Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1911-04-30
ORIGIN OF REPUBLICAN PARTY
Chapter of Political History Related
by a Participant.
GREELEY SUGGESTED THE NAME
Vital Issues which Aroused the Free
States of the North in the Fifties
First Regular Delegate
Convention.


States of the North in the Fifties
First Regular Delegate
Convention.
Being, perhaps the only living witness
OF the formation Of the three anti-slavery
parties in this country, I feel It a duty
incumbent upon me to record some OF the
facts"
Thus writes William Barnes, ST.. OF New
York in Leslie's Weekly. Mr.. Barnes was
one of the founders of the republican
party and has been prominently associated
with the political events of the Empire
state and the nation for the last half Of
the nineteenth century. He organized the
New York state insurance department,
was one Of the founders OF the New York
State Bar association and is a member of
many distinguished legal and scientific So
cieties.
Mr.. Barnes story followsi
The present democratic party was in JEFF
fersonian days called republican" and
the present republican party the federal
party. On December 9. lsSa, sixty delegates
met at the anti-slavery convention in Phil
adelphia- Our revolutionary fathers con-
sidered slavery as merely q Temporary In
III and British slave traders. Sixty dele
gates were present from ten free states.
They signed = declaration declaring,
Come what may to our persons, our In
terests or our regulations. whether we
live to witness the triumph OF liberty, jus
tice and humanity. or perish ultimately as
martyrs IN this great, benevolent and holy
cause, we advocate securing to the colored
population Of the United States all the
rights and privileges which belong to them
as men," etc. Among the signers were
the eminent and distinguished names of
John @. Whittier. Samuel ]. May Beriah
Green, jr.; Lewis Tappan, william Good
ell. William Lloyd Garrison, Elizur Wright,
jr., and others. One of the original printed
copies of the declaration, with the sixty
signatures appended, is now on file in
the archives of the Nantucket Historical
society.
The "Liberty Party"
In the year 1910 meeting was held at
Albany. N. Y, on the first day of April,
attended by some seventy-six members,
and then and there the liberty" party
was organized and James Gillespie Birney
was nominated for president and Thomas
Earle for vice president Among the dele
gates were Elizur Wright, jr. Linneus p.
Noble, Alvan Stewart. Beriah Green, jr.,
and others. Gerrit Smith and John G.
Whittier and others wrote approving let
ters. This ticket received a total vote of
only 1853 votes in 1s4O A previous local
liberty party convention had been held at
Warsaw, N. Y, in December, 1882 Mr..
Birney was renominated in 1874. with
Thomas Morris as vice president
In May, 1874, in a letter published in
the Syracuse Freeman. l Joined my polit-
zeal fortunes to this feeble but righteous
organization and my youthful voice was
heard in it's favor in country school houses.
Slavery actually existed in the state of
New York during the first three years of
my life. This ticket. in 1874, received a
total of $500 votes, of which about $1,000
votes were cast in the state of New York
mostly whigs)-enough, however, to de-
feat the election of the very popular Henry
Clay as president of the United States.
Four Fs in Action.
A "Barnburher' or democratic-repub-
lican state convention was held at Utica,
N. Y, February Is, 1S4S, in pursuance of a
call by the democratic members of the
state legislature. F1fty-one counties were
represented by lis delegates. John Van
Buren, was chairman of the committee on
resolutions. His able address was made
to the 'denlocratic-republican" electors OF
the state OF New York, and purported ia
state the condition and prospects of the
! republican party" of the state and nation
The platform adopted was really as
strongly republican in it's scope and fea-
lures as the Fremont republican platform
of 1856, at Philadelphia. 1t declared in favor
of free trade, free labor, free soil and
free men,"
l Joined the free soil party with all the
buoyant enthusiasm of youth for freedom
| as against slavery. New York state cas-
l2O,510 votes for Van Buren, and free soil
which was larger than the regular dem
ocratic vote for Lewis Cass. All the free
states cast 29l, 263 in its favor. The lib
erty" party of 1904 was the grandfather
and the free soil party of 1S4S the father o.
the republican party of 1854, 1886 and 1850
| mass meeting was held at Friendship
N. Y, May 2O-2l. 1854. and was attende,
by 800 or 400 delegates from Allegheny anC
adjoining counties, from David Wilmoti
district in northwestern Pennsylvania.
Greeley Gives the Name.
A. N. Cole. editor OF the Genesee Vale!
Free Press. was one of the callers of tn
convention. He wrote to Horace Greeley
asking what name he would advise tn
proposed new party to take. Mr. Creole!
promptly replied, Call it republican-n
prefix, no suffix. plain republican" MI
Greeley also wrote to the jackson meeting
July 6, 1854, to the same effect.
Mass meetings Of republicans, or anti
Nebraskans, as they were sometime
called, were held at Madison. Wis. July /,
1854, and also in Vermont at the same date
one in Columbus, o.; one in Massachu
Sets July 49, 1854; one at Norristowr
Montgomery county, Pa, date unknown
A very creditable one was held at Stron
village. Me. August T. 1854.
AS to the Maine state convention. it me
at Portland, Me. June Z. 1854 at whic
most of the counties of the state were reE
resented. This convention seems to hav
been the Maine-law anti Nebraska dem
ocrauc Morrill, convention which nom
mated Arson p. Morrill, for governor, an
it was popularity called the morrill," den
ocracy. Both the whig and Democrat
parties, however, made nominations