eral Cass led at the beginning of the
balloting, but on the forty-ninth bal
lot the nomination went to Franklin
Pierce, dark horse. In 1856 the
democratic convention went west for
the first time, meeting in Cincinnati.
JamesBuchanan was named for pres
dent and John C. Breckenridge for
vice president.
The most fateful convention in the
history of the democratic party was
that held in Charleston in 1860,
which split the party into northern
and southern section, each of which
held convention at another place,
put up ticket of it's own, and made
separate canvass. Stephen A. Dou-
glas was the candidate of the "regu-
lar" convention, which met at Balti-
more, and at Richmond the seceders
from the Douglas convention nomi-
mated Breckenridge. Abraham Lin
coin was the successful nominee of
the republicans. In 1854 the demo-
Gratis met at Chicago and nominated
General Mcclellan for president and
George H. Pendleton for vice presi-
dent. In the convention of 1 sos, the
only one ever held in New York,
Seymore was nominated, but was
easily beaten by Grant in the cleo
ton. In 1872 the convention accept
ed Horace Greedy. and Grant repeat
ed his victory in 1868. In their con-
vention of 1876 the democrats, meet
ing at St. Louis, the democrat NOM
mated their strongest and ablest
man, Tilden, and came within one
vote in the ELECTORAL college of cleo
ting him. and in 1880, with General
Hancock as their standard bearer
they made an active canvass. which
was decided against them by the vote