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Title: A History of the Republican Party

Author: George Washington Platt

Release date: October 12, 2011 [eBook #37737]
                Most recently updated: January 8, 2021

Language: English

Credits: Produced by Polyvios J. Simopoulos


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Produced by Polyvios J. Simopoulos




[Transcriber's note:

                In Memoriam

        Michael S. Hart (1947-2011),

           Inventor of the e-Book

                   and

        Founder of Project Gutenberg

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=================================
A History of the Republican Party
by George Washington Platt
=================================



[Frontispiece: Lincoln, Garfield and McKinley.]

A History

OF THE

Republican Party

BY

GEO. W. PLATT

-----------------------------------

"And summon from the shadowy Past,
The forms that once have been."

-----------------------------------

C. J. KREHBIEL & CO.,
CINCINNATI, O.
1904


Copyright, 1904,
by GEO. W. PLATT.
All rights reserved.


Inscribed

to the Memory of

the three Martyred Republican Presidents

LINCOLN, GARFIELD, McKINLEY.




PREFACE.

Early in February, 1900, the writer delivered an address before the
Stamina Republican League of Cincinnati on "The Origin and Rise of the
Republican Party." The interest in the subject shown by the audience and
the many words of approbation led to a deeper consideration of the
history of the Party, and the address was repeated on a more elaborate
plan before many other organizations in Cincinnati and vicinity.

It soon became apparent that the great majority of every audience had
very vague recollections of the tragic events which led to the
organization of the Party, and of its early history, owing perhaps to
the fact that they belonged to a generation that had followed the
enactment of those events. It was also clear that those who had lived in
the momentous decade before the Civil War were deeply interested and
stirred by a new recital of the history of that period, and thus it was
suggested that a History of the Republican Party might prove of interest
and value.

Like the place of Homer's birth that of the Republican Party is in
dispute, but it is believed that the facts herein narrated are supported
by the weight of evidence.

It is hoped that this work does not display so much partisanship as to
make it uninteresting to members of other political parties in the
United States.

GEO. W. PLATT.
Cincinnati, February, 1904.


CONTENTS.

CHAPTER.                                                          PAGE
    I. Formative Causes ..........................................   5
   II. Ancient and Modern Slavery ................................  11
  III. Beginning of Slavery in the United States .................  22
   IV. The Early Federal Government ..............................  28
    V. The Missouri Compromise ...................................  42
   VI. The Abolitionists .........................................  51
  VII. Compromise of 1850 ........................................  59
 VIII. Birth of the Republican Party .............................  70
   IX. First Republican National Convention ......................  86
    X. The Lincoln-Douglas Debates ............................... 101
   XI. Lincoln ................................................... 112
  XII. Reconstruction and the National Debt ...................... 135
 XIII. Grant ..................................................... 148
  XIV. Hayes ..................................................... 170
   XV. Garfield and Arthur ....................................... 185
  XVI. Blaine .................................................... 201
 XVII. Harrison .................................................. 213
XVIII. Cleveland's Second Term ................................... 230
  XIX. McKinley .................................................. 244
   XX. Roosevelt ................................................. 285


LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

                                                                  PAGE
 1. Lincoln, Garfield and McKinley ...................... Frontispiece
 2. White House ........................................... facing  28
 3. Capitol ...............................................    "    44
 4. Alvan E. Bovay ........................................    "    76
 5. Schoolhouse at Ripon, Wis .............................    "    84
 6. John C. Fremont .......................................    "    92
 7. Wm. H. Seward .........................................    "   100
 8. Lincoln's First Inauguration ..........................    "   124
 9. _New York Herald_, April 15, 1865 .....................    "   132
10. Andrew Johnson ........................................    "   140
11. Ulysses S. Grant ......................................    "   148
12. Rutherford B. Hayes ...................................    "   180
13. Chester A. Arthur .....................................    "   196
14. James G. Blaine .......................................    "   204
15. Benjamin Harrison .....................................    "   213
16. John Sherman ..........................................    "   220
17. Inauguration of Wm. McKinley, March, 1897, ............    "   244
18. Thos. B. Reed .........................................    "   252
19. Second Inauguration of McKinley .......................    "   260
20. Marcus A. Hanna .......................................    "   276
21. Theodore Roosevelt ....................................    "   285





A HISTORY OF THE REPUBLICAN PARTY.




CHAPTER I.

FORMATIVE CAUSES.


"_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 duty of Congress
to prohibit in the territories those twin relics of barbarism, polygamy
and slavery."

_Republican National Platform_, 1856.


Near the beginning of Mr. Conway's small volume entitled "Barons of the
Potomack and Rappahannock" occurs the sententious remark that "a true
history of tobacco would be the history of English and American
Liberty." With whatever truth there is in such sweeping statements it
may also be said that "a history of Slavery in this country would be the
history of the Republican Party." This is distinctly so, at least to the
close of the Civil War, for we are to notice that while the party
originated in a desire to oppose the extension of slavery, the cause of
its origin disappeared in less than ten years after the birth of the
organization. But the results of that cause remained for many years, and
justified the assertion in the Republican platform of 1860 that "a
history of the nation during the last four years has fully established
the propriety and necessity of the organization and perpetuation of the
Republican Party, and that the causes which called it into existence are
permanent in their nature." From its primary position as an opponent of
slavery extension, the new party became the champion of abolition, and
in the chaos brought on by the Civil War, and in the Reconstruction
period which followed, it was kept in power, notwithstanding the
disappearance of its direct formative cause, and the justification for
its continued existence was found in the urgent necessity of the hour.
Gradually but firmly it became a strong State and National Party,
solving the many vexed problems which followed the great conflict,
restoring public credit, reducing the enormous war debt; and when the
slavery question and its direct consequences had been eliminated from
national politics, taking up new political ideas and economic policies,
for the welfare of the entire country, until now, after half a century
of existence, during which time it has written some of the brightest
pages of American history, the Republican Party stands out as one of the
greatest and most consistent of political parties in all the world's
history.

Taking the popular vote as a criterion of permanent growth, the vote for
the Republican presidential candidates, beginning with 1,341,264 for
Fremont in 1856, reached the maximum of 7,208,244 for McKinley in 1900,
and only once (in 1892) during this entire period did the popular vote
for the Republican presidential candidate fail to show an increase over
the vote of the preceding election.

The events of the momentous decade before the Civil War (during which
period the Republican Party was firmly established), the election of Mr.
Lincoln, the Civil War and Reconstruction, the story of the national
development along commercial and financial lines since that period,
present the most interesting and vivid chapters of American history.
Throughout its history of fifty years, covering the period just
mentioned, the Republican Party has a remarkable record for solid and
consistent action, resulting universally in national prosperity and
honor, and on the three occasions since its formation (1856, 1884 and
1892), when the voters turned away to listen to the teachings of
Democracy, the invariable result has been national disaster and
humiliation and a retarding of progress.

The Republican Party was organized in the early months of 1854, and the
direct formative causes leading to its establishment were the repeal of
the Missouri Compromise and the efforts on the part of the South, under
the leadership of that ambitious politician, Stephen A. Douglas (with
his specious doctrines of non-intervention on the part of the
Government, and popular sovereignty), to force slavery into the
Territories of Kansas and Nebraska, which, by the Compromise of 1820,
should have been forever dedicated to freedom. By these efforts it was
seen that the South was attempting to make slavery a national instead of
a sectional institution, and the situation early in 1854 (after the long
series of triumphs of the Slave Power) seemed almost hopeless as far as
concerned political opposition to these radical measures was concerned.
At this time, and, indeed, for many years past, the Democratic Party was
firm and united in its support of slavery, and the course of the Whig
Party, intimidated by its southern members, and fearful of civil strife,
had been one of subserviency to the exacting demands of slavery. The
Whig Party had proven itself totally incapable of meeting the great
question of the hour, and after the election of 1852 was on the verge of
absolute dissolution.

The astonishing repeal of the Missouri Compromise early in 1854, coming,
as it did, in a time of comparative peace on the slavery question,
obliterated old party lines in the North completely, and left
disorganized groups of anti-Nebraska Whigs, anti-Nebraska Democrats,
Free-soilers, Abolitionists, and Know-Nothings, all of whom represented
every extreme of the northern views of slavery. But underneath these
views was the belief that slavery was a great moral wrong, and that its
extension, at least, should be opposed, and from these seemingly
discordant elements it became, in fact, an easy matter to organize, in a
short time, a strong opposition party to the new aggression of the slave
interests.

The Republican Party was at first one of defense only; it was a
combination of the existing political elements opposed to slavery, and
its first stand was conservative, not to abolish slavery, but to firmly
oppose its extension. The Party at first had no intention of interfering
with slavery in the States in which it then existed, but the idea of
allowing slavery, with its manifest evils, to be extended into other
States and Territories at the will of the South was not to be silently
borne. The early views of the party, up to the Civil War, were well
expressed by Mr. Lincoln in his last great public utterance before his
election as President in November, 1860 (The Cooper Union Speech,
February, 1860): "Wrong, as we think slavery is, we can yet afford to
let it alone where it is, because that much is due to the necessity
arising from its actual presence in the nation; but can we, while our
votes will prevent it, allow it to spread into the national territories
and to overrun us here in these free States?"

It will be of interest, before taking up the history of the immediate
casual events which made necessary this new political party, to consider
the early history of that great institution, slavery, which, from the
very beginning of American history to the close of the Civil War, and
indeed for many years after, was the chief disturbing element in the
country; to consider how this institution established itself in other
countries, how it insidiously began its growth in the Jamestown colony,
and how it gained in strength and political power, until, at the opening
of the Revolution it owned half a million slaves, and after Independence
had been gained, forced recognition in the Constitutional Convention and
there domineered the North into the first of a series of humiliating
compromises on the slave question. And from that time on, with
increasing force, pressed its obnoxious doctrines upon the press, the
pulpit, platforms and political parties of the country, until, after
many years of bitter contention, it was met in 1854 by the organization
of a determined opposition political party, which, after one failure,
brought about its political overthrow, an event followed by a last
tremendous struggle for the mastery, in which slavery was wiped out
forever in the life-blood of those who upheld and those who opposed it.




CHAPTER II.

ANCIENT AND MODERN SLAVERY.


"Slavery is as ancient as War, and War as human nature."

_Voltaire_.

"That execrable sum of all villainies, commonly called the slave trade."

_John Wesley_, 1792.


The earliest records of the human race begin with accounts of slavery.
The first slave was probably a war captive whose life had been spared,
and slavery probably originated when the nations emerging from the
savagery of early times discovered that the prisoner captured in war
could render to the conqueror more service alive than dead; and it
became a very early custom that all persons captured in war and not
ransomed by their fellows should remain the property of the conqueror to
be used by him at will or sold to others. It is seen that slavery in its
inception was in some degree an innocent and humane institution, because
it saved many lives and resulted in much development in building,
agriculture and the crude manufacturing of early times.

It is convenient to divide the history of slavery into two epochs,
ancient and modern, although there are times in the history of several
nations when ancient slavery assumed the modern form. The ancient slaves
were the prisoners captured in war, the hereditary slaves, and persons
who, by the laws of their country, became slaves by the commission of
crime or inability to meet their debts. Modern slavery assumed a more
brutal aspect. Here the slave was not the result of wars, but the direct
object of them, and we find nations engaged in the shameful traffic of
deliberately declaring war upon a foreign and inoffensive people for the
purpose of obtaining possession of their bodies to carry them away for
sale in foreign countries. The modern slave for four centuries was a
distinct article of commerce, quoted and bargained for in the markets
and reckoned on as a medium of exchange.

For the history of ancient slavery we turn first to Egypt, and find
abundant evidence of the use of slaves from the very earliest times.
Egypt thrived, and its native population was overflowing; but
notwithstanding this, thousands of slaves were brought into the country
by the early Wars of Conquest. Most of these slaves, for lack of other
work, were put to labor on vast monuments, buildings, shrines and
temples. The great Pyramid of Gizeh, near Memphis, the smaller pyramids
near it and the ruins near Thebes, and the Karnak, still remain as
mysterious and wonderful records of the skill of the Egyptian builders,
and as mute evidence of the use of vast numbers of slaves.

In the quaint diction of early biblical history is told the manner of
the Egyptian use of slaves. We learn how Joseph was treacherously sold
by his brethren into Egyptian captivity, but gaining favor, was placed
in the house of his master, and how, in later years, when famine waxed
sore in the land of Canaan, Joseph's father, Jacob, and his brethren and
their flocks went into Egypt and prayed to Pharaoh for permission to
dwell there, and partly through the influence of Joseph were given
permission to live in the country of Goshen. The Israelites grew and
multiplied until the land was filled with them, but new Kings ruled in
Egypt, hostile to them, and their lives were made bitter with hard
bondage and compulsory work in mortar and brick, "and they built for
Pharaoh treasure cities, Pithom and Raamses."

When the Hebrews, under the guidance of Moses, left Egypt, they took
slaves with them, and in their subsequent history we find a record of
the use of two classes of slaves, the Hebrew born and those of alien
blood. The Hebrew slave usually became such by selling himself on
account of his poverty, or because it was imposed upon him as a
punishment for crime. He could claim his liberty at the end of six
years, but not so with the alien, who was in bondage for life. Jerusalem
was built, and after many years captured by Nebuchadnezzar, King of
Babylon, who razed the city and carried the upper classes of the Hebrews
captive to Babylon, where they remained in a condition of servitude
until the destruction of Babylon by Cyrus the Great, King of Persia,
who, as a political measure, permitted the Hebrews to return to their
homes and rebuild Jerusalem. Egypt went down to rise no more before the
new power of the Persians, who, in turn, gave way to the Greeks, and
they to the Romans. Throughout the history of the ancient people, the
Egyptians, the Syrians, Babylonians, Phoenicians, Medes and Persians,
slavery developed in the same general way; the prisoner of war was held
in slavery and reduced to the lowest caste, and this we find true in
China, Ancient India and in the history of the Aztecs.

Slaves were used in Greece, especially so at Athens, where, at the
height of the city's power, there were four times as many slaves as
citizens. The slaves took a prominent part in the domestic and public
economy, being used as agricultural laborers, and as artificers and
servants, and by the State as policemen and soldiers. Sparta possessed
very few slaves, probably only enough to supply the demand for domestic
servants. With the rapid progress of the Greeks came an increased use of
slaves, and the wars not being sufficient to supply the demand, an open
slave trade was soon established. In Greece arose to its height that
peculiar form of slavery practiced by the early Hebrews, wherein
foreigners violating laws, and Greeks themselves, if unable to meet
their debts, were sold with their families into slavery. This brought
about such a threatening state of affairs that by the wise laws of Solon
this form of slavery was abolished. This peculiar slavery also existed
in the early days of Rome, but in the third century before Christ it was
also abolished.

In the Roman Empire slavery existed from the earliest times, and was
carried to an excess not known before or since in the history of
slavery. The wonderful and rapid rise of the Romans in power, domain and
wealth led to a moral and political degeneracy which demanded the
increased use of slaves in all branches of domestic and public life.
Here, as in Greece, the Wars of Conquest bringing in, as they did, vast
numbers of slaves, failed to supply the demand, and here again, as in
Greece, the slave trade, with its acts of piracy, was established to
obtain a supply, and the occupation of the professional slave hunter and
slave dealer became fully recognized and were the forerunners of similar
acts in the history of Negro slavery many centuries later. The abuses
brought on by the Roman system of slavery led to such decay and
corruption in the Empire that it became an easy prize for the Teutonic
tribes, and Rome of the West fell to rise no more, about the middle of
the fifth century.

Then probably began the Feudal system, which practically abolished the
ancient form of slavery, and in its place the lower classes of the
population were put in the semi-servile condition of serfs and villeins
to their Feudal Lords. This system spread in Germany, France, England
and Russia, but by the time of the capture of Constantinople in 1453 by
the Turks, Feudalism, the last relic of slavery in Western Europe, was
almost extinct, and was gradually assuming a very mild form in the other
countries, when suddenly and unexpectedly slavery was revived and
perpetuated in a new, its modern form, by a singular and interesting
series of events which brought about the ruthless bondage of an entire
people to nations whom they had never offended.

Portugal, Spain and England were mainly responsible for fastening the
evils of Negro Slavery on the New World. The Portuguese first began the
modern traffic in negro slaves; the Spaniards introduced them into
America, and the English engaged in and encouraged, more than any other
nation, the infamous slave trade, to supply the New World demand.

In a strange way Christianity was indirectly responsible for the
beginning of negro slavery in its modern form. For many centuries prior
to the discovery of America the Mohammedans and Christians had been
arrayed against each other in western Europe, and the struggles for the
mastery had aroused the most implacable hatred between the foes, and the
almost inevitable fate of the captives, whether taken by Christian or
Mohammedan, was slavery for life. Fifty-one years before the discovery
of America some Portuguese sailors, coasting along the shores of
Morocco, took captive a few Moors and brought them to Portugal. This
event led to the beginning of modern slavery, for in the following year,
1442, these captive Moors, at their own request, were exchanged for
negroes, which they procured from Africa. It appears that Prince Henry
of Portugal had made many ineffectual attempts to convert these Moors,
and their obstinate refusal made acceptable an exchange for negroes,
"for whatever number he should get he would gain souls, because they
might be converted to the Faith, which could not be done with the
Moors," said the Prince. With what sincerity this argument was advanced
cannot be known, but it is certain that the beginning of modern slavery
was justified by this crafty philanthropy, not only in Portugal but
later in the Spanish Colonies, where the same argument was advanced by
Columbus and accepted by the Spanish Monarchs to ease their minds while
it filled their treasuries. It is also certain that in a very short
time, whether to be Christianized or not, shipload after shipload of the
unfortunate Africans were brought to Portugal and a regular slave trade,
with all its sickening horrors, was established, the Crown receiving
one-fifth of the proceeds as its royal share. Soon Spain engaged in the
traffic, and then the event happened, the discovery of America, which
startled Europe, and opened up a vast new country to whatever good or
evil its conquerors might choose to plant.

Strangely enough the very events which led to the discovery of the New
World operated to firmly establish the beginning of what was to be its
greatest curse. With the capture of Constantinople in 1453 by the Turks
and the cutting off of that way to the Indies, increased efforts were
made to discover a new route, and the first attempts were down the west
coast of Africa. The Portuguese were the most active mariners at that
time and took the most prominent part in these new voyages, and while
they did not meet with complete success, they discovered a country
thronged with the people, who, by the circumstances already related,
were practically doomed to slavery. So promising was this base of
supplies that about the year 1485 the Portuguese established a Colony at
Benin, on the west coast of Africa, for the purpose of more actively
carrying on the slave trade, and this was the first of those permanent
fortified places established in Africa by the Christian countries of the
world as stations where, by the blackest of cruelties and crimes, they
might obtain large and immediate supplies of this new article of
commerce. From the time of the establishment of this first Colony to the
year 1807, when Great Britain and the United States prohibited the slave
trade (a period of 322 years), Africa was desolated and her people
abducted, sold and murdered by the Christian people of the earth; and
indeed for many years after its prohibition the slave trade was carried
on, notwithstanding that it became piracy to do so, punishable by death,
so profitable had the business become and so rapacious and insensate
those who engaged in it.

Thus was the slave monster, a gigantic and hideous Frankenstein, created
by the Christian nations, and long after, when it obtained its full
growth, it was to fright them, retard their progress and result in
dreadful retribution. The slave district began with the River Senegal on
the west coast of Africa and continued a distance of fully 3000 miles to
Cape Negro. The enormous sum of cruelty and wickedness which attended
the slave trade throughout this vast territory can never be known, but
may be partially imagined when we know that at its height fully 80,000
persons were torn from their homes annually, with all the attendant
horrors of rapine, murder and the worst crimes of mankind.

The evil thus begun and fostered in Europe needed only a new impetus
to make it grow beyond all bounds; owing to economical conditions, it
would probably have died out in western Europe had it not been for the
discovery of America, which almost immediately opened up a new and
enormous market for slaves. The first Spanish settlement in the West
Indies was called Hispaniola, now the Island of Haiti, and this Colony
became the scene of the first use of negro slaves in the New World. A
cruel fate seemed to be working out the enslavement of the African, for
it is almost certain that Columbus in his first voyages did not take
with him any slaves, and there seemed to be no thought of using them in
this new Colony during the first few years after the discovery. The
first negroes were brought to Hispaniola about eight years after
Columbus landed, but they were few in number, and it was probably not
contemplated to use them in the fields and mines, for the Spaniards had
an immense and almost inexhaustible supply of free labor at hand in the
native population, who, by the avarice of the Spaniards, were almost
immediately enslaved and compelled to work in the mines and on the
farms. So greedy were the Spaniards to acquire sudden wealth, and so
numerous the natives, that their lives were reckoned of no value, and so
heartlessly cruel and inhuman was their treatment that the population of
the island, which is given as about 800,000 in 1492, had decreased, it
is estimated, one-third four years later, and twenty years later the
native population is given as only 14,000. These figures are probably
greatly exaggerated, but making all allowances they tell a frightful
story.

The benevolent Las Casas, aroused by the frightful cruelties to the
natives and their rapid destruction, began his successful opposition to
Indian slavery; but, without knowing or intending it, his success was at
the fearful cost of the Africans, who now began to be imported in large
numbers to take the place of Indian slaves, and it was shortly
discovered that one negro could do the work of four or five natives.
Thus a new and growing market opened for slaves, and the slave trade of
the New World became so profitable that Charles V. of Spain, desiring to
reap the greatest benefit from it, granted, for a consideration, an
exclusive right for eight years of supplying four thousand slaves per
year to the Spanish Colonies. This seems to have been the first monopoly
on the slave trade, but soon other nations were attracted by the ease
and profit of the business, and the Dutch and English began early to
engage their energies in the trade, and the latter, with their superior
methods, greatly increased its profit and popularity. William Hawkins
was the first Englishman to begin the slave trade, and made a trip to
Guinea in 1530. In 1562 his son, John Hawkins, who was knighted later
for his services by Queen Elizabeth, followed in his father's steps and
carried away three hundred slaves to San Domingo. This voyage was
repeated in 1564 and 1567 with great profit, and soon England had
entered and was committed fully to the business. One hundred and fifty
years later the traffic in negro slaves was considered the most
profitable branch of British commerce.

Thus it is seen that prior to the discovery of America negro slavery had
begun in western Europe, and, like some dread scourge, lay in wait for
new fields in which to operate; and we have seen how it was permitted to
enter so early into the history of the New World. From the islands of
the West Indies the Spaniards went to the mainland, and with them went
slavery; and as more territory was discovered the use of slaves was more
in demand and they were brought over in almost incredible numbers. This
history is not further concerned with the development of slavery in
other countries, or with the horrifying details of the slave trade which
grew up to supply the enormous demand of the New World, except as it
affected this country.

How slavery became established in the United States, how it dominated
the first attempts of the Colonies to organize a strong Federal
Government, and how, after a series of compromises, seeking to settle a
question which could only be settled by its abolition, it resulted in
the organization of a great opposition political party, the first
success of which was followed by the bloodiest civil war in all history,
will now be the direct subject of our inquiry.




CHAPTER III.

BEGINNING OF SLAVERY IN THE UNITED STATES.


"I do not say who was guilty of this ... but there was the evil, and no
man could see how we were to be delivered from it."

_Frelinghuysen_.


Ayllon, a Spaniard, who attempted to find the northwest passage, landed
in Virginia as early as 1526, near the same place where the English
eighty-one years later founded their colony, and began to build a town,
using negro slaves in the work, but this settlement was abandoned. Negro
slaves were also used in Florida prior to the Jamestown settlement.
These appear to be the first use of negro slaves in territory
subsequently a part of the United States. But we are not concerned with
these events except as curious historical facts, because they had no
influence on the history of the country, and are of no more importance
or interest than the discovery of America by the Norsemen before
Columbus. But toward the end of August, 1620, an event occurred of the
greatest moment to the history and welfare of the country, and which was
to have a far-reaching and lasting effect upon the political and social
life of the United States. In that month, about thirteen years after the
English founded their settlement, a Dutch ship, in great distress for
food, entered the James River, and after some negotiation with the
settlers, exchanged twenty negroes for a supply of food. This was the
beginning of negro slavery in the United States, and thus was the
disturbing element planted which was to distract the nation for so many
weary years, and the opposition to which was finally to culminate in the
founding of the Republican Party.

Not many months after these slaves were landed the Pilgrims established
their settlement on the New England shores and began that political and
social life whose subsequent development made them an enemy to slavery.
If there is one scene or period in American history representing the
very genesis of the Republican Party, it is the landing of the Pilgrims
in December, 1620; just as the settlement at Jamestown, Virginia, was
the point from which radiated, by subsequent economical and social
developments, the principles of the Democratic Party. Thus it is seen at
this early period that slavery and freedom were planted almost side by
side to progress along unconsciously until economical conditions and
demands were to make them openly antagonistic; and here began that
remarkable balancing of power between slavery and freedom, which was to
be maintained in later years, after the Union had been formed, by a
series of compromises, and indeed also by a balancing of progress along
economical lines.

The Virginians at first neither sought nor needed negro slaves; this is
proven by the circumstances under which the first slaves were landed,
and also by the fact that slavery grew very slowly. In 1622 there were
only twenty-two negro slaves in the Colony, and in 1648, twenty-eight
years after the first acquisition, there were only three hundred in
Virginia; not that the settlers were averse to using them, but because
another class of cheap labor was obtainable in the great number of
criminals which were sent from England to work out their freedom in the
New World, and by other white persons who voluntarily sold themselves
and became indented or bond servants for a period of years in payment of
their passage to America, or for other considerations. The use of this
class of labor began very shortly after the first settlement, but toward
the close of the seventeenth century the use of indented servants became
less as negro slaves became more numerous.

Negro slaves were introduced into every one of the other Colonies when
they were founded, or a short time afterwards, and to the close of the
Revolution negro slaves were used in every Colony. The North was for
slavery as long as it was necessary and profitable, and the early
settlers in New England found no scruple in using as slaves the Indians
captured in war; and when negro slavery appeared later, the shrewd
Yankees made money in the slave trade along the coast to the South and
to the West Indies. The modern Newport, R. I., was the great slave mart
of New England, and it is said that the first slave ship used by
American colonists was fitted up in a New England port.

Prior to 1715 the number of slaves in America was not so great, but
after that year they increased in large numbers, not only by an active
demand which sprang up for them, but also by the infamous Asiento Clause
in the Treaty of Utrecht between England and Spain, whereby the former
for a period of thirty years, from 1713 to 1743, took the exclusive
right of importing and selling 144,000 negroes into the Spanish Colonies
at the rate of 4,800 per year, and more could be brought in on the
payment of a small tax. This made England the greatest slave nation in
the world, and her interest demanded, and Parliament saw to it, that
nothing adverse to the use of slaves should happen in the American
Colonies. The growth of slavery in America from 1715 to 1775, and the
slave population in the Colonies at these two periods, were as follows:

                             1715           1775
    New Hampshire ........    150            629
    Massachusetts ........  2,000          3,500
    Rhode Island .........    500          4,373
    Connecticut ..........  1,500          5,000
    New York .............  4,000         15,000
    New Jersey ...........  1,500          7,600
    Pennsylvania ........}  2,500         10,000
    Delaware ............}                 9,000
    Maryland .............  9,500         80,000
    Virginia ............. 23,000        165,000
    North Carolina .......  3,700         75,000
    South Carolina ....... 10,500        110,000
    Georgia ..............                16,000
                           ------        -------
                           58,850        501,102

Of the half million slaves in this country at the opening of the
Revolution, 450,000 were in the Southern Colonies. The reasons for this
are found in the difference in economical conditions and political and
social customs which separated the Northern and Southern Colonies before
the Revolution. The Northern group devoted themselves mainly to fishing,
commerce and farming. The soil, especially in New England, was
unpromising for the production of great staples, and the result in the
North was concentration of the people, growth of town life, distribution
of political power, great freedom of speech and press, and a wide
discussion of political principles. The South devoted herself wholly to
the production of three great staples, rice, indigo and tobacco, and the
result in the South was just the reverse of that in the North. Great
plantations were established, few cities of any importance sprang up,
manufacturing did not thrive, the South importing almost every article
of use or luxury. Political power was in the hands of a few, and the
three great staples demanded cheap labor, working under the most
destructive conditions. Thus, influenced almost entirely by environment
and economical and political development, the North became the scene of
freedom to individuals and protection to industries, because these
things were absolutely essential to the existence and happiness of the
people; and the South, by the same necessity, was dedicated to slavery
and free trade.

It must not be thought that the colonial period was without any
development of opposition to slavery. The German Quakers of Pennsylvania
in 1688 took a stand against the use of slaves in their community, and
they subsequently became the most active opponents to slavery and the
slave trade. Their efforts, however, had little effect except in
Pennsylvania, but it is important to mark their action as the beginning
of the abolition movement in this country. There are records in the
Southern Colonies of taxes placed upon the importation of slaves prior
to the decade before the Revolution, but it would appear that these
taxes were more for revenue than as prohibitive means, and that they
were of no value in diminishing the demand and the number of negroes
imported. However, in 1769, a distinct sentiment crystallized in
Virginia against the further importation of slaves, and the Legislature
passed a law prohibiting it, but this was vetoed by the Royal Governor,
acting under orders from the Crown; the same thing occurred in
Massachusetts two years later. In 1772 Lord Mansfield proclaimed the
law, "As soon as a slave sets foot on the soil of the British isles he
becomes free." This decision had a marked influence on the anti-slavery
sentiment, which was now strong in the Colonies, and the approach of the
Revolution, with its spirit of national independence and of individual
right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, seemed to promise
freedom to a people who had already suffered three centuries of terrible
bondage.




CHAPTER IV.

THE EARLY FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.


"The policy to sustain which Mr. Lincoln was elected President in 1860
was first definitely outlined by Jefferson in 1784. It was the policy of
forbidding slavery in the National Territory."

_John Fiske_.


The history of slavery from the opening scenes of the Revolution to the
meeting of the First Congress affords a curious example of the direct
influence of self-interest upon the opinions of mankind. The opening of
the Revolution saw an emphatic and unanimous expression against slavery
and the slave trade, and a general spirit of emancipation was abroad.
Two years later this had changed, for when the Declaration was
promulgated there was no mention of anti-slavery sentiments in it, and
as Independence became more and more assured, the feeling against
slavery seems to have weakened, and finally, when a serious attempt to
perfect the Union was made, the slave question was decided by expediency
and not by principle.

In 1773 and 1774, when the colonists spoke their final defiance against
Great Britain, and the latter launched her retaliatory measures, the
climax was reached. It is to be kept in mind that at this time slavery
existed in every one of the Colonies. The First Continental Congress,
representing all the Colonies except Georgia (who agreed to concur), met
at Philadelphia in September, 1774, to determine what should be done in
this grave crisis. It turned out to be largely a Peace Congress, but a
protest, several addresses and a non-importation and non-consumption
agreement was signed. One of the Articles of this agreement provided
that "We will neither import nor purchase any slave imported after the
first day of December next, after which time we will wholly discontinue
the slave trade, and will neither be concerned in it ourselves, nor will
we hire our vessels or sell our commodities or manufactures to those who
are concerned in it." This important and far-reaching resolution
received the unanimous support of all the Colonies. Would that its
spirit had been kept alive!

[Illustration: The White House, Washington, D. C.]

Almost two years after the First Continental Congress met (the
Revolution having been started in the meantime) the Declaration of
Independence was adopted, but there was no expression in it against
slavery or the slave trade. The original draft of that instrument
contained a fierce denunciation of England's part in the slave trade:

"He has waged cruel war against human nature itself, violating its most
sacred rights of life and liberty in the persons of a distant people who
never offended him; capturing and carrying them into slavery in another
hemisphere, or to incur a miserable death in their transportation
thither. This piratical warfare, the opprobrium of Infidel Powers, is
the warfare of the Christian King of Great Britain. Determined to keep
open a market where men could be bought and sold, he has prostituted his
negative by suppressing every legislative attempt to prohibit or
restrain this execrable commerce."

These burning words were from the pen of Jefferson, who had been the
most active in his opposition to slavery. They were omitted from the
Declaration, out of compliance to South Carolina and Georgia, but they
voiced unquestionably the sentiment of a large majority of the
Continental Congress. This was the first fatal concession to South
Carolina and Georgia, and we shall find them again united and
influencing the other Southern Colonies to maintain a bold stand for
slavery at the most critical period in the nation's history.

On the same day in June, 1776, that the Committee was appointed to draft
the Declaration of Independence, Congress resolved that "A Committee be
appointed to prepare and digest the form of a Confederation to be
entered into between the Colonies." The work of this Committee was the
Articles of Confederation, which were presented in November, 1777, for
ratification by the States. These Articles contained no anti-slavery
sentiments, and we are only concerned with them in noting the unexpected
and most important results which came up before the ratification was
completed. Several of the States claimed a right to the territory west
of the Alleghanies to the Mississippi under their original charter.
Their claims were conflicting, and Maryland refused to ratify the
Articles of Confederation until the land-claiming States should
relinquish all their rights to Congress. For a number of years these
States were obdurate, but Maryland held out resolutely and bravely, and
finally, by her firm action and the magnanimity of New York and
Virginia, the question was settled by the cession of the disputed lands
to Congress. The acquisition of the Northwest Territory is one of the
great turning points in American history, for we shall see that the
subsequent development of this territory was of no less importance than
the saving of the Union from annihilation by the slave power.

Thomas Jefferson was the most urgent against slavery of all the founders
of the nation. His statesmanship foresaw the evils negro slavery would
bring upon the nation's social and political development, and his nature
was stirred by the great moral wrong. Long before the Declaration of
Independence he worked untiringly in Virginia to bring about a sentiment
against the slave trade, and his efforts met with success. His fierce
denunciation of England's part in the slave trade was stricken from the
Declaration, but he did not give up the fight, although the material
interests of the South thwarted his plans for the moment. When, by the
unforeseen results attendant upon the ratification of the Articles of
Confederation, that imperial domain reaching from Pennsylvania to the
Mississippi and from the Ohio to the Lakes became national territory,
Jefferson, with the prescience of a mighty genius, saw an opportunity to
deal a death blow to slavery. This magnificent public domain,
subsequently to be divided into the States of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois,
Wisconsin and Michigan, was given to the nation on condition that it
should be cut up into States, to be admitted when they had a certain
population, and that the land should be sold to pay the debts of the
United States. Throughout this vast region there were very few people,
and there had been no social, political or economical development, and
so the only opposition which could come in Congress to any measure for
the future government of the Territory would be from the original
States. No sooner had the cession been fully made than Jefferson
suggested a plan which, if it had succeeded, would have confined slavery
North and South to the mountain boundaries of the original States. His
plan for the government of this new territory, among other things,
provided that after the year 1800 slavery should be prohibited in it. He
went beyond this and advocated and urgently solicited Virginia, North
Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia to cede their rights in the land
west of the Mountains, and he would have had slavery prohibited in this
territory also after the year 1800. His plan was no more or less than to
prohibit slavery after the year 1800 in all land between the Alleghanies
and the Mississippi, from the Lakes to Florida.

On April 19, 1784, Jefferson's Ordinance came up for consideration.
North Carolina moved that the clause prohibiting slavery after 1800 be
stricken out; South Carolina seconded the motion, which was put in the
form, "Shall the words moved to be stricken out stand?" Six States voted
that the clause should stand, three were opposed to it, but as the
Articles of Confederation required the votes of nine States, the motion
was lost and the Ordinance, with the slavery clause taken out, was then
adopted.

The following year Congress made inducements so attractive that in a
short time several companies were organized and bought large tracts in
the new National Territory; and as they purposed settling on their
purchases at once, Congress agreed upon a more elaborate plan of
government and laws than those set forth in the Ordinance of 1784. The
famous Ordinance of 1787 was the result of this agreement. Mr. Jefferson
was not present at the time of its adoption, having been sent as
Minister to France, but the influence of his work and sentiments were
felt, and his ideas were adopted in a new form. The new Ordinance
repealed the old one, and among other things provided that the Territory
should be cut up into not less than three nor more than five States, all
of which were to be admitted into the Union when they had a population
of 60,000 free inhabitants. The States which might be formed were
forever to remain a part of the United States, and it was declared that
the Ordinance was to be considered as a compact between the original
States and the people and States of the new territory, and forever to
remain unalterable unless by common consent. Most important and
far-reaching of all was the Article,

"There shall be neither slavery nor involuntary servitude in the said
territory, otherwise than in the punishment of crimes, whereof the party
shall have been duly convicted; Provided always, that any person
escaping into the same, from whom labor or service is lawfully claimed
in any one of the original States, such fugitive may be lawfully
reclaimed, and conveyed to the person claiming his or her labor or
service, as aforesaid."

With slavery forever prohibited in such a large territory, with the
Ordinance beyond repeal, and secession condemned, the Ordinance of 1787
stands out as one of the most remarkable and most important enactments
in American history. What the Declaration of Independence and the War
had obtained, and the Constitution was to make more perfect--the Union
--the development of the country under the Ordinance of 1787 was to
preserve. The South yielded to the strong anti-slavery clause in this
ordinance because a fugitive slave clause was added to it, and because
she had a plan of making the territory west of Virginia, North Carolina,
South Carolina and Georgia slave territory. This was done shortly
afterwards, when two years later South Carolina and North Carolina, and
Georgia in 1802, ceded their western claims to Congress on the express
condition that it should be slave soil, and Congress accepted the
territory on that condition; Kentucky being admitted as a slave State in
1792.

While the national greatness and safety were being worked out in the
West, affairs were in a miserable condition in the East, owing to the
radical defects in the Articles of Confederation which had been in
operation since 1781. The cup of bitter national humiliation was being
drained to the dregs, but fortunately the best men of the country
finally succeeded in calling a Convention to revise the Articles. The
Convention met at Philadelphia in May, 1787, and by September had
adopted a new Constitution.

The great struggle between the North and the South began in the
Constitutional Convention. Slavery and the conflicting commercial
interests were the difficult questions which divided the country and
resulted in the first of the Compromises that held off the Civil War for
so many years. It was decided to have an equal representation of States
in the Senate and an unequal representation in the House, based upon
population; but should slaves be counted as population? This and the
other slavery questions which came up in the Convention threatened to
disrupt the proceedings entirely. There were at this time about 675,000
slaves in the country, of which number fully 625,000 were in the South.
South Carolina, henceforth to be so active for the interests of the
South, immediately claimed that these slaves should be considered as
population to be counted in fixing the representation in the House. The
North argued that the slaves were chattels and should not be counted,
for it was seen at a glance that if this enormous number of slaves were
to be counted on any basis, the political power of the South would be
greatly increased. South Carolina made open and repeated threats to
withdraw from the Confederacy, and the situation was serious, because,
without her and the other Southern Colonies, who would unquestionably be
influenced by her, the work of the Convention would not be ratified, and
there would be no Union. The inexorable necessity of the hour demanded a
compromise, and it was decided that in apportioning the Representatives
there should be added to the whole number of free persons three-fifths
of all other persons. This was equivalent to saying that five slaves in
the South should be counted the same as three white persons in the
North.

In regard to the slave trade there was a sentiment in all the States
except Georgia and South Carolina against it, because five slaves
counted as three whites, and because almost all of the eminent men North
and South were at this time opposed to Slavery itself as not only a
moral wrong, but as something which would injure the development of the
country. The Southern planters insisted upon a continuation of the slave
trade, but at the same time they were fearful that the North might tax
their exports. The second great Compromise was affected, and it was
agreed that the importation of such persons as any of the States might
think proper to admit should not be prohibited by Congress prior to
1808, but a tax on each person so admitted might be imposed, not
exceeding $10, and that no tax or duty should be laid on articles
exported from any State. A Fugitive Slave Clause very similar to that
contained in the Ordinance of 1787 was also added.

By these Compromises, especially the one giving representation for
slaves, the South was given that tremendous political power which she
wielded so long to threaten and coerce the North to her bidding. The
Slave Power was politically enthroned, not to be finally dislodged until
the election of Mr. Lincoln. At this early period, however, it was
firmly and honestly believed that in a very short time slavery would
disappear in all of the Colonies, as it was already dying out rapidly in
the North, and it was fully believed that after 1808, when the slave
trade should be prohibited, slavery would become extinct. It must be
remembered that at this time cotton was not a staple of the South, and
there was nothing seriously present or threatened, in the social or
economical development of the South, which made slavery absolutely
necessary. Nobody foresaw how greatly cotton was to add to the wealth
and standing of the South, and nobody foresaw the great injury which the
Constitution was to do the North.

When Washington was inaugurated, April 30, 1789, the United States
reached from the Atlantic to the Mississippi, and from the Lake of the
Woods, the Great Lakes, the St. Lawrence and St. Croix Rivers southward
to Florida, which then extended to the Mississippi and was owned by
Spain.

All of the threatening phases of the slave question had been compromised
by the various provisions in the Constitution, and the common territory
of the nation had been practically partitioned between Freedom and
Slavery, with the Ohio River as the dividing line. With some exceptions
the Northern States still possessed a large number of slaves, New York
and New Jersey having the greatest number (33,000 out of the 40,000
still in the North), but not only in these States, but throughout the
North, emancipation was making rapid progress.

The population of the country was scattered along the Atlantic seaboard,
but the migration to the west of the Alleghanies had set in strongly
both north and south of the Ohio River; the settlers from Virginia and
the States south of her carrying with them, westward, the prejudices and
customs of their mother States, while the settlers north of the Ohio
River took with them into the wilderness the energy and thrift of the
East, and its spirit of freedom and emancipation for all individuals,
laying the foundation of those great States which, in later years,
untrammeled by the commercial conservatism of the East, were so
outspoken and sturdy in their expressions against slavery. The first
census, taken in 1790, showed a population of 3,929,827, classed and
divided between the North and South as follows:

                                 Free
                     White.    Negroes.    Slave.
  North .......... 1,900,976    27,109     40,370
  South .......... 1,271,488    32,357    657,527

These figures are interesting because of the political effect that the
population of the two sections had upon the representation in the House.

The South was still devoting herself to the raising of tobacco, rice,
indigo, and several lesser staples, but since the close of the
Revolution, owing to the dying out of the indigo plant, a new staple had
received considerable attention. Cotton had been cultivated in Virginia
by the early settlers, but little attention had been paid to it, and
only enough was produced for domestic use; but after the close of the
Revolution it gradually came to be cultivated in all the Southern
States, and it was quickly discovered that being an indigenous plant it
grew very rapidly, and the climate, soil and the great number of slaves
at hand were favorable toward making it, with some attention, a most
promising and valuable product.

The development of cotton manufacture had been gradual but certain to
this period, which saw the triumph and use of the mechanical inventions
of Hargreave, Arkwright, Crompton and Cartwright. The steam engine was
introduced to supply motive power, and only one thing stood in the way
of an enormous production of the new staple. The separation of the seed
from the cotton fibre was a tedious and time-consuming task; one negro
could only remove the seeds from about two pounds of cotton a day, and
consequently only a small amount could be sent to market.

In 1790 not a pound of cotton was exported from the United States. In
1793, Eli Whitney, of Massachusetts, who was temporarily in Georgia,
invented his Cotton Gin, one of the earliest and most remarkable of the
many great inventions of Americans. This invention was productive of
most important and far-reaching consequences. It caused an industrial
revolution in the South by making cotton the great staple. The
production increased by leaps and bounds, bringing great wealth and
increasing social and political power to the South. With the earlier
form of the new invention the seeds could be removed from about one
hundred pounds of cotton a day. In 1792, 192,000 pounds were exported to
Europe; in 1795, after Whitney's invention, nearly six million pounds
were exported. The value of the export in 1800 was $5,700,000; in 1820,
it was $20,000,000. These figures represented enormous wealth in those
days.

Whatever sentiment in the South against slavery had survived the
Constitutional period now disappeared completely. Cotton brought about a
new view, and from being an evil to be eradicated in some way in the
course of time, it was now regarded as absolutely necessary to the
social and political welfare of the South. The strongest of human
passions, avarice, ambition and worldly interest now bound the South
closer than ever to slavery. The slaves produced cotton--which was
wealth--and wealth brought independence and social distinction; besides
the slave was a political advantage of great importance, because five of
them, without any voice in the matter themselves, counted as three white
persons. Under these auspices grew the Slave Power, soon to be a bold,
threatening and overbearing faction in the nation.

While the South and the Slave Power were thus being prepared for great
wealth and political standing, circumstances were working in the North
to counteract and balance, in a way, this development. New England was
beginning to feel the first impulses of a great industrial development;
interest in commerce and manufacturing was awakening, and inventive
genius, called into action by economical necessity, was at work, and the
use of machinery and mechanical inventions was increasing. New England
was shortly to be covered with cotton and other factories.

The war between France and England opened to the United States almost a
monopoly on the West Indies trade in 1793, and it was the North that
received the greatest benefit from this trade. Congress in 1791 had
established the United States Bank at Philadelphia, with branches in all
of the important cities, and this aided the North more than the South.
In short, the North was developing that capital, energy, ingenuity and
thrift and use of mechanical inventions, the lack of which was the
greatest weakness of the South. The settlement of the Northwest
Territory by pioneers from the northern States is also to be kept in
mind.

This great manufacturing and commercial development, and the movement of
the population westward, also awakened in the North a lively interest in
internal improvements, and the steamboat, railroad and telegraph were
soon to add their tremendous influences and advantages to this section
of the country. The various pursuits and the development of the North
increased and attracted population, and the balance between the North
and the South, which was so nearly even in 1790, grew steadily in favor
of the North, until at the opening of the Civil War the North had
nineteen million free people against eight and one-quarter million in
the South, the South at that time having four million slaves.




CHAPTER V.

THE MISSOURI COMPROMISE.


"The Missouri question marked a distinct era in the political thought of
the country ... suddenly and without warning the North and the South,
the free States and the slave States, found themselves arrayed against
each other in violent and absorbing conflict."

_James G. Blaine_.


Shall there be Slave States other than Louisiana west of the Mississippi
River? This question coming suddenly before the people in 1818, laying
bare the inherent antagonisms of the North and South, aroused the entire
country to a white heat of excitement; and only after a most bitter and
alarming struggle resulted in the third great Compromise on the slavery
question.

From the time of Whitney's invention to the Missouri Compromise, three
important events happened in the history of slavery: The first Fugitive
Slave Law passed in January, 1793; the acquisition of the Louisiana
Territory in 1803, and the abolition of the slave trade in 1807.

The call for legislation to enforce the Fugitive Slave provision in the
Constitution came, strangely enough, from the North. A free negro had
been kidnapped in Pennsylvania in 1791 and taken to Virginia. The
Governor of Virginia refused to surrender the kidnappers, claiming there
was no law on the subject. Upon the matter being brought to the
attention of Congress by the Governor of Pennsylvania, a Fugitive Slave
Law and also an Extradition Law for fugitives from justice were enacted.
While the fugitive from justice was surrounded by the safeguards of a
requisition accompanied by a certified copy of an indictment or
affidavit charging the crime, these safeguards were not given to the
slave, but he could be forcibly seized by the owner or his agent and
taken before a magistrate. There was no trial by jury, and the only
requisite for conviction was an affidavit that he had escaped. The
harshness of this procedure was resisted from the very first by the
northern people, but this law was on the statute books until the second
and last law on the subject was passed as a part of the Compromise of
1850.

When the time came at which Congress could abolish the slave trade, a
law was promptly passed, after considerable angry debate as to its
terms, prohibiting the slave trade after December 31, 1807. In fact, it
was necessary to even effect a compromise on this subject on the point
as to what should be done with any slaves that might be imported
contrary to the law; and it was decided that they should belong neither
to the importer nor any purchaser, but should be subject to the
regulations of the State in which they might be brought. As far as it
restrained the South, the law abolishing the slave trade proved to be
more of a dead letter than the Fugitive Slave Law did in the North,
because the slave trade was carried on with more or less openness until
the Civil War, it being estimated that about fifteen thousand slaves
were brought into the country annually. The abolition of the slave trade
caused several of the border States to devote their attention to slave
breeding, which, with the increased demand and the large advance in
prices, became a profitable industry in Virginia, Maryland and Kentucky.

The acquisition in 1803 of the Louisiana Territory, the wonderful and
romantic exploration of it by Lewis and Clark in 1804-5, the closing of
the Indian Wars and the second war with England, and hard times in the
East, caused that tremendous rush of population to the West, which
resulted in the admission of so many new States prior to 1820, and
opened anew the slavery question. Vermont, admitted in 1791, Kentucky
1792, Tennessee 1796, Ohio 1803, Louisiana 1812, Indiana 1816,
Mississippi 1817, Illinois 1818, and Alabama 1819, had raised the number
of States to twenty-two; eleven free and eleven slave; the early custom
of admitting a free and slave State together having been strictly
followed. The admission of these States effectively partitioned all of
the territory east of the Mississippi between Freedom and Slavery, with
the exception of the Michigan Territory (subsequently divided into
Michigan and Wisconsin), and the new Territory of Florida, purchased
from Spain in 1819. West of the Mississippi only one State had been
admitted, and the rest of the land was known as the Missouri Territory.
The tide of population passing down the Ohio, or through the States, had
crossed the Mississippi into the Missouri country, and Missouri, in
1818, petitioned Congress for permission to form a Constitution and
enter the Union. Nothing was said about slavery, but it was known that
the great majority of the Missouri settlers were slave owners or
sympathizers, as those who held anti-slavery opinions were content to
remain in the States formed out of the Northwest Territory, and it was
therefore certain that Missouri would be a slave State.

[Illustration: The Capitol, Washington, D. C.]

The Bill authorizing Missouri to act was taken up in the House on
February 13, 1819, and immediately Mr. Tallmadge, of New York, moved
that the further introduction of slavery in Missouri be prohibited, and
that children born in the State after its admission should be free at
the age of twenty-five years. Instantly and unexpectedly an exciting,
violent debate took place between the North and South. Neither professed
to understand the position of the other, but the North was more
sincerely astonished, because for the first time she realized what the
South had intended for many years, that slavery should be made a
permanent institution in the original States, and that it should be
forced into the Missouri Territory as a matter of political necessity;
because the extension of slave area had by this time become absolutely
necessary for the interests of the South.

It was a plain proposition that if the South lost control of the
legislative reins at Washington, slavery would eventually be doomed by
adverse legislation and by the admission of free States. At the time the
Missouri question came up, the North, by reason of her larger
population, controlled the House, but the Senate was controlled by the
South. The censuses taken in 1800 and 1810 had shown that the North was
increasing two to one in population over the South, and the coming
census, it was feared, would show a much larger increase in favor of the
North; in fact, when the census for 1820 was published the division of
the population was as follows:

                                  Free
                     White.     Negroes.     Slaves.
  North .......... 5,030,371     99,281       19,108
  South .......... 2,831,560    134,223    1,519,017

With a great moral weakness to justify, the South now knew herself to be
growing physically weaker, and her skillful leaders, always alert on
every phase of slavery, saw quickly that the South must insist upon more
slave territory, not only to maintain the equilibrium in the Senate, but
to counteract the growing population in the North. Therefore the
Missouri question was pressed with violence, threat and strategy. The
South was determined that Missouri should come in as a slave State or
the South would secede from the Union; the North not only argued that
slavery was a great wrong, not to be encouraged by its extension, but
was equally determined that the South should have no more political
advantage because of her slaves. "This momentous question," wrote
Jefferson, "like a fire-bell in the night, awakened and filled me with
terror."

With the two Sections dead-locked, nothing could take place but the most
acrimonious debates, accompanied by threats and defiances. The House
adopted the Tallmadge Amendment, but it was rejected by the Senate.
Neither branch would recede from its position, and amid scenes of the
greatest excitement in Washington and throughout the country, the
Fifteenth Congress adjourned.

The Sixteenth Congress met on December 6, 1819, and the Missouri
question came up immediately. A compromise that the territory west of
the Mississippi should be divided in the same manner as that east of the
river was rejected by the North. Fortunately or unfortunately, there is
some difficulty in deciding which, Maine applied at this time for
admission, and the South in the Senate refused to admit Maine unless the
North would admit Missouri, and out of the situation rose the Missouri
Compromise. By a close majority the Senate joined Maine and Missouri in
the same Bill, and then Senator Jesse B. Thomas, of Illinois, moved
that, excepting Missouri, slavery should forever be prohibited in all
the Louisiana Territory north of 36 degrees 30 minutes north latitude,
this being the southern boundary of Missouri. The Bill was taken to the
House toward the end of January, 1820, but it refused to concur. The
Senate stood fast, and after some further angry debate the House yielded
early in March, 1820; Maine came into the Union, and Missouri was
permitted to draft a Constitution, which, if acceptable, would admit her
to statehood.

But the difficulty was not over, for when Missouri presented her
Constitution it was found to contain a provision that the Legislature
should pass a law preventing free negroes from settling in the State.
The North violently opposed this provision and refused to admit
Missouri, and the situation was even more serious than when the original
subject was considered. The intense excitement spread from Washington
throughout the country, and many felt that the Union would be dissolved.
The debate continued until the middle of February, 1821, without
solution, and Congress was to adjourn early in March. Maine had already
been admitted, and her representatives were in Congress. The South felt
that she had been betrayed. Finally a second compromise on the Missouri
question was reached, through the efforts of Henry Clay, and Missouri
was admitted upon condition that no law should ever be passed by her to
enforce the objectionable provision in her Constitution.

While it was true that the North received in area decidedly the best of
the bargain, the Missouri Compromise was a distinct victory and gain for
the South, because she obtained a present, tangible and important
advantage in the admission of a slave State and the establishment of
slavery in the heart of the Louisiana Territory. The North obtained
nothing but a hazy, speculative advantage, and as the subsequent history
of this Compromise proved, the South intended to keep it only as long as
it served her interests.

On the subject of the sacredness of the various Compromises on slavery,
it is interesting to note that a strong attempt was made to set aside
the Ordinance of 1787. After Ohio had been admitted the rest of the
Northwest Territory was organized under the name of the Indiana
Territory, and as many of the settlers were slavery sympathizers, they
very early (1802), under the lead of William Henry Harrison, asked
Congress to at least temporarily suspend the operation of the Ordinance
of 1787. This was refused, but Governor Harrison and a large number of
the settlers persisted until 1807 in their efforts; fortunately Congress
took no action, and in 1816 Indiana came in as a free State. There was a
struggle to make Illinois a slave State, by amending her Constitution,
which continued until 1824.

The Compromise of 1820 practically settled the slavery question for
twenty-five years, for the question only came up in a serious form when
new territory was acquired and the manner of its division arose. No more
States were admitted until 1836, when Arkansas became a State, to be
balanced by the admission of Michigan in 1837. From 1820 to 1845 the
main issues before the people were those relating to the Tariff,
Re-chartering the Bank of the United States, and Internal improvements.

The greatest political excitement, having an important bearing upon the
feeling between the North and South, was the opposition of the South to
the protective Tariffs of 1824 and 1828, and to the question of Internal
improvements. As a culmination of her opposition, South Carolina passed
a Nullification Ordinance in 1832, based upon the doctrine of State
rights as advocated by John C. Calhoun, but the difficulty was settled
by Clay's Compromise Tariff Bill of 1833. The opprobrium of
nullification and secession, however, does not rest entirely with the
South; the Federal Press of New England and many Federal leaders in
Congress deliberately discussed and planned a Secession Movement in
1803-4 because they thought that the purchase of the Louisiana Territory
was unconstitutional and that it would give the South an advantage which
the North would never overcome. This movement, however, never gained
strength enough to be serious.

One result of the Missouri Compromise, most important in its political
effect, was that it created a solid South, and divided the North into
various opinions as to what should exactly be done to meet the evil. It
was this uncertainty on the part of the North and the lack of
organization on the direct subject of slavery opposition that permitted
the South to hold out so long after she had been greatly outnumbered in
population and left far behind in material progress.




CHAPTER VI.

THE ABOLITIONISTS.


  "If we have whispered Truth,
  Whisper no longer;
  Speak as the tempest does,
  Sterner and stronger."

  "Song of the Free," _Whittier_, 1836.


Great changes in the political and economical life of a nation seldom
take place abruptly. The forces responsible for a change or modification
of conditions are generally at work long before the final result.
Nations, like individuals, grope for the truth, forming different
opinions, trying different plans--now radical, now conservative--often
failing to see and grasp the solution when it is at hand, but all the
while bringing about conditions which, when the crisis comes, form a
solid and decisive basis for action. Such is the history of this country
with reference to slavery for the three decades prior to the Civil War.
From 1833 to the organization of the Republican Party, and after that
event to the promulgation of the Emancipation Proclamation, public
opinion was incessantly agitated by the organized efforts of the
Abolitionists, although they differed among themselves and divided as to
the best plan under which to act.

While the Northerners grouped into the Whig and Democratic Parties, and
condemned the constant agitation of the slavery question as disturbing
the public peace and jeopardizing party success, still they could not
help recognizing the cogency of the abolition argument; and as year
after year went by, and the aggressions of the slave power continued, a
steady change went on in the North and the anti-slavery sentiment became
more and more pronounced. When active political opposition to slavery
finally began it found the North not exactly unanimous as to what should
be done, but with her mind almost made up on one point, that slavery
should at least be restricted to the territory it then occupied; it
required a great political shock, such as came in 1854, to amalgamate
this sentiment. From this standpoint the opinions in the North reached
out to the extreme views of Garrison and his followers, that slavery
should be stamped out regardless of all consequences.

The Quakers, who, from the early colonial days, had been strongest in
their expressions against slavery, formed the first Anti-Slavery Society
in the United States at Philadelphia in 1775. The Revolution interrupted
their work, but at its conclusion they resumed their efforts patiently
and incessantly, year after year, in their attempts to arouse the public
mind to the enormity and dangerousness of the slave evil. Although other
States organized anti-slavery societies immediately after the
Revolution, the Pennsylvania Society took the leading part, and was
comparatively alone for many years in the work. In the First Congress
this Society presented a Memorial, asking Congress to exercise its
utmost powers for the abolition of slavery. The subject was the occasion
of a heated debate, and Congress decided that under the Constitution it
could not, prior to 1808, abolish the slave trade; but that it had
authority to prevent citizens of the United States from carrying on the
African slave trade with other nations (a law to this effect was
subsequently passed); and that it had no authority to interfere with the
emancipation of slaves or their treatment in any of the States. The
Pennsylvania Society watched Congress closely and worked along patiently
year after year, meeting with failure after failure. This early
Abolition movement had among its supporters the foremost men of the day
--Washington, Jefferson, Franklin, Hamilton, Jay and Henry are some of
the illustrious names connected with the movement, just as in England
the names of Burke, Fox and Pitt are recorded against the iniquity. When
the purchase of the Louisiana Territory came before Congress, the
Pennsylvania Society petitioned that measures should be taken to prevent
slavery in the new territory, but the Federalists were more engrossed
with a discussion of Constitutional questions, and the opportune moment
went by without any action on the matter.

The agitation connected with the Missouri question brought about the
formation of a stronger anti-slavery sentiment in the North, and a group
of fearless men sprang up to devote their lives and energies to an
Abolition movement. They were radical in their views, progressive in
their methods and absolutely fearless in their denunciations. Benjamin
Lundy, a Quaker, may be said to be the father of the Abolition movement.
In 1821 he began the publication of _The Genius of Universal
Emancipation_, the first Abolition paper; he was joined at Baltimore in
1829 by William Lloyd Garrison, henceforth to be the most zealous,
unceasing and uncompromising of all the Abolitionists. Garrison, extreme
in his views, left Lundy, and in January, 1831, at Boston, without
capital and with little help, started _The Liberator_, and placed at its
head, "The Constitution of the United States is a covenant with death
and an agreement with Hell," which declaration was printed in every
edition of the paper until President Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation
went into effect, when it was changed to "Proclaim liberty throughout
the land unto all the inhabitants thereof."

As a result of Mr. Garrison's activity many new abolition societies were
formed, and on December 4, 1833, a National Convention of them was held
at Philadelphia, and the American Anti-Slavery Society was organized,
with Beriah Green as President and Lewis Tappan and John G. Whittier as
Secretaries. This Convention decided to petition Congress to suppress
the domestic slave trade between the States, and to abolish slavery in
the District of Columbia and in every place over which Congress had
exclusive jurisdiction. It admitted that Congress had no right to
interfere with slavery in any State, but its plan was to circulate
extensively anti-slavery tracts and periodicals, not only in the North
but throughout all of the slave-holding States, and to organize
anti-slavery societies in every city and village where possible, and to
send forth its agents to lift their voices against slavery. It frowned
on the work of the American Colonization Society, which had been
organized in 1816, for the purpose of colonizing parts of Africa with
American negroes, as tending to deaden the public conscience on the
question.

With this energetic organization the anti-slavery movement now gained
rapidly in strength, but its political work for many years was confined
to a fruitless interrogation of candidates and to sending hundreds of
petitions and memorials to Congress. Anti-slavery pamphlets and papers
were also sent broadcast North and South. On seeing _The Liberator_,
with its extreme views, and on reading the anti-slavery pamphlets, the
South was enraged beyond all bounds. A North Carolina Grand Jury
indicted Garrison, and Georgia offered a large reward for his arrest and
conviction. On July 29, 1835, all anti-slavery papers were taken from
the postoffice at Charleston, S. C., by a mob and destroyed. The
following year Mr. Calhoun, in the Senate, demanded the suppression of
the right of petition on any matter connected with slavery, and in 1838
the House adopted the infamous Atherton Gag-Rule, "Every Petition,
Memorial, Resolution, Proposition or Paper touching or relating in any
way or to any extent whatever to slavery or the abolition thereof,
shall, on presentation and without further action thereon, be laid upon
the table without being debated, printed or referred." This remarkable
rule was adopted year after year in the House until 1844, when it was
repealed through the efforts of John Quincy Adams, who for ten years
fought nobly for the Right of Petition, although he was not entirely in
sympathy with the Abolitionists.

During this period the sentiment against the Abolitionists was very
strong in the North. In many places mobs seized upon and destroyed their
papers and printing presses, and broke up their meetings and mobbed the
speakers. James G. Birney's paper, _The Philanthropist_, was twice
mobbed in Cincinnati. On November 7, 1837, the Abolition cause was
baptized in blood by the murder of Elijah P. Lovejoy, who was shot while
defending his paper and press from the attack of a pro-slavery mob at
Alton, Illinois. The following month Wendell Phillips delivered his
first abolition speech against the aggressions of the Slave Power and
the murder of Lovejoy. The continued despotism of the Slave Power, its
attempts to muzzle the freedom of speech and press, to deny the Right of
Petition, to obstruct the mails, and to obtain an Extradition Law for
the trial of citizens in slave States on charges of circulating
anti-slavery documents, and the use of violence against all who dared
raise their voices against the slavery dogmas, aroused the abolition
societies to more radical action, and a group of Abolitionists now
formed, determined on political action. This was one of the causes of
the disruption of the American Anti-Slavery Society and the withdrawal
of Garrison and his followers, who refused to take part in any election
held under the pro-slavery Constitution.

The great leaders of the Whigs and Democrats in the North, who were
aspirants to the presidency, dared not take any active stand against the
growing demands of the Slave Power, and both parties bowed abjectly to
the monster and passed in silence these gross violations of
constitutional rights. Both parties deprecated the slavery agitation,
especially the Whigs, who were highly incensed because it jeopardized
their candidates more than it did those of the Democrats. The failure of
the two great political parties to act led to the first political
organization of the anti-slavery sentiment. At Warsaw, New York, on
November 13, 1839, the Abolitionists held a convention and nominated
James G. Birney, of New York, for President, and Thomas Earl, of
Pennsylvania, for Vice-President. This was subsequently called the
"Liberty Party," and was the first of the three anti-slavery parties to
appear in national politics. Its platform demanded the abolition of
slavery in the District of Columbia and in the territories; stoppage of
the interstate slave trade, and opposition to slavery to the fullest
extent of Constitutional powers. Mr. Birney did not desire the
nomination, and in the election of 1840, that resulted in the defeat of
Van Buren by Harrison, the Abolitionists received only 7069 votes out of
a total of two and one-half millions. The membership of the abolition
societies at this time was about 200,000; the failure to show strength
at the polls may be accounted for by reason of the refusal of many to
vote at any election held under the Constitution, and also that many
feared the dissolution of the Union, and preferred, if they voted at
all, to remain with the Democratic or Whig Parties in the hope that
their party would take some decisive action on the question.

While the Slave Power in the United States was making violent efforts to
perpetuate itself and stifle all opposition, all the other civilized
countries of the world were abolishing slavery. Great Britain abolished
it in all her colonies in the year 1833 at a cost of one hundred
millions of dollars; but the United States, already showing itself to be
the most progressive nation in the world, could not throw off the evil,
and it remained a cause of bitter distraction until overthrown
politically by the success of the Republican Party and removed by
Secession, War, the Emancipation Proclamation, and the amendments to the
Constitution.

Although the Abolition cause seemed hopeless after the election of 1840,
they persisted in their work, and soon a series of events happened--
Texas Annexation, the Mexican War, and the Wilmot Proviso, which,
independent of their efforts, brought about a direct issue between the
North and South on the great question--an issue to be finally decided
only by the Civil War. The work of the early Abolitionists, however, had
an influence of inestimable value and weight on the immediate success of
the Republican Party when it was organized.




CHAPTER VII.

COMPROMISE OF 1850.


"That, as an express and fundamental condition to the acquisition of any
territory from the Republic of Mexico by the United States, neither
slavery nor involuntary servitude shall ever exist in any part of said
territory."

_Wilmot Proviso_, _August_ 8, 1846.


From the campaign of 1844 to the Civil War the slavery question
dominated all others in politics, North and South. During this period
almost every legislative question was decided with reference to its
effect on slavery. Press, Pulpit and Platform felt the baleful influence
of its presence, and aspirants to the presidency and to lesser political
honors sacrificed principle, conscience, and the support of their
friends to obtain the favor of the aggressive and dominating Slave
Power. The Democratic Party during this entire period took a bold stand
on the question; an anti-slavery wing of the party appeared in the
North, but at no time was it successful in changing the party platforms.
The Whig Party, with its strong pro-slavery wing in the South, and with
its northern members desirous of party success, omitted entirely any
mention of slavery in its platforms, and although the anti-slavery
members of the party were outspoken in their private views of slavery,
they attended the party conventions and acquiesced in the platforms
until 1852, when there was a general desertion of the Whig platform and
candidate. The refusal of the Whig Party to make a direct issue of the
slavery question doomed it, sooner or later, to dissolution; and
although the party was successful in 1840 and in 1848, its
disintegration really began after the election of 1840.

To say that the result of the "Log Cabin and Hard Cider" campaign was a
bitter disappointment to both Democrats and Whigs is putting it mildly.
The Democrats were deeply chagrined at the defeat of their candidate by
a "clap-trap" campaign, and the disappointment of the Whigs came with
the death of President Harrison and the succession of Tyler, who played
directly into the hands of the Democrats and the Slave Power, bitterly
antagonizing the party that elected him.

The Texas question now came up to disturb politics and again bring
slavery directly before the people. Texas had gained her independence
from Mexico, and had applied, in 1837, to be received into the Union,
but the offer was declined by President Van Buren. The tragic death of
Mr. Upshur, Secretary of State, on February 28, 1844, and the
appointment of Mr. Calhoun to that office, made possible the completion
of a long conspiracy to admit Texas, and to further extend the slave
area by a war with Mexico. A Treaty of Annexation was immediately
prepared (April 12, 1844) and presented to the Senate, but was
subsequently rejected. It then became apparent that the South intended
to make a political issue of the Texas question, and there was great
alarm in the North, for the admission of Texas meant a slave area
capable of being divided into five or six slave States. In addition, it
meant war with Mexico over disputed boundaries, and the fact that Mexico
had not fully recognized the independence of Texas, and the result of
that war would unquestionably be the acquisition of more area contiguous
to the South.

Mr. Clay and Mr. Van Buren at this time were the only ones prominently
mentioned as possibilities for the Whig and Democratic nominations for
the presidency; both published letters in which they opposed the
annexation of Texas. Mr. Van Buren's letter cost him the Democratic
nomination, for when the Convention met at Baltimore on May 27, 1844, he
was unable to obtain a sufficient vote under the two-thirds rule, and
the South forced the nomination of James K. Polk of Tennessee. This
division on the slavery question in a Democratic Convention is of great
historical importance as a link in the chain of events which led to the
final great political division between the North and South. The
Democratic Platform was emphatic in its support of slavery and the
condemnation of the Abolitionists; it advocated the annexation of Texas
and the occupation of Oregon, and the Democrats went into the campaign
with the rallying cry of "Fifty-Four Forty or Fight," in the North--a
promise of more free soil--and in the South the "Annexation of Texas."

Mr. Clay's letter had made him stronger than ever with his party and he
was nominated unanimously. The Whig Platform, however, was absolutely
silent about the Texas question, and there was absolutely no mention of
any opposition to slavery; the whole question was totally ignored. Mr.
Clay would have defeated Polk had he not been led into the blunder of
writing another letter on the Texas question, in which he largely
withdrew from his earlier position; this alienated great numbers of the
Northern Whigs and threw thousands of votes to the candidate of the
Liberty Party. This party, in a convention at Buffalo the preceding
year, had again nominated James G. Birney for President. Its platform
was long and elaborate, and contained strong denunciations of slavery
and pledged the party to work for its abolition. The Liberty Party
polled a total of 62,300 votes, defeating Clay, who lost New York, the
pivotal State, with its thirty-six electoral votes, by 5,106, the
Liberty Party casting 15,812 votes in that State. Texas annexation
followed the election, but the pledge in regard to Oregon was cast
aside. "Fifty-four Forty or Fight" was nothing more than a campaign cry,
never intended to be followed up, and, in truth, could not have been
without a war with England.

With the great Texas victory achieved, the South now turned herself to
the acquisition of more territory, and war with Mexico was declared May
11, 1846. The Whig Party in the North was strongly against the Mexican
War, and a strong element also expressed itself in the northern
Democratic ranks as against it; the opposition became so threatening
that, as a new House was to be elected in the Fall of 1846, the
Administration decided to end the War, if possible, and Congress was
asked to give $2,000,000 to be used in negotiating a Treaty with Mexico,
fixing the disputed boundaries. Immediately David Wilmot, of
Pennsylvania, introduced a Proviso, which had been prepared by Jacob
Brinkerhoff, of Ohio (both Democrats, and both afterwards members of the
Republican Party), to the effect that slavery should be prohibited in
any territory acquired from Mexico. This Proviso carried in the House,
but the Senate adjourned its session without coming to a vote on it. The
Proviso appeared again often in Congress, but was never adopted; it
caused more excited debate between the North and South than anything
that had ever been introduced by the anti-slavery element in Congress.
Although defeated, it served to amalgamate the anti-slavery forces, and
from that day they rallied around it as representing the fixed and
unalterable sentiment of the North; on it the Free-Soil Party entered
the Campaign of 1848 and it was the underlying principle in the
organization of the Republican Party in 1854. As a counter-balancing
action to the Wilmot Proviso, Mr. Calhoun, in February, 1847, introduced
in the Senate a long resolution to the effect that Congress had no power
to prohibit slavery in any territory, and that any attempt to do so
would be a violation of constitutional rights and lead to a dissolution
of the Union. No vote was ever taken on this resolution, and it was
nothing more than a deliberate attempt to force the issue with the
North.

The Thirtieth Congress met December 6, 1847, and had among its members
Abraham Lincoln, of Illinois, and Andrew Johnson, of Tennessee, the
former elected as a Whig and the latter as a Democrat; in the Senate
Stephen A. Douglas, of Illinois, took his seat for the first time in
that body. Opposition to the war was strong, and it was finally closed
by the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, signed February 2, 1848; by its
terms vast stretches of new territory were acquired by the United
States. This land had been free soil by the Laws of Mexico since 1827,
but the South, as a matter of course, expected, and had planned, to make
it slave soil, and she was determined to oppose to the utmost any
attempt to keep slavery out of this new territory; the North was equally
determined that it should remain free. The campaign of 1848 came on with
the question undecided. The Democratic Convention nominated Lewis Cass,
of Michigan, and adopted a platform similar to those of 1840 and 1844,
but nothing was said about slavery in the new territory. The Whigs
nominated Major-General Zachary Taylor, of Louisiana, for President, and
Millard Fillmore, of New York, for Vice-President, and their Convention
adjourned without adopting any platform at all.

The failure of the two great parties to take up the prohibition of
slavery in the new territory was regarded with great indignation by many
members of both parties in the North, especially so by the Whigs; in
addition, an element of political revenge crept into the situation to
help the anti-slavery sentiment. The defeat of Van Buren in the
Democratic Convention of '44, and the anti-slavery sentiment in the
Democratic Party, had divided it, in New York, into two factions known
as "Barnburners" and "Hunkers"; the former being those who were opposed
to the extension of the slave area, and were likened to the Dutchman who
burned his barn to rid it of rats; and the latter were "Administration
Democrats"--"Northern men with Southern principles," who "hankered"
after office. Samuel J. Tilden and Benjamin F. Butler were two of the
leading "Barnburner" leaders. When the Democratic National Convention
convened in 1848, both "Barnburners" and "Hunkers" applied for
admission; the Convention offered to permit the New York vote to be cast
between them. This was refused by the "Barnburners," and they withdrew
and held an enthusiastic meeting in New York, and soon became known as
"Free-Soil Democrats." A National Convention was called to meet at
Buffalo, August 9, 1848. The old Liberty Party had already held their
Convention in November, 1847, and had nominated John P. Hale, of New
Hampshire, for President, but Mr. Hale withdrew and the Liberty Party
joined in the new movement and attended the Free-Soil Convention. Mr.
Van Buren was nominated for President, and Charles Francis Adams, of
Massachusetts, for Vice-President. The Free-Soil Platform was, of
course, strongly antagonistic to the Slave Power, and concluded with the
stirring words, "We inscribe on our banner, 'Free Soil, Free Speech,
Free Labor and Free Men,' and under it will fight on and fight ever,
until a triumphant victory shall reward our exertions."

The Free-Soil Party was the second predecessor of the Republican Party,
and it was a curious circumstance that in this campaign it was to have
at its head a man who had been a Democratic President. The Free-Soilers
of New York later nominated Senator John A. Dix for Governor, and the
split in the Democratic Party in that State was complete, and lost the
election for the National ticket. Many Whigs hesitated between Taylor
and Van Buren, but Horace Greeley, in the _New York Tribune_, advocated
the election of Taylor. The vote in New York, which was again the
pivotal State, was: Taylor, 218,603; Cass, 114,318; Van Buren, 120,510.
The total Free-Soil vote was 291,263. It was a strange and fateful
effect that made the Liberty Party in 1844 divide the Whigs and give the
victory to the Democrats; and in 1848 the Free-Soil Party, a successor
of the Liberty Party, divided the Democrats and gave the Whigs the
victory.

The Campaign of '48 assumes another important aspect, in that Mr.
Lincoln took an active part in it; it fixed his ideas on slavery, and
impressed him with the utter hopelessness of reconciling the North and
South on this question. Mr. Lincoln had made his debut in the House in
December, 1847, with the famous "Spot Resolutions." In the Spring of '48
he urged his Illinois friends to give up Clay and support Gen. Taylor.
He attended the Whig Convention at Philadelphia and was well satisfied
with the nominations and the prospects of victory. Late in July he made
a strong speech for Taylor on the floor of the House, attracting the
attention of the campaign managers to such an extent that he was sent to
New England where he delivered a number of speeches, pleading with the
New Englanders not to join the Free-Soil movement, but to vote with the
Whig Party. Here he saw the strength of the anti-slavery movement, and
what he heard made him think deeper on the great question of the hour.
After listening to one of Governor Seward's speeches at Boston, in
September, he said, "Governor Seward, I have been thinking about what
you said in your speech; I reckon you are right. We have got to deal
with this slavery question, and got to give more attention to it than we
have been doing." Later in the campaign Mr. Lincoln stumped Illinois for
Taylor.

When the Thirty-first Congress convened for its first session, on
December 3, 1849, all was confusion and uncertainty in regard to the
situation. A great many felt that the crisis had been reached at last,
and that nothing but a civil war could result. The South feared that its
long cherished plan of more slave territory was to be frustrated, and
the anxiety in the North that the territory acquired from Mexico might
be made slave was equally great. An event now occurred that brought
matters directly to an acute crisis and necessitated a settlement or a
war. Gold had been discovered in California early in 1848, and instantly
there was a tremendous influx of population, with the result that late
in 1849 California was ready for admission into the Union, not as a
slave State, as the South fondly hoped, but as free soil. With the
convening of Congress came the President's message, and it was a severe
blow to the South, for it advocated the admission of California as a
free State. The South now indeed saw its plan rapidly weakening. Violent
opposition was at once made to the admission of California as disturbing
the equal balance between the two sections, and in addition the South
complained bitterly of the difficulty of capturing slaves who escaped
into the free States. She also complained of the constant agitation of
the slave question, and now demanded that the territories should be open
to slavery, and asserted that any attempt to enforce the Wilmot Proviso
or to abolish slavery in the District of Columbia would lead to an
immediate dissolution of the Union.

Such was the acute situation in December, 1849, and the men, scenes and
debates which attended the solution of this grave crisis present a
remarkable and dramatic picture. All eyes now turned to Mr. Clay, the
great Compromisor, then in his seventy-third year. In January, 1850, he
began his efforts to bring about what proved to be the last compromise
between the North and the South. Four great speeches were delivered on
the resolutions introduced by him. Mr. Clay, so feeble that he had to be
assisted up the Capitol steps, spoke early in February. On March 4th Mr.
Calhoun, too weak to speak himself, had his speech, full of antagonism
and foreboding, read by a colleague. Three days after Calhoun's speech,
Webster delivered his famous "Seventh of March" speech, in which he
sacrificed the support of thousands of friends, and demoralized the
entire North by condemning the Abolitionists and advocating the passage
of the Compromise measures. On March 11th Mr. Seward delivered his
"Higher Law" speech, denouncing the Compromise. The great triumvirate,
Clay, Calhoun and Webster, appeared in this debate for the last time
before the American public. Calhoun died on the last day of March. Late
in '51 Clay resigned his seat in the Senate and died at Washington, June
29, 1852. Webster took the office of Secretary of State, received a few
votes in the Whig Convention and refused to support General Scott in the
election of 1852, and died broken-hearted October 24, 1852.

The Compromise of 1850, as finally agreed on, provided that Utah and New
Mexico should be organized into territories without reference to
slavery; California to be admitted as a free State; $10,000,000.00 to be
paid Texas for her claim to New Mexico; a new Fugitive Slave Law; and
the slave trade to be abolished in the District of Columbia. The
compromise was viewed with great indignation by the North, and was in
many respects extremely unsatisfactory to the South, who was now certain
that her plan of extension of slave area was lost. The political leaders
of both parties now argued and pretended that the slavery question was
absolutely settled, inasmuch as there was no further territory to be
partitioned, and that Clay's Compromise had included all possible phases
of the subject. But it was apparent to those who looked beneath the
surface that the situation was not settled at all; nobody in the North,
however, looked for such a startling and rash course as was adopted by
the South in 1854, and which resulted, in that year, in the formation of
the Republican Party.




CHAPTER VIII.

BIRTH OF THE REPUBLICAN PARTY.


"Resolved, That of all outrages hitherto perpetrated or attempted upon
the North and freedom by the slave leaders, and their natural allies,
not one compares in bold and impudent audacity, treachery and meanness
with this, the Nebraska Bill, as to the sum of all its villainies it
adds the repudiation of a solemn compact, held as sacred as the
Constitution itself for a period of thirty-four years."

_Adopted at First Meeting, Ripon, Wis._, _February_ 28, 1854.


The new Fugitive Slave Law (passed as a part of the Compromise) was
unreasonable and extremely harsh in its terms, and did more than
anything else to continue the bitterness between the North and the
South. Opposition to it appeared in the North almost immediately after
its passage, and it was clear that, because of its terms, it would prove
to be more of a dead letter than the original law of 1793. The fact of
the matter was that the South forced its passage in the harshest terms
conceivable, with the sinister plan of compelling the North to violate
it so that bad faith could be charged; and the North did not hesitate to
violate a law so repugnant to constitutional and natural rights and
human sympathy. Personal Liberty Laws were passed in many Northern
States, practically nullifying the Act; and as a result of it, the
Underground Railroad, which had been organized about 1839 by the
Quakers, did its most effective work. This mysterious organization had a
chain of stations, leading from the slave across the free States into
Canada, to assist in the escape of fugitive slaves. Mrs. Stowe, moved by
the wrongs and sufferings of the fugitives, published "Uncle Tom's
Cabin" in the summer of 1852, and it had a telling effect in creating
and solidifying the anti-slavery sentiment in the North.

The campaign of 1852 found the Democrats united; but the Whigs had no
promising candidate, and were sorely disorganized, with a stronger
anti-slavery element than ever before in its midst. The Democrats
nominated Franklin Pierce, of New Hampshire, for President, and their
platform contained the following emphatic promise: "The Democratic Party
will resist all attempts at renewing in Congress, or out of it, the
agitation of the slavery question in whatever shape or color the attempt
may be made." The Whig Party nominated General Winfield Scott, of
Virginia, for President, and their platform also contained a resolution
pledging the party to the Compromise Measures as a settlement in
principle and substance of the slavery question. The Free-Soil Party,
though it had received little support at the polls, still retained a
strong organization, and nominated John P. Hale, of New Hampshire, for
President, and George W. Julian, of Indiana, for Vice-President, and
denounced both the Whig and Democratic Parties as "hopelessly corrupt
and utterly unworthy of confidence." The electoral vote gave Pierce 254
and Scott only 42, but the popular vote was much closer: Pierce,
1,601,474; Scott, 1,386,580; Hale, 156,667.

President Pierce's first message went to Congress December 5, 1853, and
he congratulated the country on the settlement of the slavery question;
but in the following month, notwithstanding the express promises made in
both the party platforms of the preceding election, the event came that
stunned the North, and as the realization of its enormity grew, aroused
her to the wildest excitement and the most bitter denunciation, finally
resulting in direct and emphatic political action in the organization of
the Republican Party.

On January 4, 1854, Senator Douglas introduced a Bill organizing the
Territory of Nebraska. Twelve days later Senator Dixon, of Kentucky,
gave notice that he would move an Amendment, repealing the Missouri
Compromise, thereby permitting slavery in the new Territory. Senator
Douglas then reported (January 23d) a new Bill, making two territories
out of the same territory of the first Bill, the southern part to be
called Kansas and the northern part to be called Nebraska, and the
Missouri Compromise, "being inconsistent with the principle of
non-intervention by Congress with slavery in the States and Territories,
as recognized by the legislation of 1850, commonly called Compromise
Measures, is hereby declared inoperative and void; it being the true
intent and meaning of the Act not to legislate slavery into any
Territory or State, nor to exclude it therefrom, but to leave the people
thereof free to form and regulate their domestic institutions in their
own way." The Bill passed the Senate March 3d, but the South was not
certain of its success in the House, and final action was postponed
until May 24th, and this iniquity became a law on May 30, 1854. While
setting forth the doctrine of non-intervention and popular sovereignty
the Bill was in effect the forcing of slavery into the Territories, and
that this was the plan became practically assured when it was discovered
that throughout the summer and fall of 1853 the people of western
Missouri had been deliberately planning to settle in the territory west
of them (now called Kansas) and to make it slave soil. The whole plot,
as revealed by the legislation to which Douglas gave his support, was to
force Kansas into the Union as a slave State, thereby counterbalancing
the admission of California, which had destroyed the equilibrium between
the two sections.

A storm of indignation swept over the North in the opening months of
1854, gaining in intensity and fury as the baseness of the new scheme of
the Slave Power was fully realized. Thousands of letters poured in on
Congressmen protesting against the passage of the Act, and hundreds of
memorials and petitions were presented to the Senate and the House. The
newspapers all over the North, beginning late in January, contained
constant articles calling on the people to hold meetings and protest
against the Nebraska outrage, and hundreds of these meetings were held
in churches, schoolhouses and public halls, and the anti-Nebraska
sentiment dominated everything. Douglas received the brunt of all this
opprobrium, and was compared to Benedict Arnold. The foreign element was
the strongest in opposition to the Nebraska measure, and the German
newspapers and the Germans, North and South, were the most emphatic in
their denunciation, and the success which the new political party was to
have must be attributed largely to them. The Western States, Ohio,
Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan and Iowa, were the leaders in the
anti-Nebraska movement, and also in the organization of political
opposition. The election of 1852 had badly demoralized the Whig Party,
and now the Kansas-Nebraska measures swept it away almost entirely in
the Western States, but the Eastern States, while condemning the Douglas
Bill and adopting resolutions similar to the Republican platforms of the
West, were loath to give up their party organization, and the Whig Party
continued in several of them until after the election of 1856. During
the period between 1852 and 1854 it probably occurred to many in the
North, who watched and analyzed the popular sentiment and vote, that the
Whig Party would soon be swept away, and that the dissatisfied masses of
Abolitionists, Free-Soilers, Anti-Nebraska Whigs, Anti-Nebraska
Democrats and Know-Nothings must and would unite into a party under a
new name with a platform acceptable to the anti-slavery elements in
politics. The Douglas Bill demanded political action in the North, but
how was a new party to be formed? Who would lead it, and what would be
the success of the new movement?

We come now to the organization and first meetings of the Republican
Party. Alvan E. Bovay was the founder of the Republican Party. Not only
were the name and early principles of the party clearly outlined and
decided on in his mind, and talked about by him long before any action
was taken by any other person, but he took the first practical steps
looking to the dissolution of existing parties, and with patience and
much difficult work brought about the first meeting and pointed out
clearly and unanswerably the course to be taken.

[Illustration: Alvan E. Bovay, Founder of the Republican Party.]

Mr. Bovay was born in July, 1818, at Adams, New York; graduated from
Norwich University, Vermont, and was Professor in several eastern
schools and colleges, and later was admitted to the New York bar. In
October, 1850, he went West with his family, and settled at Ripon, Fond
du Lac County, Wisconsin, and soon became the recognized leader of the
Whig Party. He studied the political situation carefully, and with his
liberal education and the principles of freedom taught by life in the
West, he imbibed a hatred for the institution of Slavery, and saw
clearly that, at least, its extension must be opposed to the utmost. He
remained with the Whig Party, "following its banners, fighting its
battles faithfully, at the same time praying for its death," as he
expressed it in later years. He was fortunate in numbering among his
close friends Horace Greeley, the editor of the _New York Tribune_, the
greatest exponent of the northern views of slavery. The _Tribune_ in
1854 had a circulation of about 150,000 per week, and therefore wielded
a vast influence on public sentiment in the North. In 1852, while the
Whig Convention was in session, Mr. Bovay dined with Mr. Greeley in New
York City, and the conversation turned to the prospects of General
Scott, the Whig nominee. Mr. Bovay predicted his overwhelming defeat,
and that the Whig Party would be utterly demoralized in the North, and
that it would become necessary to organize a new party out of the
debris. He there suggested to Greeley the name "Republican" for the new
party, but Greeley received the proposition with little enthusiasm
because he not only believed that Scott would be elected but that the
Whig Party should not be dissolved. Mr. Bovay says that he advocated the
name Republican because it expressed equality--representing the
principle of the good of all the people; that it would be attractive to
the strong foreign element in the country because of their familiarity
with the name in their native lands, and that in addition the name
possessed charm and magnetism. After the defeat of General Scott, Mr.
Bovay corresponded with Mr. Greeley often in regard to the political
situation. He was fully determined to do his utmost to organize a new
party and call it Republican, and he talked over the matter persistently
with all his neighbors in the little village of Ripon, and waited for
the time to act. That time came with the violent agitation caused by the
Kansas-Nebraska Bill, and Mr. Bovay achieved the result he had planned
so long. After talking over the matter with two friends, Jehdeiah Bowen,
a Free-Soil Democrat, and Amos Loper, a call was issued for a mass
meeting to be held in the Congregational church in Ripon, February 28,
1854, with the object of ascertaining the public sentiment. This little
frontier village had a small population, and the country around it was
sparsely settled, but so earnest was the political thought of the time
that the meeting was a great success, and the church was crowded with
men and women, and even some children, who were attracted by the
seriousness of their elders. Deacon William Dunham, of the church, acted
as Chairman of this meeting, and there was a full and free discussion of
the situation and the best action to be taken. Mr. Bovay pointed out
that the only hope of defeating the extension of slavery was to disband
the old parties and unite under a new name. Before the meeting had
progressed very far the sentiment was practically unanimous. Those who
hesitated were overcome by the enthusiasm and logical arguments of the
speakers. The name Republican was suggested at this meeting, but no
action was taken on it for the reason that this was looked upon as
merely a preliminary meeting to be followed by a later one. As the
Kansas-Nebraska Bill had not yet passed the Senate nothing further could
be done at this meeting, and after adopting the following well-worded
and prophetic resolutions, the meeting adjourned to await the action of
Congress:

"WHEREAS, The Senate of the United States is entertaining, and from
present indications is likely to pass, Bills organizing governments for
the Territories of Kansas and Nebraska, in which is embodied a clause
repealing the Missouri Compromise Act, and so admit into these
Territories the slave system with all its evils, and

"WHEREAS, We deem that compact repealable as the Constitution itself;
therefore

"_Resolved_, That of all outrages hitherto perpetrated or attempted upon
the North and freedom by the slave leaders and their natural allies, not
one compares in bold and impudent audacity, treachery and meanness with
this, the Nebraska Bill, as to the sum of all its other villainies it
adds the repudiation of a solemn compact, held as sacred as the
Constitution itself for a period of thirty-four years;

"_Resolved_, That the northern man who can aid and abet in the
commission of so stupendous a crime is none too good to become an
accomplice in renewing the African slave trade, the services which,
doubtless, will next be required of him by his Southern masters, should
the Nebraska treason succeed;

"_Resolved_, That the attempt to withdraw the Missouri Compromise,
whether successful or not, admonishes the North to adopt the maxim for
all time to come, 'No more Compromises with Slavery';

"_Resolved_, That the passage of this Bill, if pass it should, will be a
call to arms of a great Northern Party, such an one as the country has
not hitherto seen, composed of Whigs, Democrats and Free-Soilers, every
man with a heart in him united under the single banner cry of 'Repeal!
Repeal!'

"_Resolved_, That the small but compact phalanx of true men who oppose
the mad scheme upon the broadest principle of humanity, as well as their
unflinching efforts to uphold the public faith, deserve not only our
applause but our profound esteem;

"_Resolved_, That the heroic attitude of General Houston, amidst a host
of degenerate men in the United States Senate, is worthy of honor and
applause."

The Senate, as we have already seen, passed the Kansas-Nebraska Bill on
March 3d. Mr. Bovay and his co-workers lost no time in signing and
publishing the following call for a second meeting:

"A Bill expressly intended to extend and strengthen the institution of
Slavery has passed the Senate by a large majority, many Northern
Senators voting for it, and many more sitting in their seats and not
voting at all, and it is evidently destined to pass the House and become
a law unless its progress is arrested by a general uprising of the North
against it;

"Therefore, we, the undersigned, believing the community to be nearly
unanimous in opposition to the nefarious scheme, would call a public
meeting of the citizens of all parties to be held in the schoolhouse at
Ripon, on Monday evening, March 20th, at 6:30 o'clock, to resolve, to
petition and to organize against it."

Through the efforts of Mr. Bovay, the meeting on the night of March 20th
was largely attended, and the little schoolhouse on the prairie was
filled with men, all voters. "We went in," wrote Mr. Bovay, "Whigs,
Free-Soilers and Democrats; we came out Republicans, and we were the
first Republicans in the Union." It is true, however, that this meeting
did not formally adopt the name Republican, but it was discussed, as it
had been for months in the village, and was practically agreed upon, but
the meeting felt that it would be better not to use the name until a
more pretentious movement of a national character was made. The meeting
lasted well into the night, and the "cold March wind blew around the
little building and the tallow candles burned low" as these pioneers in
this frontier town made history. A motion was duly made and carried that
the Town Committees of Whigs, Free-Soilers and Democrats be dissolved
and a new Committee to represent the new party be appointed. The first
Republican Committee was composed of Alvan E. Bovay, Jehdeiah Bowen,
Amos A. Loper, Jacob Woodruff and Abraham Thomas, all courageous,
outspoken and fearless men of the West, whose very names seem towers of
strength, speaking the unalterable purpose of the new party.

These preliminary meetings of the new party having been held and a plan
of action outlined, Mr. Bovay directed all his efforts toward having
some National recognition of the name of the party. Two days before the
first meeting at Ripon he wrote Mr. Greeley a strong letter, urging him
to publish an editorial and adopt the name. Mr. Greeley gave the matter
but little attention, and several months went by before he took any
notice of the suggestion, and then it was only taken up in a
half-hearted way, but what he said was enough to settle the matter. In
the _Tribune_ of June 24, 1854, appeared an article expressing
indifference as to what name should be chosen to represent the
Anti-Nebraska sentiment in the North, but the article concluded, "We
think some simple name like Republican would more fitly designate those
who have united to restore the Union to its true mission, the champion
and promulgator of liberty rather than the propagandist of slavery."

Another event had occurred to strengthen the adoption of the name
Republican for the new party. On the morning after the final passage of
the Kansas-Nebraska Bill, a meeting of the Anti-Nebraska members of
Congress was held in Washington, and the general political situation and
its hopelessness was fully discussed. At this meeting the feasibility of
the new party was talked over, and the members present decided to lend
their aid to such a movement, and the name Republican was discussed and
adopted.

In point of time, Michigan has the honor of being the first State to
hold a Convention and formally adopt a platform containing the
principles of the new party and using the name Republican. Late in May,
and throughout June, 1854, a call was published and copies circulated
for signing among the voters of Michigan, in which all citizens,
"without reference to former political association," were called to
assemble in Mass Convention on Thursday, July 6th, at 1 p. m., at
Jackson, Michigan, "there to take such measures as shall be thought best
to concentrate the popular sentiment in this State against the
aggressions of the Slave Power." The meeting was overflowing in numbers
and most enthusiastic and earnest in sentiment. A long and outspoken
platform was unanimously adopted, setting forth something of the history
of slavery, and denouncing it as a great moral, social and political
wrong. The platform condemned the repeal of the Missouri Compromise;
pledged the party to opposition to slavery extension; demanded the
repeal of the Fugitive Slave Law, and demanded an Act to abolish slavery
in the District of Columbia; spoke words of cheer to those who might
settle in Kansas, and concluded:

"_Resolved_, That, in view of the necessity of battling for the first
principles of Republican Government and against the schemes of
aristocracy, the most revolting and oppressive with which the earth was
ever cursed or man debased, we will co-operate and be known as
Republicans until the contest be terminated."

The State Central Committee was chosen and the first Republican State
Ticket in the United States was nominated, headed by Kinsley S. Bingham
for Governor. One week later, on July 13th, chosen as the anniversary of
the day on which the Ordinance of 1787 was adopted, State Conventions of
the Anti-Nebraska members of all parties were held in Ohio, Wisconsin,
Indiana and Vermont. In Wisconsin and Vermont the name Republican was
distinctly adopted, and in these two States, as well as in the others
mentioned, platforms similar in sentiment to that of Michigan were
agreed on. In Massachusetts the Convention met on July 20th and adopted
the name Republican and an Anti-Nebraska platform, and nominated Henry
Wilson for Governor, but the peculiar political situation in this State
led to the election of the Know-Nothing candidates, but as far as
opposition to slavery was concerned, the Know-Nothings in Massachusetts
were Republican in sentiment, for they selected Henry Wilson for United
States Senator.

Ohio was the first State to suggest a State Convention of the
Anti-Nebraska sentiment; a preliminary meeting was held at Columbus
March 22d, and was attended by Whigs, Free-Soilers and Democrats. The
political situation was thoroughly discussed, and afterwards, as the
passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Bill became assured, a call was issued
for a State Convention to be held on July 13th. At this Convention the
name Republican was not formally adopted, but throughout the State in
the Congressional Districts that name was common. In New York the Whigs
refused to give up their party organization, but an Anti-Nebraska
platform was adopted and the Whig candidate was elected on it. New York
joined the Republican party in 1855, and Mr. Seward took his place as a
leader of the party in that State. Maine was engrossed with local
issues, and did not adopt the Republican organization in 1854, but
returned Anti-Nebraska Congressmen. Pennsylvania also held to her old
organizations, but returned Anti-Nebraska Congressmen, and the same
situation occurred in Illinois. In Iowa the situation was peculiar, but
nevertheless emphatic for the new organization. The Whigs held their
Convention in that State on February 22d, before the Nebraska Bill had
passed the Senate, and before the sentiment in the North had reached an
acute stage. But before the election in August the Whig candidate, John
W. Grimes, declared himself in favor of the Republican platform and
name, and he was practically elected as a Republican Governor, the first
in the United States. The South, of course, was solid for the Democratic
Party, and no attempt at a Republican organization was made in the
Southern States. In the other Northern States not already mentioned the
sentiment gradually, but with some slowness, solidified in favor of the
new party.

The presence of the American, or Know-Nothing Party, which had come into
politics in 1852 as a secret organization, with the prevailing principle
of "America for Americans," and which obtained its popular name of
"Know-Nothing" because of the invariable answer of its members that they
"knew nothing" of the organization, confused the political situation in
1854 and 1855, and makes it difficult to correctly analyze and state the
political situation.

It is seen that the Republican Party was strong in the States which had
been organized out of the Northwest Territory, but that the East and New
England, while fully endorsing the platforms of the new party, entered
reluctantly into the movement to adopt its name and organization. In the
East there were four distinct parties, the Whigs, Democrats,
Know-Nothings and Republicans, but in the West there were but two, the
Democratic and Republican. There can be no question, however, that the
sentiment of the Know-Nothing Party, which controlled many of the
elections in the East during 1854 and 1855, was strongly Anti-Nebraska,
and the success of that party in the North may safely be counted as
expressing the sentiment of the new party.

The close of 1855 found the Republican Party well organized in Michigan,
Ohio, Wisconsin, Vermont, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Iowa, Maine,
Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, New York and Indiana. In the several other
States not mentioned it was rapidly gaining strength, and the prospects
for the presidential campaign of 1856 looked fairly bright, and if the
remnants of the Whig Party would retire from the field, and if the
Anti-Nebraska Know-Nothings would vote with the new party, the chances
for victory were exceedingly good. The struggle in Kansas between the
free settlers from the North and the pro-slavery citizens from Missouri
was now growing in bitterness, and reports of violence and blood-shed,
which came from the scene of the conflict, set the North on fire with
indignation and tended materially to solidify sentiment in favor of the
Republican Party.

[Illustration: Schoolhouse at Ripon, Wisconsin, where the Republican Party
was born.]

The Thirty-fourth Congress, which had been elected the preceding year,
convened December 3, 1855, and the extent of the great political
revolution which had taken place in the North was seen more clearly. The
proud Democratic majority of 89 in the preceding House had been swept
away, and the Thirty-fourth Congress, as near as it could be classified,
which was indeed difficult, was made up of one hundred and seventeen
Anti-Nebraska members, seventy-nine Democrats, and thirty-seven
Pro-Slavery Whigs and Know-Nothings. After a contest of nine weeks,
Nathaniel P. Banks, of Massachusetts, was chosen Speaker over the
Southern candidate, and although during this first session of the
Thirty-fourth Congress the opponents of slavery were without a party
name or organization, the election of Banks was clearly a victory for
the young party. Altogether the progress of the party in a period of
less than two years had been most satisfactory, and if a strong
presidential candidate could be obtained, and if great party leaders
would appear, it was evident that the new party would stand an even
chance of succeeding in the presidential election of 1856, and early
preparations were made for the first great national political contest
over the slavery question; a contest certain to be exciting and bitter
in its events and portentous in results.




CHAPTER IX.

FIRST REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION.


"Free Soil, Free Men, Free Speech, Fremont."

_Republican Rallying Cry_, 1856.


The opening of 1856 found the country in a turmoil of political
excitement and anxiety. Late in January, President Pierce, in a special
message, recognized the pro-slavery Legislature of Kansas, and called
the attempt to establish a Free-state Government in that Territory an
act of rebellion. This continued subserviency of the Administration to
the Slave Power so aroused the North that two days later the
Anti-Nebraska members in the House forced through a resolution by a vote
of one hundred and one to one hundred, declaring that the Missouri
Compromise ought to be restored, but nothing further could be done with
the resolution. The House at this time was dead-locked over the election
of a Speaker, which was not settled, as we have seen, until February 2d.
The situation in Kansas was daily growing more acute, and had the
natural effect of creating great bitterness both in the North and the
South, and this general unsettled and threatening state of affairs and
public opinion confronted the political parties on the eve of another
presidential campaign.

The Republican State leaders had decided on an attempt at a National
Organization and Convention, and on January 17, 1856, the following call
was issued:

  "_To the Republicans of the United States:_

  "In accordance with what appears to be a general desire of the
  Republican party, and at the suggestion of a large portion of the
  Republican Press, the undersigned, Chairmen of the State Republican
  Committees of Maine, Vermont, Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania,
  Ohio, Michigan, Indiana and Wisconsin, hereby invite the Republicans of
  the Union to meet in informal Convention at Pittsburg on the 22d of
  February, 1856, for the purpose of perfecting the National Organization,
  and providing for a National Delegate Convention of the Republican Party
  at some subsequent day, to nominate candidates for the Presidency and
  Vice-Presidency, to be supported at the election in November, 1856.

  "A. P. STONE, of Ohio,
  "J. Z. GOODRICH, of Massachusetts,
  "DAVID WILMOT, of Pennsylvania,
  "LAWRENCE BRAINARD, of Vermont,
  "WILLIAM A. WHITE, of Wisconsin."

Because of lack of time the names of the other State Chairmen mentioned
in the body of the call were not obtained, but they all approved it by
letter. The Pittsburg Convention was to be merely preliminary to the
National Convention, but it developed unexpected enthusiasm, and it was
seen by the friends of freedom that at last a great National Party was
in the field, determined to oppose slavery to the utmost, and to remain
until the victory should be won.

Twenty-four States, sixteen free and eight slave, sent their
representatives to the Pittsburg meeting. Lawrence Brainard, of Vermont,
called the Convention to order, and the delegates chose John A. King, of
New York, for temporary Chairman. After a prayer by Owen Lovejoy,
brother of the murdered Abolitionist, the Committee on Permanent
Organization reported the venerable Francis P. Blair, of Maryland, for
President of the Convention, who accepted the honor and read an
elaborate paper on the situation, which was listened to with marked
attention. The names of eighteen prominent Republicans were presented
for Vice-Presidents and five for Secretaries. A Committee was appointed
to draft an address to the people of the country. Earnest, hopeful and
enthusiastic speeches were made by Horace Greeley, Zachariah Chandler,
Preston King, David Wilmot, Joshua R. Giddings, George W. Julian, and
others, and a strong Freedom letter was read from Cassius M. Clay. The
Committee on Resolutions reported a lengthy address to the people of the
United States, setting forth the crimes and continued aggressions of the
Slave Power, and closing with three Resolutions, demanding the repeal,
and pledging the party to labor for the repeal, of all laws which
allowed the introduction of slavery into territory once consecrated to
freedom, and declared its purpose to resist by all constitutional means
the existence of slavery in any of the Territories of the United States;
pledging the Republicans to the support, by every lawful means, of the
brethren in Kansas, and to use every political power to obtain the
immediate admission of Kansas as a free State; and denounced the
National Administration and pledged the party to oppose and overthrow
it. A National Committee, headed by Edwin D. Morgan, of New York, was
then chosen and the preliminary Convention adjourned on February 23d to
await the call of the National Committee.

From Washington, on March 29, 1856, the National Committee issued this
call for the First National Convention:

"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 the Territories, in favor of the admission of
Kansas as a free State, and restoring the action of the Federal
Government to the principles of Washington and Jefferson, are invited by
the National Committee, appointed by the Pittsburg Convention on the 22d
of February, 1856, to send from each State three delegates from every
Congressional District, and six delegates at large, to meet at
Philadelphia on the 17th day of June next, for the purpose of
recommending candidates to be supported for the offices of President and
Vice-President of the United States."

Pursuant to this call, the first Republican National Convention convened
at Philadelphia, in the Musical Fund Hall, on June 17, 1856, the
anniversary of the battle of Bunker Hill, and was called to order by
Edwin D. Morgan, Chairman of the National Committee. Every Northern
State, and also Delaware, Maryland, Kentucky and Virginia, and the
Territories of Minnesota, Kansas, Nebraska, and the District of
Columbia, were represented by full delegations, and there were probably
between eight hundred and one thousand delegates in attendance. Robert
Emmet, of New York, formerly a Democrat, was made temporary chairman,
and accepted the honor in an eloquent and stirring speech. After prayer,
Committees on Credentials, Resolutions and Permanent Organization were
then appointed. The latter committee reported Henry S. Lane, of Indiana,
as President of the Convention, and the names of twenty-four
Vice-Presidents and a number of Secretaries. The first National Platform
of the Republican Party was then reported by David Wilmot and was
adopted with thunders of applause and amid scenes of the highest
enthusiasm.

REPUBLICAN NATIONAL PLATFORM, 1856.

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 or 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
of 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 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.

_Resolved_, That while the Constitution of the United States was
ordained and established by the people in order to form a more perfect
union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquillity, provide for the
common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of
liberty, and contains ample provisions for the protection of life,
liberty and property of every citizen, the dearest Constitutional rights
of the people of Kansas have been fraudulently and violently taken from
them; their territory has been invaded by an armed force; spurious and
pretended legislative, judicial and executive officers have been set
over them, by whose usurped authority, sustained by the military power
of the government, tyrannical and unconstitutional laws have been
enacted and enforced; the right of the people to keep and bear arms has
been infringed; test oaths of an extraordinary and entangling nature
have been imposed as a condition of exercising the right of suffrage and
holding office; the right of an accused person to a speedy and public
trial by an impartial jury has been denied; the right of the people to
be secure in their persons, houses, papers and effects against
unreasonable searches and seizures, has been violated; they have been
deprived of life, liberty and property without due process of law; the
freedom of speech and of the press has been abridged; the right to
choose their representatives has been made of no effect; murders,
robberies and arsons have been instigated and encouraged, and the
offenders have been allowed to go unpunished; that all these things have
been done with the knowledge, sanction and procurement of the present
administration; and that for this high crime against the Constitution,
the Union and humanity, we arraign the administration, the President,
his advisers, agents, supporters, apologists and accessories, either
before or after the fact, before the country and before the world; and
that it is our fixed purpose to bring the actual perpetrators of these
atrocious outrages and their accomplices to a sure and condign
punishment hereafter.

_Resolved_, That Kansas should immediately be admitted as a State of the
Union, with her present free constitution, as at once the most effectual
way of securing to her citizens the enjoyment of the rights and
privileges to which they are entitled, and of ending the civil strife
now raging in her territory.

_Resolved_, That the highwayman's plea that "Might makes right,"
embodied in the Ostend circular, was in every respect unworthy of
American diplomacy, and would bring shame and dishonor upon any
government or people that gave it their sanction.

_Resolved_, That a railroad to the Pacific Ocean, by the most central
and practicable route, is imperatively demanded by the interests of the
whole country, and that the Federal government ought to render immediate
and efficient aid in its construction; and, as an auxiliary thereto, to
the immediate construction of an emigrant route on the line of the
railroad.

_Resolved_, That appropriations by Congress for the improvement of
rivers and harbors of a national character, required for the
accommodation and security of our existing commerce, are authorized by
the Constitution and justified by the obligation of government to
protect the lives and property of its citizens.

_Resolved_, That we invite the affiliation and co-operation of freemen
of all parties, however differing from us in other respects, in support
of the principles herein declared, and believing that the spirit of our
institutions, as well as the Constitution of our country, guarantees
liberty of conscience and equality of rights among citizens, we oppose
all legislation impairing their security.

The time now came to ballot for a candidate for President, but he had
been practically decided on some time before the Convention met. The
merits of four men had been thoroughly discussed in connection with this
honor--Salmon P. Chase and Judge John McLean of Ohio, William H.
Seward, of New York, and John C. Fremont of California. Senator Chase
had been too open in his opposition to slavery to be available, and his
name was withdrawn; Mr. Seward, influenced by Thurlow Weed, did not wish
the nomination, and this fact became known several months before the
Convention. McLean, of the United States Supreme Court, was strongly
favored by many, because it was felt that he alone of the candidates
mentioned could carry Pennsylvania, which had already been figured as
the pivotal State. The candidate deemed most available was John C.
Fremont, whose political experience had been brief, a term from
California in the United States Senate, and he would therefore arouse no
bitter personal antagonism by reason of his political record. He had
been a Democrat, but was in accord with the principles of the Republican
Party; in addition, he had a good record in the Army, and was widely
known for his explorations in the Rockies. His wife was the daughter of
Senator Thomas C. Benton, of Missouri, and altogether he was an
attractive and, it appeared at the time, a shrewdly selected candidate.

[Illustration: John C. Fremont, First Republican Candidate for President.]

There were no formal nominating speeches, but the names of all who had
been discussed as candidates had been mentioned in the many enthusiastic
speeches which were made during the Convention. An informal ballot gave
Fremont 359; McLean 190; Sumner 2; Seward 1. A formal ballot was then
immediately taken and Fremont received the entire vote of the Convention
except 37 for McLean, 1 for Seward, and the Virginia vote, which was not
cast because its delegation was not organized; the nomination was then
made unanimous. The next day an informal ballot was taken for
Vice-President. William L. Dayton, of New Jersey, received 253 votes;
Abraham Lincoln, 110; N. P. Banks, 46; David Wilmot, 43; Charles Sumner,
35, and some votes each for Henry Wilson, Jacob Collamer, Joshua R.
Giddings, Cassius M. Clay, Henry C. Carey, John A. King, Thomas Ford,
Whitefield S. Johnson, Aaron S. Pennington and Samuel C. Pomeroy. Mr.
Lincoln was not a candidate for the office, and was named without his
knowledge, and he was greatly surprised, several days later, when he
learned of it. When his name was put in nomination--the second
mentioned--inquiries as to who he was came from all parts of the hall.
Mr. Lincoln's speech before the Bloomington Convention, in Illinois, had
turned the eyes of the Republican Party in that State to him as its
leader, and the Illinois Delegation to the National Convention knew well
enough who he was, but his time had not yet come. Mr. Dayton received
the nomination for Vice-President on the formal ballot and it was made
unanimous. After appointing a committee, headed by Henry S. Lane, of
Indiana, to notify the candidates of their nominations, and listening to
a number of enthusiastic speeches, the Convention adjourned on June
19th. In one of the speeches reference was made to "Free Speech, Free
Press, Free Soil, Free Kansas," when one of the delegates interrupted,
"and Fremont"; the utterance and its amendment, with some abridgment,
became one of the rallying cries of the campaign.

The selection of Mr. Fremont had also been influenced by the fact that
he was looked upon with favor by those delegates who withdrew from the
American or Know-Nothing Convention. The Know-Nothings had held their
Convention on February 22d, and had nominated Millard Fillmore for
President and A. J. Donelson for Vice-President. The delegates from New
England, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Illinois and Iowa, being unable to secure
an Anti-Slavery Extension Plank in the Platform, seceded and soon
afterwards nominated Fremont for President, and William F. Johnston, of
Pennsylvania, for Vice-President.

On September 17th the remnant of the Whig Party met at Philadelphia and
adopted the nominees of the American Party, Fillmore and Donelson. This
Convention and their votes in the ensuing election marked the last
appearance of the Whig Party in politics.

The Democrats held their Convention in Cincinnati on June 3d, before the
Republican Convention was held, and nominated James Buchanan, of
Pennsylvania, for President, and John C. Breckinridge, of Kentucky, for
Vice-President. President Pierce and Senator Douglas were both
candidates for the presidential nomination, but were withdrawn on the
fifteenth and sixteenth ballots because the South had already selected a
candidate. Mr. Buchanan had been absent as Minister to England during
the turmoil over the repeal of the Missouri Compromise. In addition, he
came from a Northern State, and was therefore doubly attractive as a
candidate; for the South, with its 112 electoral votes, needed 37 more
votes to elect their candidate, and Pennsylvania, with 27 votes, was
looked on as the pivotal State.

The Democratic Platform, as usual, denounced the Abolitionists, and
repeated its hollow promise of 1852, that the party would resist all
attempts at renewing the agitation of the slavery question. It denounced
the Republican Party as "sectional, and subsisting exclusively on
slavery agitation," and it contained the following remarkable and
artfully worded plank:

"_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 a majority of 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 other States."
The ambiguous part of this plank was the insertion of the right of the
inhabitants to form a Constitution with or without domestic slavery. Mr.
Douglas and the other Democratic speakers argued in the North that this
meant that the people of the Territory had the right to decide for or
against slavery, but the South looked upon it as fully protecting
slavery in any Territory until a Constitution could be formed. In the
North and South the plank obtained votes for the party, but the votes
were cast in the respective sections on diametrically opposed grounds.

The political situation in this campaign was somewhat complicated at
first by the presentation of so many candidates, for, in addition to the
candidates already named, the Abolitionists presented a ticket, as did
also a number of Americans, who seceded from the second convention of
that party, but the situation gradually resolved itself into a contest
between Buchanan, Fremont and Fillmore. No electoral tickets were
presented for Fremont in the slave States, and the fact that Fillmore
could not carry any of the free States weakened him in the South, and it
was seen that Buchanan would receive the solid electoral vote of the
South, and that the contest would therefore be between Buchanan and
Fremont for the Northern electoral votes.

The struggle in Kansas was inseparably connected with the campaign of
1856. That struggle was virtually the opening of the Civil War, and
while the North and South fought out the issue with bullets in Kansas,
in the other States of the two sections the contest was no less bitter,
although the means were less destructive. Before either of the great
political conventions were held, Lawrence, Kansas, was captured and
sacked by the Pro-Slavery Party, and on the following day (May 22d)
Charles Sumner was struck down in the Senate by Preston S. Brooks, of
South Carolina, because of his speech, "The Crime against Kansas." These
events picture the feeling between the North and South which existed
during this campaign. The South had probably already felt that if they
went into the campaign solely on their cause they would be defeated,
hence the nomination of a Northern Democrat from a necessary State, and
the artful construction of their platform. The enthusiasm of the
Republicans was probably more for their cause than for the candidate.
The Democrats in the North evaded the issue of slavery as much as
possible, and denounced the candidacy of Fremont as sectional, and that
his success would mean the dissolution of the Union, a weighty argument
with thousands of voters, especially those who were attached to the
South by financial and commercial bonds. The speeches of the Southern
leaders and the press of the South abounded in threats of disunion in
the event of Fremont's election. The Republicans, unhampered by a
southern wing and advocating the restriction of a great moral wrong,
went into the campaign with the earnestness and enthusiasm of a
religious crusade. They carried on a clean campaign of education, and
tons of political literature were scattered broadcast over the country.

The young men of the North were especially attracted to the Republican
Cause, and it was recognized that their vote would be a great aid; and
the influence of the women of the country was distinctly with the new
party. The clergy, the religious press and most of the eminent
professors and educated men of the North also lent their potent forces
to the new party.

The issues presented in the campaign of 1856, like those of 1860, were
the most remarkable in our political history, and a canvass attended by
such circumstances and so portentous in results could not but be
exciting in the highest degree, and the bitterness of the situation grew
in intensity as the days of the fall elections approached. All eyes now
turned with anxiety on the few State elections which were to be held in
the North prior to the presidential election in November, because they
would unquestionably foreshadow the final result. Iowa came first, and,
in August, went Republican, and was joined in September by Maine and
Vermont, both overwhelmingly Republican. These successes were to the
highest gratification of the members of the new party, and now came the
final test, the October elections in Pennsylvania, Indiana and Ohio. The
first of these States, with its twenty-seven electoral votes, was the
most important. Thousands of dollars were poured into the campaign funds
of the State by both sides, the Democratic Committee having the greater
amount to spend and having the better organization. Several hundred
speakers, representing both sides, traversed the State in all
directions. The Democrats used the disunion argument with great effect,
and added to it the campaign cry of "Buck, Breck and Free Kansas," and
on October 14th Pennsylvania went Democratic by a very narrow majority.
Ohio, as was expected, went Republican, but Indiana was lost, and the
result of the presidential issue was thus practically known before the
election, on November 4th. Fremont received the electoral votes of
Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Vermont,
New York, Ohio, Michigan, Iowa and Wisconsin, one hundred and fourteen
in all. Buchanan received the vote of all the slave States and
Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Indiana, Illinois and California, a total of
one hundred and seventy-four votes; the eight votes of Maryland going to
Fillmore, the only State won by the Know-Nothings. The popular vote gave
Buchanan 1,838,169; Fremont 1,341,264; Fillmore 874,534. The popular
vote of South Carolina is not included, as the electors in that State
were chosen by her Legislature.

When the first wave of bitter disappointment passed away, the
Republicans saw the enormous headway that had been made and they
immediately began to prepare for the national contest four years hence.
The Democrats had lost ten States which they carried in 1852, and their
electoral vote of 254 in 1852 had shrunken to 174. The South elected
Buchanan, and he became the tool of the Slave Power, and, as subsequent
events developed, it was fortunate that the Republicans were not
successful in the campaign.

[Illustration: William H. Seward.]




CHAPTER X.

THE LINCOLN-DOUGLAS DEBATES.


"Can the people of a United States territory in any lawful way, against
the wish of any citizen of the United States, exclude slavery from its
limits prior to the formation of a State Constitution?"

_Lincoln to Douglas_, _Freeport Debate_, _August_ 27, 1858.


The Buchanan Administration began on March 4, 1857, and the Slave Power,
through the Democratic Party, found itself in complete and absolute
control of every branch of the Government, legislative, executive and
judicial. Two days after the inauguration came the famous Dred Scott
decision. The arguments in this case had been heard before the election,
but the court adjourned until after the election. The decision,
delivered by Chief Justice Taney, fixed the legal status of the negro in
the United States, and declared that he could not claim any of the
rights and privileges of a citizen, and "had no rights which the white
man was bound to respect, and that the negro might justly and lawfully
be reduced to slavery for his benefit." Then, traveling out of the
record, the Court declared that the Missouri Compromise was unauthorized
by the Constitution, and was null and void, and that Congress had no
right to keep slavery out of any Territory. It was apparent at once that
this decision completely nullified Douglas' doctrine of popular
sovereignty, and the South lost no time in abandoning that doctrine, and
declaring that she would insist as a Constitutional right that slaves
taken into any Territory must be protected like any other property. The
North was stunned for the moment by this sweeping decision; the South
was jubilant beyond all bounds, and instantly prepared to take advantage
of the new dogma to the utmost. While under this decision the Slave
Power seemed all triumphant, it was, in fact, to produce its
destruction, and slavery was to lose its power by the very thing which
seemed to strengthen it. The Dred Scott decision was bound to produce a
split in the Democratic Party and the moment that occurred the success
of the Republican Party was assured. The South spread thousands of
copies of the decision throughout the country, and when the North
recovered from the shock and saw what a revolution the decision would
cause in the Democratic Party, it joined in giving it the utmost
publicity.

The attempt to force Kansas into the Union as a slave State under the
infamous Lecompton Constitution now began. In that Territory the
Free-State settlers had rapidly been gaining in strength, and the Slave
Power, in desperate straits, resorted to trickery. Several attempts of
the Free-State Legislature to meet were prevented by the Federal troops,
but finally, in 1857, the Free-State men voted at the regular election
and obtained control of the Territorial Legislature; but before they
could act, a pro-slavery Convention, previously chosen, concluded its
work at Lecompton and submitted the Lecompton Constitution to the
people, not permitting them, however, to vote for or against the
Constitution, but "For the Constitution with Slavery," or "For the
Constitution without Slavery." The Free-State men refused to vote at
this election, and the Lecompton Constitution was adopted, with Slavery.

When Congress assembled, on December 7, 1859, President Buchanan, in his
message, approved the Lecompton Constitution, and recommended the
admission of Kansas under it. It had been rumored for some time that
Senator Douglas would oppose the Administration in its attempt to force
the Lecompton Constitution upon the people of Kansas, and this, indeed,
proved to be true, when, on December 9th, Douglas announced his
opposition to the action of the Administration as contrary to his
doctrine of popular sovereignty. It is unnecessary to go into the
motives that actuated Senator Douglas, but it may be stated that his
re-election to the Senate was to depend on the election in Illinois in
1858, and unless he did something to counteract the feeling against him
he was almost certain of defeat. The apostasy of Douglas was as a
thunderbolt to the South, but the North received it with great delight,
and in the early months of 1858 Douglas was easily the most popular man
in the North. The new Legislature in Kansas met in December and ordered
another election at which the people of the Territory could vote for or
against the Lecompton Constitution, and on January 9, 1858, that
Constitution was rejected by ten thousand majority. Notwithstanding this
emphatic condemnation by the people of the Territory, the Administration
persisted in its course to force Kansas in under the Lecompton
Constitution. The Senate was for the admission of Kansas, but the House
opposed it, and in a joint conference the infamous English Bill was
agreed on, in which the people of Kansas were offered a bribe in the
form of large land grants if they would accept the Lecompton
Constitution. This they subsequently refused to do by a large majority,
and Kansas remained a Territory until 1861. The Dred Scott decision and
the attempt to force in Kansas under the Lecompton Constitution helped
the Republican Party greatly, and its prospects were brighter in 1858
than they had been in 1857, in which year there was a reaction from the
enthusiasm created by the presidential campaign of the preceding year.

A legislature was to be chosen in Illinois in 1858 which would select
the successor to Senator Douglas. Douglas' action in opposing the
Administration had aroused public interest in him in the North, and many
of the Republican leaders desired that he should have no opposition in
Illinois, but the Republicans of that State were not of that opinion.
The Democratic Convention in Illinois met in April and endorsed Douglas;
the Republican Convention, on June 16th, resolved "That Abraham Lincoln
is the first and only choice of the Republicans of Illinois for the
United States Senate, as the successor of Stephen A. Douglas." In his
speech that evening to the Convention Mr. Lincoln made the remarkable
and daring statement, "A house divided against itself cannot stand. I
believe this government cannot endure, permanently, half slave and half
free. I do not expect the Union to be dissolved; I do not expect the
house to fall; but I expect it will cease to be divided. It will become
all one thing or all the other."

Senator Douglas reached Chicago on July 9th, and, amid the plaudits of
his friends, delivered an elaborate speech, which was listened to with
great interest by Mr. Lincoln, who was present; on the next evening Mr.
Lincoln answered in the presence of a large and enthusiastic audience.
Senator Douglas then spoke at Bloomington, and was answered by Mr.
Lincoln at Springfield, and the public interest that had been aroused,
not only in Illinois but throughout the country, caused the Republican
leaders to induce Mr. Lincoln to challenge Senator Douglas to a series
of debates on the great question of the hour. Privately Senator Douglas
was averse to meeting Mr. Lincoln in this manner, but publicly he
promptly accepted the challenge and named seven places in different
Congressional Districts in which neither had spoken, as the places where
the debates were to be held. These great debates began at Ottawa on
August 21, 1858, and were followed by meetings at Freeport, Jonesboro,
Charleston, Galesburg, Quincy, and concluded on October 15th at Alton,
the entire State having been traversed.

As they read and pondered on the arguments of Mr. Lincoln, it gradually
dawned upon the people of the North that a great leader had been found,
for it was early seen and felt that Senator Douglas was not holding his
own. No greater or clearer exposition of the Northern views of slavery
and the questions connected with it had ever been pronounced than Mr.
Lincoln's, and the great contest in Illinois was watched with eagerness
and interest by the entire North, and Mr. Lincoln, from a comparatively
unknown State leader, became a great national character.

At Freeport, Mr. Lincoln, contrary to the advice of all his friends,
asked the question which forced Douglas into a labored attempt to
reconcile his doctrine of popular sovereignty with the Dred Scott
decision. It was plain that the question, "Can the people of a United
States Territory in any lawful way, against the wish of any citizen of
the United States, exclude slavery from its limits prior to the
formation of a State Constitution?" could not be answered without
antagonizing either the North or the South. There was absolutely no
middle ground on which Senator Douglas could stand for any length of
time.

Mr. Lincoln was willing to lose the Senatorial contest if Douglas could
be defeated for the Presidency, and he gained his point, although his
friends did not immediately see the strength of it. Senator Douglas, in
an artful reply to this searching question, put forward his doctrine of
Popular Sovereignty by asserting that the people could, by "unfriendly
legislation," effectually prevent the introduction of slavery into their
midst. When the South read this declaration, so contrary to the decision
of the Supreme Court, Douglas' fate was sealed as a presidential
candidate. Owing to a totally unfair apportionment of the Senatorial
Districts, which had been made by a Democratic Legislature, Mr. Lincoln
lost the contest with Senator Douglas, who had a majority of eight on
the joint ballot in the new Legislature, but the Republican Ticket won
in the popular vote by 4000.

Mr. Lincoln was forty-nine years old and Senator Douglas forty-five when
they met in these memorable debates. They had been thrown together for
more than twenty years by a most remarkable combination of
circumstances. They had both wooed the same woman, Mary Todd, and
Lincoln won; both craved for success in politics, and as Douglas
belonged to the dominant party in Illinois, he met with early success,
and ran the gamut of political honors and was a great national figure
before Lincoln was known. Douglas had been Attorney-General, Secretary
of State and Judge of the Supreme Court of Illinois; in 1843 he was
elected to the National House of Representatives and served until 1847,
when he was sent to the Senate, where he served until 1861; his name had
been presented for the presidential nomination to the Democratic
Conventions of 1852 and 1856. Compared to this series of political
successes those of Lincoln were indeed meagre. He had served in the
Illinois Legislature; in 1847 was sent to Congress, but served only one
term, and from 1849 to 1854 he had devoted himself, with the exception
of some canvassing done for Scott in the Campaign of 1852, almost
exclusively to his law practice. It was Senator Douglas' Kansas-Nebraska
Bill that brought Lincoln again into politics, with emphatic protests
and strong arguments against the outrage. When Mr. Douglas returned to
Illinois in 1854, he attempted, with much difficulty, to justify his
action, and the debates between him and Mr. Lincoln really began in that
year. Lincoln met his arguments, and after a few speeches Mr. Douglas
was ready to quit, and made an agreement with Mr. Lincoln that neither
of them should speak again in the campaign. In 1854 Mr. Lincoln was the
choice for United States Senator, but yielded his place to Lyman
Trumbull. He took an active part in the formation of the Republican
Party in Illinois, and at the Bloomington Convention in 1856, which
chose delegates to the first Republican National Convention, he made a
strong speech that attracted the attention of the Republicans of
Illinois to him and made him the State leader. He labored earnestly in
Illinois for the success of Fremont and Dayton. Throughout 1857 he grew
stronger with the party, with the result that he was the unanimous and
only choice in 1858 as the successor to Douglas.

Douglas secured the shadow of a victory, but Mr. Lincoln, and the
Republican Party throughout the North, had the substance, and the fall
elections in 1858 were decidedly in favor of the Republicans. The Autumn
campaigns of 1859 were of the utmost importance, and the Democrats made
great efforts in the North, especially in Ohio. Senator Douglas went
personally into that State, and at the earnest invitation of the
Republican Committee, Mr. Lincoln spoke at Columbus on September 16th
and at Cincinnati on September 17th. Mr. Dennison, the Republican
candidate in Ohio, was elected, and the Republicans were successful in
Pennsylvania and Iowa.

A few days after the October elections the entire country was thrown
into a state of great excitement by John Brown's invasion of Virginia
and his capture of the United States arsenal at Harper's Ferry. He had
hoped for a general uprising of the slaves, but it did not occur, and
Brown was captured by Robert E. Lee, then a Colonel in the United States
Army, and after a trial on a charge of murder and treason against the
State of Virginia, was found guilty and hanged December 2, 1859. This
affair aroused the Slave Power to a frenzy of excitement, and they
immediately demanded an investigation, and strong attempts were made to
fix the conspiracy on members of the Republican Party, but it signally
failed.

Three days after John Brown's execution, the Thirty-sixth Congress
assembled. In the Senate there were thirty-eight Democrats, twenty-five
Republicans, and two Americans; the Republicans had gained five
Senators. In the House there were one hundred and nine Republicans,
eighty-eight administration Democrats, thirteen anti-Lecompton
Democrats, and twenty-seven Americans, all of the latter, except four,
from the South. The contest for the Speakership developed the deep
animosity felt by the South, and threats of disunion and personal
violence abounded throughout the session. The Republicans generally
remained silent, only taking part in the debates when absolutely
necessary. On the first ballots the Republicans divided their votes
between Galusha A. Grow, of Pennsylvania, and John Sherman, of Ohio; Mr.
Grow having received the fewer number of votes, withdrew, under an
agreement, and the contest continued between Mr. Sherman and Mr. Bocock,
of Virginia. On January 4, 1860, Sherman was within three votes of an
election, but he finally withdrew in favor of William Pennington, a
Republican, of New Jersey, who was elected on February 1, 1860, and the
House secured a Republican organization. During the debate attendant
upon this election, Mr. Crawford, of Georgia, declared, "We will never
submit to the inauguration of a black Republican President," and this
remark, with others of a like nature, was often repeated. Many of the
members of Congress attended the session fully armed, and it often
appeared that the Civil War would probably begin in the House of
Representatives.

In the decade between 1840 and 1850, the number of slaves in the South
increased 800,000; and in the decade between 1850 and 1860, 700,000. The
increase of white population in the South was very small compared to
that of the North. The census of 1850 showed the population of the
country to be 23,191,876, divided as follows:

                    White.      Free Black.      Slave.
  North ......... 13,269,149       196,262          262
  South .........  6,283,965       238,187    3,204,051

The tremendous increase of slave population and the rapid gain of the
North over the South in free population is shown by a comparison of the
census of 1850 with that of 1860, when the total population was
31,443,322, divided between the two sections as follows:

                    White.      Free Black.      Slave.
  North ......... 18,791,159       225,967           64
  South .........  8,182,684       262,003    3,953,696

Owing to the large crops in the South the demand for slaves exceeded the
supply, and the market price of negroes in the decade between 1850 and
1860 was very high. Three results followed the increased demand and the
high prices--the Domestic Slave Trade between the States was largely
increased; attempts to smuggle in slaves contrary to the Slave Trade
Laws were numerous and often successful, and the South began, in
Buchanan's administration, to consider the re-establishment of the
African slave trade.

During the last years of Buchanan's administration politics were
dominated by virtually three parties: the Republicans with their
opposition to slavery extension--the leaders being Mr. Lincoln and Mr.
Seward; the Northern Democrats, led by Senator Douglas, with his idea of
Popular Sovereignty; and the Southern Democrats, with their purpose of
slavery extension and protection under the decision of the Supreme Court
and the Acts of Congress, their leader being Jefferson Davis, of
Mississippi. The schism in the Democratic Party was seen more clearly
late in February, 1859, when Senators Douglas and Davis, representing
the opposite principles advocated by the Democratic Party, engaged in a
bitter debate, which forecasted clearly a division in the Democratic
Party in 1860, and the probable election of a Republican President, but
who would he be, and what would be the course of the South on his
election?




CHAPTER XI.

LINCOLN.


"Since the November of 1860 his horizon has been black with storms. By
day and by night, he trod a way of danger and darkness. On his shoulders
rested a government dearer to him than his own life ... Even he who now
sleeps has, by this event, been clothed with new influence. Dead, he
speaks to men who now willingly hear what before they refused to listen
to ... Four years ago, O Illinois, we took from your midst an untried
man and from among the people. We return him to you a mighty conqueror.
Not thine any more, but the nation's; not ours, but the world's."

_Henry Ward Beecher_, _April_ 16, 1865.


In 1860 the curtain rolled up on the beginning of the last act in the
great drama of the struggle between Freedom and Slavery. Because of the
events already narrated, a division in the Democratic Party was almost
certain if Douglas persisted in being a candidate, and that division
would mean the success of the Republican Party. A greater anxiety and
fear than perhaps ever before or since in the history of the country
pervaded the political situation in the early months of 1860. What would
transpire at the Conventions of the great parties? All eyes turned to
the first Convention, that of the Democratic Party, which assembled at
Charleston, S. C., April 23, 1860. Senator Douglas was a candidate.
There was almost an immediate disagreement on the slavery question, and
a group of extreme Southern Democrats, unable to agree with their
Northern brethren who adopted a Douglas platform, withdrew from the
Convention. This first group of seceders held a separate meeting, and
after adopting a Platform, adjourned to meet at Richmond, Va., on June
11th. In the main Convention opposition to Douglas was still strong, and
after fifty-seven ballots, without being able to nominate any candidate,
the main Convention adjourned to meet at Baltimore on June 18th. The
bolters from the Charleston Convention met in Richmond on June 11th, but
immediately adjourned again until June 28th, which was to be ten days
after the adjourned meeting of the main Convention. The main Convention
duly assembled at Baltimore on June 18th, and as it was apparent that
Douglas would be nominated, there was another withdrawal of Southern
Democrats accompanied by some of their Northern brethren. Those who
remained nominated Stephen A. Douglas for President and Benjamin
Fitzpatrick of Alabama for Vice-President. Mr. Fitzpatrick afterwards
declined, and the National Democratic Committee named Herschel V.
Johnson, of Georgia, for Vice-President. The second group of bolters
unanimously nominated John C. Breckinridge, of Kentucky, for President,
and Joseph Lane, of Oregon, for Vice-President, and adopted the platform
which had been agreed upon by the bolters from the Charleston
Convention. The Charleston bolters, when they met again on June 28th,
ratified the nominations of Breckinridge and Lane. The Douglas
Democratic platform affirmed the Cincinnati platform of 1856, and stated
that the party would abide by the decision of the Supreme Court on
questions of Constitutional Law, and it denounced the Personal Liberty
Laws as revolutionary. The Breckinridge Democratic platform also adopted
the Cincinnati platform, but with explanatory resolutions to the effect
that neither Congress or any Territorial Legislature had a right to
interfere with slavery, pending the formation of a State Constitution,
and that it was the duty of the Federal Government to protect slavery at
all times. This platform also denounced the Personal Liberty Laws. The
Democratic Party had won in 1856 on an ambiguous plank in their
platform, relating to slavery in the Territories, that enabled them to
secure votes in the North and South by arguments irreconcilable with the
political thought of the two sections, and now, in 1860, they were
dissipating their strength by disagreeing on an explanation among
themselves of that ambiguous plank; it was a just political retribution.

A temporary political party appeared in 1860, known as the
Constitutional Union Party; their convention was held at Baltimore on
May 9th, and John Bell, of Tennessee, was named for President, and
Edward Everett, of Massachusetts, for Vice-President. The Platform of
this party declared for "The Constitution of the country, the Union of
the States and the enforcement of the Laws." It was an attempt to divert
the voters from the geographical and sectional parties, and polled a
large popular vote.

The second Republican National Convention convened at Chicago on
Wednesday, May 16, 1860, in the "Wigwam," a vast pine board structure
specially built for the occasion by the Chicago Republican Club. The
split in the Democratic Party, although the adjourned sessions of that
Party had not yet been held, gave increased hope of Republican success
this year, and it was felt by a great majority of the delegates and
spectators that the Convention would name the next President of the
United States. This strong probability added an importance and dignity,
not unmingled with awe, to the work of the Convention. Edwin D. Morgan,
of New York, called the Convention to order and faced an audience of
about ten thousand people, only four hundred and sixty-six of whom were
delegates. All of the free States were represented, as well as Delaware,
Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Texas and Virginia, and the Territories of
Kansas and Nebraska and the District of Columbia. Mr. Morgan named David
Wilmot for Temporary Chairman, and committees on Permanent Organization,
on Credentials, and on Rules were then severally appointed. George
Ashmun, of Massachusetts, was reported a Chairman of the Convention, and
one Vice-President and one Secretary from each State and Territory were
named. A Platform Committee was then appointed, after which the
Convention decided, after some debate over the admission of "delegates"
from the Slave States, some of whom had never seen their States, to
admit all delegates, and this included Horace Greeley, "of Oregon," who
had not desired and had not been sent with the New York delegation. A
virtual attempt to fasten the two-thirds nominating rule on the
Convention was defeated, and it was decided that a majority of the whole
number of votes should nominate. Judge William Jessup, of Pennsylvania,
reported the platform, and it was adopted with the utmost enthusiasm.
The platform on which Mr. Lincoln was elected should be read by every
Republican and every citizen interested in the history and development
of the nation.

REPUBLICAN PLATFORM, 1860.

_Resolved_, That we, the delegated representatives of the Republican
electors of the United States, in convention assembled, in discharge
of the duty we owe to our constituents and our country, unite in the
following declarations:

1. That the history of the nation during the last four years has fully
established the propriety and necessity of the organization and
perpetuation of the Republican party, and that the causes which called
it into existence are permanent in their nature, and now, more than ever
before, demand its peaceful and constitutional triumph.

2. That the maintenance of the principles promulgated in the Declaration
of Independence and embodied in the Federal Constitution, "That all men
are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain
inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit
of happiness; that to secure these rights, governments are instituted
among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed,"
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 must and shall be preserved.

3. That to the union of the states this nation owes its unprecedented
increase in population, its surprising development of material
resources, its rapid augmentation of wealth, its happiness at home and
its honor abroad; and we hold in abhorrence all schemes for disunion,
come from whatever source they may; and we congratulate the country that
no Republican member of Congress has uttered or countenanced the threats
of disunion so often made by Democratic members, without rebuke and with
applause from their political associates; and we denounce those threats
of disunion, in case of a popular overthrow of their ascendancy, as
denying the vital principles of free government, and as an avowal of
contemplated treason, which it is the imperative duty of an indignant
people sternly to rebuke and forever silence.

4. That the maintenance inviolate of the rights of the states, and
especially the right of each state to order and control its own domestic
institutions according to its own judgment exclusively, is essential to
that balance of power on which the perfection and endurance of our
political fabric depends; and we denounce the lawless invasion by armed
force of the soil of any state or territory, no matter under what
pretext, as among the gravest of crimes.

5. That the present Democratic administration has far exceeded our worst
apprehensions, in its measureless subserviency to the exactions of a
sectional interest, as especially evinced in its desperate exertions to
force the infamous Lecompton constitution upon the protesting people of
Kansas; in construing the personal relations between master and servant
to involve an unqualified property in persons; in its attempted
enforcement everywhere, on land and sea, through the intervention of
Congress and of the federal courts, of the extreme pretensions of a
purely local interest; and in its general and unvarying abuse of the
power intrusted to it by a confiding people.

6. That the people justly view with alarm the reckless extravagance
which pervades every department of the federal government; that a return
to rigid economy and accountability is indispensable to arrest the
systematic plunder of the public treasury by favored partisans, while
the recent startling developments of frauds and corruptions at the
federal metropolis show that an entire change of administration is
imperatively demanded.

7. That the new dogma--that the Constitution, of its own force, carries
slavery into any or all of the territories of the United States--is a
dangerous political heresy, at variance with the explicit provisions of
that instrument itself, with contemporaneous exposition, and with
legislative and judicial precedent; is revolutionary in its tendency and
subversive of the peace and harmony of the country.

8. That the normal condition of all the territory of the United States
is that of freedom; 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, by legislation, whenever such
legislation is necessary, to maintain this provision of the Constitution
against all attempts to violate it; and we deny the authority of
Congress, of a territorial legislature, or of any individuals, to give
legal existence to slavery in any territory of the United States.

9. That we brand the recent reopening of the African slave trade, under
the cover of our national flag, aided by perversions of judicial power,
as a crime against humanity and a burning shame to our country and age;
and we call upon Congress to take prompt and efficient measures for the
total and final suppression of that execrable traffic.

10. That in the recent vetoes, by their federal governors, of the acts
of the legislatures of Kansas and Nebraska, prohibiting slavery in those
territories, we find a practical illustration of the boasted Democratic
principle of non-intervention and popular sovereignity, embodied in the
Kansas-Nebraska bill, and a demonstration of the deception and fraud
involved therein.

11. That Kansas should of right be immediately admitted as a state under
the constitution recently formed and adopted by her people and accepted
by the House of Representatives.

12. That, while providing revenue for the support of the general
government by duties upon imports, sound policy requires such an
adjustment of these imposts as to encourage the development of the
industrial interests of the whole country; and we commend that policy
of national exchanges which secures to the workingmen liberal wages,
to agriculture remunerative prices, to mechanics and manufacturers
an adequate reward for their skill, labor and enterprise, and to
the nation commercial prosperity and independence.

13. That we protest against any sale or alienation to others of the
public lands held by actual settlers, and against any view of the
free-homestead policy which regards the settlers as paupers or
suppliants for public bounty; and we demand the passage by Congress
of the complete and satisfactory homestead measure which has already
passed the House.

14. That the Republican party is opposed to any change in our
naturalization laws, or any state legislation by which the rights of
citizens hitherto accorded to immigrants from foreign lands shall be
abridged or impaired; and in favor of giving a full and efficient
protection to the rights of all classes of citizens, whether native or
naturalized, both at home and abroad.

15. That appropriations by Congress for river and harbor improvements of
a national character, required for the accommodation and security of an
existing commerce, are authorized by the Constitution and justified by
the obligation of government to protect the lives and property of its
citizens.

16. That a railroad to the Pacific Ocean is imperatively demanded by
the interests of the whole country; that the federal government ought
to render immediate and efficient aid in its construction; and that,
as preliminary thereto, a daily overland mail should be promptly
established.

17. Finally having set forth our distinctive principles and views, we
invite the co-operation of all citizens, however differing on other
questions, who substantially agree with us in their affirmance and
support.

An exciting incident occurred when Joshua R. Giddings moved to embrace
the principles of the Declaration of Independence in the platform, and,
when voted down, withdrew from the Convention; but what he proposed was
afterwards accomplished by George William Curtis, of New York, and
became the second plank of the platform, and Mr. Giddings returned to
the Convention.

Two days were consumed in organizing and adopting the platform. The
second night of the Convention, that which intervened between Thursday
and Friday, was given up to remarkable exertions in behalf of the
several candidates. William H. Seward, of New York, was the most
prominent candidate before the Convention, and would probably have been
named had the nominations been made on the first or second day of the
Convention. The other candidates were Abraham Lincoln, of Illinois;
Simon Cameron, of Pennsylvania; Salmon P. Chase and John McLean, of
Ohio; Edward Bates, of Missouri; William L. Dayton, of New Jersey, and
Jacob Collamer, of Vermont. There was a strong opposition to Mr. Seward,
based on the ground of his availability, as it was felt by Henry S.
Lane, of Indiana, and A. G. Curtin, of Pennsylvania, who were the
candidates for Governor in their respective States, that Mr. Seward
could not carry those States. Mr. Greeley was also doing his utmost to
defeat Mr. Seward, but was advocating the nomination of Edward Bates, of
Missouri. The Illinois delegation had been instructed for Mr. Lincoln,
and soon added Indiana to his support, and they also obtained promises
of a majority vote of the New Hampshire, Virginia and Kentucky
delegations on the first ballot, with some scattering votes from other
States. Mr. Lincoln's candidacy was very promising, but not entirely
certain of success, as, to many, the strength of Mr. Seward appeared
invincible; but Mr. Lincoln's supporters were certain that if he could
obtain a good vote on the first ballot it would be largely increased on
the second ballot by votes from Pennsylvania, Ohio and Vermont. On the
third day of the Convention, Friday morning, May 18th, the nominations
were made. William M. Evarts presented the name of William H. Seward,
and was immediately followed by Norman B. Judd, of Illinois, who
nominated Mr. Lincoln. Others were named, and a number of seconding
speeches were made, Mr. Lincoln's name being seconded by Caleb B. Smith,
of Indiana, and Columbus Delano, of Ohio. The cheers and noisy
enthusiasm which attended the various speeches were terrifying in
volume, and it was apparent that the Lincoln shouters had the advantage
in volume of sound, and the influence of the vast assemblage and the
great pressure of environment unquestionably increased Mr. Lincoln's
chances for the nomination. The balloting began and proceeded amid
intense excitement; two hundred and thirty-three votes were necessary to
a choice, and three ballots were taken, with the following result:

                    1st        2d         3d
                  Ballot.    Ballot.    Ballot.
  Seward .........  173½       184½       180
  Lincoln ........  102        181        231½
  Cameron ........   50½         2
  Chase ..........   49         42½        24½
  Bates ..........   48         35         22
  Dayton .........   14         10
  McLean .........   12          8          5
  Collamer .......   10

Scattering votes were also cast for Benjamin F. Wade, John M. Reed,
Charles Sumner, John C. Fremont, and Cassius M. Clay.

At the completion of the third ballot, Mr. Lincoln lacked one and
one-half votes of the nomination. There was a momentary lull, and then
David K. Cartter, of Ohio, mounted his seat, caught the attention of the
Chairman, and, in the breathless excitement, announced that Ohio changed
four votes from Mr. Chase to Mr. Lincoln. There was a moment's silence
until it could all be appreciated, and then pandemonium for more than
twenty minutes. The immense crowd outside the "Wigwam" was soon apprised
of the result and the news spread like wildfire. Mr. Evarts moved the
nomination be made unanimous.

There were two prominent candidates for Vice-President, Hannibal Hamlin,
of Maine, and Cassius M. Clay, of Kentucky. Others mentioned for this
honor were John Hickman and Andrew H. Reeder, of Pennsylvania, and
Nathaniel P. Banks, of Massachusetts. Two ballots were taken, and Mr.
Hamlin was nominated on the second:

                1st Ballot.    2d Ballot.
  Hamlin .....      194           367
  Clay .......      101½           86
  Hickman ....       58            13
  Reeder .....       51
  Banks ......       38

Others who received complimentary votes on the first ballot were
Samuel Houston, William L. Dayton, Henry W. Davis, John M. Reed,
Andrew H. Reeder and John Hickman.

During the entire Convention Mr. Lincoln remained at Springfield; there
he received the telegraphic news of his nomination, and thither went the
Notification Committee, composed of many brilliant men, most of whom had
never met him. On May 23d Mr. Lincoln wrote an admirable letter of
acceptance, and the campaign was on in earnest, notwithstanding that the
Democrats had not yet presented their ticket. In the Western States,
where his name and history appealed to the people, Mr. Lincoln's
nomination was received with the utmost delight; but in the Eastern
States the first feeling over the defeat of Mr. Seward was one of bitter
disappointment, but Mr. Seward and the other great leaders promptly and
manfully gave their whole support to Mr. Lincoln, and there was never
any question that the party would not be united in his support. The
Democratic press vented its snobbishness by constant articles calling
attention to Mr. Lincoln's poverty, and asserting that he was not a
gentleman, and had "never traveled and had no pedigree."

The Republican Campaign of 1860 consisted of a liberal use of political
literature and of a systematic stumping of the country by the great men
of the party, prominent among whom were Seward, Schurz, Clay, Greeley,
Stevens, and many others, and hundreds of other Republican speakers of
less prominence who traversed the Northern States. Bands of
"Wide-Awakes" were organized everywhere in the North and participated in
the parades with torches and a simple uniform. There were many great
State rallies for the Republican ticket. In the North it was apparent
that the vote would be cast for either Lincoln, Douglas or Bell, and in
the slave States for Breckinridge. From the end of May to November the
work went on and the Republicans gained rapidly in strength,
notwithstanding the threats of the South to secede if the Federal
Government should ever pass into the "treacherous hands of the Black
Republican Party." Mr. Lincoln remained at Springfield during the entire
campaign, going about his usual affairs, and meeting the hundreds of
curious and otherwise who came to see him. He maintained a strict
silence on the great problem of the hour, but watched the campaign
closely, and often gave sound advice to the managers. On August 8th the
greatest State rally held in the North took place at Springfield, and it
was estimated that fully 75,000 people were present.

After some desperate campaigning Senator Douglas gave up all hope of
success, and announced that he would go South to urge upon all the duty
of submitting to the result of the election, and he steadfastly asserted
his intention of standing by the Union.

The only danger was that Mr. Lincoln might not receive a majority of the
electoral vote, which would throw the election into the House of
Representatives, but this was dispelled when Pennsylvania and Indiana
went Republican in October, and the result of the election on November
6th was conceded. Mr. Lincoln received the electoral votes of
California, Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts,
Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oregon,
Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont and Wisconsin, all Northern States,
and casting 180 out of 303 electoral votes. Breckinridge carried
Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Maryland,
Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Texas, all slave States,
and casting seventy-two electoral votes. Bell carried Kentucky,
Tennessee and Virginia, thirty-nine votes; and Douglas only carried one
State, Missouri, with nine votes, but also received three of the seven
votes of New Jersey, the remainder going to Mr. Lincoln. The popular
vote was as follows:

  Lincoln ........... 1,866,352    Breckinridge ........ 847,514
  Douglas ........... 1,375,157    Bell ................ 587,830

This does not include the popular vote of South Carolina, where the
electors were chosen by the Legislature.

[Illustration: Inauguration of Abraham Lincoln, March 4, 1861.]

The Slave Power lost no time in carrying into effect its threats of
disunion. South Carolina seceded on December 20, 1860, and by the end of
the year had seized the United States arsenals and other government
property in the State, but Fort Sumter was not molested. By February,
1861, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana and Texas had
also withdrawn. Virginia did not secede until April 17th. On February
4th a Confederate Congress met at Montgomery, Alabama, and on February
9th Jefferson Davis, of Mississippi, became President, and Alexander H.
Stephens, of Georgia, became Vice-President of the Confederate States of
America.

The breaking up of the Union did not go on without some attempts at
compromising the situation, but all such efforts failed. The House and
the Senate appointed special committees, who were either unable to agree
or whose conclusions were not adopted. On December 18th the Crittenden
Compromise Measures were introduced, and after long debate were rejected
March 2, 1861. Dramatic withdrawals from Congress were made by the
Southern Senators and Representatives, and this enabled Kansas to be
admitted, on January 29, 1861, as a free State.

Far from attempting to stop this breaking up of the Union, Buchanan's
Administration did everything it could to aid it. Treason ran free in
Washington; the Navy was scattered and rendered unavailable; the Army
was demoralized, and thousands of stands of arms and other military
equipment were removed from the Northern arsenals and sent South; and
President Buchanan, through his Cabinet, announced the remarkable
doctrine that any State could strike at the Union, appropriate the arms
and property of the Government, and that nothing could be done to stop
it. It was not treason for South Carolina to act as she did, but it
would be treason to attempt to stop her course.

Such was the situation when Mr. Lincoln was inaugurated on March 4,
1861; seven States were out of the Union, a Southern Confederacy had
been established with an organized Government, and its President
inaugurated; the Army and Navy were crippled, the Treasury drained, and
treason and assassination threatened on all sides. From the east portico
of the Capitol, with Senator Douglas standing behind holding Mr.
Lincoln's hat, the President delivered his first Inaugural Speech. Calm,
clear, wise and firm were the words. It concluded, "I am loath to close.
We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion
may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic
cords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave to
every living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land, will yet
swell the chorus of the Union when again touched, as surely they will
be, by the better angel of our nature."

The bombardment of Ft. Sumter, which began on the morning of April 12,
1861, was the event that unified both the North and the South, and
henceforth the issue was to be decided solely by War. In the North,
party lines were forgotten, and the President received promises of
hearty support on all sides. On April 15th, the President declared the
South to be in a state of rebellion, and called for 75,000 troops to
recover the Government forts and property, and also called an
extraordinary session of Congress, to meet on July 4th. This history is
not directly concerned with the trying and bloody events of the Civil
War. The tremendous strain on President Lincoln during this period
perhaps will never be fully appreciated by the generations which follow
it; it was all a horrible nightmare through which the country safely
passed under the guidance of President Lincoln and the Republican Party.

On April 16, 1862, Slavery was abolished in the District of Columbia,
and on June 19th was forever prohibited in the Territories. On September
22d President Lincoln issued his preliminary Proclamation of
Emancipation, declaring all slaves forever free in territory which might
still be in rebellion on January 1, 1863. This act, and what was
believed to be the failure of the Administration in conducting the War,
turned thousands of Democrats in the North away from the President, and
in the Fall elections of 1862 large Democratic gains were made. Ohio,
Indiana, Pennsylvania, Illinois, New Jersey and Wisconsin went
Democratic; New York elected a Democratic Governor, Horatio Seymour; but
New England, the Border States and the Western States not mentioned,
stood firm for the President, and the Administration was assured of a
good working majority in the House.

Before passing to the presidential campaign of 1864, mention must be
made of several great legislative acts of the Republican Party during
the first few years of its control of the Government. The Morrill
Protective Tariff Bill was made a law on March 2, 1861, and became the
foundation of the Republican Tariff Bills of later years; the Legal
Tender Act of February 25, 1862, was a great turning point in the
financial history of the nation; the Homestead Act of May 20, 1862,
opened up the western country to actual settlers, and contributed
greatly to the development of the West; the Internal Revenue Act of July
1, 1862, and a National Banking system, established by the Act of
February 25, 1863, were most important, the latter removing the conflict
between the national currency and the currency of the state banks, and
marked the beginning of a sound and stable financial system, the
importance of which, in the remarkable physical development of the
country, cannot be too strongly asserted.

Although throughout 1863 a strong radical element in the Republican
Party worked against the renomination of President Lincoln in 1864, on
the ground of his alleged timidity in handling the question of the Civil
War, this movement gradually dwindled in strength and had almost
disappeared with the opening of the presidential year of 1864, when an
election was to be held with a war in progress and the country divided.
Throughout the winter of 1863 and 1864 Mr. Chase made active efforts to
secure the presidential nomination, but the Ohio Legislature demanded
Mr. Lincoln's renomination, and Mr. Chase had to withdraw. State
Legislatures throughout the North now demanded the renomination of the
President, and they were joined in their resolutions by large numbers of
clubs and public meetings, and it was apparent to those in the party who
were antagonistic to the President that no other candidate would have
any chance. But the Copperhead element was still rampant, and the
Democrats denounced the President in unmeasured terms, declaring the war
to be a failure, and demanding peace.

The radical element of the Republican Party held their Convention first,
at Cleveland, Ohio, on May 31, 1864, and nominated John C. Fremont for
President and John Cochrane for Vice-President, but these candidates
withdrew on September 2d, and no further notice of this meeting is
necessary. The regular Republican Convention, or National Union
Convention, as it was called, was held at Baltimore on June 7 and 8,
1864, in the Front Street Theater. The Convention was again called to
order by Edwin B. Morgan, of New York, who, after a short speech,
proposed the name of Robert J. Breckinridge, of Kentucky, for temporary
Chairman. Mr. Breckinridge accepted the honor, and said that he did not
enter the deliberations of the Convention as a Republican, nor as a Whig
or Democrat, but as a Union man. There was some debate over the seating
of loyal delegates from the Confederate States, which was settled by
admitting them; thirty-one States, including eight of the slave States,
were represented. The usual committees on Credentials, Permanent
Organization and Resolutions were appointed. The Committee reported the
name of William Dennison, of Ohio, for permanent Chairman. The platform
was reported by Henry J. Raymond, of New York, and enthusiastically
adopted. The Republican Platform of 1864, framed while a great Civil War
was in progress, is a most interesting document.

REPUBLICAN PLATFORM, 1864.

1. _Resolved_, That it is the highest duty of every American citizen to
maintain against all their enemies the integrity of the Union and the
paramount authority of the Constitution and laws of the United States;
and that, laying aside all differences of political opinion, we pledge
ourselves as Union men, animated by a common sentiment and aiming at a
common object, to do everything in our power to aid the government in
quelling by force of arms the rebellion now raging against its
authority, and in bringing to the punishment due to their crimes the
rebels and traitors arrayed against it.

2. _Resolved_, That we approve the determination of the government of
the United States not to compromise with rebels, or to offer them any
terms of peace except such as may be based upon an unconditional
surrender of their hostility and a return to their just allegiance to
the Constitution and laws of the United States; and that we call upon
the government to maintain this position and to prosecute the war with
the utmost possible vigor, to the complete suppression of the rebellion,
in full reliance upon the self-sacrificing patriotism, the heroic valor,
and the undying devotion of the American people to the country and its
free institutions.

3. _Resolved_, That as slavery was the cause and now constitutes the
strength of this rebellion, and as it must be always and everywhere
hostile to the principles of republican government, justice and the
national safety demand its utter and complete extirpation from the soil
of the republic; and that while we uphold and maintain the acts and
proclamations by which the government, in its own defense, has aimed a
death-blow at this gigantic evil, we are in favor, furthermore, of such
an amendment to the Constitution, to be made by the people in conformity
with its provisions, as shall terminate and forever prohibit the
existence of slavery within the limits of the jurisdiction of the United
States.

4. _Resolved_, That the thanks of the American people are due to the
soldiers and sailors of the army and navy who have periled their lives
in defense of the country and in vindication of the honor of its flag;
that the nation owes to them some permanent recognition of their
patriotism and their valor, and ample and permanent provision for those
of their survivors who have received disabling and honorable wounds in
the service of the country; and that the memories of those who have
fallen in its defense shall be held in grateful and everlasting
remembrance.

5. _Resolved_, That we approve and applaud the practical wisdom, the
unselfish patriotism, and the unswerving fidelity to the Constitution
and the principles of American liberty with which Abraham Lincoln has
discharged, under circumstances of unparalleled difficulty, the great
duties and responsibilities of the presidential office; that we approve
and indorse, as demanded by the emergency and essential to the
preservation of the nation, and as within the provisions of the
Constitution, the measures and acts which he has adopted to defend the
nation against its open and secret foes; that we approve especially the
proclamation of emancipation and the employment as Union soldiers of men
heretofore held in slavery; and that we have full confidence in his
determination to carry these and all other constitutional measures
essential to the salvation of the country into full and complete effect.

6. _Resolved_, That we deem it essential to the general welfare that
harmony should prevail in the national councils, and we regard as worthy
of public confidence and official trust those only who cordially indorse
the principles proclaimed in these resolutions, and which should
characterize the administration of the government.

7. _Resolved_, That the government owes to all men employed in its
armies, without regard to distinction of color, the full protection of
the laws of war; and that any violation of these laws, or of the usages
of civilized nations in time of war, by the rebels now in arms, should
be made the subject of prompt and full redress.

8. _Resolved_, That foreign immigration, which in the past has added so
much to the wealth, development of resources, and increase of power to
the nation--the asylum of the oppressed of all nations--should be
fostered and encouraged by a liberal and just policy.

9. _Resolved_, That we are in favor of the speedy construction of the
railroad to the Pacific coast.

10. _Resolved_, That the national faith, pledged for the redemption of
the public debt, must be kept inviolate, and that for this purpose we
recommend economy and rigid responsibility in the public expenditures,
and a vigorous and just system of taxation; and that it is the duty of
every loyal state to sustain the credit and promote the use of the
national currency.

11. _Resolved_, That we approve the position taken by the government,
that the people of the United States can never regard with indifference
the attempt of any European power to overthrow by force, or to supplant
by fraud, the institutions of any republican government on the western
continent; and that they will view with extreme jealousy, as menacing to
the peace and independence of their own country the efforts of any such
power to obtain new footholds for monarchial governments, sustained by
foreign military force, in near proximity to the United States.

After the adoption of the platform, Simon Cameron introduced a
resolution declaring for Lincoln and Hamlin as the unanimous choice of
the Convention for President and Vice-President; but this resolution was
divided so that the Convention could vote separately on the two offices.
On the first ballot Mr. Lincoln received the vote of every delegation
except Missouri, which voted for Ulysses S. Grant, but changed
immediately as soon as the ballot had been announced, and made Mr.
Lincoln's nomination unanimous. The interest of the delegation and the
spectators throughout the Convention had been centered on the nomination
for Vice-President. A number of names were mentioned, the most prominent
being Andrew Johnson, of Tennessee, Hannibal Hamlin, of Maine, and
Daniel S. Dickinson, of New York. Mr. Johnson was a War Democrat. The
sentiment in the Convention was in favor of recognizing this element in
the party, and Mr. Johnson was nominated on the first ballot; the vote
as cast gave Johnson 200, Hamlin 150, Dickinson 108, and 61 scattering
votes, but before the final result was announced many changes were made,
and the final vote stood, Johnson 490, Dickinson 17, Hamlin 9.

[Illustration: From New York Herald, Saturday, April 15, 1865.]

The Democratic Convention did not meet until August 29th; George B.
McClellan, of New Jersey, was nominated for President, and George H.
Pendleton, of Ohio, for Vice-President. The platform called Mr.
Lincoln's Administration "four years of failure to restore the Union by
the experiment of war," and demanded immediate efforts for cessation of
hostilities and for peace. Gen. McClellan accepted the nomination, but
repudiated the platform, saying, "I could not look in the faces of my
gallant comrades of the Army and Navy and tell them that their labors
and the sacrifice of so many of our slain and wounded brethren had been
in vain." The candidate was nobler than the party.

The President's homely expression, "It is not wise to swap horses while
crossing a stream," was the basis of the great trend of political
thought in the North, and there was little doubt of the result, although
an animated campaign was conducted. The great military victories of the
Union forces made the position of the President's opponents absurd. At
the election on November 8, 1864, Lincoln and Johnson carried twenty-two
States, receiving 212 of the total electoral vote of 233. McClellan and
Pendleton carried three States, Delaware, Kentucky and New Jersey. The
popular vote, including the Army vote (many States having made provision
for taking the vote of the soldiers in the field), was, Lincoln
2,330,552, McClellan 1,835,985. Eleven States did not vote at this
election.

The Government was now making rapid strides for the complete abolition
of slavery. In June, 1864, the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850 was repealed;
in July the Coastwise Slave Trade was forever prohibited, and on January
31, 1865, the Joint Resolution proposing the Thirteenth Amendment to the
Constitution, abolishing slavery, passed the House.

On March 4, 1865, President Lincoln was inaugurated for the second time.
The beautiful words closing his inaugural will live forever: "With
malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as
God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we
are in, to bind up the nation's wounds; to care for him who shall have
borne the battle and for his widow, and his orphan--to do all which may
achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves, and with
all Nations."

Gen. Lee surrendered to Gen. Grant at Appomattox Courthouse, Virginia,
on April 9, 1865. On April 14th, the Stars and Stripes were again raised
over Ft. Sumter, and the glad news swept over the North that the war was
over. On the same evening the President was shot in Ford's Theater by
John Wilkes Booth, and died the next morning. "Now he belongs to the
ages," said Stanton, at the death-bed. The death of the President meant
that Andrew Johnson, a War Democrat, would be made President, and from
the overwhelming shock of Mr. Lincoln's death the Republicans turned
with misgiving and fear to the new Executive.




CHAPTER XII.


RECONSTRUCTION AND THE NATIONAL DEBT.

"By these recent successes, the reinauguration of the national
authority, the reconstruction of which has had a large share of
thought from the first, is pressed much more closely upon our
attention. It is fraught with great difficulty. Nor is it a small
additional embarrassment that we, the loyal people, differ among
ourselves as to the mode, manner and measure of reconstruction."

_A. Lincoln_, _April_ 11, 1865. _From his last speech before death._


Mr. Lincoln died at 7:22 o'clock a. m. on April 15, 1865; four hours
later Vice-President Johnson took the oath of office as President.
Before him were two gigantic problems, the solution of which was fraught
with the greatest difficulty. In what manner and under what restrictions
should the recently rebellious States--eleven in number--be allowed to
resume the exercise of their civil functions, and when should their
Senators and Representatives be seated in Congress? This was the first
problem--Reconstruction. And in what manner should the enormous war
debt be handled so that the credit of the Government would be thoroughly
re-established and maintained; and how should the enormous paper
currency (legal tenders) be managed so that the commercial interests of
the country would not be disturbed? These two problems--Reconstruction
and the National Debt--were ultimately to be worked out by the party
that saved the Union, though now a War Democrat was in charge of the
Executive Department, and friction and disagreement was almost certain.
It was most unfortunate that no definite plan of Reconstruction had been
agreed upon by the Legislative and Executive Departments before Mr.
Lincoln's death. Such an understanding would have avoided, probably, the
bitter conflict that shortly came on between President Johnson and
Congress; and the history of the few years following the Rebellion would
have presented a record of greater national progress, a quicker welding
of the Union, and a prompter re-establishment of national sentiment
between the two sections.

While it is true that Mr. Lincoln's plan of Reconstruction did not meet
with the approval of Congress, yet it is almost certain that if he had
lived there would have been an agreement of some kind; either the party
would have followed Mr. Lincoln or Mr. Lincoln would have followed the
party. Ultimate harmony between a Republican President and a Republican
Congress was certain, although they might temporarily disagree; but
harmony between a Republican Congress and a Democratic President once
disturbed would scarcely be restored; neither would ever again
completely trust the other.

Mr. Lincoln's work of Reconstruction began in 1863 when the Union army
had regained Louisiana, Arkansas and Tennessee. His message to Congress
in December, 1863, was accompanied by a Proclamation of Amnesty to those
who had taken part in the Rebellion in these States, upon their taking
an oath to support the Constitution and all federal laws; and upon so
doing there was to be a restoration of property, except slaves. From
this pardon were excepted six enumerated classes of persons whose
treason had been most offensive. State Governments could be established
by those who took the oath, provided their numbers were one-tenth as
large as the total number of voters in the State at the presidential
election of 1860, and any Government so established would be recognized
by the President, but the right of Congress to admit or reject Senators
and Representatives was recognized. Louisiana was the first to make
preparations to re-enter into the possession of all its State powers
under this proclamation, and in the early months of 1864 a State
Government was duly completed and an anti-slavery Constitution adopted.
Arkansas followed the same course, but when her Senators and
Representatives applied to Congress for their seats, they were denied
admittance, and it was apparent that there was a distinct disagreement
between the President and Congress on the subject of Reconstruction.
Congress did not approve of the President's proceeding without asking
its advice, and did not approve of his plan, and a Bill was introduced
and passed embodying its views on the subject. In this Bill the
President was directed to appoint a Provisional Governor for each of the
rebellious States, and after military occupation had ceased, the
Governor was to enroll the white male citizens who would take an oath to
support the Constitution; after a majority had done so an election of
delegates to a Constitutional Convention was to follow, and the
Constitution was to contain prohibitory clauses on the subject of
slavery, the Confederate debt and the right of certain persons to vote.
If this Constitution was adopted by a majority of the popular vote, then
the President, with the consent of Congress, could recognize the State
Government, and it would be permitted to send its Representatives to
Congress. This Bill was passed July 2, 1864, on the last day of the
session, but it never became a law because the President did not sign
it, and did not return it before Congress adjourned. Several days after
the adjournment the President issued a Proclamation in which he laid the
Congressional plan before the people and declared that he was not in
favor of any one scheme of Reconstruction, and that he was also not
prepared to set aside the loyal governments which had been formed in
Louisiana and Arkansas. By the time Congress met again the President had
been re-elected, and it would seem that in some degree there was an
endorsement not only of his War Policy but of his plan of
Reconstruction. However, the matter was not pressed, and his message to
Congress in December, 1864, was silent on the subject. There was no
present occasion to bring forward the matter, but the President still
adhered to his original plan as far as Louisiana and Arkansas were
concerned, and so expressed himself in his last speech before his death.

So the matter of Reconstruction stood when Andrew Johnson became
President. There was not much question about the general course he would
pursue, because, as War Governor of Tennessee, he had, early in 1865,
practically reconstructed that State under Mr. Lincoln's "ten percent"
plan. As Congress was not in session, and would not convene until
December, the President had the alternative of either calling an extra
session of Congress or proceeding in the matter of Reconstruction
according to his own ideas and the suggestions of his Cabinet, he having
retained the Cabinet left by Mr. Lincoln. The latter course was pursued,
and after some delay President Johnson began to act. An Executive Order
swept away all laws and decrees of the Confederacy, raised the blockade
and opened the southern ports to trade.

On May 29, 1865, the President issued a Proclamation of Amnesty and
Pardon to all who had participated in the Rebellion upon their taking a
registered oath to support the Constitution and the Union, but the
Proclamation excepted a large number of persons of specified classes,
whose treason was deemed to be too great to allow them to again
participate in the Government. By the middle of July, Provisional
Governors had been appointed by the President in North Carolina,
Mississippi, Texas, Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina and Florida; the
authority of the United States had already been established in Virginia
early in May, and Louisiana, Arkansas and Tennessee had been
reconstructed under Mr. Lincoln's plan. The President's policy was that
as soon as these Governors took charge, any white person, except the
classes specified, could regain his citizenship by an oath to support
the Constitution and the Union. The taking of this oath by a sufficient
number was followed by Reconstruction Conventions, which were held in
the Southern States, and Legislators and Representatives to Congress
were chosen. The work of these Reconstruction Conventions and
Legislatures, although they repudiated the debts of the Confederacy and
recognized the Thirteenth Amendment, was highly displeasing to the
Republicans in the North, who were greatly interested in the fate of the
negroes, and who now saw them, by various laws passed by the Southern
Legislatures, deprived of all civil rights and reduced to a new form of
servitude.

The first session of the Thirty-ninth Congress convened on December 4,
1865, with a large majority of Republicans in both House and Senate, and
both bodies in a very angry mood over the action of the President in
proceeding with the Reconstruction without their advice or consent, and
they were more enraged with the extreme and rash policies adopted by the
Southern Legislatures. To add to this bitter feeling came the
application of the Southern Senators and Representatives, many of whom
less than a year before had been engaged in active rebel-loin, to be
admitted to their seats. These applicants were refused admission by both
branches of Congress. The House and Senate appointed Reconstruction
Committees, and the debate immediately began on the great question. It
was seen at once that the Republican Party would totally ignore the
President's policy and all that had been done under it. The breach
widened between the President and Congress, when an Act to enlarge the
provisons of the Freedmen's Bureau Bill (passed March 3, 1865) came up.
The object of this Bill was to provide for the destitute and suffering
refugees and freedmen and their wives and children. The new Bill was
promptly passed, but on February 19, 1866, was vetoed by the President;
the Senate failed to pass the Bill over the veto, but later in the year
(July, 1866) the measure went through Congress in a slightly altered
form, was vetoed by the President and passed over his veto. The Civil
Rights Bill, to secure to the freed negroes in the South all of the
rights enjoyed by the white man, except suffrage, was also vetoed by the
President on March 27, 1866, and on April 9th was passed over his veto.

[Illustration: Andrew Johnson.]

The Thirteenth Amendment, abolishing slavery, had been declared a part
of the Constitution on December 18, 1865, and the great work of the
Emancipation Proclamation was thus completed. The Reconstruction
Committee now reported the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution,
fixing the status of citizens, the basis of representation, etc., and
also a Bill declaring that when the Amendment had become part of the
Constitution any of the late Confederate States, upon ratifying it,
would be allowed representation in Congress, to all of which the
President expressed his disapproval. The various presidential vetoes
completely broke off any possible chance of harmony between the
President and Congress, and in addition to them, the President indulged
in a number of rash speeches in which Congress was condemned in no very
elegant terms. On February 22, 1866, the President, in a speech at the
White House, denounced Congress bitterly for its opposition, and
referred in an abusive way to several prominent Republican leaders by
name, and he followed this up during the late Summer months by several
coarse speeches in Western cities while he was on his way to the
dedication of a monument to Stephen A. Douglas at Chicago.

During the autumn of 1866 Congressional elections were to be held, and
there was naturally an absorbing interest in the result. These elections
were of the greatest importance, for if the President's course was
approved by the election of a Democratic Congress, almost the entire
result of the Civil War would have been undone, and the strife between
the North and South might have been renewed and continued in a more
serious form. By this time the South, encouraged by the President's
opposition, had rejected the Fourteenth Amendment, and were taking a
bold stand to maintain their policy. In October, Ohio, Indiana, Iowa and
Pennsylvania went Republican, and in November were joined by New York,
which went overwhelmingly Republican, and the Republicans in the North
were everywhere victorious, and they were thus upheld in their
Reconstruction policy by the popular sentiment.

The second session of the Thirty-ninth Congress convened on December 3,
1866. The South, during the recess of Congress, had refused to adopt the
Fourteenth Amendment, this having been made, as already stated, a
condition precedent to the enjoyment of the full privileges of
Statehood, and now nothing remained but for Congress to establish a
Government over the Southern States until they should see fit to comply
with the conditions laid down by Congress. The ten Southern States
(Tennessee had been readmitted by joint resolution July 24, 1866) were
divided into five Military Districts, under the supervision of Regular
Army Officers, who were to have control over all the people in their
Districts, for their peace and protection, until the States recognized
the Fourteenth Amendment. This Bill was passed March 2, 1867, over the
President's veto, and on the same day, over the President's veto, was
passed the Bill "To regulate the tenure of Civil offices." The object of
the latter Bill was to prevent the President from removing Republicans
from office. No person in civil office who had been appointed with the
consent of the Senate was to be removed until his successor was
appointed in a like manner.

Efforts to impeach the President were first begun in the House on
January 7, 1867, and the Judiciary Committee, to which the matter was
referred, reported in March that it was unable to conclude its
investigations, and it recommended a continuance of the proceedings.
President Johnson now took the step that ultimately brought about his
impeachment. In August, 1867, he suspended Mr. Stanton, the Secretary of
War; the suspension was not approved by the Senate in January, 1868, but
the President, holding that the Tenure of Office Act was
unconstitutional, removed (February 21, 1868) Mr. Stanton from office
and appointed Adjutant-general Lorenzo Thomas. This act was declared
illegal by the Senate and a second impeachment was immediately reported
in the House and adopted February 24, 1868. The House selected John A.
Bingham, Geo. S. Boutwell, James F. Wilson, Benjamin F. Butler, Thomas
Williams, John A. Logan and Thaddeus Stevens, all Republicans, as
managers of the impeachment proceedings. The counsel for the President
were no less eminent: Henry Stanbery, Benjamin R. Curtis, William M.
Evarts and William S. Groesbeck. On May 11, 1868, the Senate voted
thirty-five "guilty" to nineteen "not guilty," and the impeachment
failed by one vote. Had the President been impeached, Benjamin F. Wade,
of Ohio, would have become President. The result was deeply
disappointing to the Republicans, and for many years there was
considerable feeling against the seven Republicans who voted with the
twelve Democrats against the impeachment, but lapse of time has brought
about a view that the interests of the country were best served by the
failure of the impeachment, not that President Johnson's policy and the
action of the South under it are to be adopted, but because it is
believed that the issues caused by the war were more speedily settled by
the failure to impeach.

So bitter was the feeling of Congress against the President, and so
great was the distrust of him, that when the Thirty-ninth Congress
adjourned on March 4, 1867, the Fortieth Congress convened on the same
day, and a series of adjourned meetings were held during the months
until December, so that the President would not have undisputed sway
during the recess which usually came between March and December.

The question of the National Debt, while not arousing the bitter
antagonism that marked the attempt to settle the Reconstruction
question, was nevertheless of equal, if not greater importance, because
it affected the prosperity and business of the entire country. The total
debt of the United States on October 31, 1865, was $2,808,549,437.55, of
which debt $454,218,038.00 was in United States notes (legal tenders or
greenbacks, as they were called) and fractional currency, in active
circulation with the National Bank currency. When the Thirty-ninth
Congress convened for the first session it had to consider the
disposition of this enormous debt, most of which had been incurred at a
high war rate of interest; and to decide what, if anything, should be
done with this vast volume of fiat currency, and to consider the matter
of reducing the Internal Revenue. The greenbacks were, of course, not on
a par with coin, as the action of the Government in declaring these
notes legal tender had destroyed our credit abroad and had driven all
coin out of circulation, and the value of these notes fluctuated almost
daily with the market value of coin. The plan of the Secretary of the
Treasury, Mr. McCulloch, was to contract the currency so as to lead to a
resumption of specie payment and again establish our credit abroad. The
situation was without precedent in financial history and there was some
excuse for what has since been deemed a wrong step in the beginning.
After considerable debate, in which some opposition was shown to the
policy of Contraction--this opposition being led by John Sherman, who
was, in fact, almost alone in his contention--a Bill was passed (April
12, 1866) allowing the Secretary of the Treasury to redeem a certain
amount of legal tenders with Bonds, a course which naturally increased
the bonded interest-bearing indebtedness and reduced the volume of
circulating medium. The people of the country speedily complained of the
contraction of the currency, and attributed the failure of business
enterprises and the lack of money to it. This sentiment resulted later
in the formation of a new but ephemeral political party, the Greenback
Party, which went so far as to advocate the unlimited issue of legal
tenders and the payment of all the indebtedness of the United States in
United States notes. The public disapproval of contraction showed itself
strongly, and this led to a Bill, passed on February 4, 1868, suspending
the authority of the Secretary of the Treasury to reduce the currency.
The total amount of greenbacks had by this time been reduced to
$356,000,000. This practically settled the question of Currency
Contraction, although the Greenback Party, created by this agitation,
was in existence until the resumption of specie payments in 1879.

As the requirements of the Treasury gradually became less, Congress
rapidly amended the Internal Revenue laws, and the Federal taxes on the
people, as a result of the war, gradually became less burdensome, and
notwithstanding the enormous reduction in the revenue of the Government,
the National Debt was reduced nearly three hundred million dollars in
the four years following the war. To add to the brightness of this
financial history, large sums were paid out toward the construction of
the Union and Central Pacific Railroads, and on July 27, 1868, Alaska
was purchased from the Russian Government for $7,200,000.

The entire course of this financial history cannot be claimed to be
entirely satisfactory, yet the achievements of the Republican Party
during this period, acting in many instances without precedent, were
indeed remarkable.

While the exciting scenes connected with the impeachment of the
President were going on during the early months of 1868, the South was
ratifying the Fourteenth Amendment, and by June, 1868, the long struggle
over the Reconstruction question was practically closed by the admission
of the Southern States, and in July the Fourteenth Amendment was
declared a part of the Constitution. Throughout this long contest the
Democrats, North and South, joined in vigorous support of the President
because the course of the Republicans was absolutely fatal to their
political prospects. The great contest had retarded the progress of the
South, and was unfortunate in continuing the bitterness between the two
sections of the country. Both sides hailed its conclusion with
thanksgiving, and the Republicans now looked forward to the presidential
election in the Fall of 1868, which would replace, probably with a
Republican, a President whose person and course were so obnoxious to the
party.




CHAPTER XIII.

GRANT.


" ... I endorse their resolutions, and, if elected to the office of
President of the United States, it will be my endeavor to administer all
the laws in good faith, with economy, and with a view of giving peace,
quiet and protection everywhere... Peace, and universal prosperity, its
sequence, with economy of administration, will lighten the burden of
taxation, while it constantly reduces the national debt. Let us have
peace."

_Ulysses S. Grant's Letter of Acceptance_, _May_ 29, 1868.


The impeachment of President Johnson had not been finally disposed of
in the Senate when the Fourth Republican National Convention assembled
in Crosby's Opera House, Chicago, on May 20, 1868, for the purpose of
nominating one whom, it was confidently believed, would succeed
President Johnson and thus end the long controversy between the
President and Congress, and between the North and the South. There was
absolutely no question as to who would be the presidential nominee, for
the overwhelming sentiment of the party had long since crystallized in
favor of a man whose wonderful career and talents had made him
pre-eminently the strongest candidate in the party.

[Illustration: Ulysses S. Grant.]

Ulysses S. Grant was born in Ohio in 1822, and had graduated from West
Point in 1843. He took part in the Mexican War, and was brevetted
Captain for gallant services. A few years after the close of that war he
resigned his commission and engaged in business until the call to arms
in 1861. His great success in the capture of Forts Henry and Donelson
brought him the rank of Major General and made him at once one of the
most prominent and promising of the Union Generals. His subsequent
successes in Tennessee, the capture of Vicksburg and the opening of the
Mississippi caused him to be appointed to the revived rank of
Lieutenant-General, and taking personal command of the campaign against
Richmond, he had, by his dogged persistence, brought success and ended
the great conflict. He continued to remain at the head of the Army, and
in the bitter contest between the President and Congress during the
reconstruction period, though placed in a most trying position, he had
displayed rare qualities of tact and judgment, and had gained the
confidence of the entire party, and indeed of the American people. Such,
briefly, was the career of the man who was now called to accept a
presidential nomination.

The assembling at Chicago of a great convention of soldiers and sailors
at the same time the Republican Convention met, made the latter even
more enthusiastic than the convention of 1860, and the number in
attendance was much larger. The Soldiers' Convention met before the
Republican Convention, and amid scenes of the wildest enthusiasm,
nominated Gen. Grant for the presidency, and condemned the seven
Republicans--"traitors" as they were then called--who had voted
against the impeachment of President Johnson. At noon, May 20th, the
Republican Convention was called to order by Governor Marcus L. Ward, of
New Jersey. He named Carl Schurz, of Wisconsin, as temporary Chairman.
The temporary Secretaries were B. R. Cowen, of Ohio, Luther Caldwell, of
New York, and Frank S. Richards, of Tennessee. Committees on
Credentials, Permanent Organization, Resolutions and Rules were then
appointed, each of the committees, with some few exceptions, having on
it a representative from each of the States. The name of Joseph R.
Hawley was reported for President of the Convention, and the names of
one representative from each State as Vice-President, and also
thirty-six secretaries. A delegation from the Soldiers' and Sailors'
Convention now presented a resolution nominating Gen. Grant for
President, and it caused great enthusiasm. Such a procedure was contrary
to the rules of the Convention, but the delegates were almost unanimous
in desiring the nomination to be made at once, but order was finally
restored. After some debate it was decided to give representation in the
Convention to the Territories, and to the States not yet reconstructed.
The Convention then adjourned until the following morning at ten
o'clock, at which time, on assembling, impatient attempts were again
made to nominate Gen. Grant contrary to the rules, but the Convention
finally quieted down and listened to speeches delivered by F. Hassaurek,
John M. Palmer and John W. Forney. The platform, reported by Richard W.
Thompson, of Indiana, was adopted with many cheers.

REPUBLICAN PLATFORM, 1868.

The National Republican Party of the United States, assembled in
national convention in the City of Chicago on the 21st day of May,
1868, make the following declaration of principles:

1. We congratulate the country on the assured success of the
reconstruction policy of Congress, as evinced by the adoption, in the
majority of the states lately in rebellion, of Constitutions securing
equal civil and political rights to all; and it is the duty of the
government to sustain those institutions and to prevent the people of
such states from being remitted to a state of anarchy.

2. The guaranty by Congress of equal suffrage to all loyal men at
the South was demanded by every consideration of public safety, of
gratitude, and of justice, and must be maintained; while the question
of suffrage in all the loyal states properly belongs to the people of
those states.

3. We denounce all forms of repudiation as a national crime; and the
national honor requires the payment of the public indebtedness in the
uttermost good faith to all creditors at home and abroad, not only
according to the letter, but the spirit of the laws under which it was
contracted.

4. It is due to the labor of the nation that taxation should be
equalized, and reduced as rapidly as the national faith will permit.

5. The national debt, contracted as it has been for the preservation of
the Union for all time to come, should be extended over a fair period
for redemption; and it is the duty of Congress to reduce the rate of
interest thereon whenever it can be honestly done.

6. That the best policy to diminish our burden of debt is to so improve
our credit that capitalists will seek to loan us money at lower rates of
interest than we now pay, and must continue to pay, so long as
repudiation, partial or total, open or covert, is threatened or
suspected.

7. The government of the United States should be administered with the
strictest economy; and the corruptions which have been so shamefully
nursed and fostered by Andrew Johnson call loudly for radical reform.

8. We profoundly deplore the untimely and tragic death of Abraham
Lincoln, and regret the accession of the Presidency of Andrew Johnson,
who has acted treacherously to the people who elected him and the cause
he was pledged to support; who has usurped high legislative and judicial
functions; who has refused to execute the laws; who has used his high
office to induce other officers to ignore and violate the laws; who has
employed his executive powers to render insecure the property, the
peace, the liberty and life of the citizen; who has abused the pardoning
power; who has denounced the national legislature as unconstitutional;
who has persistently and corruptly resisted, by every means in his
power, every proper attempt at the reconstruction of the states lately
in rebellion; who has perverted the public patronage into an engine of
wholesale corruption; and who has been justly impeached for high crimes
and misdemeanors, and properly pronounced guilty thereof by the vote of
thirty-five senators.

9. The doctrine of Great Britain and other European powers, that because
a man is once a subject he is always so, must be resisted at every
hazard by the United States, as a relic of feudal times, not authorized
by the laws of nations, and at war with our national honor and
independence. Naturalized citizens are entitled to protection in all
their rights of citizenship as though they were native born; and no
citizen of the United States, native or naturalized, must be liable to
arrest and imprisonment by any foreign power for acts done or words
spoken in this country; and, if so arrested and imprisoned, it is the
duty of the government to interfere in his behalf.

10. Of all who were faithful in the trials of the late war there were
none entitled to more especial honor than the brave soldiers and seamen
who endured the hardships of campaign and cruise, and imperilled their
lives in the service of the country; the bounties and pensions provided
by the laws for these brave defenders of the nation are obligations
never to be forgotten; the widows and orphans of the gallant dead are
the wards of the people--a sacred legacy bequeathed to the nation's
protecting care.

11. Foreign immigration, which in the past has added so much to the
wealth, development, and resources, and increase of power to this
republic--the asylum of the oppressed of all nations--should be
fostered and encouraged by a liberal and just policy.

12. This convention declares itself in sympathy with all oppressed
people struggling for their rights.

13. That we highly commend the spirit of magnanimity and forbearance
with which men who have served in the rebellion but who now frankly
and honestly co-operate with us in restoring the peace of the country
and reconstructing the Southern state governments upon the basis of
impartial justice and equal rights, are received back into the communion
of the loyal people; and we favor the removal of the disqualifications
and restrictions imposed upon the late rebels in the same measure as the
spirit of disloyalty will die out, and as may be consistent with the
safety of the loyal people.

14. That we recognize the great principles laid down in the immortal
Declaration of Independence as the true foundation of democratic
government; and we hail with gladness every effort toward making these
principles a living reality on every inch of American soil.

Nominations now being in order, John A. Logan, in a few words remarkable
for their force and beauty, nominated Ulysses S. Grant for President.
After the enthusiasm had abated the roll of the States was called, and
the unanimous vote of the delegates, 650 in number, was given to Gen.
Grant, and the audience went wild with delight. The great contest of the
Convention now came over the nomination for Vice-President. Henry
Wilson, Schuyler Colfax, Benjamin F. Wade, Reuben E. Fenton, James
Speed, Andrew G. Curtin, Hannibal Hamlin, James Harlan, S. C. Pomeroy,
J. A. J. Creswell and William D. Kelley were nominated. The leading
candidates were Benj. F. Wade, of Ohio, Mr. Colfax, of Indiana, Mr.
Curtin, of Pennsylvania, Mr. Wilson, of Massachusetts, and Mr. Fenton,
of New York, all of whom had rendered the most conspicuous services to
the party. Five ballots were taken as follows:

                    1st       2d        3d        4th       5th
                  Ballot    Ballot    Ballot    Ballot    Ballot
  Wade ..........   147       170       178       206        38
  Wilson ........   119       114       101        87
  Colfax ........   115       145       165       186       541
  Fenton ........   126       144       139       144        69
  Curtin ........    51        45        40

Only the votes for the leading candidates are here given. Mr. Colfax was
therefore nominated on the fifth ballot, and it was felt that his name
added great strength to the ticket. He was then Speaker of the House, to
which he had been elected with the organization of the party in 1854,
and had served with great ability for six terms.

The Democratic Convention met in New York in Tammany Hall on July 4,
1868. It was a gathering composed principally of Southern leaders and
Generals and Northern Copperheads. After a troubled session of six days
the Chairman of the Convention, Horatio Seymour, of New York, was
nominated for President on the twenty-second ballot, and Francis P.
Blair, Jr., of Missouri, was nominated for Vice-President. The platform
advocated the payment of the national debt in depreciated currency, the
overthrowing of all that had been done under the reconstruction policy
of Congress and the taxing of Government bonds. The platform practically
doomed the party to defeat before the campaign had really opened. The
canvass was exciting, but the October States practically decided the
contest, and the election on November 3d registered what had long been
conceded. Grant and Colfax received the 214 electoral votes of
twenty-six States; Seymour and Blair only carrying eight States, New
York among them, with their 80 electoral votes. The popular vote gave
Grant and Colfax 3,012,833, and Seymour and Blair 2,703,249.

The third session of the Fortieth Congress assembled on December 7,
1868. One phase of the slavery question still remained unsettled, that
of giving the negro the right of suffrage. For several years a strong
sentiment had shown itself in the North in favor of granting this right,
and Congress had already recognized this sentiment by giving the negro
the right to vote in the District of Columbia, which act was passed over
President Johnson's veto. The great injustice of freeing the negro and
withholding from him the means of protecting his freedom by the right of
suffrage was not generally felt, and it remained now for a Republican
Congress to crown with a great act of justice the long labors of the
party, to remove all the evils of insufferable bondage, and to complete
the work of the Emancipation Proclamation and the Thirteenth and
Fourteenth Amendments.

On February 27, 1869, Congress proposed, through the Department of
State, the Fifteenth Amendment to the Constitution:

"The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied
or abridged by the United States, or by any State, on account of race,
color or previous condition of servitude. The Congress shall have power
to enforce this article by appropriate legislation."
This Amendment, after submission to the States, was proclaimed a part
of the Constitution in 1870.

In his message to Congress in December, 1868, President Johnson said:

"The holders of our securities have already received upon their bonds
a larger amount than their original investment, measured by the gold
standard. Upon this statement of facts it would seem but just and
equitable that the six percent interest now paid by the Government
should be applied to the reduction of the principal in semi-annual
installments, which in sixteen years and eight months would liquidate
the entire national debt."
The policy of repudiation advocated by the Democratic Party in the
campaign of 1868 and the repudiation now advocated by President Johnson,
were promptly rejected by the Republican Congress, and both branches
passed resolutions of condemnation.

General Grant was inaugurated on March 4, 1869, and the Fortieth
Congress adjourned on the same day. The Forty-first Congress immediately
convened and elected James G. Blaine, of Maine, Speaker by 105 votes to
57 votes for Michael C. Kerr, of Indiana. Mr. Blaine was also elected
Speaker of the Forty-second Congress when it met on March 4, 1871. On
the 18th of March, 1869, Congress decided by the "Act to strengthen the
public credit," to remove as far as possible the damage done at home and
abroad by the repudiation platform of the Democratic Party, and the
repudiation message of President Johnson. This Act pledged the
Government at the earliest practicable moment to pay in coin or its
equivalent all obligations, notes and bonds except those where the law
authorizing their issue stipulated that payment might be made in lawful
money.

May 10, 1869, witnessed the opening for traffic of the Union Pacific
Railroad, which had first been advocated by the Republican Party in its
platform in 1856, and which was now brought to a successful opening by
necessary subsidies of money and land given the railroad by Republican
Congresses. The war had resulted in a wonderful development of the
physical wealth of the North and West, and the railroad was opened at a
most opportune moment to connect the East and West, and make possible
the development of all the wonderful resources of the nation. It was
unfortunate, however, that unwise management of the bonds and credit of
the Western Railroads led to such a disastrous climax in the fall of
1873.

In the decade between 1860 and 1870 the admission of four new States--
Kansas in 1861, West Virginia in 1863, Nevada in 1864, and Nebraska in
1867--had raised the total number of States to thirty-seven. In
addition, six new Territories had been organized--Colorado and Dakota
in 1861, Idaho and Arizona in 1863, Montana in 1864, and Wyoming in
1868. The admission of these new States, the completing of the railroad,
the discovery of precious metals, and the general awakening of the North
caused a large increase in the population, especially in the West. The
total population of the country in 1870 was 38,558,371, of which
4,880,009 were negroes, about 4,400,000 of them living in the Southern
States.

The second session of the Forty-first Congress met December 6, 1869. The
President in his message advocated the refunding of the National Debt,
and this was done by the Act of July 14, 1870, which authorized the
refunding of the debt at five, four and one-half and four percent,
payable in coin and exempt from taxation.

The sentiment in favor of a general amnesty of all persons who had
engaged in the rebellion was now growing in the North, and in December,
1869, and March, 1870, Acts were passed removing legal and political
disabilities from a large class of persons in the South, but a full
pardon was not yet extended to all. The South at this time was most
bitter against negro suffrage, and the opposition was shown in a series
of most violent outrages and murders perpetrated by the Ku Klux Klans
and other similar organizations formed for the purpose of preventing the
negro from voting and the "carpet bagger" from living in the community.
The outrages and murders done by these organizations became so flagrant
that Congress passed a special Act on April 20, 1871 (the Ku Klux Act),
to enforce the Fourteenth Amendment.

The other events of Gen. Grant's administration were chiefly of a
diplomatic nature, and it is not necessary to dwell upon them in these
pages. With the opening of 1872 came the year for another presidential
campaign, and the only serious issue was the threatened split in the
Republican Party over the question of the treatment of the South. The
Democrats were demoralized and had no candidate, and the situation was
the most peculiar and abnormal in the history of presidential campaigns.
A group of Republicans in Missouri were in favor of a more liberal
policy toward the South, and President Grant was roundly condemned for
his military rule. This movement became known as the Liberal Republican
movement, and a convention was called to meet in Cincinnati on May 1st.
This year also witnessed the organization for political action of the
Prohibition Party and the Labor Reform Party. The latter held the first
of the political conventions and met at Columbus, Ohio, February 22,
1872. Judge David Davis, of Illinois, was nominated for President, and
Judge Joel Parker, of New Jersey, for Vice-President; both subsequently
withdrew, and in August this party nominated Charles O'Conor for
President, who also declined. The platform of the Labor Reform Party
demanded lower interest on and taxation of government bonds; the repeal
of the law establishing the national banks and withdrawal of the
national bank notes; the issue of paper money based on the faith and
resources of the nation to be legal tender for all debts; exclusion of
the Chinese; no more land grants to corporations, and the organization
of a National Labor Reform party. The National Prohibition Convention
also met in Columbus, Ohio, on February 22d, and nominated James Black,
of Pennsylvania, for President, and Rev. John Russell, of Michigan, for
Vice-President.

The National Liberal Republican Convention met at Cincinnati, Ohio, May
1, 1872. It was a mass convention, and Carl Schurz presided as Permanent
Chairman. The prominent candidates for the presidency were Judge David
Davis, Lyman Trumbull, Chas. Francis Adams, B. Gratz Brown and Horace
Greeley, whose name had not been seriously considered until the
Convention assembled, and who, on May 3d was nominated on the sixth
ballot for President, and B. Gratz Brown, of Missouri, was nominated for
Vice-President. The platform demanded universal amnesty and a liberal
policy, no more land grants to corporations, and denounced repudiation.
The Republicans met in their Fifth National Convention at Philadelphia,
June 5th, in the Academy of Music. There was no question but that
President Grant would be renominated, and the only contest was that
between Henry Wilson and Schuyler Colfax for the nomination for
Vice-President. William Claflin, of Massachusetts, called the meeting to
order and named Morton McMichael as temporary Chairman. The usual
committees were appointed, and while they were deliberating the
convention listened to a number of stirring speeches, several by colored
men, who appeared as representatives in a national convention for the
first time. Thomas Settle, of North Carolina, was reported as permanent
chairman. On the following day, after some preliminary business had been
disposed of, Shelby M. Cullom, of Illinois, nominated President Grant
for a second term, and the vote, 752, was made unanimous. Henry Wilson,
Schuyler Colfax, John F. Lewis, Edmund J. Davis, and Horace Maynard were
nominated for Vice-President. One ballot was cast and resulted in the
nomination of Henry Wilson, who received 364½ votes to 321½ for Colfax,
26 for Maynard, 16 for Davis, and one each for Jos. R. Hawley and E. F.
Noyes. The fifth Republican platform, which was now adopted, read as
follows:

REPUBLICAN PLATFORM, 1872.

The Republican Party of the United States, assembled in national
convention in the city of Philadelphia on the 5th and 6th days of
June, 1872, again declares its faith, appeals to its history, and
announces its position upon the questions before the country.

1. During eleven years of supremacy it has accepted with grand courage
the solemn duties of the time. It suppressed a gigantic rebellion,
emancipated four millions of slaves, decreed the equal citizenship of
all, and established universal suffrage. Exhibiting unparalleled
magnanimity, it criminally punished no man for political offenses, and
warmly welcomed all who proved loyalty by obeying the laws and dealing
justly with their neighbors. It has steadily decreased with firm hand
the resultant disorders of a great war and initiated a wise and humane
policy toward the Indians. The Pacific Railroad and similar vast
enterprises have been generously aided and successfully conducted, the
public lands freely given to actual settlers, immigration protected and
encouraged, and a full acknowledgment of the naturalized citizens'
rights secured from European powers. A uniform national currency has
been provided, repudiation frowned down, the national credit sustained
under the most extraordinary burdens, and new bonds negotiated at lower
rates. The revenues have been carefully collected and honestly applied.
Despite annual large reductions in the rates of taxation, the public
debt has been reduced during General Grant's presidency at the rate of a
hundred millions a year; great financial crises have been avoided, and
peace and plenty prevail throughout the land. Menacing foreign
difficulties have been peacefully and honorably composed, and the honor
and power of the nation kept in high respect throughout the world. This
glorious record of the past is the party's best pledge for the future.
We believe the people will not intrust the government to any party or
combination of men composed chiefly of those who have resisted every
step of this beneficent progress.

2. The recent amendments to the National Constitution should be
cordially sustained because they are right, not merely tolerated
because they are law, and should be carried out according to their
spirit by appropriate legislation, the enforcement of which can
safely be entrusted only to the party that secured those amendments.

3. Complete liberty and exact equality in the enjoyment of all civil,
political and public rights should be established and effectually
maintained throughout the Union, by efficient and appropriate state and
federal legislation. Neither the law nor its administration should admit
any discrimination in respect of citizens by reason of race, creed,
color, or previous condition of servitude.

4. The national government should seek to maintain honorable peace with
all nations, protecting its citizens everywhere, and sympathizing with
all people who strive for greater liberty.

5. Any system of the civil service under which the subordinate positions
of the government are considered rewards for mere party zeal is fatally
demoralizing, and we therefore favor a reform of the system by laws
which shall abolish the evils of patronage and make honesty, efficiency
and fidelity the essential qualifications for public positions, without
practically creating a life-tenure of office.

6. We are opposed to further grants of the public lands to corporations
and monopolies, and demand that the national domain be set apart for
free homes for the people.

7. The annual revenue, after paying current expenditures, pensions, and
the interest on the public debt, should furnish a moderate balance for
the reduction of the principal, and that revenue, except so much as may
be derived from a tax on tobacco and liquors, should be raised by duties
upon importations, the details of which should be so adjusted as to aid
in securing remunerative wages to labor, and promote the industries,
prosperity, and growth of the whole country.

8. We hold in undying honor the soldiers and sailors whose valor saved
the Union. Their pensions are a sacred debt of the nation, and the
widows and orphans of those who died for their country are entitled to
the care of a generous and grateful people. We favor such additional
legislation as will extend the bounty of the government to all our
soldiers and sailors who were honorably discharged, and who in the line
of duty became disabled, without regard to the length of service or the
cause of such discharge.

9. The doctrine of Great Britain and other European powers concerning
allegiance--"Once a subject always a subject"--having at last, through
the efforts of the Republican party, been abandoned, and the American
idea of the individual's right to transfer allegiance having been
accepted by European nations, it is the duty of our government to guard
with jealous care the rights of adopted citizens against the assumption
of unauthorized claims by their former governments, and we urge
continued careful encouragement and protection of voluntary immigration.

10. The franking privilege ought to be abolished and the way prepared
for a speedy reduction in the rates of postage.

11. Among the questions which press the attention is that which concerns
the relations of capital and labor, and the Republican party recognizes
the duty of so shaping legislation as to secure full protection and the
amplest field for capital, and for labor, the creator of capital, the
largest opportunities and a just share of the mutual profits of these
two great servants of civilization.

12. We hold that Congress and the President have only fulfilled an
imperative duty in their measures for suppression of violent and
treasonable organizations in certain lately rebellious regions, and
for the protection of the ballot-box; and therefore they are entitled
to the thanks of the nation.

13. We denounce repudiation of the public debt, in any form or disguise,
as a national crime. We witness with pride the reduction of the
principal of the debt, and of the rates of interest upon the balance,
and confidently expect that our excellent national currency will be
perfected by a speedy resumption of specie payment.

14. The Republican party is mindful of its obligations to the loyal
women of America for their noble devotion to the cause of freedom. Their
admission to wider fields of usefulness is viewed with satisfaction; and
the honest demand of any class of citizens for additional rights should
be treated with respectful consideration.

15. We heartily approve the action of Congress in extending amnesty to
those lately in rebellion, and rejoice in the growth of peace and
fraternal feeling throughout the land.

16. The Republican party proposes to respect the rights reserved by the
people to themselves as carefully as the powers delegated by them to the
state and to the federal government. It disapproves of the resort to
unconstitutional laws for the purpose of removing evils by interference
with rights not surrendered by the people to either the state or
national government.

17. It is the duty of the general government to adopt such measures as
may tend to encourage and restore American commerce and ship-building.

18. We believe that the modest patriotism, the earnest purpose, the
sound judgment, the practical wisdom, the incorruptible integrity,
and the illustrious services of Ulysses S. Grant have commended him
to the heart of the American people, and with him at our head we
start to-day upon a new march to victory.

19. Henry Wilson, nominated for the Vice-Presidency, known to the whole
land from the early days of the great struggle for liberty as an
indefatigable laborer in all campaigns, an incorruptible legislator, and
representative man of American institutions, is worthy to associate with
our great leader and share the honors which we pledge our best efforts
to bestow upon them.

It is important also to note that Grant and Wilson had already been
nominated by the Workingmen's National Convention in New York on May
23d.

The Democratic National Convention met at Baltimore on July 9th and
endorsed the Liberal Republican nominees, Greeley and Brown, and the
Liberal Republican platform. A convention of "straight-out" Democrats
met at Louisville, Kentucky, September 3d to 5th, and repudiated the
Baltimore convention, nominating Charles O'Conor, of New York, for
President, and John Q. Adams, of Massachusetts, for Vice-President, who
both declined, but the convention, unable to secure other candidates,
left the ticket as named. A Colored Liberal Republican Convention at
Louisville on September 25th also nominated Greeley and Brown. In
addition to these various conventions, the Liberal Republican Revenue
Reformers' Convention met in New York June 25th, and nominated William
S. Groesbeck, of Ohio, for President, and F. L. Olmstead, of New York,
for Vice-President.

The contest between Grant and Greeley was a remarkable one, and at its
opening there was considerable doubt as to the outcome; but as the
summer months went by it was seen that the coalition between the Liberal
Republicans and the Democrats was working out unsatisfactorily. The
October States went Republican, and indicated clearly what could be
expected in November. The election on November 5th was an overwhelming
victory for the Republicans; Grant and Wilson carried 29 States with
their 286 electoral votes out of a total electoral vote of 366, Arkansas
and Louisiana not being counted for either side. The popular vote gave
Grant 3,597,132, Greeley 2,834,125, O'Conor 29,489, Black 5,608. The
election was followed in a few weeks by the death of Mr. Greeley;
broken-hearted by the death of his wife a few days before the election,
and exhausted by the tremendous strains of the campaign, and
disappointed by the result, the great editor closed one of the most
remarkable careers in American history.

The hostility of England to the North during the Civil War led to the
filing of the Alabama Claims, which were adjusted by the Geneva
Tribunal, and the United States, on September 14, 1872, was awarded
$15,500,000 in gold in full payment of these claims.

The third session of the Forty-second Congress began December 2, 1872,
and immediately, on motion of Mr. Blaine, a committee was appointed to
investigate the Democratic charges made during the preceding
presidential campaign, that the Vice-President, the Secretary of the
Treasury, Speaker of the House, and other prominent Republicans, had
accepted, in return for political influence, stock in the Credit
Mobilier, a company originally engaged in the construction of the Union
Pacific. The result of this committee's investigation was the clearing
of the prominent men charged, but a vote of censure was passed on
Representatives Oakes Ames and James Brooks for connection with the
scandal.

An Act went into effect on February 12, 1873, the provisions of which,
it was afterwards argued, caused the "demonetization" of silver. This
demonetization had already occurred in 1853, when nothing was said in
the Act of that year as to the silver dollar piece which had for some
years entirely disappeared from circulation. The Act of 1873 simply
recognized a condition which had been present for more than twenty years
when it provided for the coinage of ten, twenty-five and fifty-cent
silver pieces and omitted the dollar. The Act of 1873 was passed because
all coin had been driven out of circulation by the United States notes
and fractional currency issued during the War, and the Treasury
Department, deeming the time appropriate for the issuance of subsidiary
silver coins and revision of the coinage laws, suggested, after
consultation with experts, the Act of 1873. The Act was, in fact, an
important step toward specie resumption. This law also provided for a
trade dollar for use in trade with China and Japan. This dollar was to
weigh 420 grains, so as to give it the advantage over the Mexican dollar
of 416 grains. It was made legal tender for a limited amount only, and
several years afterwards was withdrawn from circulation.

President Grant was reinaugurated on March 4, 1873, and the Republican
Party seemingly had a prospect of a long lease of power, for the
strength of all opposition seemed to have been dissipated by the
campaign of 1872; but before the year of the reinauguration had passed,
circumstances occurred absolutely beyond the control of the party, the
result of which caused a complete change of the political aspect of the
country. In September, 1873, while business affairs were in a good
condition and labor well employed, a sudden financial panic engulfed the
country and brought demoralization to almost all industries. The direct
cause of this panic was the abuse of credit in the enormous building of
railroads which had been going on for several years prior to 1873. The
market had been flooded with railroad bonds, and as the old portions of
the Western railroads did not earn enough to pay for new construction,
the railroads gradually began to default in the payment of interest on
their bonds, and the New York bankers became overburdened with them; the
natural result was that they were compelled to call in their loans,
money became tight, and the storm broke in September, 1873, when the
great financial house of Jay Cooke & Co. closed its doors. By the end of
October the panic was over, but the effects were felt long afterwards in
thousands of ruined enterprises. It gave new arguments to the champions
of fiat currency, and the whole situation told against the success of
the Republican Party. When the first session of the Forty-third Congress
opened on December 1, 1873 (James G. Blaine elected Speaker), arguments
for currency inflation were advanced on all sides, and resulted in the
passage of a bill on April 14, 1874, to inflate the currency
$44,000,000. President Grant wisely vetoed the measure and it failed of
passage over his veto. The Congressional elections in the fall of 1874
showed the influence of the disastrous industrial conditions upon
politics, for the Democrats obtained control of the House for the first
time in fifteen years. That a great political revulsion was in progress
was apparent when Ohio in 1873 and New York in 1874 elected Democratic
Governors. When the Forty-fourth Congress convened on December 6, 1875,
Michael C. Kerr, Democrat, of Indiana, was chosen Speaker by 173 votes
over James G. Blaine, who received 106. This practically showed the
party strength in the House.

The most important Act of President Grant's second term was the
Resumption of specie payment, which was provided for in the bill
reported to the Senate December 21, 1874, by John Sherman. By this Act
there was to be a coinage of ten, twenty-five and fifty-cent silver
pieces, which were to be exchanged for fractional currency until it was
all redeemed. There was to be an issue of bonds, and the surplus revenue
was to be used to buy coin. So much of the Act of 1870 which limited the
amount of national bank notes to $350,000,000 was repealed, and these
banks were now authorized to issue more bills; but for every $100.00
issued the Secretary of the Treasury must call in $80.00 of the
greenbacks until but $300,000,000 of them remained. The total amount of
paper currency in the United States at this time was $780,000,000,
divided into $382,000,000 U. S. notes, $44,000,000 fractional currency
and $354,000,000 national bank notes, and each dollar of this paper
currency was worth about eighty-nine cents in coin. The Act further
provided that after January 1, 1879, the Secretary of the Treasury was
to redeem in coin all United States legal tender notes then outstanding,
on presentation. President Grant approved this bill January 14, 1875,
with a special message to Congress.

The spring of 1876 witnessed the opening of the Centennial Exposition at
Fairmount Park, Philadelphia, by President Grant and Emperor Dom Pedro
II, of Brazil. In this year a successor was to be chosen to President
Grant, and for the first time in the history of the party since 1860
there was to be a contest over the presidential nomination. The long
continuance in power of the party had its natural effect of creating
factions, and this, together with the recent Democratic successes, made
necessary a most careful selection of a candidate and of a platform for
this campaign.




CHAPTER XIV.

HAYES.


" ... and to put forth my best efforts in behalf of a civil policy which
will forever wipe out in our political affairs the color line and the
distinction between North and South, to the end that we may have, not
merely a united North or a united South, but a united country."

_Rutherford B. Hayes_, _Inaugural Address_, _March_ 5, 1877.


The Sixth Republican National Convention met at Cincinnati, Ohio, June
14, 1876, and, as already noted, for the first time since 1860 there was
to be a contest for the presidential nomination. James G. Blaine was
most prominently mentioned during the months preceding the Convention,
and was unquestionably the favorite of a majority of the delegates when
they met. His friends were united and enthusiastic, but there was a
factional opposition, led by Mr. Conkling, of New York, that united on
the seventh ballot and resulted in the nomination of a candidate who had
received comparatively little attention before the Convention met. The
next strongest candidates after Mr. Blaine seemed to be Oliver P.
Morton, of Indiana, and Benjamin H. Bristow, of Kentucky, both of whom
had rendered conspicuous services to the party and to the country. Other
candidates were Roscoe Conkling, of New York, Rutherford B. Hayes, of
Ohio, and John F. Hartranft, of Pennsylvania. The Convention was called
to order by Edwin D. Morgan, who named Theodore M. Pomeroy, of New York,
temporary Chairman. The usual committees were appointed and Edward
McPherson, of Pennsylvania, was reported as permanent Chairman. Gen.
Joseph R. Hawley, of Connecticut, reported the following platform:

REPUBLICAN PLATFORM, 1876.

When in the economy of Providence, this land was to be purged of human
slavery, and when the strength of government of the people, by the
people, and for the people was to be demonstrated, the Republican party
came into power. Its deeds have passed into history, and we look back to
them with pride. Incited by their memories to high aims for the good of
our country and mankind, and looking to the future with unfaltering
courage, hope and purpose, we, the representatives of the party, in
national convention assembled, make the following declaration of
principles:

1. The United States of America is a nation, not a league. By the
combined workings of the national and state governments, under their
respective constitutions, the rights of every citizen are secured, at
home and abroad, and the common welfare promoted.

2. The Republican party has preserved these governments to the hundredth
anniversary of the nation's birth, and they are now embodiments of the
great truth spoken at its cradle: "That all men are created equal; that
they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, among
which are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; that for the
attainment of these ends governments have been instituted among men,
deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed." Until
these truths are cheerfuly obeyed, or, if need be, vigorously enforced,
the work of the Republican party is unfinished.

3. The permanent pacification of the southern section of the Union and
the complete protection of all its citizens in the free enjoyment of all
their rights, is a duty to which the Republican party stands sacredly
pledged. The power to provide for the enforcement of the principles
embodied in the recent constitutional amendments is vested by those
amendments in the Congress of the United States, and we declare it to be
the solemn obligation of the legislative and executive departments of
the government to put into immediate and vigorous exercise all their
constitutional powers for removing any just causes of discontent on the
part of any class, and for securing to every American citizen complete
liberty and exact equality in the exercise of all civil, political, and
public rights. To this end we imperatively demand a Congress and a Chief
Executive whose courage and fidelity to these duties shall not falter
until these results are placed beyond dispute or recall.

4. In the first act of Congress signed by President Grant the national
government assumed to remove any doubts of its purpose to discharge all
just obligations to the public creditors, and "solemnly pledged its
faith to make provisions, at the earliest practicable period, for the
redemption of the United States notes in coin." Commercial prosperity,
public morals, and the national credit demand that this promise be
fulfilled by a continuous and steady progress to specie payment.

5. Under the Constitution the President and heads of departments are to
make nominations for office; the Senate is to advise and consent to
appointments, and the House of Representatives is to accuse and
prosecute faithless officers. The best interest of the public service
demands that these distinctions be respected; that Senators and
representatives who may be judges and accusers should not dictate
appointments to office. The invariable rule in appointments should have
reference to the honesty, fidelity and capacity of the appointees,
giving to the party in power those places where harmony and vigor of
administration require its policy to be represented, but permitting all
others to be filled by persons selected with sole reference to the
efficiency of the public service, and the right of all citizens to share
in the honor of rendering faithful service to the country.

6. We rejoice in the quickening conscience of the people concerning
political affairs, and will hold all public officers to a rigid
responsibility, and engage that the prosecution and punishment of all
who betray official trusts shall be swift, thorough and unsparing.

7. The public-school system of the several states is the bulwark of
the American Republic, and with a view to its security and permanence
we recommend an amendment to the Constitution of the United States,
forbidding the application of any public funds or property for the
benefit of any schools or institutions under sectarian control.

8. The revenue necessary for current expenditures and the obligations of
the public debt must be largely derived from duties upon importations,
which, so far as possible, should be adjusted to promote interests of
American labor and advance the prosperity of the whole country.

9. We reaffirm our opposition to further grants of the public lands to
corporations and monopolies, and demand that the national domain be
devoted to free homes for the people.

10. It is the imperative duty of the government so to modify existing
treaties with European governments that the same protection shall be
afforded to the adopted American citizen that is given to the native
born; and that all necessary laws should be passed to protect
immigrants, in the absence of power in the states for that purpose.

11. It is the immediate duty of Congress to fully investigate the effect
of the immigration and importation of Mongolians upon the moral and
material interests of the country.

12. The Republican party recognizes with approval the substantial
advances recently made toward the establishment of equal rights for
women, by the many important amendments effected by Republican
legislatures, in the laws which concern the personal and property
relations of wives, mothers and widows, and by the appointment and
election of women to the superintendence of education, charities, and
other public trusts. The honest demands of this class of citizens for
additional rights, privileges, and immunities should be treated with
respectful consideration.

13. The Constitution confers upon Congress sovereign power over the
territories of the United States for their government, and in the
exercise of this power it is the right and duty of Congress to prohibit
and extirpate, in the territories, that relic of barbarism, polygamy;
and we demand such legislation as shall secure this end and the
supremacy of American institutions in all the territories.

14. The pledges which the nation has given to her soldiers and sailors
must be fulfilled, and a grateful people will always hold those who
imperilled their lives for the country's preservation in the kindest
rememberance.

15. We sincerely deprecate all sectional feeling and tendencies. We
therefore note with deep solicitude that the Democratic party counts, as
its chief hope of success, upon the electoral vote of a united South,
secured through the efforts of those who were recently arrayed against
the nation; and we invoke the earnest attention of the country to the
grave truth that a success thus achieved would reopen sectional strife
and imperil national honor and human rights.

16. We charge the Democratic party with being the same in character and
spirit as when it sympathized with treason with making its control of
the House of Representatives the triumph and opportunity of the nation's
recent foes; with reasserting and applauding in the National Capitol the
sentiments of unrepentant rebellion; with sending Union soldiers to the
rear and promoting Confederate soldiers to the front; with deliberately
proposing to repudiate the plighted faith of the government; with being
equally false and imbecile upon the overshadowing financial question;
with thwarting the ends of justice by its partisan mismanagements and
obstruction; with proving itself, through the period of its ascendancy
in the Lower House of Congress utterly incompetent to administer the
government; and we warn the country against trusting a party thus alike
unworthy, recreant and incapable.

17. The national administration merits commendation for its honorable
work in the management of domestic and foreign affairs, and President
Grant deserves the continued hearty gratitude of the American people
for his patriotism and his eminent services, in war and in peace.

18. We present as our candidates for President and Vice-President of
the United States two distinguished statesmen, of eminent ability and
character, and conspicuously fitted for those high offices, and we
confidently appeal to the American people to intrust the administration
of their public affairs to Rutherford B. Hayes and William A. Wheeler.

On the second day the nominations were made of the above-named
candidates, with stirring speeches, the most remarkable of which were
the three delivered for Mr. Blaine. Robert G. Ingersoll, in presenting
Mr. Blaine's name, uttered the eloquent words which caused his
celebrated effort to become known as the "Plumed Knight Speech"; near
its conclusion he said, "Like an armed warrior, like a plumed knight,
James G. Blaine marched down the halls of the American Congress and
threw his shining lance full and fair against the brazen foreheads of
the defamers of his country and the maligners of his honor. For the
Republicans to desert this gallant leader now is as though an army
should desert their General upon the field of battle." This nomination
was seconded by Henry M. Turner, colored, and William P. Frye, of Maine.
Gov. Hayes was nominated by Edwin F. Noyes, seconded by Benjamin F.
Wade. The various nominating speeches concluded the second day's
business and the balloting began on the opening of the third day of the
Convention. The number of votes necessary for a choice was 378, and
seven ballots were taken, with the following result for the leading
candidates:

                   1st.    2d.    3d.    4th.    5th.    6th.    7th.
  Blaine .........  285    290    293     292     286     308     351
  Morton .........  125    120    113     108      95      85
  Bristow ........  113    114    121     126     114     111      21
  Conkling .......   99     93     90      84      82      81
  Hayes ..........   61     64     67      68     104     113     384
  Hartranft ......   58     63     68      71      69      50

Scattering votes were also cast for Messrs. Wheeler, Jewell and
Washburne. At the close of the seventh ballot, Mr. Hayes' nomination was
made unanimous on motion of William P. Frye. During the sixth ballot the
unit rule was decided against and each delegate allowed to vote as he
pleased, and this became the rule of all subsequent conventions of the
party, although in the convention of 1880 the supporters of Gen. Grant
made a strong effort to fasten the unit rule on that convention. The
candidates for the vice-presidential nomination were Wm. A. Wheeler,
Marshall Jewell, Stewart L. Woodford, Jos. R. Hawley and F. T.
Frelinghuysen, but after the first ballot had proceeded as far as South
Carolina the nomination of Mr. Wheeler was made unanimous.

The nomination of Mr. Hayes was a great surprise to the country and
consequently, at first, created little enthusiasm in the party, but it
was shortly seen that he was in fact a strong candidate, and the party
united solidly behind him and took up the canvass with considerable
enthusiasm. Rutherford B. Hayes was born at Delaware, Ohio, October 4,
1822, and graduated at Kenyon College in 1842. He studied law, and
practiced for a short time at Fremont, Ohio, afterwards moving to
Cincinnati, where he became the City Solicitor. He volunteered in the
Civil War, distinguished himself in many important engagements, and rose
from the rank of Major to brevet Major-General. The War over, he entered
Congress (1865), and at the close of his term was twice elected
Governor, serving from 1868 to 1872; was defeated for Congress in 1872,
but his election in 1875 to the Governorship, over the Democratic
Governor, William Allen, in a remarkable honest-money campaign, brought
him into greater national prominence, and now resulted in his nomination
for the Presidency. His nomination was a bitter disappointment to the
many friends of Mr. Blaine, but they promptly ratified it.

The Republican Platform of 1876, already given, was strong in expression
and lofty in its sentiments, which were in keeping with those engendered
by the Centennial Year.

The Democratic Convention assembled at St. Louis, Mo., June 27th. The
nomination of Samuel J. Tilden, of New York, was almost a foregone
conclusion before the Convention met, and he was nominated on the second
ballot. Thomas A. Hendricks, of Indiana, who was the strongest opponent
of Tilden for the presidential nomination, was named for Vice-President
by a unanimous vote. The Democratic platform of 1876 was a lengthy and
remarkable one, containing "the sustended arguments of a stump speech."
Its planks, with few exceptions, began with "we denounce" or "reform is
necessary," and it was a general arraignment of the entire course of the
Republican Party while in power, and stated near its conclusion, "reform
can only be had by peaceful, civic revolution. We demand a change of
system, a change of administration, and a change of parties, that we may
have a change of measures and men."

The other political conventions of this year were the Prohibition
Convention held at Cleveland, Ohio, on May 17th, at which Green Clay
Smith, of Kentucky, was nominated for President, and G. T. Stewart, of
Ohio, for Vice-President. The Independent National or Greenback Party
met at Indianapolis May 18th, and nominated Peter Cooper, of New York,
for President, and U. S. Senator Newton Booth, of California, for
Vice-President, who declined and was replaced by Samuel F. Cary, of
Ohio. Its platform demanded the immediate repeal of the Specie
Resumption Act of January 14, 1875, and the issuance of United States
notes, convertible on demand into United States obligations, bearing a
rate of interest not exceeding one cent a day on each $100.00, and
exchangeable for United States notes at par, as being the best
circulating medium that could be devised. It insisted that bank paper
must be suppressed, and it protested against the further issuance of
gold bonds for sale in foreign markets, and against the sale of
government bonds for the purpose of purchasing silver to be used as a
substitute for fractional currency. At the election in November the
Greenback Party polled a total of 81,737 votes, not influencing the
electoral vote of any State, with the possible exception of Indiana,
which Tilden carried with 213,526 votes to 208,011 for Hayes, Cooper
receiving 17,233 in this State. The total Prohibition vote this year was
9,522. The Democrats, throughout the campaign, had high hopes of
success; the hard times which had followed the panic of 1873, the
factional disturbances in the Republican Party, charges of official
dishonesty, and dissatisfaction of some Republicans with the financial
policy of the party, and the success of the Democrats in several of the
Northern States all indicated an exceedingly close election. The
Republican campaign was largely in the hands of Zachariah Chandler, of
Michigan, Chairman of the Republican National Committee, as Mr. Hayes
took little part in the details or organization of the canvass.
Colorado, admitted in August of this year, raised the number of States
to thirty-eight, with a total electoral vote of 369, making 185 votes
necessary for an election. The October States did not indicate anything
decisive for either side; Ohio going Republican and Indiana Democratic
by small majorities. The election was held on Nevember 7th, and a few
hours after the polls were closed it was found that Tilden and Hendricks
had carried Connecticut, New York, New Jersey and Indiana, and if they
had received the vote of the solid South it would give them 203 of the
electoral votes and consequently the election. But Mr. Chandler, on
information received, sent out a telegram from headquarters in
Washington saying that the Republicans had been successful in South
Carolina, Louisiana and Florida, and that Hayes and Wheeler were elected
by a majority of one. A general outline of the remarkable contest that
now followed, and its decision, must suffice for these pages. Each party
sent a number of its prominent members to the capitals of the disputed
States to witness the count. The legal canvassing boards in all of these
States decided in favor of Hayes and Wheeler. Then followed, as it was
afterwards discovered, many attempts to bribe an elector in the disputed
States to vote for Mr. Tilden, but when the electors met in the various
States on December 6th, the vote was 185 for Hayes and Wheeler and 184
for Tilden and Hendricks. As hostile sets of electors were present in
four States--Florida, South Carolina, Louisiana and Oregon--it was
therefore of the highest importance to know who would count the votes
when Congress jointly assembled for that purpose. The Senate and its
presiding officer were Republicans, the House was Democratic, and it was
apparent that with so much at stake neither would make any concession to
the other. This was a state of affairs unprovided for in the
Constitution or in any laws that had been passed, and the result was
that for four months after the election nobody knew who would be
inaugurated as President in March, 1877. The difficulty was temporarily
solved by the Electoral Commission Law, which became effective January
29, 1877. It provided that any electoral votes from any State from which
but one return had been received should not be rejected except by the
affirmative vote of the two Houses, but if more than one return was
received from any State it should be referred to a Commission, to be
composed of five members of the Senate, five members of the House and
five Supreme Court Justices, and the decision of a majority of this
Commission was to decide unless otherwise ordered by a concurrent vote
of both Houses. Senators Oliver P. Morton, George F. Edmunds, F. T.
Frelinghuysen, Republicans, and Allan G. Thurman and Thomas F. Bayard,
Democrats, were chosen to represent the Senate; Josiah G. Abbott, Eppa
Hunton and H. B. Payne, Democrats, and James A. Garfield and George F.
Hoar, Republicans, represented the House; four Justices of the Supreme
Court had been designated by the law to act, and these were Nathan
Clifford and Stephen J. Field, Democrats, and William Strong and Samuel
F. Miller, Republicans; they were to choose the fifth Justice, and
Joseph P. Bradley, Republican, was selected. By a strict party vote the
Commission decided, 8 to 7, all questions in favor of the Republicans.
These decisons, as already noted, could not be set aside without the
concurrent vote of both Houses, which manifestly could not be obtained,
and at 4:10 a. m. March 2, 1877, it was declared by Mr. Ferry, President
pro tem. of the Senate, that Hayes and Wheeler had been elected by 185
votes to 184 for Tilden and Hendricks. The popular vote at the November
election was Tilden 4,285,992 and Hayes 4,033,768.

[Illustration: Rutherford B. Hayes.]

Before passing to the events of President Hayes' administration, it is
interesting to note that when the second session of the Forty-fourth
Congress met on December 4, 1876, an election was held to fill the
position of Speaker, left vacant by the death of Mr. Kerr. Samuel J.
Randall, Democrat, was elected by 162 votes to 82 votes for James A.
Garfield, and it is therefore seen that President Hayes would enter upon
his term with one branch of Congress Democratic.

Mr. Hayes was publicly inaugurated March 5, 1877, the 4th falling upon
Sunday. The striking declaration of his inaugural address was the
paragraph setting forth the policy that he would pursue in the Southern
question, and this policy was exactly the reverse of that of his
predecessor. He withdrew the military protection to the colored voter
and entered upon a policy of pacification by putting the whites of the
South on their honor. This was practically turning over the entire South
to the Democrats, and they were not slow to seize the advantage, and
they immediately began to work for a "solid South," which became an
assured fact when the results of the election of 1880 were known. This
policy was extremely unsatisfactory to most of the members of the
Republican Party, and considerable antagonism to the President was
shown. Lapse of time, however, has vindicated President Hayes, and it is
now felt that while his administration was not brilliant, still it was
safe, progressive and satisfactory. The President also had his ideas on
the subject of Civil Service Reform, and on June 22, 1877, he issued an
order that no officer of the Government should be required or permitted
to take part in the management of political organizations or election
campaigns.

The first session (extra) of the Forty-fifth Congress opened October 15,
1877. The most important business of this session, and indeed of
President Hayes' administration, was the legislation on the silver
question, which came up before the House suddenly on November 5, 1877,
on motion of Mr. Richard P. Bland, of Missouri, that the rules be
suspended so as to permit the introduction of a bill for the free
coinage of the standard silver dollar. The motion was carried, and had
the effect of cutting off all debate and amendment. The bill, as passed
in the House, provided for the coinage of the standard silver dollar
(412½ grains), to be legal tender at face value for all debts public and
private, and any owner of silver bullion might deposit it in any United
States mint and have it coined into dollars for his own benefit. The
Bland bill was thus a remonetization of silver on absolutely a free
coinage basis, and if passed by the Senate and approved by the President
in its original form it would unquestionably have had a serious effect
upon the credit of the Government. Its introduction and passage in the
House caused a flurry in the money market, and distinctly affected the
refunding of the public debt, but fortunately it was amended in the
Senate so as to deprive it largely of its destructive effect on the
national credit. Mr. Allison (Republican), of the Committee on Finance
in the Senate, reported an amendment, striking out the free coinage
provision, and providing that the Secretary of the Treasury should
purchase at the market price not less than $2,000,000 nor more than
$4,000,000 per month of silver bullion to be coined into dollars, any
gain to be for the benefit of the Treasury. The House accepted the
Allison amendment, but President Hayes vetoed the bill and it was passed
over his veto February 28, 1878.

A strong but unsuccessful attempt had been made to repeal the specie
resumption act, but now, after seventeen years of suspension of specie
payment, which had seriously affected the public credit during all these
years, the time approached for resumption. John Sherman was Secretary of
the Treasury under President Hayes, and the great act of resumption took
place quietly under his direction on January 1, 1879. Mr. Sherman had
fought for resumption in both Houses of Congress, and was now permitted,
by his official position, to bring about the execution of the law. Its
effect on the public credit had been marked for several months before
the statutory time of resumption by a better feeling throughout the
country in financial circles. The manner in which the entire subject had
been treated reflected the greatest credit on the ability of Mr.
Sherman, and ranked him with Alexander Hamilton as a great financier.

The Chinese Immigration question had been growing in prominence for
several years, and it resulted in a bill to restrict this immigration.
The bill passed the House and the Senate, but was vetoed by President
Hayes, and its supporters were unable to obtain the necessary vote to
pass it over the veto. As the Forty-fifth Congress had adjourned without
making the necessary appropriations for the legislative, executive and
judicial departments, President Hayes was forced to call an extra
session of the Forty-sixth Congress, which met March 18, 1879. In the
House Mr. Randall was re-elected Speaker by 143 votes to 125 for James
A. Garfield, and for the first time since 1857 the Democratic Party was
in complete control of both branches of Congress.

As the time approached for another national campaign the merits of
several possible candidates were thoroughly discussed. President Hayes
was not a candidate, and the contest for the nomination was seemingly
between General Grant and James G. Blaine, with John Sherman as a
possible compromise candidate. Several interesting elements entered into
the situation and made it extremely doubtful who would be successful,
and the result was the most remarkable contest the party had had in any
of its previous conventions, and was solved by the selection, on the
thirty-sixth ballot, of one whose name had not even been placed in
nomination.




CHAPTER XV.

GARFIELD AND ARTHUR.


"The doctrines announced by the Chicago Convention are not the temporary
devices of a party to attract votes and carry an election; they are
deliberate convictions, resulting from a careful study of the spirit of
our institutions, the events of our history, and the best impulses of
our people ... If elected, it will be my purpose to enforce strict
obedience to the Constitution and the laws, and to promote, as best I
may, the interest and honor of the whole country, relying for support
upon the wisdom of Congress, the intelligence and patriotism of the
people, and the favor of God."

_James A. Garfield_, _Letter of Acceptance_.
_Mentor_, _Ohio_, _July_ 10, 1880.


General Grant arrived at San Francisco in December, 1879, from his
triumphal tour of the world, and his journey eastward was made the
occasion of a great popular welcome and ovation. This wide-spread
enthusiasm lent encouragement to those who were intent upon his
nomination for a third term, and they proceeded to strengthen his
prospects. Senators Conkling, of New York, Cameron, of Pennsylvania, and
Logan, of Illinois, formed a powerful combination in favor of General
Grant, and they were successful in their preliminary work of forcing the
adoption of the unit rule on the delegations of their States, but it
soon became apparent that many of the delegates would vote as they saw
fit, and would appeal, if necessary, to the convention to sustain them.
James G. Blaine was the next strongest candidate, and to his standard
rallied a strong host of supporters, many of whom were opposed to a
third term for any person. As near as the preliminary figuring could be
done it showed the strength of Grant and Blaine to be nearly the same,
and this gave hope to the friends of John Sherman that he might be
decided on as a compromise candidate, if it became impossible to
nominate either Grant or Blaine.

The Seventh Republican National Convention met in the Exposition Hall at
Chicago, Ill., on Wednesday, June 2, 1880, and was called to order by
Senator J. Donald Cameron, of Pennsylvania, Chairman of the National
Committee. George F. Hoar, of Massachusetts, was chosen temporary
Chairman, the various committees were then appointed, but owing to
contests among the delegates from several States, nothing further could
be done, and the convention adjourned early in the afternoon. On the
following morning Mr. Hoar was reported as permanent president, and the
usual number of vice-presidents and secretaries were also reported.
Owing to the delay in the report of the Committee on Credentials nothing
further of any moment was done on this day, and the convention adjourned
about 7:30 p. m., after an unsuccessful attempt, on motion of Mr.
Henderson, of Iowa, to force the Committee on Rules to report. In the
vote on a substitute to this motion a most important ruling was made--
the vote of Alabama was reported in full for the substitute, but one of
the delegates protested and asked the right to cast his vote against it.
This was permitted by the president, and the ruling was allowed to stand
by the convention, and was thus a condemnation of the unit system of
voting. Upon the opening of the third day of the convention (Friday),
Mr. Conkling offered a resolution that as the sense of the convention
every member of it was bound in honor to support its nominee, no matter
who was nominated, and that no man should hold a seat who was not ready
to so agree. Out of a total of 719 votes, three (all from West Virginia)
were cast against the resolution, whereupon Mr. Conkling offered a
second resolution that these delegates did not deserve and had forfeited
their votes. The delegates explained that they did not wish it
understood that they would not support the nominee, but they simply
desired to register their disapproval of the expediency of the
resolution. This incident is of the greatest importance in the history
of this convention, because it brought Mr. Garfield to his feet in a
brief but weighty speech, in which he defended those who had voted in
the negative, and finally induced Mr. Conkling to withdraw his second
resolution. This speech attracted the attention of the entire
convention, and Mr. Garfield from that moment became one of the great
leaders in the convention. Mr. Garfield then reported the rules which
were adopted, with one amendment, after considerable debate. The great
contest of the convention next to the presidental nomination was the
report of the Committee on Credentials, in which it was attempted by the
friends of Gen. Grant to force the unit rule on the convention. The
majority report of this committee favored district representation, and
at last this was decided on after a long and remarkable debate extending
through Friday until 2 o'clock in the morning and all of the Saturday
session until 5 p. m.

Edwards Pierrepont, of New York, reported the platform, which was
adopted after one amendment inserting a civil service reform plank.

REPUBLICAN PLATFORM, 1880.

The Republican Party, in national convention assembled, at the end of
twenty years since the federal government was first committed to its
charge, submits to the people of the United States this brief report
of its administration:

It suppressed a rebellion which had armed nearly a million of men to
subvert the national authority; it reconstructed the union of the states
with freedom instead of slavery as its corner stone; it transformed
4,000,000 human beings from the likeness of things to the rank of
citizens; it relieved Congress of the infamous work of hunting fugitive
slaves, and charged it to see that slavery does not exist.

It has raised the value of our paper currency from thirty-eight per cent
to the par of gold; it has restored, upon a solid basis, payment in coin
of all national obligations, and has given us a currency absolutely good
and equal in every part of our extended country; it has lifted the
credit of the nation from the point of where six percent bonds sold at
eighty-six to that where a percent bonds are eagerly sought at a
premium.

Under its administration railways have increased from 31,000 miles in
1860 to more than 82,000 miles in 1879.

Our foreign trade increased from $700,000,000 to $1,150,000,000 in the
same time, and our exports, which were $20,000,000 less than our imports
in 1860, were $265,000,000 more than our imports in 1879.

Without resorting to loans, it has, since the war closed, defrayed the
ordinary expenses of government, besides the accruing interest on the
public debt, and has disbursed annually more than $30,000,000 for
soldiers' and sailors' pensions. It has paid $880,000,000 of the public
debt, and, by refunding the balance at lower rates, has reduced the
annual interest charge from nearly $150,000,000 to less than
$89,000,000.

All the industries of the country have revived, labor is in demand,
wages have increased, and throughout the entire country there is
evidence of a coming prosperity greater than we have ever enjoyed.

Upon this record the Republican Party asks for the continued confidence
and support of the people, and the convention submits for their approval
the following statement of the principles and purposes which will
continue to guide and inspire its efforts.

1. We affirm that the work of the Republican Party for the last twenty
years has been such as to commend it to the favor of the nation; that
the fruits of the costly victories which we have achieved through
immense difficulties should be preserved; that the peace regained should
be cherished; that the Union should be perpetuated, and that the liberty
secured to this generation should be transmitted undiminished to other
generations; that the order established and the credit acquired should
never be impaired; that the pensions promised should be paid; that the
debt, so much reduced, should be extinguished by the full payment of
every dollar thereof; that the reviving industries should be further
promoted, and that the commerce, already increasing, should be steadily
encouraged.

2. The Constitution of the United States is a supreme law, and not a
mere contract. Out of confederated states it made a sovereign nation.
Some powers are denied to the nation, while others are denied to the
states; but the boundary between the powers delegated and those reserved
is to be determined by the national, and not by the state tribunal.

3. The work of popular education is one left to the care of the several
states, but it is the duty of the national government to aid that work
to the extent of its constitutional ability. The intelligence of the
nation is but the aggregate of the intelligence in the several states,
and the destiny of the nation must be guided, not by the genius of any
one state, but by the average genius of all.

4. The Constitution wisely forbids Congress to make any law respecting
the establishment of religion, but it is idle to hope that the nation
can be protected against the influence of secret sectarianism which each
state is exposed to its domination. We therefore recommend that the
Constitution be so amended as to lay the same prohibition upon the
legislature of each state, and to forbid the appropriation of public
funds for the support of sectarian schools.

5. We reaffirm the belief avowed in 1876, that the duties levied for the
purpose of revenue should so discriminate as to favor American labor;
that no further grants of the public domain should be made to any
railway or other corporation; that slavery having perished in the
states, its twin barbarity--polygamy--must die in the territories;
that everywhere the protection accorded to a citizen of American birth
must be secured to citizens by American adoption; that we deem it the
duty of Congress to develop and improve our seacoast and harbors, but
insist that further subsidies to private persons or corporations must
cease; that the obligations of the Republic to the men who preserved its
integrity in the day of battle are undiminished by the lapse of fifteen
years since their final victory--to do them honor is and shall forever
be the grateful privilege and sacred duty of the American people.

6. Since the authority to regulate immigration and intercourse between
the United States and foreign nations rests with the Congress of the
United States and the treaty-making power, the Republican Party,
regarding the unrestricted immigration of Chinese as a matter of grave
concernment under the exercise of both these powers, would limit and
restrict that immigration by the enactment of such just, humane and
reasonable laws and treaties as will produce that result.

7. That the purity and patriotism which characterized the earlier career
of Rutherford B. Hayes in peace and war, and which guided the thoughts
of our immediate predecessors to him for a presidential candidate, have
continued to inspire him in his career as Chief Executive; and that
history will accord to his administration the honors which are due to an
efficient, just and courteous discharge of the public business, and will
honor his vetoes interposed between the people and attempted partisan
laws.

8. We charge upon the Democratic Party the habitual sacrifice of
patriotism and justice to a supreme and insatiable lust for office and
patronage; that to obtain possession of the national government and
control of the place, they have obstructed all efforts to promote the
purity and to conserve the freedom of the sufferage, and have devised
fraudulent ballots and invented fraudulent certification of returns;
have labored to unseat lawfully elected members of Congress, to secure
at all hazards the vote of a majority of the states in the House of
Representatives; have endeavored to occupy by force and fraud the places
of trust given to others by the people of Maine, rescued by the courage
and action of Maine's patriotic sons; have, by methods vicious in
principle and tyrannical in practice, attached partisan legislation to
appropriation bills upon whose passage the very movement of the
government depended; have crushed the rights of the individual; have
advocated the principles and sought the favor of the rebellion against
the nation, and have endeavored to obliterate the sacred memories and to
overcome its inestimably valuable results of nationality, personal
freedom, and individual equality.

The equal, steady, and complete enforcement of the laws and the
protection of all our citizens in the enjoyment of all the privileges
and immunities guaranteed by the Constitution, are the first duties of
the nation.

The dangers of a "Solid South" can only be averted by a faithful
performance of every promise which the nation has made to the citizen.
The execution of the laws, and the punishment of all those who violate
them, are the only safe methods by which an enduring peace can be
secured and genuine prosperity established throughout the South.
Whatever promises the nation makes the nation must perform. A nation
cannot with safety relegate this duty to the states. The "Solid South"
must be divided by the peaceful agencies of the ballot, and all honest
opinions must there find free expression. To this end the honest voter
must be protected against terrorism, violence or fraud.

And we affirm it to be the duty and the purpose of the Republican Party
to use all legitimate means to restore all the states of this Union to
the most perfect harmony which may be possible, and we submit to the
practical, sensible people of these United States to say whether it
would not be dangerous to the dearest interests of our country at this
time to surrender the administration of the national government to a
party which seeks to overthrow the existing policy under which we are
now so prosperous, and thus bring distrust and confusion where there is
now order, confidence and hope.

9. The Republican Party, adhering to the principles affirmed by its last
national convention of respect for the constitutional rules governing
appointments to office, adopts the declaration of President Hayes that
the reform of the civil service should be thorough, radical and
complete. To this end it demands the co-operation of the legislative
with the executive departments of the government, and that Congress
shall so legislate that fitness, ascertained by proper practical tests,
shall admit to the public service.

The opening words of the fifth plank became the deciding issue of the
campaign. The nominations for President were made at the evening session
Saturday. James G. Blaine was first placed in nomination by Thomas F.
Joy, and seconded by F. M. Pixley and Wm. P. Frye; Ulysses S. Grant was
nominated by Roscoe Conkling and seconded by Wm. O. Bradley; John
Sherman was nominated by James A. Garfield and seconded by F. C. Winkler
and R. B. Elliott; William Windom was nominated by E. F. Drake; George
F. Edmunds by Frederick Billings, and Elihu B. Washburn by J. E.
Cassady. The nominating speeches concluded near midnight, and aroused
the utmost enthusiasm among the 15,000 men and women who were packed in
the great hall. The convention adjourned at midnight to meet and begin
balloting on Monday morning. The first ballot on Monday morning resulted
as follows, 756 delegates being present:

  Grant ................ 304    Edmunds ..............  34
  Blaine ............... 284    Washburne ............  30
  Sherman ..............  93    Windom ...............  10

Twenty-eight ballots were taken on Monday with very little material
change. Mr. Garfield received one vote on the second ballot, and
afterwards received not more than two votes on any ballot until the
thirty-fourth, taken on Tuesday, when Wisconsin broke and gave sixteen
votes for Garfield, and this was the beginning of the movement by the
Blaine and Sherman forces to combine and nominate Mr. Garfield, who was
named on the thirty-sixth ballot. The vote for General Grant was solid
until the end, never falling below that of the first ballot, 304. The
concluding ballots are here given:

                   34th       35th       36th
                  Ballot.    Ballot.    Ballot.
  Grant .........   312        313        306
  Blaine ........   275        257         42
  Sherman .......   107         99          3
  Edmunds .......    11         11
  Washburne .....    30         23          5
  Windom ........     4          3
  Garfield ......    17         50        399

Mr. Garfield was nominated, and the convention gave way to almost twenty
minutes of cheering and enthusiasm, at the conclusion of which Roscoe
Conkling moved that the nomination be made unanimous. As a concession to
the disappointed Grant forces, Chester A. Arthur, of New York, was
nominated for Vice-President on the first ballot over Elihu B.
Washburne, Marshall Jewell, Thomas Settle, Horace Maynard and Edmund J.
Davis, the ballot standing 468 for Arthur and 193 for Washburne, his
nearest competitor, with scattering votes for the rest.

Although the nomination of Mr. Garfield, like that of Mr. Hayes, was
totally unexpected, he was not unknown, and had already, by his services
and career, earned for himself an enviable place in the nation's
history. Born in Cuyahoga county, Ohio, in 1831, he had risen from an
honorable poverty to the presidency of a College at the age of 26. He
served one term in the Ohio Senate, and at the opening of the Civil War
he was commissioned a Lieutenant-Colonel of Volunteers, and without any
military experience and with a small force he routed a large body of
Confederates at Middle Creek, Ky., in January, 1862, for which he
received the highest praise from his superiors and the rank of
Brigadier-General from President Lincoln. The rest of his military
career was equally satisfactory and prominent, and he reached the rank
of Major-General after Chickamauga. Resigning his commission, he took
his seat in the House of Representatives in December, 1863, and
immediately became a leader of the Republican forces, and his
legislative work had been most conspicuous. He served from the
Thirty-eighth to the Forty-Sixth Congresses inclusive, was on the
Electoral Commission of 1877, and at the time of his nomination had been
elected from Ohio to the United States Senate, but had not yet taken his
seat.

The Greenback-Labor Convention met at Chicago, June 9th, and nominated
James B. Weaver, of Iowa, for President, and B. F. Chambers, of Texas,
for Vice-President, declaring in its platform that all money should be
issued and its volume controlled by the Government; that the public
domain should be kept for settlers, and that Congress should regulate
commerce between the States. The Prohibition Convention at Cleveland,
June 17th, nominated Neal Dow, of Maine, for President, and A. M.
Thompson, of Ohio, for Vice-President. The last of the great party
conventions, that of the Democrats, met at Cincinnati, June 22d, and
nominated General Winfield S. Hancock, of Pennsylvania, for President,
on the second ballot, and William H. English, of Indiana, for
Vice-President by acclamation. The Democratic platform was concise, and
in sharp contrast to the verbose platform of 1876; it demanded an honest
money of gold and silver, and paper convertible into coin on demand;
tariff for revenue only; and that the public land be given to none but
actual settlers.

For the first time since 1844 there was no agitation in any of the party
platforms of the slave or southern questions, and all parties agreed on
the Chinese question. The campaign opened with defeat for the
Republicans in Maine, but this led to greater efforts in the West. Late
in the canvass the tariff issue became the most prominent one, and the
declaration of the Democratic party for a tariff for revenue only was
used against them with tremendous effect by the Republicans. Special
efforts were made to gain the October States, and the Republican cause
was greatly strengthened and perhaps won in them by several speeches
delivered by General Grant and Senator Conkling. In desperation the
Democrats, near the end of the canvass (October 20th), published
broadcast a letter purporting to come from Mr. Garfield and addressed to
"H. L. Morey." The letter stated opinions on the Chinese question which,
if true, would have cost many votes, but the letter was promptly shown
to be a contemptible forgery, and so plain was the evidence that the
letter was disavowed by most Democrats. The election on November 2d was
a victory for Garfield and Arthur, who received 214 electoral votes to
155 for Hancock and English. The popular vote was:

  Garfield ............ 4,454,416    Weaver ..............   308,578
  Hancock ............. 4,444,952    Dow .................    10,305

An analysis of the popular and electoral vote disclosed the fact that
every former slave State was carried by the Democratic Party, and the
"Solid South" for the Democrats again became a factor in national
politics.

Mr. Garfield was inaugurated March 4, 1881, and almost immediately was
involved in the controversy between the "Stalwart" and the "Half Breed"
Republicans in New York, the former being led by Senators Roscoe
Conkling and Thomas C. Platt, and the latter being those who were
opposed to the machine-like politics of the State. The "Stalwarts" had
gained great strength during Gen. Grant's administration, but had been
checked by President Hayes; they were the strongest advocates of Gen.
Grant for a third term, and were greatly disappointed over his defeat in
the convention, but had loyally supported the nominee, and had now made
up their minds to control the Federal patronage in New York. President
Garfield was drawn into the muddle by his appointment of William H.
Robertson, a "Half Breed," to the Collectorship of New York. This called
forth a protest signed by Postmaster-General James, Vice-President
Arthur and Senators Conkling and Platt, the Senators announcing that
they would oppose the confirmation in the Senate. This caused the
President to withdraw all New York appointments until the matter should
be settled, and as it was seen that the nomination would be confirmed,
Senators Conkling and Platt resigned (May 16th), and appealed to the New
York Legislature for re-election, but they were defeated, Elbridge C.
Lapham and Warren Miller being elected in their places. The controversy
excited the whole country, and it was believed by many to have
influenced the deplorable tragedy which took place July 2, 1881. About
9:30 a. m., on that day, the President and Mr. Blaine entered the
Baltimore & Potomac station in Washington to join a party which would
leave that morning for Long Branch, where the President was to join his
wife. The President and Mr. Blaine entered the Ladies' Waiting Room, and
shortly afterward two shots, fired by Charles Jules Guiteau, were heard,
and the President fell mortally wounded. He lingered in great suffering
until September 19th, when he died at Elberon, New Jersey, whither he
had been removed from Washington.

[Illustration: Chester A. Arthur.]

Vice-President Arthur was at his home in New York City at the time of
President Garfield's death, and there took the oath of office as
President in the early morning hours of September 20th, and took the
formal oath in Washington on September 22d. It is of interest to know
something of the man who was called, by these distressing circumstances,
to the presidential chair.

President Arthur was born at Fairfield, Vermont, October 5, 1830; after
teaching school, he studied law and was admitted to practice in New York
City; he served honorably and notably during the Civil War, most of the
time as a staff officer, and at its conclusion became active in local
politics in New York City, and was Collector of the Port of New York
from 1871 to 1878, being removed in the latter year by President Hayes.
His nomination was made to satisfy the "Stalwarts," and he took an
active part in the controversy between President Garfield and the New
York Senators, and now came to the office of President, with the popular
mind, agitated by the murder of the President and the factional fight in
New York, greatly incensed and antagonized against any one connected
with the "Stalwarts." President Arthur soon gained the confidence of the
people by the conservatism and dignity of his administration, and his
term was a satisfactory and prosperous one.

The Forty-seventh Congress opened its first session on December 5, 1881,
with David Davis presiding in the Senate; in the House, Joseph Warren
Keifer, Republican, of Ohio, was elected Speaker by 148 votes to 129 for
Samuel J. Randall, and the Republicans were again in control of both
branches of Congress. The legislation of this Congress was marked by the
redemption of the party pledges of the preceding campaign. The Edmunds
law (March, 1882) was directed at polygamy in Utah and the territories.
Immigration of Chinese laborers to the United States was suspended for
ten years (May 6, 1882), a previous bill making the time twenty years
having been vetoed by President Arthur. A bill was also approved (May
15, 1882) appointing a Tariff Commission. The Commission met in
Washington in July. It was constituted from both political parties, and
was composed of men of high standing. When the second session of the
Forty-seventh Congress convened on December 4, 1882, it listened to the
second annual message from President Arthur, in which the main subject
to receive attention was the rapid reduction of the national debt by the
large annual surplus revenue. The Tariff Commission at the same time
submitted an exhaustive report, containing a schedule of duties
recommended by it; after considerable debate and many changes in the
schedule, a tariff bill was passed and approved by the President, March
3, 1883, the Democrats steadily opposing it.

Civil Service Reform was taken up and provided for in the Pendleton
Civil Service Reform bill (January, 1883), which provided for a
non-partisan commission and defined their duties; the effect of this
bill was to withdraw from politics the employes of the Government.

The strong prejudices which accompanied Mr. Arthur into office never
fully disappeared; during 1882 and 1883 there was considerable public
unrest which had its natural influence on political action; it was
caused by dissatisfaction among the laboring classes against
combinations of capital, which were now resulting from the extraordinary
development of the nation's resources, and also because many producers
were dissatisfied with the provisions of the new tariff schedule.
Although the country was enjoying great prosperity and business
confidence, there was a feeling for a change of politics and men. These
various causes, and the fact that the strong slavery and sectional
issues had disappeared from politics, were demoralizing to the
Republican strength in many of the pivotal States, and portended an
exceedingly close election in the campaign of 1884. Ohio elected a
Democratic Secretary of State in 1882, and followed it the next year by
electing Mr. Hoadley, Democrat, over Mr. Foraker, Republican, for
Governor. Many other important Democratic victories were gained in 1882
--Pennsylvania electing a Democratic Governor and New York electing
Grover Cleveland by the enormous majority of 192,000, a victory which
secured him the Democratic presidential nomination in 1884. President
Arthur was a candidate for the presidential nomination in 1884, and his
strength came mainly from the South, but the overwhelming Republican
sentiment in the northern and western States demanded the nomination of
one whose distinguished services and magnetic personality would
unquestionably, with a united party behind him, bring another victory to
the party in its eighth national contest.




CHAPTER XVI.

BLAINE.


"We seek the conquests of peace. We desire to extend our commerce and
in a special degree with our friends and neighbors on this continent.
We have not improved our relations with Spanish America as wisely and
as persistently as we might have done. For more than a generation the
sympathy of these countries has been allowed to drift away from us. We
should now make every effort to gain their friendship."

_James G. Blaine_, 1884.


When the eighth Republican National Convention assembled at Chicago on
Tuesday, June 3, 1884, it was to consider a situation that had never
before been presented to a Republican convention. A Republican
President, who had gained the office because of the assassination of his
predecessor, was before the convention asking for the strongest
endorsement of his administration. Only two Republican Presidents had up
to this time been candidates for a second term. In the convention of
1864 Mr. Lincoln had no opposition for his second term, and the same was
true of General Grant in the convention of 1872. Mr. Hayes was not a
candidate for re-election in 1880, and the result, as we have seen, was
the Garfield "miracle" in that convention, and now Mr. Garfield's
successor was before this convention with a strongly organized backing,
mainly from the South, seeking the nomination. But opposed to him was an
overwhelming sentiment in favor of Mr. Blaine, whose nomination had been
prevented in 1880 by the opposition of the Grant leaders. A dangerous
element in this convention was present in the Independent Republicans,
who had united on George F. Edmunds as their candidate for President.
The convention was called to order by Dwight M. Sabin, of Minnesota,
Chairman of the National Committee. Mr. Lodge moved to substitute John
R. Lynch, colored, of Mississippi, as temporary Chairman in place of
Powell Clayton, who had been selected by the National Committee, and
after considerable debate, in which Theodore Roosevelt, of New York,
spoke in favor of the motion to substitute, Mr. Lynch was elected
temporary Chairman by 431 votes to 387 for Mr. Clayton. The remainder of
the day was consumed in the appointment of vice-presidents and
secretaries and the various committees. Wednesday morning a resolution
was introduced similar to that of 1880, that every member of the
convention was bound in honor to support the nominee, but this
resolution was subsequently withdrawn. John B. Henderson, of Missouri,
was reported as permanent Chairman, miscellaneous business consumed some
time, and the convention adjourned to meet at 7:30 p. m. The Committee
on Credentials not being ready to report, the evening was given over to
speech making. On Thursday morning the convention heard the report of
the Committee on Credentials, and concurred in it, and also on the
report of the Committee on Rules. William McKinley, of Ohio, Chairman of
the Committee on Resolutions, reported the platform, and it was adopted
without amendment.

REPUBLICAN PLATFORM, 1884.

The Republicans of the United States, in national convention assembled,
renew their allegiance to the principles upon which they have triumphed
in six successive presidential elections, and congratulate the American
people on the attainment of so many results in legislation and
administration, by which the Republican party has, after saving the
Union, done so much to render its institutions just, equal, and
beneficent, the safe-guard of liberty and the embodiment of the best
thought and highest purpose of our citizens.

The Republican Party has gained its strength by quick and faithful
response to the demands of the people for the freedom and equality of
all men; for a united nation, assuring the rights of all citizens; for
the elevation of labor; for an honest currency; for purity in
legislation, and for integrity and accountability in all departments of
the government, and it accepts anew the duty of leading in the work of
progress and reform.

We lament the death of President Garfield, whose sound statesmanship,
long conspicuous in Congress, gave promise of a strong and successful
administration--a promise fully realized during the short period of his
office as President of the United States. His distinguished services in
war and peace have endeared him to the hearts of the American people.

In the administration of President Arthur we recognize a wise,
conservative, and patriotic policy, under which the country has been
blessed with remarkable prosperity, and we believe his eminent services
are entitled to and will receive the hearty approval of every citizen.

It is the first duty of a good government to protect the rights and
promote the interests of its own people.

The largest diversity of industry is most productive of general
prosperity, and of the comfort and independence of the people.

We therefore demand that the imposition of duties on foreign imports
shall be made, "not for revenue only," but that in raising the requisite
revenues for the government such duties shall be so levied as to afford
security to our diversified industries and protection to the rights and
wages of the laborer, to the end that active and intelligent labor, as
well as capital, may have its just reward, and the laboring man his full
share in the national prosperity.

Against the so-called economic system of the Democratic party, which
would degrade our labor to the foreign standard, we enter our earnest
protest.

The Democratic Party has failed completely to relieve the people of the
burden of unnecessary taxation, by a wise reduction of the surplus.

The Republican Party pledges itself to correct the inequalities of the
tariff and to reduce the surplus, not by the vicious and indiscriminate
process of horizontal reduction, but by such methods as will relieve the
tax-payer without injuring the laborer or the great productive interests
of the country.

We recognize the importance of sheep husbandry in the United States, the
serious depression which it is now experiencing, and the danger
threatening its future prosperity; and we therefore respect the demands
of the representatives of this important agricultural interest for a
readjustment of duties upon foreign wool, in order that such industry
shall have full and adequate protection.

We have always recommended the best money known to the civilized world;
and we urge that efforts should be made to unite all commercial nations
in the establishment of an international standard, which shall fix for
all the relative value of gold and silver coinage.

The regulation of commerce with foreign nations and between the states
is one of the most important prerogatives of the general government; and
the Republican Party distinctly announces its purpose to support such
legislation as will fully and efficiently carry out the constitutional
power of Congress over interstate commerce.

The principle of public regulation of railway corporations is a wise and
salutary one for the protection of all classes of the people; and we
favor legislation that shall prevent unjust discrimination and excessive
charges for transportation, and that shall secure to the people and the
railways alike the fair and equal protection of the laws.

We favor the establishment of a national bureau of labor; the
enforcement of the eight-hour law; a wise and judicious system of
general legislation by adequate appropriation from the national
revenues, wherever the same is needed. We believe that everywhere the
protection to a citizen of American birth must be secured to citizens by
American adoption; and we favor the settlement of national differences
by international arbitration.

[Illustration: James G. Blaine.]

The Republican Party having its birth in a hatred of slave labor and a
desire that all men may be true and equal, is unalterably opposed to
placing our workingmen in competition with any form of servile labor,
whether at home or abroad. In this spirit spirit we denounce the
importation of contract labor, whether from Europe or Asia, as an
offense against the spirit of American institutions; and we pledge
ourselves to sustain the present law restricting Chinese immigration,
and to provide such further legislation as is necessary to carry out its
purposes.

Reform of the civil service, auspiciously begun under Republican
administration, should be completed by the further extension of the
reform system, already established by law, to all the grades of the
service to which it is applicable. The spirit and purpose of the reform
should be observed in all executive appointments, and all laws at
variance with the objects of existing reform legislation should be
repealed, to the end that the dangers of free institutions which lurk in
the power of official patronage may be wisely and effectively avoided.

The public lands are a heritage of the people of the United States, and
should be reserved as far as possible for small holdings by actual
settlers. We are opposed to the acquisition of large tracts of these
lands by corporations or individuals, especially where such holdings are
in the hands of non-residents or aliens, and we will endeavor to obtain
such legislation as will tend to correct this evil. We demand of
Congress the speedy forfeiture of all land grants which have lapsed by
reason of non-compliance with acts of incorporation, in all cases where
there has been no attempt in good faith to perform the conditions of
such grants.

The grateful thanks of the American people are due to the Union soldiers
and sailors of the late war; and the Republican Party stands pledged to
suitable pensions for all who were disabled, and for the widows and
orphans of those who died in the war. The Republican Party also pledges
itself to the repeal of the limitations contained in the Arrears Act of
1879, so that all invalid soldiers shall share alike, and their pensions
begin with the date of disability or discharge, and not with the date of
application.

The Republican Party favors a policy which shall keep us from entangling
alliances with foreign nations, and which gives us the right to expect
that foreign nations shall refrain from meddling in American affairs--a
policy which seeks peace and trade with all powers, but especially with
those of the Western Hemisphere.

We demand the restoration of our navy to its old-time strength and
efficiency, that it may in any sea protect the rights of American
citizens and the interests of American commerce; and we call upon
Congress to remove the burdens under which American shipping has been
depressed; so that it may again be true that we have a commerce which
leaves no sea unexplored, and a navy which takes no law from superior
force.

_Resolved_, That appointments by the President to offices in the
territories should be made from the bona fide citizens and residents of
the territories wherein they are to serve.

_Resolved_, That it is the duty of Congress to enact such laws as shall
promptly and effectually suppress the system of polygamy within our
territories, and divorce the political from the ecclesiastical power of
the so-called Mormon Church; and that the laws so enacted should be
rigidly enforced by the civil authorities, if possible, and by the
military, if need be.

The people of the United States, in their organized capacity, constitute
a nation, and not an American federacy of states. The national
government is supreme within the sphere of its national duties; but the
states have reserved rights which should be faithfully maintained. Each
should be guarded with jealous care, so that the harmony of our system
of government may be preserved and the Union kept inviolate.

The perpetuity of our institutions rests upon the maintenance of a free
ballot, an honest count and correct returns. We denounce the fraud and
violence practiced by the Democracy in Southern States, by which the
will of a voter is defeated, as dangerous to the preservation of free
institutions; and we solemnly arraign the Democratic party as being the
guilty recipient of the fruits of such fraud and violence.

We extend to the Republicans of the South, regardless of their former
party affiliations, our cordial sympathy, and pledge to them our most
earnest efforts to promote the passage of such legislation as will
secure to every citizen, of whatever race and color, the full and
complete recognition, possession, and exercise of all civil and
political rights.

The candidates were presented on Thursday evening. A. H. Brandagee
presented Jos. R. Hawley, of Connecticut; Shelby M. Cullom presented the
name of John A. Logan, of Illinois; Judge Wm. H. West, the blind orator
of Ohio, nominated James G. Blaine amid scenes of great enthusiasm, and
the nomination was seconded by Cushman K. Davis, William C. Goodloe,
Thomas C. Platt and Galusha A. Grow; Martin I. Townsend placed Chester
A. Arthur in nomination and was seconded by H. H. Bingham, John R.
Lynch, Patrick H. Winston and P. B. S. Pinchback; J. B. Foraker
nominated John Sherman, of Ohio, and John D. Long presented the name of
George F. Edmunds, of Vermont. This closed the list of nominations. The
convention adjourned about two o'clock Friday morning. On assembling
about 11:30 a. m. the convention proceeded at once to balloting. Four
ballots were taken and Mr. Blaine gained steadily on each ballot. At the
end of the third ballot the opposition forces endeavored to secure an
adjournment without success, and then J. B. Foraker, of Ohio, moved to
suspend the rules and nominate Mr. Blaine by acclamation, but to save
time the motion was withdrawn and the balloting proceeded. Shelby M.
Cullom attempted to read a telegram from John A. Logan, withdrawing in
favor of Mr. Blaine, but was prevented by the administration party. The
ballots were as follows, with 820 delegates present:

                        1st        2d         3d         4th
                      Ballot.    Ballot.    Ballot.    Ballot.
  Blaine ............   334½       349        375        541
  Arthur ............   278        276        274        207
  Edmunds ...........    93         85         69         41
  Logan .............    63½        61         53          7
  Sherman ...........    30         28         25
  Hawley ............    13         13         13         15
  Lincoln ...........     4          4          8          2
  W. T. Sherman .....     2          2          2

After the tumult had subsided, H. G. Burleigh, of New York, moved, in
behalf of President Arthur, and at his request, that the nomination be
made unanimous, which was done with tremendous cheers. At the evening
session Preston B. Plumb, of Kansas, nominated John A. Logan for
Vice-President. An effort was made to make it unanimous, but as there
were a few dissenting voices to this, a ballot was taken, showing 779
votes for Logan, six for Gresham, and six for Foraker. Blaine, "The
Plumed Knight" of Maine, and Logan, "The Black Eagle" of Illinois, made
a ticket well calculated to create tremendous enthusiasm throughout the
country.

James G. Blaine was born at West Brownsville, Pa., January 31, 1830, and
after graduating from college became a teacher, and in 1854 settled at
Augusta, Maine, and took the editorship of a newspaper and soon became
prominent. He was elected to the State Legislature in 1858, and became
Chairman of the Republican State Committee; he entered Congress in 1863
from Maine, made a brilliant reputation and became the party leader in
the House; was Speaker of the House three terms, from 1869 to 1875;
served in the United States Senate from 1876 to 1881. In 1876 he was a
prominent candidate for the nomination, as also in 1880. After the
election of Mr. Garfield he was Secretary of State, but resigned shortly
after President Arthur's accession.

The National Anti-Monopoly Convention was held at Chicago on May 14th,
and nominated Benjamin F. Butler, of Massachusetts, for President, and
left the office of Vice-President to be filled by a committee, Gen. A.
M. West, of Mississippi, being subsequently chosen. The National
Greenback-Labor Convention at Indianapolis, on May 28th, endorsed the
nomination of Butler and West. The Democratic National Convention met at
Chicago on July 8, 1884, and nominated Grover Cleveland, of New York,
for President, on the second ballot, and Thomas A. Hendricks, of
Indiana, for Vice-President, by acclamation. These selections were made
to secure, if possible, the electoral vote of the two doubtful and
pivotal States. The Democratic platform demanded a change of parties; it
declared that the will of the people had been defeated by fraud in 1876;
that the Republican Party was extravagant, and had failed to keep its
pledges; denounced the existing tariff and pledged the party to its
regulation. The Prohibition National Convention at Pittsburg, on July
12th, named John P. St. John, of Kansas, for President, and William
Daniels, of Maryland, for Vice-President.

The campaign of 1884 was one of the most remarkable ever fought by the
Republican Party. An unusual feature was that for the first time in its
history a strong wing of the Republican Party openly refused to support
the nominee. These Independent Republicans became known as "Mugwumps,"
an Indian name meaning a great or wise person. It was first applied
derisively, but afterwards accepted by the Independents as a party name.
They were not strong in numbers, but as the campaign drew near its close
and it was seen that the election would be very close, the seriousness
of the Republican revolt was felt. The entire campaign was marked with
great personal bitterness, and charges of corruption and dishonesty were
made against both candidates; against Mr. Blaine because of his alleged
connection with the Little Rock Railroad matter in 1876. This accusation
was brought to the people by the publication of the Mulligan letters
September 16, 1884, but the charge was without foundation. The defection
of the Mugwumps and the bitter personal attacks had the effect of making
Mr. Blaine's friends more enthusiastic in their work for him, and he
probably would have won the contest had it not been for the unfortunate
utterance of Dr. Burchard in New York City, six days before the
election, at a reception by Mr. Blaine to a delegation of clergymen, in
which the Democratic Party was referred to as one whose antecedents have
been "Rum, Romanism and Rebellion." This remark was dishonestly
attributed to Mr. Blaine, and unquestionably lost thousands of votes,
because the accusation could not be refuted satisfactorily in the few
days remaining before the election. New York, with its thirty-six
electoral votes, was lost by the narrow margin of 1149 popular votes,
and the election went to the Democrats. A Democratic House was also
elected. The electoral vote gave Cleveland and Hendricks 219 and Blaine
and Logan 182. The popular vote was: Cleveland 4,874,986, Blaine
4,851,981, Butler 175,370, St. John 150,369.

Mr. Cleveland was inaugurated March 4, 1885, and the country had a
Democratic President for the first time since Mr. Buchanan was
inaugurated in 1857, counting the administration of Mr. Johnson as
Republican. Mr. Cleveland's first term of office reached from March,
1885, to March, 1889, and was marked by no legislation or events
seriously affecting the condition of the great parties. There was a
liberal use of the veto power, and the Democratic Party was split into
two factions over the tariff question, one wing demanding free trade and
the other tariff for revenue only, with incidental protection. The first
session of the Forty-ninth Congress met December 7, 1885, and owing to
the death of Vice-President Hendricks, John Sherman was elected
President pro tem. of the Senate. John G. Carlisle, Democrat, was
elected Speaker of the House. Owing to the fact that the House and the
Senate were controlled by different parties there was no party
legislation during the sessions of the Forty-ninth Congress, and the
same may be said of the Fiftieth Congress, which opened its first
session on December 5, 1887. The third annual message of President
Cleveland, read at the opening of this Congress, declared for free
trade, and this became the slogan of the Democratic Party, the House
passing the Mills Tariff Bill, which was rejected by the Senate. As Mr.
Cleveland's term drew to a close it was announced that he would be a
candidate for re-nomination. In the Republican Party there was no
certainty as to who would receive the nomination. Mr. Blaine announced
that he would not be a candidate, and it was felt that the nomination
would probably go to John Sherman. The declaration of Mr. Cleveland in
favor of free trade afforded a direct issue in 1888, and the Republicans
accepted it promptly by declaring for a protective tariff.

[Illustration: Benjamin Harrison.]




CHAPTER XVII.

HARRISON.


"No other people have a government more worthy of their respect and
love, or a land so magnificent in extent, so pleasant to look upon, and
so full of generous suggestion to enterprise and labor. God has placed
upon our head a diadem, and has laid at our feet power and wealth beyond
definition or calculation. But we must not forget that we take these
gifts upon the condition that justice and mercy shall hold the reins of
power, and that the upward avenues of hope shall be free to all the
people."

_Benjamin Harrison's Inaugural Address_, _March_ 4, 1889.


Three National Conventions met on May 15, 1888. The Union Labor
Convention at Cincnnati nominated Alson J. Streeter, of Illinois, for
President, and Samuel Evans, of Texas, for Vice-President; the United
Labor Convention, at the same place, nominated Robert H. Cowdrey, of
Illinois, and W. H. T. Wakefield, of Kansas; and the Equal Rights
Convention, at Des Moines, Iowa, nominated Mrs. Belva A. Lockwood, of
the District of Columbia, for President, and Alfred H. Love, of
Pennsylvania, for Vice-President. The popular vote for these tickets in
the various States was small and did not influence the result. The
Prohibition Convention met at Indianapolis May 20, 1888, and nominated
Clinton B. Fisk, of New Jersey, and John A. Brooks, of Missouri; the
total Prohibition vote was 249,506, a gain of 100,000 over the total
vote of 1884.

In this year, for the first time since 1860, the Democratic National
Convention was held before the Republican National Convention. The
Democrats assembled at St. Louis, Missouri, on June 5, 1888, and
nominated Grover Cleveland without any opposition, something which had
not occurred in a Democratic Convention for forty-eight years; Allen G.
Thurman, of Ohio, was nominated for Vice-President on the first ballot.
The Democratic platform of 1888 reaffirmed that of 1884, and endorsed
the "views expressed by President Cleveland in his last earnest message
to Congress as a correct interpretation of that platform upon the
question of tariff reduction;" it welcomed a scrutiny of its four years
of executive power; advocated homesteads for the people, and civil
service and tariff reform. When the Republicans met at Chicago it
appeared that John Sherman, of Ohio, was the strongest candidate, and
that he might receive the nomination on the third or fourth ballot, but
there was a large number of "favorite sons," and no one could exactly
determine what might happen before the balloting was concluded. Mr.
Blaine, in the closing months of 1887, was unquestionably the unanimous
choice of the party, and he would probably have been nominated by
acclamation had he not in a letter from Florence, Italy, dated January
25, 1888, declined absolutely to be a candidate. So earnest, however,
was the desire for his nomination, that many of his friends refused to
be silenced by his emphatic declaration, and it became necessary for him
to write a second letter from Paris on May 17th, in which he reiterated
his former declaration, and refused to allow his name to be considered,
but he predicted that the tariff question would be the issue, and that
an overwhelming success for the Republican Party would be the result of
the campaign. The confusion caused by his withdrawal led to the large
number of candidates, but gradually the sentiment of the party began to
look for a man who would not only be able to carry the States won by the
Republicans in 1884, but who would also make the best showing in the
doubtful States, principal among which were New York and Indiana.

On Tuesday, June 19, 1888, at 12:30 p. m., the Republican National
Convention was called to order by Chairman B. F. Jones, of the National
Committee. After an eloquent prayer by Dr. Gunsaulus, of the Plymouth
Church, Chicago, the call for the convention was read by Secretary
Fessenden. The name of John M. Thurston, of Nebraska, for temporary
Chairman, was reported by the National Committee; the roll-call of
States was then made, at which the delegates announced the names of the
persons selected to serve on the Permanent Organization, Rules and Order
of Business, Credentials and Resolutions Committees. Considerable time
was consumed in a preliminary hearing of the factional fight in Virginia
between the Mahone and Wise Republicans. A notable feature of this
session of the convention was the speech by John C. Fremont, the first
candidate of the party for President. The convention adjourned at 3:30
p. m. until the following day at noon. On convening, the Committee on
Permanent Organization reported the name of M. M. Estee, of California,
for permanent President, and also the usual number of vice-presidents
and honorary secretaries. The Committee on Rules and Order of Business
reported and the report was adopted. One important rule was that no
change of votes could be made after the vote had been announced, until
after the result of the ballot had been announced; this tended to
prevent a stampede, and added materially to the deliberateness of the
convention. The Committee on Credentials not being ready to report, the
convention adjourned at 2:15 p. m. to meet again at 8 p. m.; at the
opening of the evening session neither of the Committees on Credentials
or Resolutions were ready to report, and the convention listened to
stirring speeches by William O. Bradley, of Kentucky, and Governor J. B.
Foraker, of Ohio. The Committee on Credentials then reported, and on the
Virginia contest seated the Mahone delegates-at-large and the Wise
District delegates from all but one district. The convention adjourned
at 11:25 p. m. to meet at 10 a. m. Thursday. On Thursday morning, after
the roll had been called for names and members of the National
Committee, the platform was reported by William McKinley, of Ohio, who
received a remarkable ovation as he moved forward to take the stand. It
was adopted unanimously by a rising vote, and was the longest ever
presented by a Republican Convention.

REPUBLICAN PLATFORM, 1888.

The Republicans of the United States, assembled by their delegates in
national convention, pause on the threshold of their proceedings to
honor the memory of their first great leader, the immortal champion of
liberty and the rights of the people--Abraham Lincoln; and to cover
also with wreaths of imperishable remembrance and gratitude the heroic
names of our later leaders, who have more recently been called away from
our councils--Grant, Garfield, Arthur, Logan, Conkling. May their
memories be faithfully cherished. We also recall, with our greetings and
with prayer for his recovery, the name of one of our living heroes,
whose memory will be treasured in the history both of Republicans and of
the Republic--the name of that noble soldier and favorite child of
victory, Phillip H. Sheridan.

In the spirit of those great leaders, and of our own devotion to human
liberty, and with that hostility to all forms of despotism and
oppression which is the fundamental idea of the Republican Party, we
send fraternal congratulations to our fellow-Americans of Brazil upon
their great act of emancipation, which completed the abolition of
slavery throughout the two American continents. We earnestly hope that
we may soon congratulate our fellow-citizens of Irish birth upon the
peaceful recovery of home rule for Ireland.

FREE SUFFRAGE.

We reaffirm our unswerving devotion to the national Constitution and to
the indissoluble union of the states; to the autonomy reserved to the
states under the Constitution; to the personal rights and liberties of
citizens in all the states and territories in the Union, and especially
to the supreme and sovereign right of every lawful citizen, rich or
poor, native or foreign born, white or black, to cast one free ballot in
public elections and to have that ballot duly counted. We hold the free
and honest popular ballot and the just and equal representation of all
the people to be the foundation of our republican government, and demand
effective legislation to secure the integrity and purity of elections,
which are the foundations of all public authority. We charge that the
present administration and Democratic majority in Congress owe their
existence to the suppression of the ballot by a criminal nullification
of the Constitution and laws of the United States.

PROTECTION TO AMERICAN INDUSTRIES.

We are uncompromisingly in favor of the American system of protection;
we protest against its destruction as proposed by the President and his
party. They serve the interests of Europe; we will support the interests
of America. We accept the issue and confidently appeal to the people for
their judgment. The protective system must be maintained. Its
abandonment has always been followed by general disaster to all
interests, except those of the usurer and the sheriff. We denounce the
Mills bill as destructive to the general business, the labor, and the
farming interests of the country, and we heartily indorse the consistent
and patriotic action of the Republican representatives in Congress in
opposing its passage.

DUTIES ON WOOL.

We condemn the proposition of the Democratic Party to place wool on the
free list, and we insist that the duties thereon shall be adjusted and
maintained so as to furnish full and adequate protection to that
industry.

THE INTERNAL REVENUE.

The Republican Party would effect all needed reduction of the national
revenue by repealing the taxes upon tobacco, which are an annoyance and
burden to agriculture, and the tax upon spirits used in the arts and for
mechanical purposes, and by such revision of the tariff laws as will
tend to check imports of such articles as are produced by our people,
the production of which gives employment to our labor, and release from
import duties those articles of foreign production (except luxuries) the
like of which cannot be produced at home. If there shall still remain a
larger revenue than is requisite for the wants of the government, we
favor the entire repeal of internal taxes rather than the surrender of
any part of our protective system, at the joint behests of the whisky
trusts and the agents of foreign manufacturers.

FOREIGN CONTRACT LABOR.

We declare our hostility to the introduction into this country of
foreign contract labor and of Chinese labor, alien to our civilization
and our Constitution, and we demand the rigid enforcement of the
existing laws against it, and favor such immediate legislation as will
exclude such labor from our shores.

COMBINATIONS OF CAPITAL.

We declare our opposition to all combinations of capital, organized in
trusts or otherwise, to control arbitrarily the condition of trade among
our citizens; and we recommend to Congress and the state legislatures,
in their respective jurisdictions, such legislation as will prevent the
execution of all schemes to oppress the people by undue charges on their
supplies or by unjust rates for the transportation of their products to
market. We approve the legislation by Congress to prevent alike unjust
burdens and unfair discrimination between the states.

HOMES FOR THE PEOPLE.

We reaffirm the policy of appropriating the public lands of the United
States to be homesteads for American citizens and settlers, not aliens,
which the Republican Party established in 1862, against the persistent
opposition of the Democrats in Congress, and which has brought our great
Western domain into such magnificent development. The restoration of
unearned railroad land-grants to the public domain for the use of actual
settlers, which was begun under the administration of President Arthur,
should be continued. We deny that the Democratic Party has ever restored
one acre to the people, but declare that by the joint action of the
Republicans and Democrats about 50,000,000 acres of unearned lands
originally granted for the construction of railroads have been restored
to the public domain, in pursuance of the conditions inserted by the
Republican Party in the original grants. We charge the Democratic
administration with failure to execute the laws securing to settlers
title to their homesteads, and with using appropriations made for that
purpose to harass innocent settlers with spies and prosecutions, under
the false pretense of exposing frauds and vindicating the law.

HOME RULE IN TERRITORIES.

The government by Congress of the territories is based upon necessity
only, to the end that they may become states in the Union; therefore,
whenever the conditions of population, material resources, public
intelligence and morality are such as to insure a stable local
government therein, the people of such territories should be permitted,
as a right inherent in them, the right to form for themselves
constitutions and state governments, and be admitted to the Union.
Pending the preparation for statehood, all officers thereof should be
selected from the bona fide residents and citizens of the territory
wherein they are to serve.

ADMITTANCE OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

South Dakota should of right be immediately admitted as a state in the
Union, under the constitution framed and adopted by her people, and we
heartily indorse the action of the Republican Senate in twice passing
bills for her admission. The refusal of the Democratic House of
Representatives, for partisan purposes, to favorably consider these
bills, is a willful violation of the sacred American principle of local
self-government, and merits the condemnation of all just men. The
pending bills in the Senate for acts to enable the people of Washington,
North Dakota, and Montana Territories to form constitutions and
establish state governments should be passed without unnecessary delay.
The Republican Party pledges itself to do all in its power to facilitate
the admission of the Territories of New Mexico, Wyoming, Idaho and
Arizona to the enjoyment of self-government as states--such of them as
are now qualified as soon as possible, and the others as soon as they
may become so.

MORMONISM.

The political power of the Mormon Church in the territories as exercised
in the past is a menace to free institutions, a danger no longer to be
suffered. Therefore we pledge the Republican Party to appropriate
legislation asserting the sovereignity of the nation in all territories
where the same is questioned, and in furtherance of that end to a place
upon the statute books legislation stringent enough to divorce the
political from the ecclesiastical power, and thus stamp out the
attendant wickedness of polygamy.

[Illustration: John Sherman.]

BIMETALISM.

The Republican Party is in favor of the use of both gold and silver as
money, and condemns the policy of the Democratic administration in its
efforts to demonetize silver.

REDUCTION OF LETTER POSTAGE.

We demand the reduction of letter postage to one cent per ounce.

FREE SCHOOLS.

In a Republic like ours, where the citizen is the sovereign and the
official the servant, where no power is exercised except by the will of
the people, it is important that the sovereign--the people--should
possess intelligence. The free school is the promoter of that
intelligence which is to preserve us a free nation; therefore the state
or nation, or both combined, should support free institutions of
learning sufficient to afford to every child growing up in the land the
opportunity of a good common school education.

ARMY AND NAVY FORTIFICATIONS.

We earnestly recommend that prompt action be taken by Congress in the
enactment of such legislation as will best secure the rehabilitation of
our American merchant marine, and we protest against the passage by
Congress of a free-ship bill, as calculated to work injustice to labor
by lessening the wages of those engaged in preparing materials as well
as those directly employed in our shipyards. We demand appropriations
for the early rebuilding of our navy; for the construction of coast
fortifications and modern ordnance, and other approved modern means of
defense for the protection of our defenseless harbors and cities; for
the payment of just pensions to our soldiers; for the necessary works of
national importance in the improvement of harbors and the channels of
internal, coastwise, and foreign commerce; for the encouragement of the
shipping interests of the Atlantic, Gulf and Pacific States, as well as
for the payment of the maturing public debt. This policy will give
employment to our labor, activity to our various industries, increase
the security of our country, promote trade, open new and direct markets
for our produce, and cheapen the cost of transportation. We affirm this
to be far better for our country than the Democratic policy of loaning
the government's money, without interest, to "pet banks."

THE MONROE DOCTRINE.

The conduct of foreign affairs by the present administration has been
distinguished by its inefficiency and its cowardice. Having withdrawn
from the Senate all pending treaties effected by Republican
administrations for the removal of foreign burdens and restrictions upon
our commerce and for its extension into better markets, it has neither
effected nor proposed any others in their stead. Professing adherence to
the Monroe doctrine, it has seen, with idle complacency, the extension
of foreign influence in Central America and of foreign trade everywhere
among our neighbors. It has refused to charter, sanction, or encourage
any American organization for constructing the Nicaraguan Canal, a work
of vital importance to the maintenance of the Monroe doctrine, and of
our national influence in Central and South America, and necessary for
the development of trade with our Pacific territory, with South America,
and with the islands and farther coasts of the Pacific Ocean.

PROTECTION OF OUR FISHERIES.

We arraign the Democratic administration for its weak and unpatriotic
treatment of the fisheries question, and its pusillanimous surrender of
the essential privileges to which our fishing vessels are entitled in
Canadian ports under the treaty of 1818, the reciprocal maritime
legislation of 1830, and the comity of nations, and which Canadian
vessels receive in the ports of the United States. We condemn the policy
of the present administration and the Democratic majority in Congress
toward our fisheries as unfriendly and conspicuously unpatriotic, and as
tending to destroy a valuable national industry and an indispensable
resource of defense against a foreign enemy. The name of American
applies alike to all citizens of the republic, and imposes upon all
alike the same obligation of obedience to the laws. At the same time
that citizenship is and must be the panoply and safeguard of him who
wears it, and protect him, whether high or low, rich or poor, in all his
civil rights. It should and must afford him protection at home and
follow and protect him abroad, in whatever land he may be, on a lawful
errand.

CIVIL-SERVICE REFORM.

The men who abandoned the Republican Party in 1884, and continue to
adhere to the Democratic Party have deserted not only the cause of
honest government, of sound finance, of freedom, of purity of the
ballot, but especially have deserted the cause of reform in the civil
service. We will not fail to keep our pledges because they have broken
theirs, or because their candidate has broken his. We therefore repeat
our declaration of 1884, to wit: "The reform of the civil service,
auspiciously begun under the Republican administration, should be
completed by the further extension of the reform system, already
established by law, to all the grades of the service to which it is
applicable. The spirit and purpose of the reform should be observed in
all executive appointments, and all laws at variance with the object of
existing reform legislation should be repealed, to the end that the
dangers to free institutions which lurk in the power of official
patronage may be wisely and effectively avoided.

PENSIONS FOR THE SOLDIERS.

The gratitude of the nation to the defenders of the Union cannot be
measured by laws. The legislation of Congress should conform to the
pledge made by a loyal people, and be so enlarged and extended as to
provide against the possibility that any man who honorably wore the
Federal uniform should become the inmate of an almshouse, or dependent
upon private charity. In the presence of an overflowing treasury, it
would be a public scandal to do less for those whose valorous service
preserved the government. We denounce the hostile spirit of President
Cleveland in his numerous vetoes of measures for pension relief, and the
action of the Democratic House of Representatives in refusing even a
consideration of general pension legislation.

In support of the principles herewith enunciated, we invite the
co-operation of patriotic men of all parties, and especially of all
workingmen, whose prosperity is seriously threatened by the free-trade
policy of the present administration.

Next in order of business was the presentation of candidates for
President. Mr. Warner presented the name of Jos. R. Hawley, of
Connecticut; Leonard Sweet nominated Walter Q. Gresham, of Illinois;
Albert G. Porter nominated Benjamin Harrison, of Indiana, and at the
close of this speech the convention recessed until 3 p. m., at which
time Mr. Harrison's nomination was seconded by Mr. Terrill, of Texas,
and Mr. Gallinger, of New Hampshire; Mr. Hepburn, of Iowa, nominated Wm.
B. Allison; Robert E. Frazer nominated Russel A. Alger; Senator Hiscock
nominated Chauncey M. Depew; Daniel B. Hastings nominated John Sherman;
Mr. Smith nominated E. H. Fitler, and Governor Rush nominated Jeremiah
M. Rusk, and the convention adjourned at 7:26 p. m., until the morning,
when the balloting would begin.

On Friday, June 22d, the convention met about 11 a. m., and, after
taking three ballots without any result or indication of the nomination
of any person, adjourned to meet at an evening session. At the evening
session Mr. Depew withdrew his name, and after some miscellaneous
business the session adjourned without taking a ballot. On Saturday,
June 23d, two ballots were taken without any final result, but they
showed a decided increase for Mr. Harrison and indicated his nomination.
A recess was taken until 4 p. m., and on meeting at that hour the
convention adjourned without taking any further ballots, until Monday
morning. On Monday, the sixth, seventh and eighth ballots were taken,
resulting in the nomination of Mr. Harrison on the eighth, the
nomination being made unanimous on motion of Governor Foraker, of Ohio.
The votes for the principal candidates on the different ballots were as
follows:

                    1st     2d     3d    4th    5th    6th    7th    8th
  Sherman ......... 229    249    244    235    224    244    231    118
  Gresham ......... 111    108    123     98     87     91     91     59
  Depew ...........  99     99     91    ...    ...    ...    ...    ...
  Alger ...........  84    116    122    135    142    137    120    100
  Harrison ........  80     91     94    217    213    231    278    544
  Allison .........  72     75     88     88     99     73     76    ...
  Blaine ..........  35     33     35     42     48     40     15      5

Others who received votes on the various ballots were John J. Ingalls,
Jeremiah M. Rusk, W. W. Phelps, E. H. Fitler, Joseph R. Hawley, Robert
T. Lincoln, William McKinley, Jr. (who received votes on every ballot,
two on the first ballot, his highest, sixteen, on the seventh), Samuel
F. Miller, Frederick Douglas, Joseph B. Foraker, Frederick D. Grant and
Creed Haymond.

The man who was thus honored by the Republican Party over all of the
other eminent men before the convention was by no means an unknown
quantity. Mr. Harrison was born at North Bend, Ohio, August 20, 1833.
He was a grandson of President William Henry Harrison, and his
great-great-grandfather was one of the signers of the Declaration of
Independence. After graduating from college he was admitted to the bar
and practiced law in Indianapolis; he was elected Reporter of the
Indiana Supreme Court in 1860, and left the position to become a
volunteer in the Federal army in 1862, and was made Colonel of an
Indiana regiment; his army record was good, and he left the service with
the brevet rank of Brigadier-General. Resuming his law practice he
became very successful, and his public speaking made him prominent. In
1876 he was defeated by a small majority for Governor of Indiana, and in
1880 his name had been presented to the Republican National Convention.
He had served in the United States Senate from 1881 to 1887.

Levi P. Morton, of New York, was nominated for Vice-President on the
first ballot, receiving 591 votes to 119 for Wm. W. Phelps and 103 for
Wm. O. Bradley, of Kentucky. Blanch K. Bruce, of Mississippi, and Walter
F. Thomas, of Texas, also received votes.

The campaign of 1888 was fought with earnestness and vigor on both
sides. The tariff question overshadowed all others at this period and
was made the great issue of the canvass. Like those of 1880 and 1884,
this campaign was not without a striking incident that had its influence
on the vote. On October 25, 1888, occurred the publication of the
Murchison correspondence, in which the British Minister, Lord
Sackville-West, in a letter dated September 13th, indiscreetly answered
a letter purporting to come from one Charles F. Murchison, of Pomona,
Cal., a naturalized Englishman, asking advice how to vote. Lord
Sackville-West's reply, while not direct, was that a vote for the
Democratic Party would be more friendly to England than one for the
Republican Party, a declaration which was immediately seized upon by the
Republicans and made much of to influence the votes of those who were
undecided on the tariff issue.

At the election on November 6th Harrison and Morton carried twenty
States, with their 233 electoral votes, and Cleveland and Thurman
carried eighteen States, with 123 electoral votes. The popular vote was:

  Harrison ............. 5,439,853    Cleveland ............ 5,540,329
  Fisk .................   249,505    Streeter .............   146,935

The Republicans also gained control of both branches of Congress.

President Harrison's term, reaching from March, 1889, to March, 1893,
was one of political turmoil. The first session of the Fifty-first
Congress convened on December 2, 1889, and Thomas B. Reed, of Maine, was
elected Speaker of the House. The majority of the Republicans being so
small, he soon announced his intention of ignoring the usual rule of not
counting a member as present unless he voted, and stated a new rule, of
counting those who were present as present, even though they did not
vote. This and other rulings were adopted by a party vote, and Mr. Reed
was called the "Czar" by the Democrats.

The most important work of this Congress and the great political event
of Harrison's administration was the enactment of the McKinley Tariff
Bill, which was reported to the House of Representatives on April 16,
1890, by William McKinley, Chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means.
After considerable debate, it was passed by the House on May 21st, and
by the Senate in September, and became a law October 1, 1890. The
continued efforts of the Democrats brought the McKinley Tariff law into
much public disfavor, and resulted in overwhelming Democratic victories
in the Congressional elections in November, 1890, by which the Democrats
regained control of the House, and their minority of 18 in the
Fifty-first Congress was changed to a majority of 129 in the
Fifty-second.

A new party, the People's Party, which will be considered later,
appeared in politics with success for the first time at the elections in
1890. Other important measures advocated and adopted by the Republicans
in the Fifty-first Congress were more liberal Pension Laws (June 27,
1890), and the Sherman Anti-Trust Bill (June 26, 1890). The so-called
Sherman Silver Act of July 14, 1890, was in reality a concession to the
strong silver element which was appearing in both the great parties at
this time, and which was to have so momentous an influence on political
history in later presidential campaigns. This Act provided for the
purchase of 4,500,000 ounces of silver bullion each month, to be paid
for in paper money called Treasury Notes, redeemable on demand in gold
or silver, and for the coinage of 2,000,000 ounces per month in dollars;
after July 1, 1891, the silver was not to be coined, but might be stored
in the Treasury and silver certificates issued. The purchasing clause of
the Bland-Allison Act of 1878 was repealed.

As the time approached for the presidential campaign of 1892 the
political situation was peculiar. President Harrison was openly a
candidate for re-election, but he was unpopular with many of the strong
Republican leaders, who, as a matter of course, turned to Mr. Blaine,
then Secretary of State. Mr. Blaine, however, on February 6, 1892, wrote
Mr. Clarkson, Chairman of the National Republican Committee, declining
to be a candidate, but his friends, notwithstanding, persisted in
booming him. The country was astonished on June 4th, three days before
the Convention, to learn that Mr. Blaine had resigned from the Cabinet.
Did it mean that he was desirous of returning to private life, or of
withdrawing his declination and entering actively into the fight for the
nomination? Mr. Blaine did not explain, and the uncertainty was
perplexing as the day for the Convention approached.

In the Democratic Party the situation at first was equally uncertain as
to who might be the nominee, but as the State Delegations were chosen,
it was seen that Mr. Cleveland would again be nominated in spite of the
opposition of Gov. Hill and the New York delegation. Public attention
centered, in June, 1892, on Minneapolis and Chicago, where the
Republican and Democratic Conventions were to be held.




CHAPTER XVIII.

CLEVELAND'S SECOND TERM.


"Cleveland's (second) election created the disturbances that followed
it. The fear of radical changes in the Tariff Law was the basis of them.
That law caused the falling of prices, the stagnation of some
industries, and the suspension of others. No doubt the fall in the value
of silver and the increased demand for gold largely precipitated and
added to the other evils."

_John Sherman's Recollections._


The delegates for the Tenth Republican National Convention assembled at
Minneapolis, Minn., in the opening days of June, 1892. The friends of
Mr. Blaine were booming his candidacy, although no direct expression had
come from him as to whether or not he actively desired the nomination.
His sudden and unexpected resignation from President Harrison's Cabinet
had created a situation difficult to analyze, but the general opinion
was that he had hurt his prospects by his action. The anti-Harrison
sentiment was strong, however, and there was much talk of the possible
nomination of a "dark horse," and the name of William McKinley, of Ohio,
"the Napoleon of Tariff," was most spoken of in this respect. As the day
of the Convention drew near both the Blaine and Harrison men expressed
the utmost confidence in their certain success, and the first occasion
in the Convention that would call for a test of strength was looked for
with great interest.

About 12:24 p. m., Tuesday, June 7, 1892, Chairman James S. Clarkson, of
the Republican National Committee, called the Tenth Convention to order,
and announced the selection, by the National Committee, of J. Sloat
Fassett, of New York, as temporary Chairman. At the close of Mr.
Fassett's speech of acceptance the Convention called for Thomas B. Reed,
who reluctantly came forward and addressed the Convention briefly. The
roll-call of States for the selection of members of the various
committees consumed the time until almost two o'clock, when the
convention adjourned to meet the next morning. On reassembling the
Committee on Credentials was granted further time; the Committee on
Permanent Organization reported the name of William McKinley, of Ohio,
for Permanent President of the Convention, who took the gavel amid great
applause and enthusiasm, and delivered a short, pithy speech. The
Committee on Rules reported, and further time was granted the Committee
on Resolutions. After calling the roll of States for names of the new
National Committeemen, the Convention adjourned for the day. On Thursday
morning, June 9th, the Committee on Credentials was still not ready to
report, and as nothing could be done until they did report, the
Convention took a recess at 11:45 a. m. to 8 p. m. At the opening of the
evening session Mr. Depew, of New York, congratulated Col. Dick
Thompson, of Indiana, who had voted for every President of the United
States for the past sixty years, on reaching on that day his
eighty-third birthday, and the Convention listened to a short speech of
thanks from Col. Thompson. The Committee on Credentials now reported,
and the majority were in favor of the seating of enough administration
delegates to make a net gain of 12 votes for Harrison, and the first
contest of strength between the Blaine and the Harrison forces came on a
motion to substitute the minority report in favor of seating the Blaine
delegates. The vote on this motion was taken amid intense excitement,
and resulted in a victory for the Harrison forces by a close vote of
462½ to 423. Joseph B. Foraker, of Ohio, Chairman of the Committee on
Resolutions, now reported the platform, which was in the following
words:

REPUBLICAN PLATFORM, 1892.

The representatives of the Republicans of the United States, assembled
in general convention on the shores of the Mississippi River, the
everlasting bond of an indestructible republic, whose most glorious
chapter of history is the record of the Republican Party, congratulate
their countrymen on the majestic march of the nation under the banners
inscribed with the principles of our platform of 1888, vindicated by
victory at the polls and prosperity in our fields, workshops and mines,
and make the following declaration of principles:

THE PRINCIPLE OF PROTECTION.

We reaffirm the American doctrine of protection. We call attention to
its growth abroad. We maintain that the prosperous condition of our
country is largely due to the wise revenue legislation of the last
Republican Congress. We believe that all articles which cannot be
produced in the United States, except luxuries, should be admitted free
of duty, and that on all imports coming into competition with the
products of American labor there should be levied duties equal to the
difference between wages abroad and at home.

We assert that the prices of manufactured articles of general
consumption have been reduced under the operations of the Tariff Act
of 1890.

We denounce the efforts of the Democratic majority of the House of
Representatives to destroy our tariff laws piecemeal, as manifested by
their attacks upon wool, lead, and lead ores, the chief products of a
number of states, and we ask the people for their judgment thereon.

TRIUMPH OF RECIPROCITY.

We point to the success of the Republican policy of reciprocity, under
which our export trade has vastly increased and new and enlarged markets
have been opened for the products of our farms and workshops. We remind
the people of the bitter opposition of the Democratic Party to this
practical business measure, and claim that, executed by a Republican
administration, our present laws will eventually give us control of the
trade of the world.

FREE AND SAFE COINAGE OF GOLD AND SILVER.

The American people, from tradition and interest, favor bimetalism, and
the Republican party demands the use of both gold and silver as standard
money, with such restrictions and under such provisions, to be
determined by legislation, as will secure the maintenance of the parity
of values of the two metals, so that the purchasing and debt-paying
power of the dollar, whether of silver, gold, or paper, shall be at all
times equal. The interests of the producers of the country, its farmers
and its workingmen, demand that every dollar, paper, or coin, issued by
the government shall be as good as any other. We commend the wise and
patriotic steps already taken by our government to secure an
international conference to adopt such measures as will insure a parity
of value between gold and silver for use as money throughout the world.

FREEDOM OF THE BALLOT.

We demand that every citizen of the United States shall be allowed to
cast one free and unrestricted ballot in all public elections, and that
such ballot shall be counted and returned as cast; that such laws shall
be enacted and enforced as will secure to every citizen, be he rich or
poor, native or foreign born, white or black, this sovereign right,
guaranteed by the Constitution. The free and honest popular ballot, the
just and equal representation of all the people, as well as their just
and equal protection under the laws, are the foundation of our
republican institutions, and the party will never relax its efforts
until the integrity of the ballot and the purity of elections shall be
fully guaranteed and protected in every state.

OUTRAGES IN THE SOUTH.

We denounce the continued inhuman outrages perpetrated upon American
citizens for political reasons in certain Southern States of the Union.

EXTENSION OF FOREIGN COMMERCE.

We favor the extension of our foreign commerce, the restoration of our
mercantile marine by home-built ships, and the creation of a navy for
the protection of our national interests and the honor of our flag; the
maintenance of the most friendly relations with all foreign powers,
entangling alliance with none, and the protection of the rights of our
fishermen.

MONROE DOCTRINE.

We reaffirm our approval of the Monroe doctrine, and believe in the
achievement of the manifest destiny of the Republic in its broadest
sense.

RESTRICTION OF IMMIGRATION.

We favor the enactment of more stringent laws and regulations for the
restriction of criminal, pauper, and contract immigration.

EMPLOYEES OF RAILROADS.

We favor the efficient legislation by Congress to protect the life and
limbs of employees of transportation companies engaged in carrying on
interstate commerce, and recommend legislation by the respective states
that will protect employees engaged in state commerce, in mining and
manufacturing.

CHAMPIONING THE OPPRESSED.

The Republican Party has always been the champion of the oppressed and
recognizes the dignity of manhood, irrespective of faith, color or
nationality. It sympathizes with the cause of home rule in Ireland, and
protests against the persecution of the Jews in Russia.

FREEDOM OF THOUGHT AND SPEECH.

The ultimate reliance of free popular government is the intelligence of
the people and the maintenance of freedom among all men. We therefore
declare anew our devotion to liberty of thought and conscience, of
speech and press, and approve all agencies and instrumentalities which
contribute to the education of the children of the land; but while
insisting upon the fullest measure of religious liberty, we are opposed
to any union of church and state.

TRUSTS CONDEMNED.

We reaffirm our opposition, declared in the Republican platform of 1888,
to all combinations of capital, organized in trusts or otherwise to
control arbitrarily the condition of trade among our citizens. We
heartily indorse the action already taken upon this subject, and ask for
such further legislation as may be required to remedy any defects in
existing laws and to render their enforcement more complete and
effective.

FREE DELIVERY SERVICE.

We approve the policy of extending to town, villages, and rural
communities the advantages of the free-delivery service now enjoyed by
the larger cities of the country, and reaffirm the declaration contained
in the Republican platform of 1888, pledging the reduction of letter
postage to one cent at the earliest possible moment consistent with the
maintenance of the Postoffice Department and the highest class of postal
service.

SPIRIT OF CIVIL-SERVICE REFORM.

We commend the spirit and evidence of reform in the civil service, and
the wise and consistent enforcement by the Republican Party of the laws
regulating the same.

THE NICARAGUA CANAL.

The construction of the Nicaragua Canal is of the highest importance to
the American people, both as a measure of defense and to build up and
maintain American commerce, and it should be controlled by the United
States Government.

TERRITORIES.

We favor the admission of the remaining territories at the earliest
practicable day, having due regard to the interests of the people of
the territories and of the United States.

FEDERAL TERRITORIAL OFFICERS.

All the federal officers appointed for the territories should be
selected from bona fide residents thereof, and the right of self
government should be accorded as far as practicable.

ARID LANDS.

We favor cession, subject to the homestead laws, of the arid public
lands to the states and territories in which they lie, under such
congressional restrictions as to disposition, reclamation, and
occupancy by settlers as will secure the maximum benefits to the
people.

THE COLUMBIAN EXPOSITION.

The World's Columbian Exposition is a great national undertaking, and
Congress should promptly enact such reasonable legislation in aid
thereof as will insure a discharging of the expense and obligations
incident thereto and the attainment of results commensurate with the
dignity and progress of the nation.

SYMPATHY FOR TEMPERANCE.

We sympathize with all wise and legitimate efforts to lessen and prevent
the evils of intemperance and promote morality.

PLEDGES TO THE VETERANS.

Ever mindful of the services and sacrifices of the men who saved the
life of the nation, we pledge anew to the veteran soldiers of the
Republic a watchful care and a just recognition of their claims upon a
grateful people.

HARRISON'S ADMINISTRATION COMMENDED.

We commend the able, patriotic, and thoroughly American administration
of President Harrison. Under it the country has enjoyed remarkable
prosperity, and the dignity and honor of the nation, at home and abroad,
have been faithfully maintained, and we offer the record of pledges kept
as a guarantee of faithful performance in the future.

After the adoption of the platform the Convention adjourned for the day.

At the opening of the session on June 10th, Mrs. J. Ellen Foster,
Chairman of the Woman's Republican Association of the United States, was
heard, and next in order was the nomination of candidates for President.
Senator Wolcott nominated James G. Blaine in an eloquent speech; W. H.
Eustis seconded this nomination, and at the conclusion of his splendid
speech there was twenty-seven minutes of the wildest enthusiasm for
Blaine; W. E. Mollison and G. B. Boyd also seconded Mr. Blaine's
nomination. Richard W. Thompson, ex-Secretary of the Navy, nominated
Benjamin Harrison, and was seconded by Chauncey M. Depew, Warner Miller,
Senator Spooner and B. E. Finck. The total number of votes was 905,
making 453 necessary to a choice. Only one ballot was taken as follows:

  Benjamin Harrison ........ 535 1-6    Thomas B. Reed ...........   4
  James G. Blaine .......... 182 5-6    Robert T. Lincoln ........   1
  William McKinley ......... 182

Mr. Harrison was thus nominated on the first ballot, and on motion of
Mr. McKinley the nomination was made unanimous. Whitelaw Reid of New
York was nominated for Vice-President by acclamation, and the Convention
adjourned.

The Democratic National Convention assembled at Chicago, Ill., June 21,
1892. Grover Cleveland, of New York, was nominated for the third time by
a vote of 617 1-3 to 114 for David B. Hill, his nearest opponent. Adlai
E. Stevenson, of Illinois, was named for Vice-President. The Democratic
platform of 1892 denounced Republican protection as a fraud and a
robbery of the great majority of the American people for the benefit of
the few, and said that the McKinley Tariff Law was the "culminating
atrocity" of class legislation, and promised its repeal; the platform
declared for a tariff for purposes of revenue only, and advocated the
speedy repeal of the Sherman Act of 1890.

The Prohibition Convention met at Cincinnati, Ohio, June 24, and
nominated John Bidwell, of California, and J. B. Cranfill, of Texas. A
new party had been organizing quietly for some time, and was destined to
exercise a momentous effect upon the campaign of this year and also of
1896. A Farmers' Alliance Convention had met at St. Louis in December,
1889, and formed a confederation with the Knights of Labor, Greenback
and Single Tax Parties. In December, 1890, they met at Ocala, Florida,
and adopted what is known as the "Ocala Platform," practically all of
the ideas of which were embodied in the platform of the first National
Convention of the People's Party, which met at Omaha, Neb., July 2,
1892. At this Convention James B. Weaver, of Iowa, was nominated for
President, and James G. Field, of Virginia, for Vice-President. The
platform of the People's Party in 1892 stated that corruption dominated
everything, and that the country generally was on the verge of "moral,
political and material ruin," and stated that in the last twenty-five
years' struggle of the two great parties "grievous wrongs have been
inflicted upon the suffering people;" and declared that the union of the
labor forces shall be permanent, and demanded the free and unlimited
coinage of silver and gold at 16 to 1; for an income tax; for Postal
Savings Bank; for Government ownership of railroads, telegraphs and
telephones. The Socialist-Labor Convention met at New York August 28,
1892, and nominated Simon Wing, of Massachusetts, and Charles H.
Matchett, of New York, and adopted a series of social and political
demands.

The campaign of 1892 was somewhat uninteresting as compared to those of
previous years; the political land slide of 1890 was still felt by the
Republicans, but notwithstanding it, the situation seemed hopeful. The
main encouragement for the Republicans was that the disturbances in the
Democratic party in New York might result so seriously as to lose that
State for the Democrats, but the hope was futile, and at the election on
November 8, 1892, Cleveland and Stevenson received 277 electoral votes,
to 145 for Harrison and Morton, and 22 for the People's candidates,
Weaver and Field. The popular vote was: Cleveland, 5,556,928; Harrison,
5,176,106; Weaver, 1,041,021; Bidwell, 262,034; Wing, 21,164.

The great surprise of this election, to the members of both of the old
parties, was the unexpected strength shown by the candidates of the
People's Party. By fusing with the Democrats they received the electoral
votes of Colorado, Idaho, Nevada and Kansas, and split the vote in North
Dakota and Oregon. This fusion of the People's Party and the Democrats
in the West portended serious effects on the destiny of the Democratic
Party in subsequent campaigns.

President Cleveland was inaugurated March 4, 1893, and begun his second
term of four years, which was marked by the worst financial and
industrial disasters, affecting thousands upon thousands of the American
people, ever known in the history of the country. Before he was
inaugurated, a Treaty of Annexation of Hawaii had been signed (February
14, 1893), and was being considered by the Senate, but almost his first
act of importance was to withdraw the Treaty from the consideration of
the Senate on March 9, 1893.

Fear of Democratic tinkering with the tariff began almost immediately
with Cleveland's inauguration, and manifested itself in a lack of
confidence and general business uncertainty; in addition, the currency
was in bad shape, and the business interests feared strongly that the
Silver Act of 1890 might result in the adoption of the silver standard
for the United States. The evils of the Greenback system were now felt
with full force; they could be redeemed in specie, but were not
cancelled, and were put in circulation again, thus causing a continuous
drain on the gold reserve of the country. The amount of greenbacks in
circulation was about $350,000,000, and the Treasury notes issued under
the Silver Act of 1890, exchangeable in gold, made a total gold
obligation close to $500,000,000. The threatening state of affairs now
resulted in a general withdrawal and hoarding of gold, and foreign
capital, beginning to lose its confidence in the stability of American
affairs, withdrew investments, resulting in a heavy drain on the gold
reserve, which now, for the first time, fell below $100,000,000 in
April, 1893. The general climax of all of these conditions reached its
height in the Summer and Fall of 1893, and a panic of fearful
proportions set in, resulting in the collapse of hundreds of banks and
involving and ruining business enterprises all over the country. Never
before had a panic reached so far or affected so many people as that of
this year.

With the hope of benefiting the situation by the repeal of the Silver
Act of 1890, President Cleveland called an extraordinary session of the
Fifty-third Congress, which met August 7, 1893. In the Senate were 44
Democrats and 38 Republicans, one Independent and two Farmers' Alliance;
the House was composed of 220 Democrats and 128 Republicans and eight
Populists, and organized by electing Chas. F. Crisp, of Georgia,
Speaker. On November 1, 1893, a Bill was passed repealing the Silver
purchase law of 1890, but in both branches of Congress there was a
majority in favor of free coinage, and this fact, notwithstanding that
nothing was or could be done in the way of legislation, on this subject,
although it was attempted several times, continued to disturb the
nation's financial and commercial interests. Business conditions
gradually continued to grow worse, and this situation confronted the
second session of the Fifty-third Congress, which met on December 3,
1893. The Democratic Party in the House immediately took up the
proposition of repealing the McKinley tariff law, and on December 19th,
Mr. Wm. L. Wilson, Chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means,
presented the Wilson Tariff Bill to the House, and it was passed by that
body February 1, 1894. In the Senate it met with Democratic opposition,
which joined with the Republicans in amending the bill so as to protect
certain industries. A compromise was effected with the House, and the
mutilated and unsatisfactory bill became a law on August 27, 1894,
without President Cleveland's signature.

One alarming feature of the panic of 1893 was that, as the industrial
conditions continued to grow worse, a lawless and frenzied element made
itself felt in alarming strikes in many parts of the country, in some
instances making necessary the calling out of the Regular Army. Another
manifestation of alarming and revolutionary tendency was the marching on
Washington of two armies of men to demand action from the Government,
relieving their distress; their number and character, however, did not
represent the best spirit of the American people, but that conditions
were so alarming as to cause such a movement is indeed a matter for
serious reflection.

Two years of Democratic failure in the management of the affairs of the
country had its effect on the Congressional elections in 1894, and the
Democrats experienced an overwhelming and crushing defeat, and the
Fifty-fourth Congress to meet in December, 1895, would be composed of 39
Democrats, 44 Republicans and six Alliance Senators; and 104 Democrats,
245 Republicans, one Silverite and seven Populists in the House. The
continued drain on the gold reserve made necessary the issuance of bonds
to obtain gold, and the bonded debt of the country was increased during
Cleveland's term $262,000,000. The Wilson tariff bill, it was felt,
would be insufficient to produce enough revenue to meet the expenditures
of the Government, and an attempt was made to meet the deficit by
imposing a tax of two percent on all incomes over $4,000, but this was
subsequently declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. Only one
bright spot seems to appear in all this disastrous period, and it was
the vigorous policy of interference by the President in the dispute
between Great Britain and Venezuela. A bold and decided stand was taken
for the Monroe Doctrine, but even this had its evil effect, for the
business interests were agitated by the fear of war with Great Britain.

Such was the disastrous story of four years of Democratic control of the
Government, and the Republicans, in the early months of 1896, looked
forward with the utmost confidence to the elections of their candidates,
who would be named in a convention to be held at St. Louis, Mo., in
June.




CHAPTER XIX.

M'KINLEY.


"We have been moving in untried paths, but our steps have been guided
by honor and duty. There will be no turning aside, no wavering, no
retreating. No blow has been struck except for liberty and humanity,
and none will be. We will perform without fear every national and
international obligation. The Republican Party was dedicated to freedom
forty-four years ago. It has been the party of liberty and emancipation
from that hour, not of profession, but of performance. It broke the
shackles of 4,000,000 of slaves and made them free, and to the party
of Lincoln has come another supreme opportunity which it has bravely
met in the liberation of 10,000,000 of the human family from the yoke
of imperialism."

_William McKinley_, _Canton_, _Ohio_, _July_ 12, 1900.


[Illustration: Inauguration of William McKinley, March 4, 1897.]

The opening months of 1896 were marked by a great struggle in both of
the old political parties; in the Democratic Party the struggle was one
of principle; in the Republican--of men. The silver question, which had
been a disturbing and unsettled factor in the politics of both of the
great parties for many years, dominated the Democratic Party in 1896
entirely, notwithstanding the strenuous efforts of the Cleveland
administration and the Eastern Democrats to have the party declare
against it. The instruction of the Democratic State delegations was
overwhelmingly in favor of the free coinage of silver at the ratio of 16
to 1, and the matter was decided long before the Democratic Convention
met. But how would the Gold Democrats be treated in the Convention; and
what action would they take when it declared for silver? Who would carry
the banner of the Democratic Party under the new issue? In the
Republican Party there was little fear that the Convention would be
stampeded in favor of free silver, as the instructions of the Republican
delegates were as emphatic for a sound money platform as those of the
Democratic Party had been for free silver. When the sentiment of the
Republican Party became known there was very little discussion of the
silver question, notwithstanding that it was apparent that the silver
element of the party would assert itself in the Convention, and would
probably secede on the adoption of the gold plank in the platform. The
great contest in the Republican Party in 1896 was between the two
leading candidates for the presidential nomination. Wm. McKinley, of
Ohio, and Thomas B. Reed, of Maine, were these candidates, and by reason
of their great services to the party there was at first almost an equal
division of sentiment for their nomination. Joseph H. Manley was Mr.
Reed's campaign manager, and the political destinies of Mr. McKinley
were in the hands of Marcus A. Hanna, of Ohio, who proved himself in
this canvass to be the greatest political manager in the nation's
history. The months preceding the Convention were occupied by a great
struggle for the State delegations, and although the managers for Mr.
Reed did not give up the fight until a few days before the Convention,
it was early seen that the strong trend of favor was toward Mr.
McKinley, and the indications were that he would be nominated on the
first ballot. The excitement caused by the unusual contest in both
parties was intense as the time for the national conventions approached.

The Eleventh Republican National Convention met at St. Louis, Mo., on
Tuesday, June 16, 1896, and was called to order about 12:20 p. m. by
Senator Thomas H. Carter, of Montana, Chairman of the National
Committee, and a pronounced advocate of free silver. After a prayer by
Rabbi Samuel Sale, Chairman Carter announced the selection by the
National Committee of Charles W. Fairbanks, of Indiana, as temporary
Chairman, who accepted the honor in an eloquent speech. After selecting
the various committees the Convention adjourned for the day. On
Wednesday morning, June 17th, the Committee on Permanent Organization
announced the name of John M. Thurston, of Nebraska, as President of the
Convention. He took the gavel and delivered a short, strong speech,
arousing the Convention to great enthusiasm. At the opening of the
afternoon session, Chairman J. Franklin Fort, of the Committee on
Credentials, reported, and, after a long debate concerning the contest
between rival delegations from Texas and Delaware, the majority report
was adopted, and after adopting the report of the Committee on Rules,
presented by Gen. Harry Bingham, the Convention adjourned. On the
morning of the third day of the convention the platform was reported by
Senator-elect Joseph B. Foraker, of Ohio.

REPUBLICAN PLATFORM, 1896.

The Republicans of the United States, assembled by their representatives
in national convention, appealing for the popular and historical
justification of their claims to the matchless achievements of the
thirty years of Republican rule, earnestly and confidently address
themselves to the awakened intelligence, experience, and conscience of
their countrymen in the following declaration of facts and principles:

For the first time since the civil war the people have witnessed the
calamitous consequences of full and unrestricted Democratic control of
the government. It has been a record of unparalleled incapacity,
dishonor, and disaster. In administrative management it has ruthlessly
sacrificed indispensable revenue, entailed an unceasing deficit, eked
out ordinary current expenses with borrowed money, piled up the public
debt by $262,000,000 in time of peace, forced an adverse balance of
trade, kept a perpetual menace hanging over the redemption fund, pawned
American credit to alien syndicates and reversed all the measures and
results of successful Republican rule.

In the broad effect of its policy it has precipitated panic, blighted
industry and trade with prolonged depression, closed factories, reduced
work and wages, halted enterprise, and crippled American production
while stimulating foreign production for the American market. Every
consideration of public safety and individual interest demands that the
government shall be rescued from the hands of those who have shown
themselves incapable to conduct it without disaster at home and dishonor
abroad, and shall be restored to the party which for thirty years
administered it with unequaled success and prosperity, and in this
connection we heartily indorse the wisdom, the patriotism, and the
success of the administration of President Harrison.

TARIFF.

We renew and emphasize our allegiance to the policy of protection as
the bulwark of American industrial independence and the foundation of
American development and prosperity. This true American policy taxes
foreign products and encourages home industry; it puts the burden of
revenue on foreign goods; it secures the American market for the
American producer; it upholds the American standard of wages for the
American workingman; it puts the factory by the side of the farm, and
makes the American farmer less dependent on foreign demand and price; it
diffuses general thrift, and founds the strength of all on the strength
of each. In its reasonable application it is just, fair and impartial;
equally opposed to foreign control and domestic monopoly, to sectional
discrimination and individual favoritism.

We denounce the present Democratic tariff as sectional, injurious to the
public credit, and destructive to business enterprise. We demand such an
equitable tariff on foreign imports which come into competition with
American products as will not only furnish adequate revenue for the
necessary expenses of the government, but will protect American labor
from degradation to the wage level of other lands. We are not pledged to
any particular schedules. The question of rates is a practical question
to be governed by the conditions of time and of production; the ruling
and uncompromising principle is the protection and development of
American labor and industry. The country demands a right settlement, and
then it wants rest.

RECIPROCITY.

We believe the repeal of the reciprocity arrangements negotiated by the
last Republican administration was a national calamity, and we demand
their renewal and extension on such terms as will equalize our trade
with other nations, remove the restrictions which now obstruct the sale
of American products in the ports of other countries, and secure
enlarged markets for the products of our farms, forests and factories.

Protection and reciprocity are both twin measures of Republican policy
and go hand in hand. Democratic rule has recklessly struck down both,
and both must be re-established. Protection for what we produce; free
admission for the necessaries of life which we do not produce;
reciprocity agreements of mutual interests which gain open markets for
us in return for our open market to others. Protection builds up
domestic industry and trade, and secures our own market for ourselves;
reciprocity builds up foreign trade, and finds an outlet for our
surplus.

SUGAR.

We condemn the present administration for not keeping faith with the
sugar-producers of this country. The Republican party favors such
protection as will lead to the production on American soil of all the
sugar which the American people use, and for which they pay other
countries more than $100,000,000 annually.

WOOL AND WOOLENS.

To all our products--to those of the mine and the fields as well as to
those of the shop and the factory; to hemp, to wool, the product of the
great industry of sheep husbandry, as well as to the finished woolens of
the mills--we promise the most ample protection.

MERCHANT MARINE.

We favor restoring the American policy of discriminating duties for the
upbuilding of our merchant marine and the protection of our shipping in
the foreign carrying trade, so that American ships--the product of
American labor, employed in American shipyards, sailing under the Stars
and Stripes, and manned, officered, and owned by Americans--may regain
the carrying of our foreign commerce.

FINANCE.

The Republican Party is unreservedly for sound money. It caused the
enactment of the law providing for the resumption of specie payments in
1879; since then every dollar has been as good as gold.

We are unalterably opposed to every measure calculated to debase our
currency or impair the credit of our country. We are, therefore, opposed
to the free coinage of silver except by international agreement with the
leading commercial nations of the world, which we pledge ourselves to
promote, and until such agreement can be obtained, the existing gold
standard must be preserved. All our silver and paper currency must be
maintained at parity with gold, and we favor all measures designed to
maintain inviolably the obligations of the United States and all our
money, whether coin or paper, at the present standard, the standard of
the most enlightened nations of the earth.

PENSIONS.

The veterans of the Union army deserve and should receive fair treatment
and generous recognition. Whenever practicable, they should be given the
preference in the matter of employment, and they are entitled to the
enactment of such laws as are best calculated to secure the fulfillment
of the pledges made them in the dark days of the country's peril. We
denounce the practice in the Pension Bureau, so recklessly and unjustly
carried on by the present administration, of reducing pensions and
arbitrarily dropping names from the rolls, as deserving the severest
condemnation of the American people.

FOREIGN RELATIONS.

Our foreign policy should be at all times firm, vigorous, and dignified,
and all our interests in the western hemisphere carefully watched and
guarded. The Hawaiian Islands should be controlled by the United States,
and no foreign power should be permitted to interfere with them; the
Nicaragua Canal should be built, owned, and operated by the United
States; and by the purchase of the Danish Islands we should secure a
proper and much needed naval station in the West Indies.

ARMENIAN MASSACRES.

The massacres in Armenia have aroused the deep sympathy and just
indignation of the American people, and we believe that the United
States should exercise all the influence it can properly exert to bring
these atrocities to an end. In Turkey, American residents have been
exposed to the gravest dangers and American property destroyed. There
and everywhere American citizens and American property must be
absolutely protected at all hazards and at any cost.

MONROE DOCTRINE.

We reassert the Monroe doctrine in its full extent, and we reaffirm the
right of the United States to give the doctrine effect by responding to
the appeal of any American State for friendly intervention in case of
European encroachment. We have not interfered and shall not interfere
with the existing possessions of any European power in this hemisphere,
but these possessions must not on any extent be extended. We hopefully
look forward to the eventual withdrawal of the European powers from this
hemisphere, and to the ultimate union of all English-speaking parts of
the continent by the free consent of its inhabitants.

CUBA.

From the hour of achieving their own independence, the people of the
United States have regarded with sympathy the struggles of other
American peoples to free themselves from European dominion. We watch
with deep and abiding interest the heroic battle of the Cuban patriots
against cruelty and oppression, and our best hopes go out for the full
success of their determined contest for liberty.

The Government of Spain having lost control of Cuba and being unable to
protect the property or lives of resident American citizens or to comply
with its treaty obligations, we believe that the Government of the
United States should actively use its influence and good offices to
restore peace and give independence to the island.

THE NAVY.

The peace and security of the Republic and the maintenance of its
rightful influence among the nations of the earth demand a naval power
commensurate with its position and responsibility. We therefore favor
the continued enlargement of the navy and a complete system of harbor
and seacoast defenses.

FOREIGN IMMIGRATION.

For the protection of the quality of our American citizenship and of the
wages of our workingmen against the fatal competition of low priced
labor, we demand that the immigration laws be thoroughly enforced, and
so extended as to exclude from entrance to the United States those who
can neither read nor write.

CIVIL SERVICE.

The civil-service law was placed on the statute-book by the Republican
party, which has always sustained it, and we renew our repeated
declarations that it shall be thoroughly and honestly enforced, and
extended wherever practicable.

FREE BALLOT.

We demand that every citizen of the United States shall be allowed to
cast one free and unrestricted ballot, and that such ballot shall be
counted and returned as cast.

LYNCHINGS.

We proclaim our unqualified condemnation of the uncivilized and
barbarous practice well known as lynching or killing of human beings
suspected or charged with crime, without process of law.

NATIONAL ARBITRATION.

We favor the creation of a national board of arbitration to settle and
adjust differences which may arise between employers and employes
engaged in interstate commerce.

HOMESTEADS.

We believe in an immediate return to the free-homestead policy of the
Republican Party, and urge the passage by Congress of a satisfactory
free-homestead measure such as has already passed the House and is now
pending in the Senate.

TERRITORIES.

We favor the admission of the remaining territories at the earliest
practicable date, having due regard to the interests of the people of
the territories and of the United States. All the federal officers
appointed for the territories should be selected from bona fide
residents thereof, and the right of self-government should be accorded
as far as practicable.

ALASKA.

We believe the citizens of Alaska should have representation in the
Congress of the United States, to the end that needful legislation may
be intelligently enacted.

[Illustration: Thomas B. Reed.]

TEMPERANCE.

We sympathize with all wise and legitimate efforts to lessen and prevent
the evils of intemperance and promote morality.

RIGHTS OF WOMEN.

The Republican Party is mindful of the rights and interests of women.
Protection of American industries includes equal opportunities, equal
pay for equal work, and protection to the home. We favor the admission
of women to wider spheres of usefulness, and welcome their co-operation
in rescuing the country from Democratic and Populist mismanagement and
misrule.

Such are the principles and policies of the Republican Party. By these
principles we will abide and these policies we will put into execution.
We ask for them the considerate judgment of the American people.
Confident alike in the history of our great party and in the justice of
our cause, we present our platform and our candidates in the full
assurance that the election will bring victory to the Republican Party
and prosperity to the people of the United States.

There had been a strong effort in the Committee on Resolutions by the
silver men urging the adoption of a free silver plank, and Senator Henry
M. Teller, of Colorado, had made an affecting appeal but without avail.

At the conclusion of the reading of the platform by Senator Foraker, one
of the most dramatic incidents in any Republican convention took place,
when Senator Teller arose, and in behalf of the silver men submitted the
following substitute for the financial plank as read:

"The Republican Party authorizes the use of both gold and silver as
equal standard money, and pledges its power to secure the free and
unlimited coinage of gold and silver at our mints at the ratio of
sixteen parts of silver to one of gold."

After presenting this substitute Senator Teller delivered his farewell
address to the Convention, at the conclusion of which Senator Foraker
moved that the substitute be laid on the table, thus cutting off any
debate. On a roll-call of the States the motion was carried by a vote of
818½ to 105½. The financial plank was then voted on separately, and the
one reported was adopted by a vote of 812½ to 110½. The entire platform
was then adopted by an overwhelming viva voce vote. The crucial moment
of the Convention was at hand. Senator Cameron, of Utah, was now
permitted to read a statement which had been prepared by the silvermen
to be read in the event of the adoption of the gold plank. The silver
manifesto was signed by Senator Henry M. Teller, of Colorado, Senator F.
T. Dubois, of Idaho, Senator Frank J. Cameron, of Utah, Representative
Chas. S. Hartman, of Montana, and A. C. Cleveland, of Nevada, the
members of the Committee on Resolutions for their States. Senators
Cameron and Teller then shook hands with Messrs. Thurston and Foraker,
descended from the stage, and, passing slowly down the aisle, left the
hall, followed by about thirty-two other silver delegates. The scene was
most impressive, the remaining delegates and spectators standing on
their chairs, shouting and singing national airs. After listening to
explanations by the silver delegates who remained in the convention, the
roll-call of States was had for the National Committeemen. Marcus A.
Hanna, of Ohio, whose brilliant management of McKinley's interests had
made his name a household word, was selected unanimously as Chairman of
the National Committee. Candidates for the presidential nomination were
now presented. John M. Baldwin nominated Senator Wm. B. Allison, of
Iowa; Senator Henry Cabot Lodge presented the name of Thomas B. Reed in
a scholarly and masterful appeal; with his usual eloquence Chauncey M.
Depew nominated Levi P. Morton, of New York; then came the great
enthusiasm of the Convention when Senator Joseph B. Foraker stepped to
the stage and began his speech, a remarkable effort, naming William
McKinley, of Ohio. After he had spoken a short time he was interrupted
by fully twenty-eight minutes of the wildest enthusiasm when the name of
William McKinley was first mentioned by him. John M. Thurston seconded
the nomination of McKinley, as did J. Madison Vance. Senator Matthew S.
Quay was nominated by Governor Daniel H. Hastings, after which the
balloting commenced. There were 924 delegates, and only one ballot was
taken, with the following result:

  McKinley ........ 661½    Reed ............  84½
  Morton ..........  58     Quay ............  61½
  Allison .........  35½    Cameron .........   1

The nomination was then made unanimous, Messrs. Depew, Platt, Lodge,
Hastings and others joining in the motion. Nominations for
Vice-President being now in order, Samuel Fessenden named William G.
Bulkeley, of Connecticut; J. Franklin Fort nominated Garret A. Hobart,
of New Jersey; Wm. M. Randolph named H. Clay Evans, of Tennessee; S. W.
K. Allen nominated Chas. W. Lippitt, of Rhode Island, and D. F. Bailey
named James A. Walker, of Virginia. The nomination went to Mr. Hobart
on the first ballot.

  Hobart .......... 533½    Walker ..........  24
  Evans ........... 277½    Lippitt .........   8
  Bulkeley ........  39

A few scattering votes were also given for Thomas B. Reed, Chauncey M.
Depew, John M. Thurston, Frederick D. Grant, and Levi P. Morton. After
selecting the notification committees, the Convention adjourned _sine
die_.

The Republican nominee in 1896, William McKinley, was born at Niles,
Ohio, in 1843, and was therefore only 18 years of age at the opening of
the Civil War, for which he enlisted in the ranks of a company of
volunteers. After the battle of Antietam he was promoted to Second
Lieutenant, and was subsequently advanced to Major, his commission being
signed by President Lincoln. The war over, Mr. McKinley studied law and
was admitted to the bar and practiced with much success, and soon became
prominent in Ohio politics. He was a member of the National House of
Representatives from 1877 to 1891, during which time he had steadily
increased in the esteem of his colleagues and the people. His framing of
the tariff law of 1890 had brought him into great prominence. He was
defeated for re-election in the political revolution of 1890, but was
elected Governor of Ohio in 1892, and served as such until January,
1896, a few months before the Convention.

The Democratic National Convention met at Chicago, Ills., Tuesday, July
7, 1896, and the silver forces immediately took control of the
Convention by unseating David B. Hill, of New York, who had been chosen
by the National Committee as temporary Chairman, and substituting John
B. Daniel of Virginia. The Democratic platform of 1896, adopted on the
third day of the Convention, contained the following plank, which, with
the opposite declaration in the Republican platform, became the
controlling issue of the campaign:

"We demand the free and unlimited coinage of both gold and silver at the
present legal ratio of 16 to 1, without waiting for the aid or consent
of any nation."

A minority report was presented by Senator David B. Hill, but was
rejected by a vote of 626 to 303. It was during the debate on the motion
to substitute this minority report that William J. Bryan delivered his
remarkable speech for free silver, an effort that created remarkable
scenes of enthusiasm in the Convention and made him immediately the idol
of the free silver forces. The speech concluded:

"If they dare to come out in the open field and defend the gold standard
as a good thing, we will fight them to the uttermost. Having behind us
the producing masses of this nation and the world, supported by the
commercial interests, the laboring interests and the toilers everywhere,
we will answer their demand for a gold standard by saying to them: 'You
shall not press down upon the brow of labor this crown of thorns; you
shall not crucify mankind upon a cross of gold."'

This Democratic Convention nominated William J. Bryan for President on
the fifth ballot, and named Arthur Sewall, of Maine, for Vice-President
on the fifth ballot.

The People's Party Convention met at St. Louis, Mo., July 22, 1896, and
ratified the nomination of William J. Bryan for President, but the
Middle-of-the-Road members named Thomas E. Watson, of Georgia, for
Vice-President, the Vice-President being named first in this Convention;
the money plank in the People's Party platform in 1896 was the same in
effect as that of the Democratic platform, and its other demands were in
general the same as those of 1892. The Silver Party Convention met on
the same day (July 22d) in St. Louis and endorsed Bryan and Sewall by
acclamation. There were a large number of Democrats in 1896 who were
unwilling to endorse the Chicago platform and the candidates, and at the
same time they were not willing to vote for the Republican nominees, so
they held a convention at Indianapolis September 2, 1896, and nominated
John M. Palmer, of Illinois, for President, and Simon B. Buckner, of
Kentucky, for Vice-President, and adopted a sound money platform and the
name of the "National Democratic Party." Three other conventions had
been held; the Prohibition Convention at Philadelphia on May 27, 1896,
which nominated Joshua Levering, of Maryland, and Hale Johnson, of
Illinois, but a contest had arisen in this convention over the silver
question, and it resulted in the secession of a number of delegates who
met on the next day and styled themselves "The National Party." They
nominated Rev. Chas. E. Bentley, of Nebraska, and James H. Southgate, of
North Carolina, and adopted a bi-metallic platform. The Socialist-Labor
Convention met at New York on July 6, 1896, and nominated Charles H.
Matchett, of New York, and Matthew Maguire of New Jersey.

The campaign of 1896 was not only remarkable in its inception, but
continued throughout to be one of the most spectacular in our political
history. At first there was general shifting of the old party lines and
a "bolting" from all of the party candidates, but the Republican Party
suffered the least in this respect. Mr. Bryan conducted a remarkable
personal canvass of the entire country, and was greeted by large crowds
to see him and hear his arguments. Mr. McKinley remained throughout the
canvass at his home in Canton, Ohio, receiving hundreds of visiting
delegations and delivering a large number of earnest speeches which were
telegraphed over the country and carefully read. Monster street parades
were held in the large cities and thousands of badges and lithographs
adorned the persons and homes of the enthusiastic partisans, and, as the
campaign drew to a close, the people were wrought up to a high pitch of
excitement. One striking feature of the canvass was that the ruin and
disaster of the four years of Cleveland's second term which, late in
1895, indicated an easy victory for the Republicans, was largely
forgotten by the people in the new, exciting and novel issues raised and
argued by Mr. Bryan, but those who carefully analyzed the returns of the
States which voted in the elections held in August and September, and
the trend of public opinion, saw that a Republican victory was almost
certain, and this proved true on November 6, 1896, when the popular vote
in the several States secured to McKinley and Hobart 271 electoral votes
to 176 for Bryan and Sewall. The total popular vote at the election of
1896 was as follows:

  McKinley ......... 7,111,607    Bryan ............ 6,509,052
  Palmer ...........   134,645    Levering .........   131,312
  Matchett .........    36,373    Bentley ..........    13,968

William McKinley was inaugurated for his first term on March 4, 1897,
and immediately called a special session of Congress to take action on
the tariff. The Wilson Tariff Law, as already noted, had totally failed
to provide sufficient revenue to meet the expenses of the Government,
and the result was a steady and growing deficit in the Treasury. On
March 18, 1897, Nelson Dingley, Jr., of Maine, introduced his Tariff
Bill in the House, and it became a law with the President's signature on
July 24, 1897.

[Illustration: Second inauguration of William McKinley, March 4, 1901.]

The Cuban question now came to the front and occupied public attention
more seriously than ever before. The United States had always taken a
lively interest in Cuban affairs, and when the Cubans revolted in 1895
for the sixth time against the cruel domination of the Spaniards there
was deep sympathy for them in this country, that continued to grow as
the months went by. In 1896 the Cubans were accorded the rights of
belligerents by the United States. Throughout the Summer of 1897 the
country was horrified by the reports from the "reconcentrado" camps
established by General Weyler, and sent aid and relief to the suffering
Cubans. The climax of hostility toward Spain came with the terrible news
on February 15, 1898, that the Battleship "Maine" had been blown up in
Havana Harbor and 260 American sailors killed. War was declared in
April, 1898, and the glorious achievements of American arms are too
fresh in memory to require an extended review of them in these pages.
Peace came with the Protocol signed at Washington, August 12, 1898, and
the formal Treaty of Peace was signed at Paris, December 10, 1898. Spain
released her title to Cuba, and the United States acquired Puerto Rico,
Guam and the Philippine Islands, paying Spain the sum of $20,000,000 for
the latter, and taking control of the islands for the suppression of
civil war and to avoid foreign complications. While the Spanish-American
war was in progress the country expanded territorially by the annexation
of Hawaii, which was accomplished by joint resolution, signed by the
President July 7, 1898.

The Fifty-sixth Congress organized with the election of David B.
Henderson, of Iowa, as Speaker of the House, and the most important
legislation was the Gold Standard Act of 1900, which effectually settled
the money question, as far as the gold or silver standard was concerned,
by providing for the coinage of a dollar consisting of 25 8-10 grains of
gold, nine-tenths fine, as the standard of value, and that all forms of
money issued in coin were to be maintained at a parity of value with
this gold standard. The Act further provided that all United States
notes and Treasury notes shall be redeemed in gold coin, and a
redemption fund of $150,000,000 was established. President McKinley
signed this most important Act, and it became a law on March 14, 1900.
In March, 1900, President McKinley, taking up the question of governing
the Philippine Islands, appointed a Civil Commission composed of William
H. Taft, of Ohio, President; Prof. Dean C. Worcester, of Michigan; Luke
E. Wright, of Tennessee; Henry C. Ide, of Vermont, and Prof. Bernard
Moses, of California, to continue and perfect the work of organizing and
establishing civil government in the Philippines, which had already been
commenced by the military authorities. The Commission proceeded to the
Philippines in the following April, and their work was one of the most
remarkable in the history of the nation, bringing order out of chaos, to
the complete satisfaction not only of the people of this country but
also the Filipinos, with very few exceptions. Education and
enlightenment followed the broad-minded policy of this government, and
through the splendid work of Governor William H. Taft military control
was gradually made unnecessary and the Filipinos were rapidly prepared
for self-government.

Great prosperity marked the business conditions of the country during
President McKinley's administration, and the balance in the U. S.
Treasury at the end of his term was nearly $495,000,000, which was a
strong contrast to the penury and borrowing during Cleveland's second
term. This splendid record, the successful conduct of the
Spanish-American war, the success in governing the new territories of
the United States, the courageous and dignified action in regard to
foreign affairs, and the complete and general satisfaction with his
entire administration, made President McKinley the logical and unanimous
choice of the party for the nomination in 1900, and the only question in
the convention would be as to who would have the honor of the second
place on the ticket. All of the minor parties held their conventions in
1900 before the conventions of the old parties. The Social Democrats
were first, with their convention at Indianapolis, March 6, 1900, at
which Eugene V. Debs was nominated for President. The People's Party met
at Sioux Falls, South Dakota, May 9-10, 1900, and nominated William J.
Bryan for President and Charles A. Towne for Vice-President. Their
platform denounced the gold standard Act of March 14, 1900, advocated
free silver, an income tax, and condemned the war policy of the
Republican Party. A faction of the People's Party opposed to fusion with
the Democrats had seceded in 1896, and became known as the
Middle-of-the-Road People's Party; they met in convention at Cincinnati
May 9-10, 1900, and nominated Wharton Barker, of Pennsylvania, and
Ignatius Donnelly, of Minnesota. The Socialist-Labor Party met at New
York June 2-8, 1900, and nominated Joseph F. Malloney, of Massachusetts,
and Valentine Remmel, of Pennsylvania. The Prohibition Convention was
held in Chicago, Illinois, June 27-28, and nominated John G. Woolley, of
Illinois, and Henry B. Metcalf, of Rhode Island.

The Twelfth Republican National Convention began its session Tuesday,
June 19, 1900, at Philadelphia, in the National Export Exposition
Building. About 12:35 p. m. on that day, Senator Marcus A. Hanna,
Chairman of the National Committee, faced the vast assemblage of
delegates and spectators and called the Convention to order. After the
opening prayer by Rev. J. Gray Bolton, Chairman Hanna, in a short
speech, which was received with great applause, introduced Senator
Wolcott, of Colorado, as Temporary Chairman. Senator Wolcott accepted
the honor in a strong speech, and after the roll-call of States for the
naming of the various committees, a motion to adjourn was made, and then
Rev. Edgar M. Levy, who had uttered the invocation at the first
Republican National Convention, forty-four years since, delivered a
benediction, and about 3 p. m. the session was over for the day. At the
opening of the second day, Chairman Wolcott stated that fifteen
survivors of the preliminary Republican Convention at Pittsburg in 1856
were present with the same old flag used in that convention, and as
these men came forward, with their tattered flag, they received a
remarkable and stirring ovation. Sereno E. Payne, of New York, reported
for the Committee on Credentials, and the report was adopted without
debate. Gen. Charles E. Grosvenor, of Ohio, Chairman of the Committee on
Permanent Organization, now reported the name of Senator Henry Cabot
Lodge, of Massachusetts, as Permanent President of the Convention, and
that the rest of the temporary officers be made permanent; the report
was adopted, and Senator Lodge delivered a scholarly and eloquent
speech, reviewing the history of the country for the past forty-four
years. Senator Chas. W. Fairbanks, of Indiana, Chairman of the Committee
on Resolutions, then read the platform, which was adopted with displays
of the utmost enthusiasm.

REPUBLICAN PLATFORM, 1900.

The Republicans of the United States, through their chosen
representatives, met in national convention, looking back upon an
unsurpassed record of achievement and looking forward into a great field
of duty and opportunity, and appealing to the judgment of their
countrymen, make these declarations:

EXPECTATIONS FULFILLED.

The expectation in which the American people, turning from the
Democratic Party, intrusted power four years ago to a Republican Chief
Magistrate and Republican Congress, has been met and satisfied. When the
people then assembled at the polls, after a term of Democratic
legislation and administration, business was dead, industry paralyzed,
and the national credit disastrously impaired. The country's capital was
hidden away and its labor distressed and unemployed. The Democrats had
no other plan with which to improve the ruinous condition which they had
themselves produced than to coin silver at the ratio of 16 to 1.

PROMISE OF PROSPERITY REDEEMED.

The Republican Party, denouncing this plan as sure to produce conditions
even worse than those from which relief was sought, promised to restore
prosperity by means of two legislative measures: a protective tariff and
a law making gold the standard of value. The people by great majorities
issued to the Republican Party a commission to enact these laws. The
commission has been executed, and the Republican promise is redeemed.

Prosperity more general and more abundant than we have ever known has
followed these enactments. There is no longer controversy as to the
value of any government obligations. Every American dollar is a gold
dollar or its assured equivalent, and American credit stands higher than
that of any nation. Capital is fully employed, and labor everywhere is
profitably occupied.

GROWTH OF EXPORT TRADE.

No single fact can more strikingly tell the story of what Republican
government means to the country than this, that while during the whole
period of one hundred and seven years, from 1790 to 1897, there was an
excess of exports over imports of only $383,028,497, there has been in
the short three years of the present Republican administration an excess
of exports over imports in the enormous sum of $1,483,537,094.

THE WAR WITH SPAIN.

And while the American people, sustained by this Republican legislation,
have been achieving these splendid triumphs in their business and
commerce, they have conducted and in victory concluded a war for liberty
and human rights. No thought of national aggrandizement tarnished the
high purpose with which American standards were unfurled. It was a war
unsought and patiently resisted, but when it came, the American
government was ready. Its fleets were cleared for action; its armies
were in the field, and the quick and signal triumph of its forces on
land and sea bore equal tribute to the courage of American soldiers and
sailors, and to the skill and foresight of Republican statesmanship. To
ten millions of the human race there was given "a new birth of freedom,"
and to the American people a new and noble responsibility.

McKINLEY'S ADMINISTRATION INDORSED.

We indorse the administration of William McKinley. Its acts have been
established in wisdom and in patriotism, and at home and abroad it has
distinctly elevated and extended the influence of the American nation.
Walking untried paths and facing unforeseen responsibilities, President
McKinley has been in every situation the true American patriot and the
upright statesman, clear in vision, strong in judgment, firm in action,
always inspiring and deserving the confidence of his countrymen.

DEMOCRATIC INCAPACITY A MENACE TO PROSPERITY.

In asking the American people to indorse this Republican record, and
to renew their commission to the Republican Party, we remind them of
the fact that the menace to their prosperity has always resided in
Democratic principles, and no less in the general incapacity of the
Democratic Party to conduct public affairs. The prime essential of
business prosperity is public confidence in the good sense of the
government and in its ability to deal intelligently with each new
problem of administration and legislation. That confidence the
Democratic Party has never earned. It is hopelessly inadequate, and the
country's prosperity, when Democratic success at the polls is announced,
halts and ceases in mere anticipation of Democratic blunders and
failures.

MONETARY LEGISLATION.

We renew our allegiance to the principle of the gold standard and
declare our confidence in the wisdom of the legislation of the
Fifty-Sixth Congress, by which the parity of all our money and the
stability of our currency upon a gold basis has been secured. We
recognize that interest rates are a potent factor in production and
business activity, and for the purpose of further equalizing and of
further lowering the rates of interest, we favor such monetary
legislation as will enable the varying needs of the season and of all
sections to be promptly met, in order that trade may be evenly
sustained, labor steadily employed, and commerce enlarged. The volume of
money in circulation was never so great per capita as it is today.

FREE COINAGE OF SILVER OPPOSED.

We declare our steadfast opposition to the free and unlimited coinage of
silver. No measure to that end could be considered which was without the
support of the leading commercial countries of the world. However firmly
Republican legislation may seem to have secured the country against the
peril of base and discredited currency, the election of a Democratic
President could not fail to impair the country's credit and to bring
once more into question the intention of the American people to maintain
upon the gold standard the parity of their money circulation. The
Democratic Party must be convinced that the American people will never
tolerate the Chicago platform.

TRUSTS.

We recognize the necessity and propriety of the honest co-operation of
capital to meet new business conditions, and especially to extend our
rapidly increasing foreign trade; but we condemn all conspiracies and
combinations intended to restrict business, to create monopolies, to
limit production, or to control prices, and favor such legislation as
will effectively restrain and prevent all such abuses, protect and
promote competition, and secure the rights of producers, laborers, and
all who are engaged in industry and commerce.

PROTECTION POLICY REAFFIRMED.

We renew our faith in the policy of protection to American labor. In
that policy our industries have been established, diversified, and
maintained. By protecting the home market, competition has been
stimulated and production cheapened. Opportunity to the inventive genius
of our people has been secured and wages in every department of labor
maintained at high rates--higher now than ever before, and always
distinguishing our working people in their better conditions of life
from those of any competing country. Enjoying the blessings of the
American common school, secure in the right of self-government, and
protected in the occupancy of their own markets, their constantly
increasing knowledge and skill have enabled them to finally enter the
markets of the world.

RECIPROCITY FAVORED.

We favor the associated policy of reciprocity, so directed as to open
our markets on favorable terms for what we do not ourselves produce,
in return for free foreign markets.

RESTRICTION OF IMMIGRATION, AND OTHER LABOR LEGISLATION.

In the further interest of American workmen we favor a more effective
restriction of the immigration of cheap labor from foreign lands, the
extension of opportunities of education for working-children, the
raising of the age limit for child-labor, the protection of free labor
as against contract convict labor, and an effective system of labor
insurance.

SHIPPING.

Our present dependence upon foreign shipping for nine-tenths of our
foreign-carrying trade is a great loss to the industry of this country.
It is also a serious danger to our trade, for its sudden withdrawal in
the event of European war would seriously cripple our expanding foreign
commerce. The national defense and naval efficiency of this country,
moreover, supply a compelling reason for legislation which will enable
us to recover our former place among the trade carrying fleets of the
world.

DEBT TO SOLDIERS AND SAILORS.

The nation owes a debt of profound gratitude to the soldiers and sailors
who have fought its battles, and it is the government's duty to provide
for the survivors and for the widows and orphans of those who have
fallen in the country's wars. The pension laws, founded on this just
sentiment, should be liberally administered, and preference should be
given, wherever practicable, with respect to employment in the public
service, to soldiers and sailors and to their widows and orphans.

THE CIVIL SERVICE.

We commend the policy of the Republican Party in maintaining the
efficiency of the civil service. The administration has acted wisely in
its effort to secure for public service in Cuba, Porto Rico, Hawaii, and
the Philippine Islands, only those whose fitness has been determined by
training and experience. We believe that employment in the public
service in these territories should be confined, as far as practicable,
to their inhabitants.

THE RACE QUESTION.

It was the plain purpose of the Fifteenth Amendment to the Constitution
to prevent discrimination on account of race or color in regulating the
elective franchise. Devices of state governments, whether by statutory
or constitutional enactment, to avoid the purpose of this amendment are
revolutionary and should be condemned.

PUBLIC ROADS.

Public movements looking to a permanent improvement of the roads and
highways of the country meet with our cordial approval, and we recommend
this subject to the earnest consideration of the people and of the
legislatures of the several states.

RURAL FREE DELIVERY.

We favor the extension of the rural free delivery service wherever its
extension may be justified.

LAND LEGISLATION.

In further pursuance of the constant policy of the Republican Party to
provide free homes on the public domain we recommend adequate national
legislation to reclaim the arid lands of the United States, reserving
control of the distribution of water for irrigation to the respective
states and territories.

NEW STATES PROPOSED.

We favor home-rule for, and the early admission to statehood of, the
territories of New Mexico, Arizona and Oklahoma.

REDUCTION OF WAR TAXES.

The Dingley Act, amended to provide sufficient revenue for the conduct
of the war, has so well performed its work that it has been possible to
reduce the war debt in the sum of $40,000,000. So ample are the
government's revenues and so great is the public confidence in the
integrity of its obligations, that its newly funded 2 per cent. bonds
sell at a premium. The country is now justified in expecting, and it
will be the policy of the Republican Party to bring about, a reduction
of the war taxes.

ISTHMIAN CANAL AND NEW MARKETS.

We favor the construction, ownership, control, and protection of an
isthmian canal by the government of the United States. New markets are
necessary for the increasing surplus of our farm products. Every effort
should be made to open and obtain new markets, especially in the Orient,
and the administration is to be warmly commended for its successful
efforts to commit all trading and colonizing nations to the policy of
the open door in China.

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE.

In the interest of our expanding commerce we recommend that Congress
create a Department of Commerce and Industries, in the charge of a
secretary with a seat in the cabinet. The United States consular system
should be reorganized under the supervision of this new department, upon
such a basis of appointment and tenure as will render it still more
servicable to the nation's increasing trade.

PROTECTION OF CITIZENS.

The American government must protect the person and property of every
citizen wherever they are wrongfully violated or placed in peril.

SERVICES OF WOMEN.

We congratulate the women of America upon their splendid record of
public service in the Volunteer Aid Association and as nurses in camp
and hospital during the recent campaigns of our armies in the East and
West Indies, and we appreciate their faithful co-operation in all works
of education and industry.

FOREIGN AFFAIRS, SAMOAN AND HAWAIIAN ISLANDS.

President McKinley has conducted the foreign affairs of the United
States with distinguished credit to the American people. In releasing us
from vexatious conditions of a European alliance for the government of
Samoa, his course is especially to be commended. By securing to our
undivided control the most important island of the Samoan group and the
best harbor in the Southern Pacific, every American interest has been
safeguarded.

We approve the annexation of the Hawaiian islands to the United States.

THE HAGUE CONFERENCE, THE MONROE DOCTRINE, THE SOUTH AFRICAN WAR.

We commend the part taken by our government in the Peace Conference at
The Hague. We assert our steadfast adherence to the policy announced in
the Monroe doctrine. The provisions of The Hague convention was wisely
regarded when President McKinley tendered his friendly offices in the
interest of peace between Great Britain and the South African Republic.
While the American Government must continue the policy prescribed by
Washington, affirmed by every succeeding president, and imposed upon us
by The Hague Treaty, of non-intervention in European controversies, the
American people earnestly hope that a way may soon be found, honorable
alike to both contending parties, to terminate the strife between them.

SOVEREIGNITY IN NEW POSSESSIONS.

In accepting, by the Treaty of Paris, the just responsibility of our
victories in the Spanish War, the President and the Senate won the
undoubted approval of the American people. No other course was possible
than to destroy Spain's sovereignity throughout the West Indies and in
the Philippine Islands. That course created our responsibility before
the world and with the unorganized population whom our intervention had
freed from Spain, to provide for the maintenance of law and order, and
for the establishment of good government, and for the performance of
international obligations.

Our authority could not be less than our responsibility, and wherever
sovereign rights were extended it became the high duty of the government
to maintain its authority, to put down armed insurrection, and to confer
the blessings of liberty and civilization upon all the rescued people.

The largest measure of self-government consistent with their welfare and
our duties shall be secured to them by law.

INDEPENDENCE OF CUBA.

To Cuba, independence and self-government were assured in the same voice
by which war was declared, and to the letter this pledge shall be
performed.

INVOKES THE JUDGMENT OF THE PEOPLE.

The Republican Party, upon its history and upon this declaration of its
principles and policies, confidently invokes the considerate and
approving judgment of the American people.

On the third day of the Convention, Thursday, June 21, 1900, Mr. Quay,
of Pennsylvania, withdrew a plan of representation which he had
presented the previous day, and the Convention proceeded to the
nominations for President and Vice-President. Alabama yielded to Ohio,
and Senator Joseph B. Foraker, of Ohio, who had the same great honor
four years previous, went to the platform and in a speech of great vigor
and eloquence nominated William McKinley, of Ohio, for President. The
nomination was seconded by Theodore Roosevelt, of New York, Senator John
M. Thurston, John W. Yerkes, of Kentucky, George Knight, of California,
and Governor James A. Mount, of Indiana. There were no further
nominations. The ballot showed that 930 votes had been cast, and that
William McKinley had received 930, and pandemonium broke loose. After it
had subsided, Col. Lafe Young, in a remarkable speech, withdrew the name
of Jonathan P. Dolliver for Vice-President and nominated Theodore
Roosevelt of New York. Butler Murray, of Massachusetts, and James A.
Ashton, of Washington, seconded the nomination, and in response to
demands for "Depew! Depew!" that gentleman came forward and with his
customary eloquence and wit also seconded the nomination. The balloting
then proceeded and Theodore Roosevelt received 929 votes, he having
refrained from voting for himself. Thus, in this Convention, for the
first time in the history of the party, the candidates for President and
Vice-President were practically nominated by acclamation.

The Democratic National Convention met at Kansas City, Mo., July 4-6,
1900. There was a long wrangle in the Committee on Resolutions over the
silver plank in the platform, but it was finally adopted by a vote of 26
to 24, and the Convention adopted the platform by acclamation. The
platform declared that while not taking a backward step from any
position of the party, Imperialism growing out of the Spanish war was
the paramount issue. The Kansas City platform is here given in full as
of great interest in the pending campaign.

DEMOCRATIC PLATFORM, 1900.

We, the representatives of the Democratic Party of the United States,
assembled in national convention, on the anniversary of the adoption of
the declaration of independence, do reaffirm our faith in that immortal
proclamation of the inalienable rights of man, and our allegiance to the
constitution framed in harmony therewith by the fathers of the republic.
We hold with the United States Supreme Court that the declaration of
independence is the spirit of our government, of which the constitution
is the form and letter.

We declare again that all governments instituted among men derive their
just powers from the consent of the governed; that any government not
based upon the consent of the governed is a tyranny, and that to impose
upon any people a government of force is to substitute the methods of
imperialism for those of a republic. We hold that the constitution
follows the flag, and denounce the doctrine that an executive or
Congress, deriving their existence and their powers from the
constitution, can exercise lawful authority beyond it, or in violation
of it.

We assert that no nation can long endure half republic and half empire,
and we warn the American people that imperialism abroad will lead
quickly and inevitably to despotism at home.

PORTO RICO LAW DENOUNCED.

Believing in these fundamental principles, we denounce the Porto Rico
law, enacted by a Republican Congress against the protest and opposition
of the Democratic minority, as a bold and open violation of the nation's
organic law, and a flagrant breach of the national good faith.

It imposes upon the people of Porto Rico a government without their
consent, and taxation without representation. It dishonors the American
people by repudiating a solemn pledge made in their behalf by the
commanding General of our army, which the Porto Ricans welcomed to a
peaceful and unresisted occupation of their land. It doomed to poverty
and distress a people whose helplessness appeals with peculiar force to
our justice and magnanimity.

In this, the first act of its imperialistic programme, the Republican
party seeks to commit the United States to a colonial policy,
inconsistent with Republican institutions, and condemned by the Supreme
Court in numerous decisions.

PLEDGES TO THE CUBANS.

We demand the prompt and honest fulfillment of our pledge to the Cuban
people and the world that the United States has no disposition or
intention to exercise sovereignity, jurisdiction, or control over the
Island of Cuba, except for its pacification. The war ended nearly two
years ago, profound peace reigns over all the island, and still the
administration keeps the government of the island from its people, while
Republican carpet-bag officials plunder its revenues and exploit the
colonial theory, to the disgrace of the American people.

THE PHILIPPINE QUESTION.

We condemn and denounce the Philippine policy of the present
administration. It has involved the republic in unnecessary war,
sacrificed the lives of many of our noblest sons, and placed the United
States, previously known and applauded throughout the world as the
champion of freedom, in the false and un-American position of crushing
with military force the efforts of our former allies to achieve liberty
and self-government. The Filipinos cannot become citizens without
endangering our civilization; they cannot become subjects without
imperiling our form of government, and we are not willing to surrender
our civilization or to convert the republic into an empire; we favor an
immediate declaration of the nation's purpose to give to the Filipinos
first, a stable form of government; second, independence; and, third,
protection from outside interference such as has been given for nearly a
century to the republics of Central and South America.

The greedy commercialism which dictated the Philippine policy of the
Republican administration attempts to justify it with the plea that it
will pay, but even this sordid and unworthy plea fails when brought to
the test of facts. The war of criminal aggression against the Filipinos,
entailing an annual expense of many millions, has already cost more than
any possible profit that could accrue from the entire Philippine trade
for years to come. Furthermore, when trade is extended at the expense of
liberty the price is always too high.

We are not opposed to territorial expansion when it takes in desirable
territory which can be erected into states in the Union and whose people
are willing and fit to become American citizens.

We favor trade expansion by every peaceful and legitimate means. But we
are unalterably opposed to the seizing or purchasing of distant islands
to be governed outside the constitution and whose people can never
become citizens.

We are in favor of extending the republic's influence among the nations,
but believe that influence should be extended, not by force and
violence, but through the persuasive power of a high and honorable
example.

The importance of other questions now pending before the American people
is in no wise diminished, and the Democratic party takes no backward
step from its position on them, but the burning issue of imperialism
growing out of the Spanish war involves the very existence of the
republic and the destruction of our free institutions. We regard it as
the paramount issue of the campaign.

[Illustration: Marcus A. Hanna.]

THE MONROE DOCTRINE.

The declaration in the Republican platform adopted at the Philadelphia
convention, held in June, 1900, that the Republican party "steadfastly
adheres to the policy announced in the Monroe doctrine" is manifestly
insincere and deceptive. This profession is contradicted by the avowed
policy of that party in opposition to the spirit of the Monroe doctrine
to acquire and hold sovereignity over large areas of territory and large
numbers of people in the Eastern hemisphere. We insist on the strict
maintenance of the Monroe doctrine and in all its integrity, both in
letter and in spirit, as necessary to prevent the extension of European
authority on this continent and as essential to our supremacy in
American affairs. At the same time we declare that no American people
shall ever be held by force in unwilling subjection to European
authority.

OPPOSITION TO MILITARISM.

We oppose militarism. It means conquest abroad and intimidation and
oppression at home. It means the strong arm which has ever been fatal to
free institutions. It is what millions of our citizens have fled from in
Europe. It will impose upon our peace-loving people a large standing
army and unnecessary burden of taxation and a constant menace to their
liberties.

A small standing army with a well-disciplined state militia are amply
sufficient in time of peace. This republic has no place for a vast
military service and conscription.

When the nation is in danger the volunteer soldier is his country's best
defender. The national guard of the United States should ever be
cherished in the patriotic hearts of a free people. Such organizations
are ever an element of strength and safety.

For the first time in our history and co-evil with the Philippine
conquest has there been a wholesale departure from our time-honored and
approved system of volunteer organization. We denounce it as
un-American, un-Democratic, and un-Republican, and as a subversion of
the ancient and fixed principles of a free people.

TRUSTS DENOUNCED.

Private monopolies are indefensible and intolerable. They destroy
competition, control the price of all material, and of the finished
product, thus robbing both producer and consumer. They lessen the
employment of labor and arbitrarily fix the terms and conditions
thereof, and deprive individual energy and small capital of their
opportunity for betterment. They are the most efficient means yet
devised for appropriating the fruits of industry to the benefit of the
few at the expense of the many, and unless their insatiate greed is
checked all wealth will be aggregated in a few hands and the republic
destroyed.

The dishonest paltering with the trust evil by the Republican party in
state and national platforms is conclusive proof of the truth of the
charge that trusts are the legitimate product of Republican policies;
that they are fostered by Republican laws, and that they are protected
by the Republican administration in return for campaign subscriptions
and political support.

We pledge the Democratic party to an increasing warfare in nation,
state, and city against private monopoly in every form. Existing laws
against trusts must be enforced and more stringent ones must be enacted
providing for publicity as to the affairs of corporations engaged in
interstate commerce and requiring all corporations to show, before doing
business outside the state of their origin, that they have no water in
their stock and that they have not attempted and are not attempting, to
monopolize any branch of business or the production of any articles of
merchandise, and the whole constitutional power of Congress over
interstate commerce, the mails, and all modes of interstate
communication shall be exercised by the enactment of comprehensive laws
upon the subject of trusts.

Tariff laws should be amended by putting the products of trusts upon the
free list to prevent monopoly under the plea of protection.

The failure of the present Republican administration, with an absolute
control over all the branches of the national government, to enact any
legislation designed to prevent or even curtail the absorbing power of
trusts and illegal combinations, or to enforce the anti-trust laws
already on the statute books, proves the insincerity of the
high-sounding phrases of the Republican platform.

Corporations should be protected in all their rights and their
legitimate interests should be respected, but any attempt by
corporations to interfere with the public affairs of the people or to
control the sovereignity which creates them should be forbidden under
such penalties as will make such attempts impossible.

We condemn the Dingley tariff law as a trust-breeding measure,
skillfully devised to give the few favors which they do not deserve and
to place upon the many burdens which they should not bear.

INTERSTATE COMMERCE LAW.

We favor such an enlargement of the scope of the interstate commerce law
as will enable the commission to protect individuals and communities
from discriminations and the public from unjust and unfair
transportation rates.

DECLARATION FOR 16 TO 1.

We reaffirm and indorse the principles of the national Democratic
platform adopted at Chicago in 1896, and we reiterate the demand of that
platform for an American financial system, made by the American people
for themselves, which shall restore and maintain a bimetalic level, and
as part of such system the immediate restoration of the free and
unlimited coinage of silver and gold at the present legal ratio of 16 to
1, without waiting for the aid or consent of any other nation.

CURRENCY LAW DENOUNCED.

We denounce the currency bill enacted at the last session of Congress
as a step forward in the Republican policy which aims to discredit the
sovereign right of the national government to issue all money, whether
coin or paper, and to bestow upon national banks the power to issue and
control the volume of paper money for their own benefit.

A permanent national bank currency, secured by government bonds, must
have a permanent debt to rest upon, and if the bank currency is to
increase with population and business the debt must also increase. The
Republican currency scheme is therefore a scheme for fastening upon
taxpayers a perpetual and growing debt for the benefit of the banks.

We are opposed to this private corporation paper circulated as money,
but without legal-tender qualities, and demand the retirement of the
national bank notes as fast as government paper or silver certificates
can be substituted for them.

SENATORS ELECTED BY THE PEOPLE.

We favor an amendment to the Federal constitution providing for the
election of United States Senators by direct vote of the people, and
we favor direct legislation wherever practicable.

GOVERNMENT BY INJUNCTION.

We are opposed to government by injunction; we denounce the blacklist,
and favor arbitration as a means of settling disputes between
corporations and their employes.

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.

In the interest of American labor and the uplifting of the workingmen,
as the cornerstone of the prosperity of our country, we recommend that
Congress create a department of labor, in charge of a secretary, with a
seat in the Cabinet, believing that the elevation of the American labor
will bring with it increased production and increased prosperity to our
country at home and to our commerce abroad.

PENSIONS.

We are proud of the courage and fidelity of the American soldier and
sailors in all our wars; we favor liberal pensions to them and their
dependents, and we reiterate the position taken in the Chicago platform
in 1896, that the fact of enlistment and service shall be deemed
conclusive evidence against disease and disability before enlistment.

NICARAGUA CANAL.

We favor the immediate construction, ownership, and control of the
Nicaraguan canal by the United States and we denounce the insincerity of
the plank in the national Republican platform for an Isthmian canal in
face of the failure of the Republican majority to pass the bill pending
in Congress.

We condemn the Hay-Pauncefote treaty as a surrender of American rights
and interests, not to be tolerated by the American people.

STATEHOOD FOR THE TERRITORIES.

We denounce the failure of the Republican party to carry out its
pledges, to grant statehood to the territories of Arizona, New Mexico,
and Oklahoma, and we promise the people of those territories immediate
statehood and home rule during their condition as territories, and we
favor home rule and a territorial form of government for Alaska and
Porto Rico.

ARID LANDS.

We favor an intelligent system of improving the arid lands of the West,
storing the waters for purposes of irrigation, and the holding of such
lands for actual settlers.

CHINESE EXCLUSION LAW.

We favor the continuance and strict enforcement of the Chinese exclusion
law and its application to the same classes of all Asiatic races.

ALLIANCE WITH ENGLAND.

Jefferson said: "Peace, commerce, and honest friendship with all
nations; entangling alliances with none."

We approve this wholesome doctrine and earnestly protest against the
Republican departure which has involved us in so-called politics,
including the diplomacy of Europe and the intrigue and land-grabbing of
Asia, and we especially condemn the ill-concealed Republican alliance
with England, which must mean discrimination against other friendly
nations, and which has already stifled the nation's voice while liberty
is being strangled in Africa.

SYMPATHY FOR THE BOERS.

Believing in the principles of self-government, and rejecting, as did
our forefathers, the claim of monarchy, we view with indignation the
purpose of England to overwhelm with force the South African republics.
Speaking, as we do, for the entire American nation except its Republican
officeholders, and for all free men everywhere, we extend our sympathy
to the heroic burghers in their unequal struggle to maintain their
liberty and independence.

REPUBLICAN APPROPRIATIONS.

We denounce the lavish appropriations of recent Republican Congresses,
which have kept taxes high, and which threaten the perpetuation of the
oppressive war levies.

SHIP SUBSIDY BILL.

We oppose the accumulation of a surplus to be squandered in such
bare-faced frauds upon the taxpayers as the shipping subsidy bill, which
under the false pretense of prospering American ship-building, would put
unearned millions into the pockets of favorite contributors to the
Republican campaign fund.

REPEAL OF THE WAR TAXES.

We favor the reduction and speedy repeal of the war taxes, and a return
to the time-honored Democratic policy of strict economy in governmental
expenditures.

CONCLUDING PLEA TO THE PEOPLE.

Believing that our most cherished institutions are in great peril, that
the very existence of our constitutional republic is at stake, and that
the decision now to be rendered will determine whether or not our
children are to enjoy those blessed privileges of free government which
have made the United States great, prosperous, and honored, we earnestly
ask for the foregoing declaration of principles the hearty support of
the liberty-loving American people, regardless of previous party
affiliations.

William J. Bryan, of Nebraska, was again nominated for President, and
Adlai E. Stevenson, of Illinois, for Vice-President, both on the first
ballots. While the Democratic Convention was in session, the Silver
Republicans met in Convention in the same city. The Chairman _pro tem._
was Henry M. Teller, who had withdrawn from the Republican Convention in
1896. This Convention nominated William J. Bryan for President, and the
National Committee was authorized to name the Vice-President, which they
did on July 7th, by endorsing Adlai E. Stevenson.

The campaign of 1900 was as animated throughout as was that of 1896.
Imperialism was the issue raised by the Democrats, and the result in
November was an overwhelming victory for the Republican candidates,
McKinley and Roosevelt, who carried enough States to assure them of 292
electoral votes to 155 for Bryan and Stevenson. The popular vote for the
leading candidates was as follows: McKinley (Rep.), 7,207,923; Bryan
(Dem.), 6,358,133; Woolley (Prohib.), 208,914; Debs (Soc. Dem.), 87,814;
Barker (M. R. Peop.), 50,373; Malloney (Soc. L.), 39,739.

William McKinley was inaugurated for his second term on March 4, 1901.
On September 6, 1901, the almost unbelievable news was telegraphed over
the country that President McKinley, while in the Temple of Music at the
Pan-American Exposition at Buffalo, had been shot twice by an assassin,
an anarchist named Leon Czolgosz. But it proved only too true, and for a
week the people of the country watched the bulletins and prayed for the
President, who fought bravely against death. The wound in the stomach
was fatal, and William McKinley, the third martyred President of the
Republican Party, passed away on September 14, 1901, at the home of John
G. Milburn in Buffalo. The great purity and simplicity of his life, his
devotion to his wife, his courageous struggle for the great economical
principles which had brought the country to the highest degree of
prosperity ever known, and the splendid record of his administration
made his loss deeply felt by the nation, and he was enshrined beside
Lincoln in American history. The last words of William McKinley
exhibited the Christian character of a great life: "It is God's way; His
will be done."

[Illustration: By special permission of C. M. Bell Photo Co., Washington D. C.
Theodore Roosevelt.]




CHAPTER XX.

ROOSEVELT.


"I feel that we have a right to appeal not merely to Republicans, but to
all good citizens, no matter what may have been their party affiliations
in the past, and to ask them, on the strength of the record ... to stand
shoulder to shoulder with us, perpetuating the conditions under which we
have reached a degree of prosperity never before attained in the
Nation's history and under which, abroad, we have put the American Flag
on a level which it never before in the history of the country has been
placed."

_Theodore Roosevelt_, _to the Notification Committee_,
_Sagamore Hill_, _L. I._, _July_, 1900.


Theodore Roosevelt took the oath of office as President at Buffalo, New
York, on September 14, 1901, and became the twenty-sixth President of
the United States, and the third to succeed a martyred Republican
President. He was born in New York City, October 27, 1858. He graduated
from Harvard and spent some years in traveling; served in the New York
Legislature in 1882, 1883 and 1884, and was prominent as a champion of
Civil Service Reform. Was Chairman of the New York delegation to the
Convention in 1884, and ran for Mayor of New York in 1886, as the
Independent candidate, endorsed by the Republicans, but was defeated;
was appointed Civil Service Commissioner in May, 1889, by President
Harrison, and served till 1895, exhibiting great energy and establishing
Civil Service principles in all Executive Departments, acquiring a
splendid reputation throughout the country for fearlessness and honesty.
He resigned from the Civil Service Commission to accept the appointment
of Police Commissioner of New York City in May, 1895, and displayed his
usual energy in the suppression of corruption and in the establishment
of law and order in New York City. He was appointed Assistant Secretary
of the Navy by President McKinley, and worked with great vigor to place
the Navy on a proper footing, and the success of the Navy in the
Spanish-American war was due in no small degree to his preliminary work.
When the war broke out in April, 1898, he resigned his position in the
Navy Department and organized a volunteer cavalry regiment, recruited
mainly from the Western plains, the members of which were called the
"Rough Riders." They were commanded at first by Col. Leonard Wood, and
Mr. Roosevelt was made Lieutenant-Colonel. His previous military
experience had been several years' service in the New York National
Guard. For his gallant conduct at San Juan Hill and in the Cuban
campaign he was commissioned Colonel July 11, 1898, though many of the
officers at Washington were opposed to him. He was elected Governor of
New York in the Fall of 1898. In all of these positions he devoted
himself to his work with energy and enthusiasm amazing to all. His
published works on American History rank him as one of the great
historians of the country, and his interests in out-door sports and his
delightful home life have endeared him to the people as a typical
American. The nomination for Vice-President came to him unsought and
undesired, but in response to the demands of the people he fell in line
promptly. Coming to the Presidential Chair under trying circumstances he
immediately displayed the highest ability and tact in taking charge of
the administration of the national affairs. The policies of President
McKinley were pursued without deviation, and President Roosevelt
conducted the domestic and foreign affairs in a way that has marked him
as a great statesman, and the country and its new possessions are
eminently in a condition of prosperity and satisfaction.

On May 20, 1902, the United States partially redeemed its pledge in
regard to Cuba by hauling down its flag at the Government Palace,
Havana, after which the flag of the new Republic of Cuba was raised.
This pledge fulfilled, the Republican Party rounded it out with the
approval of the Cuban Reciprocity Treaty, ratified in the Senate March
19, 1903.

The long continued agitation for the construction of a canal, by the
United States, connecting the waters of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans,
resulted in the Isthmian Canal Act, approved June 28, 1902, in which the
President was authorized to acquire the rights of the new Panama Canal
Company of France, and if the title proved satisfactory, and a treaty
could be obtained from the Republic of Colombia for the necessary
territory, the President was authorized to pay the Canal Company
$40,000,000 for this property, but if this could not be done within a
reasonable time then the Nicaraguan route was to be considered. An
Isthmian Canal Commission was created. Attorney General P. C. Knox
reported to the President (October 26, 1902) that the title to the canal
was valid, and on January 22, 1903, a treaty between the United States
and Colombia for the construction of the canal was signed at Washington
and was ratified by the United States Senate March 17, 1903, but was
rejected by the Colombian Senate September 14, 1903, who suggested the
negotiation of a new treaty. But early in November, 1903, Panama
declared its independence, and was recognized as a Republic by the
United States on November 6th. A new Canal Treaty was signed at
Washington by Secretary of State John Hay, representing the United
States, and Philippe Bunau-Varilla representing Panama, and the treaty
was ratified by the Government of Panama on December 2, 1903, and is now
under consideration in the United States Senate. These various events,
all justified by the laws of nations, brought Colombia to terms, and
late in November, 1903, she offered the United States a free canal
concession if the latter would permit the subjugation of Panama, but the
matter had gone too far, and it is now probable that the Panama Canal
will be built by this Government, acting with the new Republic of
Panama.

The legislation and the course of events in the Philippines has been
equally satisfactory. On July 1, 1902, Congress provided for the
termination of military rule in these islands and the establishment of
civil government. William H. Taft, of Ohio, who had been President of
the Commission, was appointed Governor, and in that capacity continued
the splendid work which had been begun by the Commission. In December,
1903, Governor Taft was appointed Secretary of War by President
Roosevelt, taking the place of Elihu Root, resigned, and his successor
in the Philippines is Luke E. Wright, of Tennessee. On July 4, 1902, the
insurrection in the Philippines against the authority of the United
States having ended in all parts of the Islands except in the part
inhabited by the Moro Tribes, President Roosevelt issued a Proclamation
of pardon and amnesty to all political offenders on their taking the
oath of allegiance to the United States.

The great combinations of capital called Trusts, in so far as they
concentrate the industries of the country in the hands of a few,
stifling competiton and dictating wages and prices, have received the
emphatic condemnation of the Republican Party, and President Roosevelt
and Attorney General Knox have done their utmost, under the existing
laws, to suppress these combinations when unlawful. The Republican Party
has done more than any other party to curb the evils of the Trusts, and
it is probable that the question can only be adequately handled by an
amendment to the United States Constitution giving Congress direct
supervision over their organization. The settlement of the coal strike
in the United States by President Roosevelt is remembered gratefully,
and was to the satisfaction of both sides, and was in keeping with his
record of direct and fearless action in emergencies. His administration
saw the dedication of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition buildings at St.
Louis on April 30, 1903, and on July 4, 1903, the completion of the
Pacific Cable, the first message having been sent by the President to
Governor Taft. The report of the Alaskan Boundary Commission on October
7, 1903, gave to the United States all points, except one, in dispute.
This called attention to the work of the Department of State, but we are
too close to the splendid diplomacy of John Hay to fully appreciate its
far-reaching effect for the advancement of the interests of this
country.

Such is a brief record of recent events that will close this history of
the splendid achievements of the Republican Party. The history of the
administrations of the eight Republican Presidents, Lincoln, Grant,
Hayes, Garfield, Arthur, Harrison, McKinley and Roosevelt, may be read
at least with interest by every citizen of the United States, regardless
of his party affiliations, and assuredly with pride and satisfaction by
those who count themselves as members of the Grand Old Party.



APPENDIX


THE REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE.

The Republican National Committee is composed of one member from each
State and Territory. The Committee is chosen by the several State
delegations at the National Conventions of the party.

The Committee is the national executive head of the Republican Party.
It decides the time and place, and issues the calls for the National
Conventions. The call states the number of delegates to be chosen for
each district, and sometimes prescribes the manner of their selection.
The National Committee also selects the temporary officers of the
convention, subject to its ratification, and after the nominations have
been made takes general charge of the campaign. The Chairmen of the
Republican National Committee have been as follows:

1856. Edwin D. Morgan, New York.
1860. Edwin D. Morgan, New York.
1864. Marcus L. Ward, New Jersey.
1868. William Claflin, Massachusetts.
1872. Edwin D. Morgan, New York.
1876. { Zachariah Chandler, Michigan.
      { J. Donald Cameron, Pennsylvania.
1880. { M. Jewell, Connecticut.
      { Dwight M. Sabin, Minnesota.
1884. B. F. Jones, Pennsylvania.
1888. M. S. Quay, Pennsylvania.
1892. Thomas H. Carter, Montana.
1896. Marcus A. Hanna, Ohio.
1900. Marcus A. Hanna, Ohio.


THE NATIONAL REPUBLICAN LEAGUE.

The National Republican League, an organization of the greatest help to
the party in National and State Campaigns, was organized in Chickering
Hall, New York City, December 15-17, 1887. It is made up of the active
Republican Clubs of the country, which are first organized into a State
League, and then joined in the National League. It now has a membership
of fully 500,000. The first President of the League was Jas. P. Foster,
of New York, who was most active in the founding of the organization.
National Conventions of the League have been held as follows: Baltimore,
1889; Nashville, 1890; Cincinnati, 1891; Buffalo, 1892; Louisville,
1893; Denver, 1894; Cleveland, 1895; Milwaukee, 1896; Detroit, 1897;
Omaha, 1898; St. Paul, 1900; Chicago, 1902. The Conventions have been
held biennially since 1898. The 1904 Convention will be held at
Indianapolis. The following have served as Presidents of the National
Republican League:

1889-1890. Jas. P. Foster, New York.
1890-1892. John M. Thurston, Nebraska.
1892-1893. John S. Clarkson, Iowa.
1893-1895. W. W. Tracy, Illinois.
1895-1896. E. A. McAlpin, New York.
1896-1897. D. D. Woodmansee, Ohio.
1897-1898. L. J. Crawford, Kentucky.
1898-1900. Wm. Stone, California.
1900-1902. I. N. Hamilton, Illinois.
1902. J. Hampton Moore, Pennsylvania.


REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTIONS.

      TIME.               PLACE.            NOMINEES.
June 17-18, 1856.    Philadelphia, Pa.    { John C. Fremont, Cal.
                                          { Wm. L. Dayton, N. J.
May 16-18, 1860.     Chicago, Ill.        { Abraham Lincoln, Ill.
                                          { Hannibal Hamlin, Me.
June 7-8, 1864.      Baltimore, Md.       { Abraham Lincoln, Ill.
                                          { Andrew Johnson, Tenn.
May 20-22, 1868.     Chicago, Ill.        { Ulysses S. Grant, Ill.
                                          { Schuyler Colfax, Ind.
June 5-6, 1872.      Philadelphia, Pa.    { Ulysses S. Grant, Ill.
                                          { Henry Wilson, Mass.
June 14-16, 1876.    Cincinnati, O.       { Rutherford B. Hayes, Ohio.
                                          { Wm. A. Wheeler, N. Y.
June 2-8, 1880.      Chicago, Ill.        { Jas. A. Garfield, Ohio.
                                          { Chester A. Arthur, N. Y.
June 3-6, 1884.      Chicago, Ill.        { James G. Blaine, Me.
                                          { John A. Logan, Ill.
June 19-25, 1888.    Chicago, Ill.        { Benj. Harrison, Ind.
                                          { Levi P. Morton, N. Y.
June 7-11, 1892.     Minneapolis, Minn.   { Benj. Harrison, Ind.
                                          { Whitelaw Reid, N. Y.
June 16-18, 1896.    St. Louis, Mo.       { Wm. McKinley, Ohio.
                                          { Garret A. Hobart, N. J.
June 19-21, 1900.    Philadelphia, Pa.    { Wm. McKinley, Ohio.
                                          { Theodore Roosevelt, N. Y.
June 21, 1904.       Chicago, Ill.


PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS.

The Constitution requires each State to appoint, in such manner as the
Legislature thereof may direct, a number of electors, equal to the whole
number of Senators and Representatives to which the State may be
entitled in Congress; but no Senator or Representative, or person
holding an office of trust or profit under the United States, shall be
appointed an elector.

The original clause in the Constitution provided that after the electors
had been chosen they should elect the President as follows: The electors
shall meet in their respective States and vote by ballot for two
persons, of whom one at least shall not be an inhabitant of the same
State with themselves. A list of the votes shall then be sent to the
President of the Senate; the person having the greatest number of votes
shall be President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of
electors appointed; but in the event of no person having a majority, or
in case of a tie vote, the House of Representatives shall immediately
choose the President. In every case, after the choice of President, the
person having the greatest number of votes shall be Vice-President. But,
if there should remain two or more having equal votes, then the Senate
shall choose from them by ballot the Vice-President.

Under this clause in the original Constitution there were four
elections: Washington (two terms), John Adams and Jefferson. The last
election (Jefferson) brought on a contest that resulted in the Twelfth
Amendment of the Constitution. It will be noticed that the original
clause did not require the electors to name the person they voted for as
President and the person voted for as Vice-President; they were simply
to vote for two persons. On counting the electoral votes as a result of
the election of 1800, it was found that Thomas Jefferson, of Virginia,
and Aaron Burr, of New York, had an equal electoral vote--73. This
threw the election into the House, and a bitter contest followed, which
resulted in the victory of Jefferson, making Burr Vice-President; and
the curious situation was present of an aspirant to the presidency
occupying the subordinate position of Vice-President.

To correct this evil, the Twelfth Amendment was proposed, ratified by a
sufficient number of States, and went into effect in 1804, and has
governed the presidential elections to this day. This amendment provides
that the electors, instead of voting for two candidates for President,
shall distinctly name in their ballots the person voted for as President
and the person voted for as Vice-President. The certificates of the
ballots are opened by the President of the Senate in the presence of the
Senate and the House. If no person have a majority, then the House
chooses the President, each State having one vote. The person having the
greatest number of votes as Vice-President shall be Vice-President. But
if no person has a majority, then the Senate chooses the Vice-President.
But no person constitutionally ineligible to the office of President is
eligible to the vice-presidency.

Since the Jefferson-Burr contest there has been but one election by the
House of Representatives, that of 1824, when none of the candidates
having received a majority of the electoral vote, the House, between
Andrew Jackson, John Q. Adams and William H. Crawford, selected John Q.
Adams as President. John Q. Adams was a son of John Adams, the second
President, and this has been the only time in the history of the nation
that father and son have occupied the Presidential chair. There has been
but one instance of an election of a Vice-President by the Senate, that
of R. M. Johnston, in 1837.

Two methods of choosing the presidential electors preceded the present
system. It will be remembered that the Constitution gives the various
Legislatures the power of naming the manner in which the electors shall
be chosen. Originally, the Legislatures exercised this power themselves;
then the district system was tried; that is, each voter cast a ballot
for three electors, two for the State at large (representing the
Senators) and one for the Congressional district in which he lived. The
system now in vogue is an election by a "general ticket;" that is to
say, each voter uses a ballot on which are printed the names of all the
electors to which his State is entitled.

The tendency of the district system was to divide the electoral vote,
while the "general ticket" tends to a solid vote from each State. In the
"Mugwump" campaign of 1884--Cleveland-Blaine--no State divided its
electoral votes. No State divided its vote in the Harrison-Cleveland
election of 1888. In 1892, owing to the People's Party candidate
breaking the vote, and owing to other circumstances, five States divided
their votes. In the McKinley-Bryan contest of 1896 the votes were only
divided in two States--California and Kentucky--where the popular
voting was so close that each State named one Bryan elector.

The present system of naming electors increases the chances of electing
Presidents who have received less than a majority of the popular vote,
and it is even possible to elect a President who has received less than
a plurality of votes, which has happened in two instances--the election
of Hayes and Benjamin Harrison. It can be seen in the following
instances how both of the cases may happen: A candidate may carry Kansas
by a majority of 43,000, as Blaine did in 1884, and gain nine electoral
votes, and lose New York, with its thirty-six electoral votes by 1,149
popular votes, as happened in the same election; or in 1896, when Bryan
carried Colorado by 133,000 majority and gained four electoral votes,
and perhaps lost twelve electoral votes in Kentucky by the narrow margin
of 281 popular votes.

The following Presidents have failed to receive a majority of the total
popular vote: Adams in 1824 (elected by the House), Polk in 1844, Taylor
in 1848, Buchanan in 1856, Lincoln in 1860, Hayes in 1876, Garfield in
1880, Cleveland in 1884, Harrison in 1888, and Cleveland in 1892.
McKinley, in 1896, was the first President since 1872 to receive a clear
majority of the popular votes.

Only States vote at the presidential elections, each State being
entitled to a number of electors equal to the whole number of Senators
and Representatives to which the State may be entitled in Congress. New
York, Pennsylvania, Illinois and Ohio rank in the order named as to
largest number of electors. Since the first election of Jackson, in
1828, no President has been chosen in direct opposition to the combined
votes of New York and Pennsylvania.

The theory of the electoral college, as conceived by the Federal
Convention, was never realized. The aim was to constitute this peculiar
body as a check on the popular excitement attendant on these elections.
It was meant that the electors should meet some time after the election
day and calmly discuss the merits of the best men. Under the present
system, the National Conventions of the various parties present their
candidates; on the Tuesday next after the first Monday in November of
every fourth year the people vote for the electors, and the result is
known the next day, although the electors do not meet until the second
Monday in January next after the election. There is nothing in the
Constitution to compel an elector to vote for any particular candidate,
yet custom is often stronger than law, and the elector who would
frustrate the wishes of the people who elected him would be guilty of
the basest of political treachery, although no law could punish him.

In the early history of the country, presidential candidates were first
presented by the party leaders, then by Congressional caucuses, by State
Legislatures, local conventions, and since 1832 the method of nominating
has been by National Conventions of the various parties. Each State is
generally allowed twice as many delegates as it has electors. In the
Democratic Conventions a two-thirds vote of the delegates is necessary
for choice, while the Republican Conventions only require a majority
vote of the delegates for choice.

The Constitution requires, among other things, that the President shall
be thirty-five years of age. Mr. Roosevelt is the youngest President we
have had, being three years younger than Ulysses S. Grant, who was
forty-seven years old when inaugurated. The eldest was William H.
Harrison, who was sixty-eight years of age when inaugurated.

The manner of counting the electoral vote is prescribed in the Twelfth
Amendment to the Constitution as follows:

"The President of the Senate shall, in the presence of the Senate and
House of Representatives, open all the certificates, and the votes shall
then be counted; the person having the greatest number of votes for
President shall be President, if such number be a majority of the whole
number of electors appointed; and if no person have such majority, then
from the persons having the highest numbers, not exceeding three, on the
list of those voted for as President, the House of Representatives shall
choose immediately, by ballot, the President. But in choosing the
President the votes shall be taken by States, the representation from
each State having one vote; a quorum for this purpose shall consist of a
member or members from two-thirds of the States, and a majority of all
the States shall be necessary to a choice. And if the House of
Representatives shall not choose a President, whenever the right of
choice shall devolve upon them, before the fourth day of March next
following, then the Vice-President shall act as President, as in the
case of the death or other constitutional disability of the President.
The person having the greatest number of votes as Vice-President shall
be the Vice-President, if such number be a majority of the whole number
of electors appointed; and if no person have a majority, then from the
two highest numbers on the list the Senate shall choose the
Vice-President; a quorum for the purpose shall consist of two-thirds of
the whole number of Senators, and a majority of the whole number shall
be necessary to a choice."

The procedure of the two houses, in case the returns of the election of
electors from any State are disputed, is provided in the "Electoral
Count" Act, passed in 1886. The "Electoral Count" Act remedied the
strained situation brought about by the Hayes-Tilden controversy in
1876. Congress counts the ballots on the second Wednesday in February
succeeding the meeting of the electors.


THE ELECTORAL VOTE IN 1904.

                     ELECTORAL                         ELECTORAL
 STATES.               VOTES.      STATES.               VOTES.
Alabama ...............  11       Nevada ................   3
Arkansas ..............   9       New Hampshire .........   4
California ............  10       New Jersey ............  12
Colorado ..............   5       New York ..............  39
Connecticut ...........   7       North Carolina ........  12
Delaware ..............   3       North Dakota ..........   4
Florida ...............   5       Ohio ..................  23
Georgia ...............  13       Oregon ................   4
Idaho .................   3       Pennsylvania ..........  34
Illinois ..............  27       Rhode Island ..........   4
Indiana ...............  15       South Carolina ........   9
Iowa ..................  13       South Dakota ..........   4
Kansas ................  10       Tennessee .............  12
Kentucky ..............  13       Texas .................  18
Louisiana .............   9       Utah ..................   3
Maine .................   6       Vermont ...............   4
Maryland ..............   8       Virginia ..............  12
Massachusetts .........  16       Washington ............   5
Michigan ..............  14       West Virginia .........   7
Minnesota .............  11       Wisconsin .............  13
Mississippi ...........  10       Wyoming ...............   3
Missouri ..............  18                               ---
Montana ...............   3         Total ............... 476
Nebraska ..............   8       Necessary to a choice . 239


PRESIDENTS AND THEIR CABINETS SINCE THE ORGANIZATION OF
THE REPUBLICAN PARTY.

                                  1856.
JAMES BUCHANAN, Pa., _Dem._           J. C. BRECKINRIDGE, Ky., _Dem._
Lewis Cass ........... Sec. State.    Jacob Thompson ....... Sec. Int'r.
Jeremiah S. Black ....     "          Moses Kelly ..........     "
Howell Cobb .......... Sec. Treas.    Jeremiah S. Black .... Att. Gen'l.
Jacob Thomas .........     "          Edwin M. Stanton .....     "
John A. Dix ..........     "          Aaron V. Brown ....... Post. Gen'l.
John B. Floyd ........ Sec. War.      J. Holt ..............     "
Joseph Holt ..........     "          H. King ..............     "
Isaac Toucey ......... Sec. Navy.

                                  1860.
ABRAHAM LINCOLN, Ill., _Rep._         HANNIBAL HAMLIN, Me., _Rep._
Wm. H. Seward ........ Sec. State.    Salmon P. Chase ...... Sec. Treas.
Simon Cameron ........ Sec. War.      Wm. P. Fessenden .....     "
Edwin M. Stanton .....     "          Edward Bates ......... Att. Gen'l.
Caleb B. Smith ....... Sec. Int'r.    James Speed ..........     "
John P. Usher ........     "          Montgomery Blair ..... Post. Gen'l.
Gideon Welles ........ Sec. Navy.     William Denison ......     "

                                  1864.
ABRAHAM LINCOLN, Ill., _Rep._         ANDREW JOHNSON, Tenn., _Rep._
William H. Seward .... Sec. State.    Hugh McCulloch ....... Sec. Treas.
Edwin M. Stanton ..... Sec. War.      Gideon Welles ........ Sec. Navy.
John P. Usher ........ Sec. Int'r.    James Speed .......... Att. Gen'l.
Henry Harlan .........     "          Wm. Denison .......... Post. Gen'l.

                                  1865.
                     ANDREW JOHNSON, Tenn., _Rep._
Wm. H. Seward ........ Sec. State.    Gideon Welles ........ Sec. Navy.
Edwin M. Stanton ..... Sec. War.      James Speed .......... Att. Gen'l.
Lorenzo Thomas .......     "          Henry Stanbery .......     "
John Schofield .......     "          Wm. M. Evarts ........     "
Hugh McCulloch ....... Sec. Treas.    Wm. Denison .......... Post. Gen'l.
Henry Harlan ......... Sec. Int'r.    Alex. W. Randall .....     "
Orville H. Browning ..     "

                                  1868.
ULYSSES S. GRANT, Ill., _Rep._        SCHUYLER COLFAX, Ind., _Rep._
E. B. Washburne ...... Sec. State.    J. D. Cox ............ Sec. Int'r.
Hamilton Fish ........     "          Columbus Delano ......     "
G. S. Boutwell ....... Sec. Treas.    George M. Robeson .... Sec. Navy.
J. A. Rawlins ........ Sec. War.      George A. Williams ... Att. Gen'l.
Wm. W. Belknap .......     "          John A. J. Creswell .. Post. Gen'l.

                                  1872.
ULYSSES S. GRANT, Ill., _Rep._        HENRY WILSON, Mass., _Rep._
Hamilton Fish ........ Sec. State.    Columbus Delano ...... Sec. Int'r.
Wm. M. Belknap ....... Sec. War.      Zachariah Chandler ...     "
Alphonso Taft ........     "          Wm. M. Richardson .... Sec. Treas.
J. D. Cameron ........     "          Benj. H. Bristow .....     "
John A. J. Creswell .. Post. Gen'l.   Lot M. Morrill .......     "
Marshall Jewell ......     "          George A. Williams ... Att. Gen'l.
James N. Tyner .......     "          Edwards Pierrepont ...     "
George M. Robeson .... Sec. Navy.     Alphonso Taft ........     "

                                  1876.
RUTH'FORD B. HAYES, O., _Rep._        WM. A. WHEELER, N. Y., _Rep._
Wm. M. Evarts ........ Sec. State.    John Sherman ......... Sec. Treas.
R. W. Thompson ....... Sec. Navy.     G. W. McCrary ........ Sec. War.
Nathan Goff, Jr ......     "          Alex. Ramsay .........     "
D. M. Key ............ Post. Gen'l.   Carl Schurz .......... Sec. Int'r.
Horace Maynard .......     "          Charles Devens ....... Att. Gen'l.

                                  1880.
JAMES A. GARFIELD, Ohio, _Rep._       CHESTER A. ARTHUR, N. Y., _Rep._
J. G. Blaine ......... Sec. State.    Wm. Windom ........... Sec. Treas.
R. T. Lincoln ........ Sec. War.      S. J. Kirkwood ....... Sec. Int'r.
W. H. Hunt ........... Sec. Navy.     T. L. James .......... Post. Gen'l.
Wayne McVeagh ........ Att. Gen'l.

                                  1881.
                    CHESTER A. ARTHUR, N. Y., _Rep._
J. G. Blaine ......... Sec. State.    Wm. Windom ........... Sec. Treas.
F. T. Frelinghuysen ..     "          C. J. Folger .........     "
R. T. Lincoln ........ Sec. War.      S. J. Kirkwood ....... Sec. Int'r.
W. H. Hunt ........... Sec. Navy.     H. M. Teller .........     "
W. E. Chandler .......     "          T. L. James .......... Post. Gen'l.
Wayne McVeagh ........ Att. Gen'l.    T. O. Howe ...........     "
B. H. Brewster .......     "

                                  1884.
G. CLEVELAND, N. Y., _Dem._           THOS. A. HENDRICKS, Ind., _Dem._
Thos. F. Bayard ...... Sec. State.    Daniel Manning ....... Sec. Treas.
Wm. C. Endicott ...... Sec. War.      Chas. Fairchild ......     "
Wm. C. Whitney ....... Sec. Navy.     Augustus Garland ..... Att. Gen'l.
Wm. F. Vilas ......... Post. Gen'l.   Lucius Q. C. Lamar ... Sec. Int'r.
Don M. Dickinson .....     "          William F. Vilas .....     "
                                      Norman J. Coleman .... Sec. Agric.

                                  1888.
BENJ. HARRISON, Ind., _Rep._          LEVI P. MORTON, N. Y., _Rep._
James G. Blaine ...... Sec. State.    William Windom ....... Sec. Treas.
Redfield Proctor ..... Sec. War.      Wm. H. H. Miller ..... Att. Gen'l.
Benj. F. Tracy ....... Sec. Navy.     John W. Noble ........ Sec. Int'r.
John Wanamaker ....... Post. Gen'l.   Jeremiah M. Rusk ..... Sec. Agric.

                                  1892.
G. CLEVELAND, N. Y., _Dem._           ADLAI E. STEVENSON, Ill., _Dem._
Richard Olney ........ Sec. State.    John G. Carlisle ..... Sec. Treas.
Daniel S. Lamont ..... Sec. War.      Judson Harmon ........ Att. Gen'l.
Hilary A. Herbert .... Sec. Navy.     David R. Francis ..... Sec. Int'r.
Wm. L. Wilson ........ Post. Gen'l.   J. Sterling Morton ... Sec. Agric.

                                  1896.
WM. McKINLEY, Ohio, _Rep._            GARRET A. HOBART, N. J., _Rep._
John Sherman ......... Sec. State.    Lyman J. Gage ........ Sec. Treas.
William R. Day .......     "          Jos. McKenna ......... Att. Gen'l.
John Hay .............     "          John W. Griggs .......     "
Russell A. Alger ..... Sec. War.      Cornelius N. Bliss ... Sec. Int'r.
Elihu Root ...........     "          Ethan A. Hitchcock ...     "
John D. Long ......... Sec. Navy.     James Wilson ......... Sec. Agric.
James A. Gary ........ Post. Gen'l.
Chas. Emory Smith ....     "

                                  1900.
WM. McKINLEY, Ohio, _Rep._            THEO. ROOSEVELT, N. Y., _Rep._
John Hay ............. Sec. State.    John D. Long ......... Sec. Navy.
Lyman J. Gage ........ Sec. Treas.    Chas. Emory Smith .... Post. Gen'l.
Elihu Root ........... Sec. War.      Philander C. Knox .... Att. Gen'l.
Ethan A. Hitchcock ... Sec. Int'r.    Jas. Wilson .......... Sec. Agric.

                                  1901.
                    THEO. ROOSEVELT, N. Y., _Rep._
John Hay ............. Sec. State.    John D. Long ......... Sec. Navy.
Lyman J. Gage ........ Sec. Treas.    Wm. H. Moody .........     "
Leslie M. Shaw .......     "          Philander C. Knox .... Att. Gen'l.
Elihu Root ........... Sec. War.      Ethan A. Hitchcock ... Sec. Int'r.
Wm. H. Taft ..........     "          Jas. Wilson .......... Sec. Agric.
Chas. Emory Smith .... Post. Gen'l.   G. B. Cortelyou ...... Sec. Com. & Lab.
Henry C. Payne .......     "


PRESIDENTS PRO TEM. OF THE UNITED STATES SENATE
SINCE THE ORGANIZATION OF THE REPUBLICAN PARTY.

CONGRESS.      YEAR.      NAME.
  32-33       1852-54     D. R. Atchison, Missouri.
  33-34       1854-57     Jesse D. Bright, Indiana.
  34          1857        James M. Mason, Virginia.
  35-36       1857-61     Benj. Fitzpatrick, Alabama.
  36-38       1861-64     Solomon Foot, Vermont.
  38          1864-65     Daniel Clark, New Hampshire.
  39          1865-67     Lafayette S. Foster, Connecticut.
  40          1867-69     Benj. F. Wade, Ohio.
  41-42       1869-73     Henry B. Anthony, Rhode Island.
  43          1873-75     M. H. Carpenter, Wisconsin.
  44-45       1875-79     Thos. W. Ferry, Michigan.
  46          1879-81     A. G. Thurman, Ohio.
  47          1881        Thos. F. Bayard, Delaware.
  47          1881-83     David Davis, Illinois.
  48          1883-85     Geo. F. Edmunds, Vermont.
  49          1885-87     John Sherman, Ohio.
  49-51       1887-91     Jno. J. Ingalls, Kansas.
  52          1891-93     C. F. Manderson, Nebraska.
  53          1893-95     Isham G. Harris, Tennessee.
  54-58       1895        Wm. P. Frye, Maine.


SPEAKERS OF THE U. S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
SINCE THE ORGANIZATION OF THE REPUBLICAN PARTY.

CONGRESS.      YEAR.      NAME.
  32-33       1851-55     Linn Boyd, Kentucky.
  34          1855-57     Nathaniel P. Banks, Massachusetts.
  35          1857-59     Jas. L. Orr, South Carolina.
  36          1859-61     Wm. Pennington, New Jersey.
  37          1861-63     Galusha A. Grow, Pennsylvania.
  38-40       1863-69     Schuyler Colfax, Indiana.
  41-43       1869-75     Jas. G. Blaine, Maine.
  44          1875-76     Michael C. Kerr, Indiana.
  44-46       1876-81     Samuel J. Randall, Pennsylvania.
  47          1881-83     J. Warren Keifer, Ohio.
  48-50       1883-89     John G. Carlisle, Kentucky.
  51          1889-91     Thos. B. Reed, Maine.
  52-53       1891-95     Chas. F. Crisp, Georgia.
  54-55       1895-99     Thos. B. Reed, Maine.
  56-57       1899-1903   David B. Henderson, Iowa.
  58          1903        Jos. G. Cannon, Illinois.


THE PRESIDENTIAL SUCCESSION.

By Act approved January 18, 1886, the presidential succession is fixed
as follows: In case of the removal, death, resignation, or inability of
both the President and Vice-President of the United States, the
Secretary of State, or if there be none, or in case of his removal,
death, etc., then the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of War,
the Attorney-General, the Postmaster-General, Secretary of the Navy, and
Secretary of the Interior, shall act until the disability is removed, or
a President elected; if Congress is not in session when the presidential
powers devolve on any of these persons, or does not meet twenty days
thereafter, then the said person must call an extraordinary session.
This law applies only to such persons who are appointed by the advice
and with the consent of the Senate, and who are eligible under the
Constitution for the office of President.


POPULAR AND ELECTORAL VOTE, 1856.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                 Popular              |          Electoral
                                  Vote                |            Vote
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                             Fillmore |
                                               and    |
                      Buchanan     Fremont   Donelson |
                        and          and     American |
                    Breckinridge   Dayton      and    | Buchanan   Fremont   Fillmore
STATES                  Dem.         Rep.     Whigs   |  and B      and D     and D
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama ............    46,739      ......     28,552        9       ...        ...
Arkansas ...........    21,910      ......     10,787        4       ...        ...
California .........    53,365      20,691     36,165        4       ...        ...
Connecticut ........    34,995      42,715      2,615      ...         6        ...
Delaware ...........     8,004         308      6,175        3       ...        ...
Florida ............     6,358      ......      4,833        3       ...        ...
Georgia ............    56,578      ......     42,228       10       ...        ...
Illinois ...........   105,348      96,189     37,444       11       ...        ...
Indiana ............   118,670      94,375     22,386       13       ...        ...
Iowa ...............    36,170      43,954      9,180      ...         4        ...
Kentucky ...........    74,642         314     67,416       12       ...        ...
Louisiana ..........    22,164      ......     20,709        6       ...        ...
Maine ..............    39,080      67,379      3,325      ...         8        ...
Maryland ...........    39,115         281     47,460      ...       ...          8
Massachusetts ......    39,240     108,190     19,626      ...        13        ...
Michigan ...........    52,136      71,762      1,660      ...         6        ...
Mississippi ........    35,446      ......     24,195        7       ...        ...
Missouri ...........    58,164      ......     48,524        9       ...        ...
New Hampshire ......    32,789      38,345        422      ...         5        ...
New Jersey .........    46,943      28,338     24,115        7       ...        ...
New York ...........   195,878     276,007    124,604      ...        35        ...
North Carolina .....    48,246      ......     36,886       10       ...        ...
Ohio ...............   170,874     187,497     28,126      ...        23        ...
Pennsylvania .......   230,710     147,510     82,175       27       ...        ...
Rhode Island .......     6,680      11,467      1,675      ...         4        ...
*South Carolina ....    ......      ......     ......        8       ...        ...
Tennessee ..........    73,638      ......     66,178       12       ...        ...
Texas ..............    31,169      ......     15,639        4       ...        ...
Vermont ............    10,569      39,561        545      ...         5        ...
Virginia ...........    89,706         291     60,310       15       ...        ...
Wisconsin ..........    52,843      66,090        579      ...         5        ...
                     ---------   ---------    -------      ---       ---        ---
    Total .......... 1,838,169   1,341,264    874,534      174       114          8

* Electors chosen by Legislature.


POPULAR AND ELECTORAL VOTE, 1860.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                              Popular                      |                Electoral
                                               Vote                        |                  Vote
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                Bell       |
                      Lincoln      Douglas   Breckinridge        and       |
                        and          and         and           Everett     |
                      Hamlin       Johnson       Lane       Constitutional | Lincoln   Douglas   Breckinridge   Bell
STATES                  Rep.         Dem.      Ind. Dem.        Union      |  and H     and J       and L       and E
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama ............    ......      13,651       48,831         27,825          ...       ...           9        ...
Arkansas ...........    ......       5,227       28,732         20,094          ...       ...           4        ...
California .........    39,173      38,516       34,334          6,817            4       ...         ...        ...
Connecticut ........    43,692      15,522       14,641          3,291            6       ...         ...        ...
Delaware ...........     3,815       1,023        7,347          3,864          ...       ...           3        ...
Florida ............    ......         367        8,543          5,437          ...       ...           3        ...
Georgia ............    ......      11,590       51,889         42,886          ...       ...          10        ...
Illinois ...........   172,161     160,215        2,404          3,913           11       ...         ...        ...
Indiana ............   139,033     115,509       12,295          5,306           13       ...         ...        ...
Iowa ...............    70,409      55,111        1,048          1,763            4       ...         ...        ...
Kentucky ...........     1,364      25,651       53,143         66,058          ...       ...         ...         12
Louisiana ..........    ......       7,625       22,681         20,204          ...       ...           6        ...
Maine ..............    62,811      26,693        6,368          2,046            8       ...         ...        ...
Maryland ...........     2,294       5,966       42,482         41,760          ...       ...           8        ...
Massachusetts ......   106,533      34,372        5,939         22,331           13       ...         ...        ...
Michigan ...........    88,480      65,057          805            405            6       ...         ...        ...
Minnesota ..........    22,069      11,920          748             62            4       ...         ...        ...
Mississippi ........    ......       3,283       40,797         25,040          ...       ...           7        ...
Missouri ...........    17,028      58,801       31,317         58,372          ...         9         ...        ...
New Hampshire ......    37,519      25,881        2,112            441            5       ...         ...        ...
New Jersey .........    58,324      62,801       ......         ......            4         3         ...        ...
New York ...........   362,646     312,510       ......         ......           35       ...         ...        ...
North Carolina .....    ......       2,701       48,339         44,990          ...       ...          10        ...
Ohio ...............   231,610     187,232       11,405         12,194           23       ...         ...        ...
Oregon .............     5,270       3,951        3,006            183            3       ...         ...        ...
Pennsylvania .......   268,030      16,765      178,871         12,776           27       ...         ...        ...
Rhode Island .......    12,244       7,707       ......         ......            4       ...         ...        ...
*South Carolina ....    ......      ......       ......         ......          ...       ...           8        ...
Tennessee ..........    ......      11,350       64,709         69,274          ...       ...         ...         12
Texas ..............    ......      ......       47,548         15,438          ...       ...           4        ...
Vermont ............    33,808       6,849        1,969            218            5       ...         ...        ...
Virginia ...........     1,929      16,290       74,323         74,681          ...       ...         ...         15
Wisconsin ..........    86,110      65,021          888            161            5       ...         ...        ...
                     ---------   ---------      -------        -------          ---       ---         ---        ---
    Total .......... 1,866,352   1,375,157      847,514        587,830          180        12          72         39

* Electors chosen by Legislature.


POPULAR, ARMY AND ELECTORAL VOTES, 1864.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                             Popular       |        Army         |     Electoral
                              Vote         |        Vote         |       Vote
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                       Lincoln   McClellan |                     |
                         and        and    | Lincoln   McClellan |
                       Johnson   Pendleton |   and        and    | Lincoln   McClellan
STATES                   Rep.       Dem.   | Johnson   Pendleton |  and J      and P
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
California .........    62,134      43,841     2,600         237        5        ...
Connecticut ........    44,693      42,288    ......      ......        6        ...
Delaware ...........     8,155       8,767    ......      ......      ...          3
Illinois ...........   189,487     158,349    ......      ......       16        ...
Indiana ............   150,422     130,233    ......      ......       13        ...
Iowa ...............    87,331      49,260    15,178       1,364        8        ...
Kansas .............    14,228       3,871    ......      ......        3        ...
Kentucky ...........    27,786      64,301     1,194       2,823      ...         11
Maine ..............    72,278      47,736     4,174         741        7        ...
Maryland ...........    40,153      32,739     2,800         321        7        ...
Massachusetts ......   126,742      48,745    ......      ......       12        ...
Michigan ...........    85,352      67,370     9,402       2,959        8        ...
Minnesota ..........    25,060      17,375    ......      ......        4        ...
Missouri ...........    72,991      31,026    ......      ......       11        ...
*Nevada ............     9,826       6,594    ......      ......        2        ...
New Hampshire ......    36,595      33,034     2,066         690        5        ...
New Jersey .........    60,723      68,014    ......      ......      ...          7
New York ...........   368,726     361,986    ......      ......       33        ...
Ohio ...............   265,154     205,568    41,146       9,757       21        ...
Oregon .............     9,888       8,457    ......      ......        3        ...
Pennsylvania .......   296,389     276,308    26,712      12,349       26        ...
Rhode Island .......    14,343       8,718    ......      ......        4        ...
Vermont ............    42,422      13,325       243          49        5        ...
West Virginia ......    23,223      10,457    ......      ......        5        ...
Wisconsin ..........    79,564      63,875    11,372       2,458        8        ...
                     ---------   ---------   -------      ------      ---        ---
    Total .......... 2,213,665   1,802,237   116,887      33,748      212         21

* Nevada chose three electors, one of whom died before the election.

The Army votes of Kansas and Minnesota arrived too late to be counted.


POPULAR AND ELECTORAL VOTE, 1868.

------------------------------------------------------------
                              Popular      |   Electoral
                               Vote        |     Vote
------------------------------------------------------------
                        Grant      Seymour |
                         and         and   |
                        Colfax      Blair  | Grant   Seymour
STATES                   Rep.        Dem.  | and C    and B
------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama ............    76,366      72,080       8      ...
Arkansas ...........    22,152      19,078       5      ...
California .........    54,592      54,078       5      ...
Connecticut ........    50,641      47,600       6      ...
Delaware ...........     7,623      10,980     ...        3
Florida ............    ......      ......       3      ...
Georgia ............    57,134     102,822     ...        9
Illinois ...........   250,293     199,143      16      ...
Indiana ............   176,552     166,980      13      ...
Iowa ...............   120,399      74,040       8      ...
Kansas .............    31,049      14,019       3      ...
Kentucky ...........    39,566     115,889     ...       11
Louisiana ..........    33,263      80,225     ...        7
Maine ..............    70,426      42,396       7      ...
Maryland ...........    30,438      62,357     ...        7
Massachusetts ......   136,477      59,408      12      ...
Michigan ...........   128,550      97,069       8      ...
Minnesota ..........    43,542      28,072       4      ...
Missouri ...........    85,671      59,788      11      ...
Nebraska ...........     9,729       5,439       3      ...
Nevada .............     6,480       5,218       3      ...
New Hampshire ......    38,191      31,224       5      ...
New Jersey .........    80,121      83,001     ...        7
New York ...........   419,883     429,883     ...       33
North Carolina .....    96,226      84,090       9      ...
Ohio ...............   280,128     238,700      21      ...
Oregon .............    10,961      11,125     ...        3
Pennsylvania .......   342,280     313,382      26      ...
Rhode Island .......    12,993       6,548       4      ...
South Carolina .....    62,301      45,237       6      ...
Tennessee ..........    56,757      26,311      10      ...
Vermont ............    44,167      12,045       5      ...
West Virginia ......    29,025      20,306       5      ...
Wisconsin ..........   108,857      84,710       8      ...
                     ---------   ---------     ---      ---
    Totals           3,012,833   2,703,249     214       80

Florida electors chosen by Legislature.


POPULAR AND ELECTORAL VOTE, 1872.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                    Popular                  | Electoral
                                     Vote                    |   Vote
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                    Greeley        O'Conor   |
                        Grant         and            and     |
                         and         Brown          Adams    |   Grant
                        Wilson      Liberal      Straightout |    and
STATES                   Rep.    Rep. and Dem.       Dem.    |   Wilson
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama ............    90,272      79,444        ......           10
Arkansas ...........    41,373      37,927        ......          ...
California .........    54,020      40,718         1,068            6
Connecticut ........    50,638      45,880           204            6
Delaware ...........    11,115      10,206           487            3
Florida ............    17,763      15,427        ......            4
Georgia ............    62,550      76,356         4,000          ...
Illinois ...........   241,944     184,938         3,058           21
Indiana ............   186,147     163,632         1,417           15
Iowa ...............   131,566      71,196         2,221           11
Kansas .............    67,048      32,970           596            5
Kentucky ...........    88,766      99,995         2,374          ...
Louisiana ..........    71,663      57,029        ......          ...
Maine ..............    61,422      29,087        ......            7
Maryland ...........    66,760      67,687            19          ...
Massachusetts ......   133,472      59,260        ......           13
Michigan ...........   138,455      78,355         2,861           11
Minnesota ..........    55,117      34,423        ......            5
Mississippi ........    82,175      47,288        ......            8
Missouri ...........   119,196     151,434         2,429          ...
Nebraska ...........    18,329       7,812        ......            3
Nevada .............     8,413       6,236        ......            3
New Hampshire ......    37,168      31,424           100            5
New Jersey .........    91,656      76,456           630            9
New York ...........   440,736     387,281         1,454           35
North Carolina .....    94,769      70,094        ......           10
Ohio ...............   281,852     244,321         1,163           22
Oregon .............    11,819       7,730           572            3
Pennsylvania .......   349,589     212,041        ......           29
Rhode Island .......    13,665       5,329        ......            4
South Carolina .....    72,290      22,703           187            7
Tennessee ..........    85,655      94,391        ......          ...
Texas ..............    47,406      66,500         2,499          ...
Vermont ............    41,481      10,927           593            5
Virginia ...........    93,468      91,654            42           11
West Virginia ......    32,315      29,451           600            5
Wisconsin ..........   104,997      86,477           834           10
                     ---------   ---------        ------          ---
    Total .......... 3,597,070   2,834,079        29,408          286

The Prohibition candidate (Jas. Black) received 5,608 votes.

The total electoral vote was 366; Mr. Greeley's death, on November 29,
1873, made it necessary for the Democratic and Liberal Republican
electors to vote for other persons; Thos. A. Hendricks received 42. B.
Gratz Brown 18, Chas. J. Jenkins 2, David Davis 1. On objection,
Congress excluded the vote of Arkansas, Louisiana and Georgia, a total
of 17. The foregoing refers to the electoral vote for President; the
vote for Vice-President was divided among eight persons.


POPULAR AND ELECTORAL VOTE, 1876.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                   Popular             |     Electoral
                                    Vote               |       Vote
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
                        Tilden      Hayes     Cooper   |
                         and         and       and     |  Hayes     Tilden
                       Hendricks   Wheeler     Cary    |   and       and
STATES                   Dem.        Rep.    Greenback | Wheeler   Hendricks
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama ............   102,002      68,230      ......      ...        10
Arkansas ...........    58,071      38,669         289      ...         6
California .........    76,465      79,269          47        6       ...
Colorado ...........    ......      ......      ......        3       ...
Connecticut ........    61,934      59,034         774      ...         6
Delaware ...........    13,381      10,752      ......      ...         3
Florida ............    22,923      23,849      ......        4       ...
Georgia ............   130,088      50,446      ......      ...        11
Illinois ...........   258,601     278,232      17,233       21       ...
Indiana ............   213,526     208,011       9,533      ...        15
Iowa ...............   112,099     171,327       9,001       11       ...
Kansas .............    37,902      78,322       7,776        5       ...
Kentucky ...........   159,690      97,156       1,944      ...        12
Louisiana ..........    70,508      75,135      ......        8       ...
Maine ..............    49,823      66,300         663        7       ...
Maryland ...........    91,780      71,981          33      ...         8
Massachusetts ......   108,777     150,063         779       13       ...
Michigan ...........   141,095     166,534       9,060       11       ...
Minnesota ..........    48,799      72,962       2,311        5       ...
Mississippi ........   112,173      52,605      ......      ...         8
Missouri ...........   203,077     145,029       3,498      ...        15
Nebraska ...........    17,554      31,916       2,320        3       ...
Nevada .............     9,308      10,383      ......        3       ...
New Hampshire ......    38,509      41,539          76        5       ...
New Jersey .........   115,962     103,517         712      ...         9
New York ...........   521,949     489,207       1,987      ...        35
North Carolina .....   125,427     108,417      ......      ...        10
Ohio ...............   323,182     330,698       3,057       22       ...
Oregon .............    14,149      15,206         510        3       ...
Pennsylvania .......   366,158     384,122       7,187       29       ...
Rhode Island .......    10,712      15,787          68        4       ...
South Carolina .....    90,906      91,870      ......        7       ...
Tennessee ..........   133,166      89,566      ......      ...        12
Texas ..............   104,755      44,800      ......      ...         8
Vermont ............    20,254      44,092      ......        5       ...
Virginia ...........   139,670      95,558      ......      ...        11
West Virginia ......    56,455      42,698       1,373      ...         5
Wisconsin ..........   123,927     130,668       1,509       10       ...
                     ---------   ---------      ------      ---       ---
    Total .......... 4,284,757   4,033,950      81,740      185       184

Green C. Smith, Prohibitionist, received a total of 9,522 votes. There
were 2,636 scattering votes for the Anti-Masonic and American Alliance
tickets.

The Colorado electors were chosen by the Legislature.

The Returning Boards' counts are given for the popular votes in Florida
and Louisiana, where there was a dispute as to Tilden's majority.


POPULAR AND ELECTORAL VOTE, 1880.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                   Popular             |     Electoral
                                    Vote               |       Vote
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
                       Garfield    Hancock    Weaver   |
                         and         and       and     | Garfield   Hancock
                        Arthur     English   Chambers  |   and        and
STATES                   Rep.        Dem.    Greenback |  Arthur    English
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama ............    56,221      91,185       4,642      ...        10
Arkansas ...........    42,436      60,775       4,079      ...         6
California .........    80,348      80,426       3,392        1         5
Colorado ...........    27,450      24,647       1,435        3       ...
Connecticut ........    67,071      64,415         868        6       ...
Delaware ...........    14,133      15,275         120      ...         3
Florida ............    23,654      27,964      ......      ...         4
Georgia ............    54,086     102,470         969      ...        11
Illinois ...........   318,037     277,321      26,358       21       ...
Indiana ............   232,164     225,522      12,986       15       ...
Iowa ...............   183,927     105,845      32,701       11       ...
Kansas .............   121,549      59,801      19,851        5       ...
Kentucky ...........   106,306     149,068      11,499      ...        12
Louisiana ..........    38,637      65,067         439      ...         8
Maine ..............    74,039      65,171       4,408        7       ...
Maryland ...........    78,515      93,706         818      ...         8
Massachusetts ......   165,205     111,960       4,548       13       ...
Michigan ...........   185,431     131,597      34,895       11       ...
Minnesota ..........    93,903      53,315       3,267        5       ...
Mississippi ........    34,854      75,750       5,797      ...         8
Missouri ...........   153,567     208,609      35,135      ...        15
Nebraska ...........    54,979      28,523       3,950        3       ...
Nevada .............     8,732       9,613      ......      ...         3
New Hampshire ......    44,852      40,794         528        5       ...
New Jersey .........   120,555     122,565       2,617      ...         9
New York ...........   555,544     534,511      12,373       35       ...
North Carolina .....   115,874     124,208       1,126      ...        10
Ohio ...............   375,048     340,821       6,456       22       ...
Oregon .............    20,619      19,948         249        3       ...
Pennsylvania .......   444,704     407,428      20,668       29       ...
Rhode Island .......    18,195      10,779         236        4       ...
South Carolina .....    58,071     112,312         566      ...         7
Tennessee ..........   107,677     128,191       5,917      ...        12
Texas ..............    57,893     156,428      27,405      ...         8
Vermont ............    45,567      18,316       1,215        5       ...
Virginia ...........    84,020     128,586      ......      ...        11
West Virginia ......    46,243      57,391       9,079      ...         5
Wisconsin ..........   144,400     114,649       7,986       10       ...
                     ---------   ---------     -------      ---       ---
    Total .......... 4,454,416   4,444,952     308,578      214       155

Neal Dow, Prohibition candidate, received a total vote of 10,305. Two
Republican tickets were voted for in Louisiana. The Democratic vote for
Maine is given for the fusion vote for the electoral ticket, made up of
three Democrats and four Greenbackers. A straight Greenback ticket was
also voted for in Maine.

Two Democratic tickets were voted in Virginia. The Regular received
96,912; the "Readjusters" 31,674.


POPULAR AND ELECTORAL VOTE, 1884.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                          Popular                  |    Electoral
                                           Vote                    |      Vote
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                        Blaine    Cleveland    Butler     St. John | Cleveland   Blaine
STATES                   Rep.       Dem.      Greenback     Pro.   |   and H     and L
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama ............    59,591      93,951         873         612        10       ...
Arkansas ...........    50,895      72,927       1,847      ......         7       ...
California .........   102,416      89,288       2,017       2,920       ...         8
Colorado ...........    36,290      27,723       1,958         761       ...         3
Connecticut ........    65,923      67,199       1,688       2,305         6       ...
Delaware ...........    12,951      16,964           6          55         3       ...
Florida ............    28,031      31,766      ......          72         4       ...
Georgia ............    48,603      94,667         145         195        12       ...
Illinois ...........   337,474     312,355      10,910      12,074       ...        22
Indiana ............   238,463     244,990       8,293       3,028        15       ...
Iowa ...............   197,089     177,316      ......       1,472       ...        13
Kansas .............   154,406      90,132      16,341       4,495       ...         9
Kentucky ...........   118,122     152,961       1,691       3,139        13       ...
Louisiana ..........    46,347      62,540      ......      ......         8       ...
Maine ..............    72,209      52,140       3,953       2,160       ...         6
Maryland ...........    85,699      96,932         531       2,794         8       ...
Massachusetts ......   146,724     122,481      24,433      10,026       ...        14
Michigan ...........   192,669     149,835      42,243      18,403       ...        13
Minnesota ..........   111,923      70,144       3,583       4,684       ...         7
Mississippi ........    43,509      76,510      ......      ......         9       ...
Missouri ...........   202,929     235,988      ......       2,153        16       ...
Nebraska ...........    76,912      54,391      ......       2,899       ...         5
Nevada .............     7,193       5,578          26      ......       ...         3
New Hampshire ......    43,249      39,183         552       1,571       ...         4
New Jersey .........   123,440     127,798       3,496       6,159         9       ...
New York ...........   562,005     563,154      16,994      25,016        36       ...
North Carolina .....   125,068     142,952      ......         454        11       ...
Ohio ...............   400,082     368,280       5,179      11,069       ...        23
Oregon .............    26,860      24,604         726         492       ...         3
Pennsylvania .......   473,804     392,785      16,992      15,283       ...        30
Rhode Island .......    19,030      12,391         422         928       ...         4
South Carolina .....    21,733      69,890      ......      ......         9       ...
Tennessee ..........   124,078     133,258         957       1,131        12       ...
Texas ..............    93,141     225,309       3,321       3,534        13       ...
Vermont ............    39,514      17,331         785       1,752       ...         4
Virginia ...........   139,356     145,497      ......         138        12       ...
West Virginia ......    63,096      67,317         810         939         6       ...
Wisconsin ..........   161,157     146,459       4,598       7,656       ...        11
                     ---------   ---------     -------     -------       ---       ---
    Total .......... 4,851,981   4,874,986     175,370     150,369       219       182


POPULAR AND ELECTORAL VOTE, 1888.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                        Popular                  |     Electoral
                                         Vote                    |       Vote
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                      Cleveland   Harrison     Fisk     Streeter | Harrison   Cleveland
STATES                  Dem.        Rep.       Pro.     U. Labor |  and M       and T
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama ............   117,320      56,197        583     ......      ...         10
Arkansas ...........    85,962      58,752        641     10,613      ...          7
California .........   117,729     124,816      5,761     ......        8        ...
Colorado ...........    37,567      50,774      2,191      1,266        3        ...
Connecticut ........    74,920      74,584      4,234        240      ...          6
Delaware ...........    16,414      12,973        400     ......      ...          3
Florida ............    39,561      26,657        423     ......      ...          4
Georgia ............   100,499      40,496      1,808        136      ...         12
Illinois ...........   348,278     370,473     21,695      7,090       22        ...
Indiana ............   261,013     263,361      9,881      2,694       15        ...
Iowa ...............   179,887     211,598      3,550      9,105       13        ...
Kansas .............   103,744     182,934      6,768     37,726        9        ...
Kentucky ...........   183,800     155,134      5,225        622      ...         13
Louisiana ..........    85,032      30,484        166         39      ...          8
Maine ..............    50,481      73,734      2,691      1,344        6        ...
Maryland ...........   106,168      99,986      4,767     ......      ...          8
Massachusetts ......   151,855     183,892      8,701     ......       14        ...
Michigan ...........   213,459     236,370     20,942      4,542       13        ...
Minnesota ..........   104,385     142,492     15,311      1,094        7        ...
Mississippi ........    85,471      30,096        218         22      ...          9
Missouri ...........   261,974     236,257      4,539     18,632      ...         16
Nebraska ...........    80,552     108,425      9,429      4,226        5        ...
Nevada .............     5,362       7,229         41     ......        3        ...
New Hampshire ......    43,456      45,728      1,593         13        4        ...
New Jersey .........   151,493     144,344      7,904     ......      ...          9
New York ...........   635,757     648,759     30,231        626       36        ...
North Carolina .....   147,902     134,784      2,787         32      ...         11
Ohio ...............   396,455     416,054     24,356      3,496       23        ...
Oregon .............    26,522      33,291      1,677        363        3        ...
Pennsylvania .......   446,633     526,091     20,947      3,873       30        ...
Rhode Island .......    17,530      21,968      1,250         18        4        ...
South Carolina .....    65,825      13,736     ......     ......      ...          9
Tennessee ..........   158,779     138,988      5,969         48      ...         12
Texas ..............   534,883      88,422      4,749     29,459      ...         13
Vermont ............    16,788      45,192      1,460     ......        4        ...
Virginia ...........   151,977     150,438      1,678     ......      ...         12
West Virginia ......    79,664      77,791        669      1,064      ...          6
Wisconsin ..........   155,232     176,553     14,277      8,552       11        ...
                     ---------   ---------    -------    -------      ---        ---
    Total .......... 5,540,329   5,439,853    249,506    146,935      233        168

1,591 for Curtis, American; 2,418 for Cowdrey, United Labor.


POPULAR AND ELECTORAL VOTE, 1892.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                       Popular                   |           Electoral
                                        Vote                     |             Vote
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                      Harrison   Cleveland   Bidwell     Weaver  | Cleveland   Harrison   Weaver
STATES                  Rep.       Dem.        Pro.       Peo.   |   and S      and M     and F
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama ............     9,197     138,138       239      85,181       11        ...       ...
Arkansas ...........    46,974      87,752       113      11,831        8        ...       ...
California .........   117,618     117,908     8,187      25,226        8          1       ...
Colorado ...........    38,620      ......     1,687      53,584      ...        ...         4
Connecticut ........    77,032      82,395     4,026         809        6        ...       ...
Delaware ...........    18,077      18,581       564      ......        3        ...       ...
Florida ............    ......      30,143       570       4,843        4        ...       ...
Georgia ............    48,305     129,386       988      42,939       13        ...       ...
Idaho ..............     8,799      ......       219      10,430      ...        ...         3
Illinois ...........   399,288     426,281    25,870      22,207       24        ...       ...
Indiana ............   255,615     262,740    13,044      22,198       15        ...       ...
Iowa ...............   219,373     196,408     6,322      20,616      ...         13       ...
Kansas .............   157,241      ......     4,553     163,111      ...        ...        10
Kentucky ...........   135,420     175,424     6,385      23,503       13        ...       ...
Louisiana ..........    25,332      87,922    ......       1,232        8        ...       ...
Maine ..............    62,878      48,024     3,062       2,045      ...          6       ...
Maryland ...........    92,736     113,866     5,877         796        8        ...       ...
Massachusetts ......   202,814     176,813     7,539       3,210      ...         15       ...
Michigan ...........   222,708     202,296    20,569      19,792        5          9       ...
Minnesota ..........   122,736     100,579    14,017      30,398      ...          9       ...
Mississippi ........     1,406      40,237       910      10,256        9        ...       ...
Missouri ...........   226,762     268,628     4,298      41,183       17        ...       ...
Montana ............    18,833      17,534       517       7,259      ...          3       ...
Nebraska ...........    87,218      24,943     4,902      83,134      ...          8       ...
Nevada .............     2,822         711        85       7,267      ...        ...         3
New Hampshire ......    45,658      42,081     1,297         293      ...          4       ...
New Jersey .........   156,080     171,066     8,134         985       10        ...       ...
New York ...........   609,459     654,908    38,193      16,430       36        ...       ...
North Carolina .....   100,346     132,951     2,636      44,732       11        ...       ...
North Dakota .......    17,486      ......    ......      17,650        1          1         1
Ohio ...............   405,187     404,115    26,012      14,852        1         22       ...
Oregon .............    35,002      14,243     2,281      26,965      ...          3         1
Pennsylvania .......   516,011     452,264    25,123       8,714      ...         32       ...
Rhode Island .......    27,069      24,335     1,565         227      ...          4       ...
South Carolina .....    13,384      54,698    ......       2,410        9        ...       ...
South Dakota .......    34,888       9,081    ......      26,512      ...          4       ...
Tennessee ..........    99,973     136,477     4,856      23,622       12        ...       ...
Texas ..............    81,444     239,148     2,165      99,638       15        ...       ...
Vermont ............    37,992      16,325     1,424          43      ...          4       ...
Virginia ...........   113,256     163,977     2,798      12,274       12        ...       ...
Washington .........    36,470      29,844     2,553      19,105      ...          4       ...
West Virginia ......    80,285      83,484     2,130       4,165        6        ...       ...
Wisconsin ..........   170,761     177,436    13,132       9,909       12        ...       ...
Wyoming ............     8,376      ......       526         526      ...          3       ...
                     ---------   ---------   -------   ---------      ---        ---       ---
    Total .......... 5,186,931   5,553,142   268,361   1,030,128      277        145        22


POPULAR AND ELECTORAL VOTE, 1896.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                   Popular                              |    Electoral
                                                    Vote                                |      Vote
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                      McKinley,    Bryan,    Palmer,   Levering,   Bentley,   Matchett, | McKinley,   Bryan,
STATES                  Rep.        Dem.     N. Dem.      Pro.       Nat.     Soc. L.   |   Rep.       Dem.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama ............    54,737     130,307     6,462     2,147           1      .....       ....        11
Arkansas ...........    37,512     110,103     .....       839         893      .....       ....         8
California .........   146,170     143,373     2,006     2,573       1,047      1,611          8         1
Colorado ...........    26,271     161,153         1     1,717         386        159       ....         4
Connecticut ........   110,285      56,740     4,334     1,808       .....      1,223          6      ....
Delaware ...........    16,804      13,424       877       355       .....      .....          3      ....
Florida ............    11,288      32,736       654     1,778       .....      .....       ....         4
Georgia ............    60,091      94,232     2,708     5,613       .....      .....       ....        13
Idaho ..............     6,324      23,192     .....       179       .....      .....       ....         3
Illinois ...........   607,130     464,632     6,390     9,796         793      1,147         24      ....
Indiana ............   323,754     305,573     2,145     3,056       2,267        324         15      ....
Iowa ...............   289,293     223,741     4,516     3,192         352        453         13      ....
Kansas .............   159,541     171,810     1,209     1,921         630      .....       ....        10
Kentucky ...........   218,171     217,890     5,114     4,781       .....      .....         12         1
Louisiana ..........    22,037      77,175     1,834     .....       .....      .....       ....         8
Maine ..............    80,465      34,688     1,870     1,570       .....      .....          6      ....
Maryland ...........   136,959     104,735     2,507     5,918         136        587          8      ....
Massachusetts ......   278,976     105,711    11,749     2,998       .....      2,114         15      ....
Michigan ...........   293,582     236,714     6,879     5,025       1,995        297         14      ....
Minnesota ..........   193,501     139,626     3,202     4,343       .....        867          9      ....
Mississippi ........     5,130      63,859     1,071       485       .....      .....       ....         9
Missouri ...........   304,940     363,667     2,355     2,169         293        596       ....        17
Montana ............    10,494      42,537     .....       186       .....      .....       ....         3
Nebraska ...........   102,304     115,880     2,885     1,193         797        186       ....         8
Nevada .............     1,938       8,377     .....     .....       .....      .....       ....         3
New Hampshire ......    57,444      21,650     3,520       779          49        228          4      ....
New Jersey .........   221,367     133,675     6,373     5,614       .....      3,985         10      ....
New York ...........   819,838     551,369    18,950    16,052       .....     17,667         36      ....
N. Carolina ........   155,222     174,488       578       675         247      .....       ....        11
N. Dakota ..........    26,335      20,686     .....       358       .....      .....          3      ....
Ohio ...............   525,991     477,494     1,857     5,068       2,716      1,167         23      ....
Oregon .............    48,779      46,662       977       919       .....      .....          4      ....
Pennsylvania .......   728,300     433,228    11,000    19,274         870      1,683         32      ....
Rhode Island .......    37,437      14,459     1,166     1,160           5        558          4      ....
S. Carolina ........     9,281      58,798       828     .....       .....      .....       ....         9
S. Dakota ..........    41,042      41,225     .....       685       .....      .....       ....         4
Tennessee ..........   148,773     166,268     1,951     3,098       .....      .....       ....        12
Texas ..............   167,520     370,434     5,046     1,786       .....      .....       ....        15
Utah ...............    13,484      64,517        21     .....       .....      .....       ....         3
Vermont ............    51,127      10,637     1,331       733       .....      .....          4      ....
Virginia ...........   135,368     154,709     2,129     2,350       .....        108       ....        12
Washington .........    39,153      51,646     1,668       968         148      .....       ....         4
W. Virginia ........   104,414      92,927       677     1,203       .....      .....          6      ....
Wisconsin ..........   268,135     165,523     4,584     7,509         346      1,314         12      ....
Wyoming ............    10,072      10,655     .....       136       .....      .....       ....         3
                     ---------   ---------   -------   -------      ------     ------       ----      ----
    Total .......... 7,106,779   6,502,925   133,424   132,009      13,969     36,274        271       176


POPULAR AND ELECTORAL VOTE, 1900.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                              Popular                                        |     Electoral
                                                               Vote                                          |       Vote
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                      McKinley,    Bryan,     Wooley,     Debs,   Malloney,    Barker,     Ellis,   Leonard, | McKinley,   Bryan,
STATES                  Rep.        Dem.        Pro.    Soc. Dem.  Soc. L.    M. R. Pop.   U. R.     U. C.   |   Rep.       Dem.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama ............    55,512      97,131     2,762     .......   .......      4,178      .....      .....      ....        11
Arkansas ...........    44,800      81,142       584     .......   .......        972        341      .....      ....         8
California .........   164,755     124,985     5,024       7,554   .......     ......      .....      .....         9      ....
Colorado ...........    93,072     122,733     3,790         654       700        387      .....      .....      ....         4
Connecticut ........   102,567      73,997     1,617       1,029       898     ......      .....      .....         6      ....
Delaware ...........    22,529      18,858       538          57   .......     ......      .....      .....         3      ....
Florida ............     7,314      28,007     1,039         601   .......      1,070      .....      .....      ....         4
Georgia ............    35,035      81,700     1,396     .......   .......      4,584      .....      .....      ....        13
Idaho ..............    26,997      29,414       857     .......   .......        213      .....      .....      ....         3
Illinois ...........   597,985     503,061    17,623       9,687     1,373      1,141        672        352        24      ....
Indiana ............   336,063     309,584    13,718       2,374       663      1,438        254      .....        15      ....
Iowa ...............   307,785     209,179     9,479       2,778       259        613      .....        707        13      ....
Kansas .............   185,955     162,601     3,605       1,605   .......     ......      .....      .....        10      ....
Kentucky ...........   227,128     235,103     3,780         646       390      1,861      .....      .....      ....        13
Louisiana ..........    14,233      53,671   .......     .......   .......     ......      .....      .....      ....         8
Maine ..............    65,435      36,822     2,585         878   .......     ......      .....      .....         6      ....
Maryland ...........   136,212     122,271     4,582         908       391     ......        147      .....         8      ....
Massachusetts ......   238,866     156,997     6,202       9,607     2,599     ......      .....      .....        15      ....
Michigan ...........   316,269     211,685    11,859       2,826       903        833      .....      .....        14      ....
Minnesota ..........   190,461     112,901     8,555       3,065     1,329     ......      .....      .....         9      ....
Mississippi ........     5,753      51,706   .......     .......   .......      1,644      .....      .....      ....         9
Missouri ...........   314,092     351,922     5,965       6,139     1,294      4,244      .....      .....      ....        17
Montana ............    25,373      37,146       298         708   .......     ......      .....      .....      ....         3
Nebraska ...........   121,835     114,013     3,655         823   .......      1,104      .....      .....         8      ....
Nevada .............     3,849       6,347   .......     .......   .......     ......      .....      .....      ....         3
New Hampshire ......    54,803      35,489     1,270         790   .......     ......      .....      .....         4      ....
New Jersey .........   221,707     164,808     7,183       4,609     2,074        669      .....      .....        10      ....
New York ...........   821,992     678,386    22,043      12,869    12,622     ......      .....      .....        36      ....
North Carolina .....   133,081     157,752     1,006     .......   .......        830      .....      .....      ....        11
North Dakota .......    35,891      20,519       731         518   .......        110      .....      .....         3      ....
Ohio ...............   543,918     474,882    10,203       4,847     1,688        251      4,284      .....        23      ....
Oregon .............    46,526      33,385     2,536       1,466   .......        203      .....      .....         4      ....
Pennsylvania .......   712,665     424,232    27,908       4,831     2,936        638      .....      .....        32      ....
Rhode Island .......    33,784      19,812     1,529     .......     1,423     ......      .....      .....         4      ....
South Carolina .....     3,579      47,236   .......     .......   .......     ......      .....      .....      ....         9
South Dakota .......    54,530      39,544     1,542         176   .......        339      .....      .....         4      ....
Tennessee ..........   121,194     144,751     3,900         410   .......      1,368      .....      .....      ....        12
Texas ..............   121,173     267,337     2,644       1,841       160     20,976      .....      .....      ....        15
Utah ...............    47,139      45,006       209         720       106     ......      .....      .....         3      ....
Vermont ............    42,568      12,849       368     .......   .......        367      .....      .....         4      ....
Virginia ...........   115,865     146,080     2,150     .......   .......     ......      .....      .....      ....        12
Washington .........    57,456      44,833     2,363       2,006       866     ......      .....      .....         4      ....
West Virginia ......   119,829      98,807     1,692         268   .......        274      .....      .....         6      ....
Wisconsin ..........   265,866     159,285    10,124         524     7,065     ......      .....      .....        12      ....
Wyoming ............    14,482      10,164   .......     .......   .......     ......      .....      .....         3      ....
                     ---------   ---------   -------     -------   -------     ------      -----      -----      ----      ----
    Total .......... 7,207,923   6,358,133   208,914      87,814    39,739     50,373      5,698      1,059       292       155



INDEX

Abbott, Josiah G., 180.
Abolitionists, chapter on, 51.
Abolitionists, early in Pennsylvania, 26.
Abolitionists, sentiment during Revolution, 28 et seq.
Adams, Charles Francis, 159.
Adams, John Q., 164, 296.
Adams, John Quincy, 55, 295.
Alabama Claims, 165.
Alabama, secedes, 125;
  reconstructed, 139.
Alaska, purchased, 146, 252;
  boundary award, 290.
Alger, Russell A., 224, 302.
Allen, S. W. K., 255.
Allison, William B., 183, 224, 255.
American Anti-Slavery Society, 52 et seq.
American Party, see Know-Nothings.
Ames, Oakes, 165.
Anthony, Henry B., 303.
Anti-Monopoly Convention, 1884, 209.
Arbitration, National advocated, 252.
Arkansas, reconstructed, 139.
Army Vote 1864, 133.
Arthur, Chester A. nominated for Vice President, 193;
  becomes President, 197;
  biographical sketch, 197;
  candidate for nomination, 1884, 200;
  placed in nomination, 207;
  ballots, 208;
  his cabinet, 301.
Articles of Confederation, 30.
Ashmun, George, 115.
Ashton, James A., 273.
Atchison, D. R., 303.
Atherton Gag-rule, 55.

Bailey, D. F., 255.
Baldwin, John M., 255.
Banks, Nathaniel P., 85, 94, 122, 304.
Barker, Wharton, 263.
Barnburners, 64.
Bates, Edward, 119, 300.
Bayard, Thomas F., 180, 302, 303.
Belknap, Wm. W., 301.
Bell, John, 238.
Bentley, Charles E., 258.
Benton, Thomas C., 93.
Bidwell, John, 238.
Billings, Frederick, 192.
Bimetalism, 221, 233.
Bingham, Harry, 207, 246.
Bingham, John A., 143.
Bingham, Kinsley S., 82.
Birney, John G., 56, 57.
Black, James, 159.
Black, Jeremiah S., 300.
Blaine, James G., elected speaker, 156;
  Credit Mobilier, 165;
  elected speaker, 167;
  defeated, 168;
  mentioned for President, 170, 174, 175, 184, 185;
  placed in nomination 1884, 207;
  biographical sketch, 208;
  Little Rock R. R. matter, 210;
  campaign of 1884, Rum, Romanism, Rebellion, 210;
  declines nomination 1888, 214;
  resigns as Secretary of State, 229;
  in Convention of 1892, 237;
  301, 302, 304.
Blair, Francis P., 88.
Blair, Francis P., Jr., 154.
Blair, Montgomery, 300.
Bland-Allison Act, 182, 183.
Bland, Richard P., 182.
Bliss, Cornelius N., 302.
Bolton, J. Gray, 264.
Bond Issue, Cleveland's second term, 243.
Booth, John Wilkes, 134.
Booth, Newton, 177.
Boutwell, Geo. S., 143, 301.
Bovay, Alvan E., founder of the Republican Party, 74;
  biographical sketch, 75;
  calls first meeting, 76;
  urges Mr. Greeley to Christen the Party, 80.
Bowen, Jehdeiah, 76.
Boyd, Linn, 304.
Boyd, W. G., 237.
Bradley, Joseph P., 180.
Bradley, William O., 192, 216, 226.
Brainard, Lawrence, 87, 88.
Brandagee, A. H., 207.
Breckinridge, John C., 95, 113, 300.
Breckinridge, Robert J., 129.
Brewster, B. H., 301.
Bright, Jesse D, 303.
Brinkerhoff, Jacob, 63.
Bristow, Benjamin H., 170, 301.
Brooks, James, 165.
Brooks, John A., 213.
Brooks, Preston S., 97.
Brown, Aaron V., 300.
Brown, B. Gratz, 159.
Brown, John, raid, 108.
Browning, Orville H., 300.
Bruce, Blanche K., 226.
Bryan, William J., speech in Democratic Convention, 1896, 257;
  is nominated for President 1896, 257;
  nominated by People's Party and Silver Party 1896, 258;
  nominated by People's Party 1900, 263;
  by Democrats, 282;
  by Silver Republicans, 283.
Buchanan, James, nominated 1856, 95;
  elected, 99;
  his term, 101;
  does not prevent secession, 125;
  his cabinet, 300.
Buckner, Simon B., 258.
Bulkeley, William G., 255.
Bunau-Varilla, Philippe, 288.
Burchard, Dr., Rum, Romanism, Rebellion, 210.
Burleigh, H. G., 208.
Burr, Aaron, 295.
Butler, Benjamin F., 65, 144, 209.

Caldwell, Luther, 150.
Calhoun, John C., State Rights, 49;
  demands suppression of Right of Petition, 55;
  made Secretary of State, 1844, 60;
  Texas, 60;
  speaks on Compromise of 1850, 68.
California, gold, 67;
  applies for admission as free State, 67;
  in Compromise of 1850, 69.
Cameron, Frank J., 254.
Cameron, J. Donald, 185, 186, 293, 301.
Cameron, Simon, 119, 132, 300.
Cannon, Jos. G., 304.
Carey, Henry C., 94.
Carlisle, John G., 211, 302, 304.
Carpenter, M. H., 303.
Carter, Thomas H., 246, 293.
Cartter, David K., 121.
Cary, Samuel F., 177.
Cass, Lewis, 64, 300.
Cassady, J. E., 192.
Central Pacific Railroad advocated Republican Platform 1856, 92;
  119, 131, 146.
Chambers, B. F., 194.
Chandler, W. E., 301.
Chandler, Zachariah, 88, 178, 293, 301.
Chase, Salmon P., 92, 119, 128, 300.
Chinese Immigration, 184;
  Republican Party and, 190;
  198, 205;
  219.
Civil Rights Bill, 141.
Civil Service Reform, Republican Party and, 162, 172, 182, 199, 205, 223, 235, 251, 269.
Claflin, William, 160, 293.
Clark, Daniel, 303.
Clarkson, John S., 228, 231, 294.
Clay, Cassius M., 88, 94, 121, 122, 123.
Clay, Henry, Missouri Compromise, 48;
  candidate for President 1844, 61;
  Compromise of 1850, 68.
Clayton, Powell, 202.
Cleveland, A. C., 254.
Cleveland, Grover, elected governor of New York, 200;
  nominated 1884, 209;
  first term, 211;
  nominated 1888, 214;
  nominated 1892, 229;
  second term, 240;
  his cabinets, 302.
Clifford, Nathan, 180.
Coal Strike, 289.
Cobb, Howell, 300.
Cochrane, John, 129.
Coleman, Norman J., 302.
Colfax, Schuyler, 153, 154, 160, 304.
Collamer, Jacob, 94, 119.
Colombia, 288.
Colored Liberal Republicans, 164.
Commerce, Department of, advocated, 271.
Compromise of 1820, 42.
Compromise of 1850, 59.
Confederate Government, 125.
Conkling, Roscoe, 170, 185, 187, 192, 196, 197.
Constitutional Convention, U. S., 35.
Constitutional Union Party, 114.
Cooper, Peter, 177.
Cortelyou, Geo. B., 303.
Cotton, 38.
Cowdrey, Robt. H., 213.
Cowen, B. R., 150.
Cox, J. D., 301.
Cranfill, J. B., 238.
Crawford, L. J., 294.
Crawford, Wm. H., 296.
Credit Mobilier, 165.
Creswell, J. A. J., 153, 301.
Crisp, Charles F., 241, 304.
Crittenden Compromise, 125.
Cuba, mentioned in Republican Platform 1896, 251, 260, 287.
Cuban Reciprocity Treaty, 287.
Cullom, Shelby M., 160, 207.
Currency Inflation Bill, 167.
Curtin, A. G., 120, 153.
Curtis, Benjamin R., 144.
Curtis, George William, 119.
Daniel, John B., 257.
Daniels, William, 209.
Davis, Cushman K., 207.
Davis, David, 159, 198, 303.
Davis, Edmund J., 160, 193.
Davis, Henry W., 122.
Davis, Jefferson, 111, 125.
Day, Wm. R., 302.
Dayton, William L., 94, 119, 122.
Debs, Eugene V., 263.
Delano, Columbus, 120, 301.
Democratic Conventions, 1856, 95;
  1860, 112;
  1864, 133;
  1868, 154;
  1872, 164;
  "Straight Out" 1872, 164;
  1876, 177;
  1880, 194;
  1884, 209;
  1888, 214;
  1892, 238;
  1896, 256;
  1900, 274.
Democratic Party, supports slavery, 8, 59;
  defeated in 1840, 60;
  advocates Texas, 61;
  Barnburners and Hunkers in, 64;
  in campaign of 1852, 71;
  repeals Missouri Compromise, 72;
  in campaign of 1856, 96;
  1860, 113;
  1864, 133;
  1868, 154;
  1872, 164;
  1876, 177;
  1880, 195;
  1884, 209;
  1888, 214;
  1892, 238;
  1896, 257;
  1900, 274.
Demonetization of Silver, 165.
Dennison, William, 129, 300.
Depew, Chauncey M., 224, 231, 237, 255, 256, 274.
Devens, Charles, 301.
Dickinson, Daniel S., 132.
Dickinson, Don M., 302.
Dingley, Nelson, Jr., Tariff Bill, 260.
Dix, John A., 66, 300.
Dixon, Senator, 72.
Dolliver, Jonathan P., 273.
Dom Pedro, 11, 169.
Donelson, A. J., 95.
Donnelly, Ignatius, 263.
Douglas, Frederick, 225.
Douglas, Stephen A., 7, 63, 72, 95;
  Lincoln-Douglas debates, 101, 105;
  103, nominated for President, 113;
  126.
Dow, Neal, 194.
Drake, E. F., 192.
Dred Scott Decision, 101.
Dubois, F. T., 254.
Dunham, William, 77.
Earl, Thomas, 57.
Edmunds, George F., 180, 192, 202, 207, 303,
Edmunds Law, 1882, 198.
Eight Hour Law advocated by Republicans, 204.
Electoral College, 295 et seq.
Electoral Commission Law, 180.
Electoral Count Act, 299.
Electoral Vote 1852, 71;
  1856, 99;
  1860, 124;
  1864, 133;
  1868, 154;
  1872, 164;
  1876, 179, 181;
  1880, 196;
  1884, 211;
  1888, 226;
  1892, 240;
  1896, 260;
  1900, 283, 296. See appendix for electoral votes by States.
Electoral vote for 1904, 299.
Electors, Presidential, how chosen, 295.
Elliott, R. B., 192.
Emancipation Proclamation, 127.
Emmet, Robert, 89.
Employes protection, 234.
Endicott, Wm. C., 302.
English, William H., 195.
Equal Rights Convention, 213.
Estee, M. M., 216.
Eustis, W. H., 237.
Evans, H. Clay, 255.
Evans, Samuel, 213.
Evarts, William M., 120, 121, 144, 300, 301.
Everett, Edward, 114.
Fairbanks, Charles W., temporary chairman 1896, 246;
  presents platform 1900, 264.
Fairchild, Chas., 302.
Farmers' Alliance Convention, 238.
Fassett, J. Sloat, 231.
Fenton, Reuben E., 153.
Ferry, Thos. W., President of Senate, 181, 303.
Fessenden, Samuel, 255.
Fessenden, Wm. P., 300.
Field, James G., 239.
Field, Stephen J., 180.
Fifteenth Amendment, 155.
Fillmore, Millard, 64, 95.
Finck, B. E., 237.
Fish, Clinton B., 213.
Fish, Hamilton, 301.
Fisheries, 222.
Fitler, E. H., 224, 225.
Fitzpatrick, Benj., 303.
Florida, secedes, 125;
  reconstructed, 139.
Floyd, John B., 300.
Folger, C. J., 301.
Foot, Solomon, 303.
Foraker, Joseph B., nominates Sherman, 1884, 207, 208, 216, 225;
  presents Platform 1892, 232;
  presents Platform 1896, 246;
  nominates McKinley, 1896, 255;
  nominates McKinley, 1900, 273.
Ford, Thomas, 94.
Forney, John W., 150.
Fort, J. Franklin, 246, 255.
Fort Sumter, 125, 126, 134.
Foster, Mrs. J. Ellen, 237.
Foster, James P., 293, 294.
Foster, Lafayette S., 303.
Francis, David R., 302.
Frazer, Robert E., 224.
Free Soil Party, 63;
  organization of in 1848, 65;
  in campaign of 1852, 71;
  one of the elements of the Republican Party, 79, et seq.
Free Suffrage, 217.
Free Trade, 211.
Freedmen's Bureau Bill, 140.
Fremont, John C., mentioned for the nomination 1856, 92;
  first Presidential nominee of Republican Party, 93;
  is defeated, 99;
  in Convention of 1860, 121;
  nominated by Radicals in 1864 but withdraws, 129;
  makes speech in convention of 1888, 215.
Frelinghuysen, F. T., 176, 180, 301.
Frye, William P., seconds nomination of Blaine 1876, 175;
  do. 1880, 192;
  303.
Fugitive Slave Law of 1793, 42;
  of 1850, 69, 70;
  repealed, 134.
Gage, Lyman J., 302, 303.
Gallinger, Senator, 224.
Garey, James A., 302.
Garfield, James A., on electoral commission, 180;
  defeated for speaker, 181, 184;
  quoted, 185;
  in convention of 1880, 187;
  nominates Sherman, 1880, 192;
  is himself selected, 193;
  biographical sketch, 193;
  inaugurated, 196;
  assassinated, 197;
  his cabinet, 301.
Garland, Augustus, 302.
Garrison, William Lloyd, publishes the Liberator, 54, 55.
Georgia, secedes, 125.
Germans strong for the new Republican Party, 73.
Giddings, Joshua R., 88, 94, 119, 123.
Goff, Nathan, Jr., 301.
Gold Standard, advocated by Republicans, 1896, 249;
  Act, 261.
Goodloe, Wm. C., 207.
Goodrich, J. Z., 87.
Grant, Frederick D., 225, 256.
Grant, Ulysses S., receives votes for nomination, 1864, 132;
  nominated for President, 1868 and biographical sketch, 148;
  inaugurated, 156;
  nominated, 1872, 160;
  reinaugurated, 166;
  candidate in 1880, 184;
  placed in nomination, 192;
  votes for, 192, 193;
  his cabinets, 301.
Greeley, Horace, advocates election of Taylor, 66;
  influence of in 1854, 75;
  talks with Bovay about the new party, 75, 76;
  advocates name Republican, 80;
  at Pittsburg Convention, 1856, 88;
  in convention of 1860, 115;
  in campaign 1860, 123;
  nominated for President, 159;
  in campaign of 1872, 164;
  death, 165.
Green, Beriah, 54.
Greenback Labor Party in 1884, 209.
Greenback Party, 146;
  in 1876, 177;
  in 1880, 194.
Greenbacks, 145, 241.
Gresham, Walter Q., 208, 224.
Griggs, John W., 302.
Groesbeck, Wm. S., 144, 164.
Grosvenor, Charles E., 264.
Grow, Galusha A., 109, 207, 304.
Gunsaulus, Dr., 215.
Hale, John P., 65, 71.
"Half-breeds," 196.
Hamilton, I. N., 294, 225.
Hamlin, Hannibal, 122, 132, 153.
Hancock, Winfield S., 195.
Hanna, Marcus A., campaign manager for McKinley, 1896, 245;
  made Chairman National Committee, 254;
  calls 1900 Convention to order, 263, 293.
Harlan, Henry, 300.
Harlan, James, 153.
Harmon, Judson, 302.
Harris, Isham G., 303.
Harrison, Benjamin, quoted, 213;
  nominated in 1888, 224, 225;
  biographical sketch, 225;
  candidate in 1892, 228;
  nominated, 237;
  defeated by Cleveland, 240, 297;
  his cabinet, 302.
Harrison, Wm. Henry, 48, 57, 60, 298.
Hartman, Charles S., 254.
Hartranft, John F., 170.
Hastings, Daniel B., 224, 255.
Hausserek, F., 150.
Hawaii, 240, 261.
Hawley, Joseph R., 150, 160, 171, 176, 207, 224.
Hay, John, 288, 290, 302, 303.
Hayes, Rutherford B., candidate for President, 170;
  nominated 1876, 175;
  biographical sketch, 176;
  Hayes-Tilden contest, 179;
  inaugurated, 181;
  not a candidate in 1880, 184, 297;
  his cabinet, 301.
Haymond, Creed, 225.
Henderson, David B., 186, 261, 304.
Henderson, John B., 202.
Hendricks, Thomas A., 177, 209.
Hepburn, 224.
Herbert, Hilary A., 302.
Hickman, John, 122.
Hill, David B., 229, 238, 257.
Hiscock, Senator, 224.
Hitchcock, Ethan A., 302, 303.
Hoar, George F., 180, 186.
Holt, Joseph, 300.
Homestead Act, advocated in Republican platform, 1860, 118;
  128, 205, 219, 252.
Houston, Samuel, 122.
Howe, T. O., 301.
Hunkers, 64.
Hunt, W. H., 301.
Hunton, Eppa, 180.
Ide, Henry C., 262.
Immigration, Republican Party, and, 118, 131, 152, 234, 251, 268.
Imperalism, 274.
Independent Republicans, 210.
Ingalls, John J., 225, 303.
Ingersoll, Robert G., Plumed Knight speech, 174.
Internal Revenue, 128, 146, 218.
Interstate Commerce Laws, 204.
Isthmian Canal, 271;
  Act, 287.
Jackson, Andrew, 295.
James, I. L., 301.
Jefferson, Thomas, 30, 31, 46, 295.
Jessup, William, 115.
Jewell, Marshall, 175, 176, 193, 293, 301.
Johnson, Andrew, in Thirtieth Congress, 63;
  nominated for Vice President, 132;
  becomes President, 135;
  reconstruction, 138;
  impeachment of, 143;
  his cabinet, 300.
Johnson, Hale, 258.
Johnson, Whitfield S., 94.
Johnston, R. M., 296.
Johnston, Wm. F., 95.
Jones, B. F., 215, 293.
Joy, Thomas F., 192.
Judd, Norman B., 120.
Julian, Geo. W., 71, 88.
Kansas, Douglas bill, 72;
  in Republican National Platform, 1856, 90, 91, 92;
  Lecompton Constitution, 102;
  in Republican Platform, 1860, 117, 118;
  admitted, 125.
Keifer, Jos. Warren, 198, 304.
Kelley, Wm. D., 153.
Kelly, Moses, 300.
Kerr, Michael C., 156, 168, 181, 304.
Key, D. M., 301.
King, H., 300.
King, John A., 88, 94.
King, Preston, 88.
Kirkwood, S. J., 301.
Knight, George, 273.
Know-Nothings, organized, 83;
  convention of 1856, 95.
Knox, P. C., 288, 302, 303.
Ku Klux Klans, 158.
Labor National Bureau of, advocated, 204.
Labor Reform Party, 158.
Lamar, L. Q. C., 302.
Lamont, Daniel S, 302.
Lane, Henry S., 90, 94, 120.
Lane, Joseph, 113.
Lapham, Elbridge C., 197.
Lecompton Constitution, 102.
Lee, Robert E., 134.
Legal Tender Act, 128.
Legal Tenders, 128, 145.
Levering, Joshua, 258.
Levy, Edgar M., 264.
Lewis, John F., 160.
Liberal Republicans, 158.
Liberal Republican Revenue Reformers, 164.
Liberty Party, in 1840, 57;
  1844, 62;
  1848, 65.
Lincoln, Abraham, quoted, 9;
  early views on slavery, 9, 67;
  in Thirtieth Congress, 63;
  in campaign of 1848, 66;
  hears Seward at Boston, 67;
  receives votes for V. P. 1856, 94;
  endorsed for U. S. Senate, 104;
  Lincoln-Douglas debates, 101-106;
  Douglas and Lincoln compared, 107;
  defeated for U. S. Senator, 106;
  Henry Ward Beecher, on, 112;
  nominated for President 1860;
  in campaign of 1860, 122;
  first inauguration, 126;
  his term, 126, et seq.;
  nominated 1864, 132;
  second inauguration, 134;
  assassinated, 134;
  quoted, 135;
  reconstruction, 136;
  his cabinets, 300.
Lincoln, Robert T., 225, 301.
Lippitt, Charles W., 255.
Lodge, Henry Cabot 202, 255, 264.
Lockwood, Mrs. Belva A., 213.
Log Cabin and Hard Cider Campaign, 60.
Logan, John A., 144, 153, 185, 207, 208.
Long, John D., 207, 302, 303.
Loper, Amos, 76.
Louisiana Purchase Exposition, 289.
Louisiana secedes, 125;
  reconstructed, 136, 139.
Louisiana Territory, 44.
Love, Alfred H., 213.
Lovejoy, Elijah P., 56.
Lovejoy, Owen, 88.
Lundy, Benjamin, 53.
Lynch, John R., 202, 207.
Lynching condemned, 252.
McAlpin, E. A. 294.
McClellan, Geo. B., 133.
McCrary, Geo. W., 301.
McCullouch, Hugh, 145, 300.
McKenna, Joseph, 302.
McKinley, William, reports Platform 1884, 202;
  reports platform 1888, 216;
  receives some votes in convention, 1888, 225;
  Tariff Bill of 1890, 227;
  mentioned for nomination 1892, 230;
  presides over convention, 1892, 231;
  receives some votes, 1892, 238;
  quoted, 244;
  candidate, 1896, 245;
  nominated, 255;
  biographical sketch, 256;
  first term begins, 260;
  nominated 1900, 273;
  second term begins, 283;
  assassinated, 283;
  his last words, 284;
  his cabinets, 302.
McLean, John, 92, 93, 119.
McMichael, Morton, 160.
McPherson, Edward, 171.
McVeagh, Wayne, 301.
Maguire, Matthew, 259.
Mahone and Wise, 216.
Maine, Battleship destroyed, 260.
Malloney, Joseph F., 263.
Manderson, C. F., 303.
Manley, Joseph H., 245.
Manning, Daniel, 302.
Mason, James M., 303.
Matchett, Charles H., 239, 259.
Maynard, Horace, 160, 193, 301.
Merchant Marine Advocated Republican Platform, 1872, 163;
  206, 221, 234, 249, 269.
Metcalf, Henry B., 263.
Mexican War, 61, 62.
Middle of the Road People's Party, 263.
Milburn, John G., 284.
Miller, Samuel F., 180, 225.
Miller, Warner, 237.
Miller, Warren, 197.
Miller, Wm. H. H., 302.
Mills Tariff Bill, 212.
Mississippi, secedes, 125.
Missouri Compromise, 7, 8, 42;
  Repealed, 72.
Mollison, W. E., 237.
Monroe Doctrine, Republican Party and, 132;
  222, 234, 243, 250.
Moody, William H., 303.
Moore, J. Hampton, 294.
Morey, H. L., letter, 195.
Morgan, Edwin D., 89, 115, 129, 171, 293.
Morrill, Lot M., 301.
Morrill Tariff Bill, 128.
Morton, J. Sterling, 302.
Morton, Levi P., 226, 255, 256.
Morton, Oliver P., 170, 180.
Moses, Bernard, 262.
Mount, James A., 273.
Mugwumps, 210.
Mulligan Letters, 210.
Murchison, Charles F., 226.
Murray, Butler, 273.
National Bank System, 128.
National Debt, Republican Party and, 131, 135, 144, 145, 151.
National Democratic Party, 1896, 258.
National Party, 1896, 258.
National Republican League, 293.
Naturalization Laws, Republican Party and, 118.
Navy, advocated, 206, 221, 251.
Nebraska, 72.
Negro question, Republican Party and, 269.
Nicaraguan Canal, 236, 287.
Noble, John W., 302.
Northwest Territory, 31.
Noyes, E. F., 160, 175.
O'Conor, Charles, 159, 164.
Ocala Platform, 239.
Olmstead, F. L., 164.
Olney, Richard, 302.
Ordinance of 1787, 33, 48.
Orr, James L., 304.
Ostend, circular, 92.
Pacific Cable, 290.
Palmer, John M., 150, 258.
Panama, 288.
Panama Canal, 287.
Panic of 1873, 156;
  of 1893, 241.
Parker, Joel, 159.
Payne, H. B., 180.
Payne, Henry C., 303.
Payne, Sereno E., 264.
Pendleton, Geo. H., 133.
Pennington, Aaron S., 94.
Pennington, Wm., 110, 304.
Pension Laws of 1890, 228.
Pensions, Republican Party and, 130, 152, 162, 173, 205, 223, 237, 250, 269.
Peoples Party, appearance of, 228;
  in 1892, 238, 239, 240;
  in 1896, 258;
  in 1900, 263.
Personal Liberty Laws, 70.
Phelps, W. W., 225, 226.
Philadelphia Centennial Exposition, 168.
Philippines acquired, 261;
  Commission, 262, 272, 288;
  President Roosevelt's Amnesty, 289.
Pierce, Franklin, 71, 86, 95.
Pierrepont, Edwards, 188, 301.
Pinchback, P. B. S., 207.
Pixley, F. M., 192.
Platt, Thomas C., 196, 207.
Plumb, Preston B., 208.
Polk, James K., 61.
Polygamy, in Republican Platform, 1856, 91;
  173;
  Edmunds law, 198, 206, 220.
Pomeroy, Samuel C., 94, 133.
Pomeroy, Theo. O., 171.
Popular Vote in 1852, 72;
  1856, 99;
  1860, 124;
  1864, 133;
  1868, 154;
  1872, 165;
  1876, 181;
  1880, 196;
  1884, 211;
  1888, 227;
  1892, 240;
  1896, 260;
  1900, 283;
  see appendix.
Porter, Albert G., 224.
Postal Rates, reduction advocated by Republicans, 162, 221.
Proctor, Redfield, 302.
Prohibition Party, in 1872, 158, 159;
  1876, 177;
  1880, 194;
  1884, 209;
  1888, 213;
  1892, 238;
  1896, 258;
  1900, 263.
President, manner of electing, 295.
Presidential succession, 304.
Presidents who failed to receive a majority of the popular vote, 297.
Protective Tariff, mentioned in Republican platform, 1860, 118;
  162, 173, 190, 203, 212, 218, 232, 247, 268.
Public Roads, 270.
Quakers, opposed to slavery, 26, 52.
Quay, Matthew S., 255, 273, 293.
Radical Republican Convention, 1864, 129.
Ramsey, Alex., 301.
Randall, Alex. W., 300.
Randall, Samuel J., 181, 184, 198, 304.
Rawlins, J. A., 301.
Raymond, Henry J., 129.
Reciprocity, Blaine on, 201;
  in Republican Platforms, 233, 248, 268.
Reconstruction, 135, Republican Party and, 151.
Reed, John M., 121, 122.
Reed, Thomas B., elected speaker, 227;
  231;
  candidate for President, 1896, 245;
  255, 256, 304.
Reeder, Andrew H., 122.
Reid, Whitelaw, 238.
Remmel, Valentine, 263.
Republican National Committee, 293.
Republican National Conventions, call for first convention at Pittsburg, 87;
  at Philadelphia, 1856, 89, 1860, 114;
  1864, 129;
  1868, 148;
  1872, 159;
  1876, 170;
  1880, 186;
  1884, 201;
  1888, 215;
  1892, 230;
  1896, 246;
  1900, 263;
  see appendix, 294.
Republican National Platforms, 1856, 90;
  1860, 116;
  1864, 130;
  1868, 151;
  1872, 160;
  1876, 170;
  1880, 188;
  1884, 203;
  1888, 217;
  1892, 232;
  1896, 247;
  1900, 265.
Republican Party;
  formative causes, 5, 7, 72;
  birth of, 70, 74;
  first meetings, 74;
  how name adopted, 76;
  first State meeting, 81;
  meeting at Washington, 80;
  first Republican governor, 82, 83;
  State meetings, 82, 83;
  success in 1855, 84;
  prepares for first National campaign, 85, 86;
  in various campaigns, see Conventions.
Republican Rallying Cry, 1856, 86.
Repudiation, denounced by Republican Party, 151;
  163.
Resumption of Specie Payment, 168, 183.
Richards, Frank S., 150.
Richardson, Wm. M., 301.
River and Harbor Improvements, advocated Republican Platform 1856, 92;
  118.
Robertson, Wm. H., 196.
Robeson, Geo. M., 301.
Roosevelt, Theodore, in convention of 1884, 202;
  seconds McKinley's nomination, 1900, 273;
  is nominated for Vice President, 273;
  quoted, 285;
  becomes President, 285;
  biographical sketch, 285;
  his administration, 287 et seq.;
  298.
Root, Elihu, 289, 302, 303.
Rum, Romanism, Rebellion, 210.
Rural Free Delivery, advocated by Republican Platform, 1892, 235;
  270.
Rush, Governor, 224.
Rusk, Jeremiah M., 224, 225, 302.
Russell, John, 159.
Sabin, Dwight M., 202, 293.
Sackville-West, 226.
St. John, John P., 209.
Sale, Samuel, 246.
Schofield, John, 300.
Schurz, Carl, 123, 150, 159, 301.
Scott, Winfield, 71.
Secession, 125.
Settle, Thomas, 160, 193.
Sewall, Arthur, 258.
Seward, William H., 67, 68, 83, 92, 93, 119, 120, 123, 300.
Seymour, Horatio, 127, 154.
Shaw, Leslie M., 303.
Sheep Industry, Republican Party and, 204, 218.
Sherman Anti-Trust Law, 228.
Sherman, John, 109, 145;
  specie resumption, 168;
  Secretary of Treasury, 183;
  mentioned for President, 184, 186;
  placed in nomination 1880, 192;
  1884, 207;
  211;
  1888, 214;
  224, 301, 302, 303.
Sherman Silver Act, 228;
  repealed, 241.
Silver Act of 1873, 165.
Silver Party Convention, 1896, 258.
Silver Republicans, in 1896, 253;
  254;
  1900, 282, 283.
Silver, in 1896, 244;
  in Republican Convention, 253, 254;
  in Democratic Convention, 1896, 257;
  1900, 274.
Silver in Democratic Platforms, 257, 279.
Silver in Republican Platforms, 249, 267.
Slave Trade, in Greece and Rome, 14, 15;
  beginning of modern, 18;
  abolition of by U. S., 43;
  coastwise prohibited, 134.
Slavery, ancient, how established, 11;
  Egypt, 12;
  biblical, 12;
  in ancient countries, 13;
  Greece and Rome, 14;
  modern, how established, 15;
  in Europe, 16;
  in New World, 16, 18;
  Las Casas, 19;
  Hawkins, 20;
  beginning of in United States, 22;
  Lord Mansfield, 27;
  in early federal government, 28;
  Jefferson draft of the Declaration of Independence, 29;
  prohibited in Northwest Territory, 33;
  in Constitutional Convention, 35;
  cotton and, 40;
  Missouri Compromise, 42;
  the abolitionists, 51;
  Compromise of 1850, 59;
  see Lincoln;
  see Republican Party.
Smith, Caleb B., 120, 300.
Smith, Charles Emory, 302, 303.
Smith, Green Clay, 177.
Social Democrats, 1900, 263.
Socialist Labor Party, 1892, 239;
  1896, 259;
  1900, 263.
Solid South, 50;
  in Republican Platform, 1880, 191;
  196.
Sound Money in Republican Platforms, 204, 249, 267.
South Carolina, secedes, 125.
Southgate, James H., 258.
Spanish American War, 261, 266.
Speed, James, 153, 300.
Spooner, Senator, 237.
"Stalwarts," 196.
Stanberry, Henry, 144, 300.
Stanton, Edwin M., 134, 143, 300.
State Rights, 49.
Stephens, Alex H., 125.
Stevens, Thaddeus, 123, 144.
Stevenson, Adlai E., 238, 282, 283.
Stewart, G. T., 177.
Stone, A. P., 87.
Stone, Wm., 294.
Stowe, Harriet B., 71.
Streeter, Alson J., 213.
Strong, William, 180.
Sugar, 249.
Sumner, Charles, 93, 94, 97, 121.
Sweet, Leonard, 224.
Taft, Alphonso, 301.
Taft, William H., 262, 288, 289, 303.
Tallmadge, 45.
Tappan, Lewis, 54.
Tariff Bills, 128, 199;
  Mills, 212;
  McKinley, 227;
  Wilson, 242;
  Dingley, 260.
Tariff Commission, 198.
Taylor, Zachary, 64.
Teller, Henry M., 253, 254, 283, 301.
Tenure of Office Bill, 143.
Terrill, 224.
Texas, 60, 125.
Thirteenth Amendment, 134, 141.
Thomas, Jacob, 300.
Thomas, Jesse B., 47.
Thomas, Lorenzo, 148, 300.
Thomas, Walter F., 226.
Thompson, A. M., 194.
Thompson, Jacob, 300.
Thompson, Richard, 231.
Thompson, Richard W., 150, 237, 301.
Thurman, Allan G., 180, 214, 303.
Thurston, John M., 215, 246, 255, 256, 273, 294.
Tilden, Saml. J., 65, 177.
Toucey, Isaac, 300.
Towne, Charles A., 263.
Townsend, Martin I., 207.
Tracy, Benj. F., 302.
Tracy, W. W., 294.
Trade Dollar, 166.
Tribune, New York, 66, 75, 80.
Trumbull, Lyman, 108, 159.
Trusts condemned by Republicans, 1888, 219, 235, 268, 289.
Turner, Henry M., 175.
Twelfth Amendment, 295.
Tyler, John, 60.
Tyner, James N., 301.
Uncle Tom's Cabin, 71.
Underground Railroad, 70.
Union Labor Convention, 1888, 213.
Union Pacific, advocated in Republican Platform, 1856, 92, 119, 131, 146, 156.
Unit Rule, 175, 186, 187.
United Labor Convention, 1888, 213.
Usher, John P., 300.
Upshur, Secy. of State, 60.
Van Buren, Martin, 57, 61, 65.
Vance, J. Madison, 255.
Vilas, Wm. F., 302.
Virginia, secedes, 125.
Wade, Benjamin F., 121, 144, 153, 175, 303.
Wakefield, W. H. T., 213.
Walker, James A., 255.
Wanamaker, John, 302
Ward, Marcus L., 150, 293.
Warner, 224.
Washburne, Elihu B., 175, 192, 193, 301.
Washington, Geo., 295.
Watson, Thomas E., 258.
Weaver, James B., 194, 239.
Webster, Daniel, 68.
Welles, Gideon, 300.
West, A. M., 209.
West, Wm. H., 207.
Wheeler, William A., 175, 176.
Whig Party, 8, 51, 56, 57;
  incapable of handling slavery question, 59;
  Abraham Lincoln, a member of, 63;
  disorganized in 1852, 71;
  last appearance of, 1856, 95.
White, Wm. A., 87, 88.
Whitney, Wm. C., 302.
Whittier, John G., 54.
Wide Awakes, 123.
Williams, George A., 301.
Williams, Thos., 144.
Wilmot, David, 63, 87, 90, 94, 115.
Wilmot Proviso, 59, 63.
Wilson, Henry, 82, 94, 153, 160.
Wilson, James F., 143.
Wilson, James, 302, 303.
Wilson, Wm. L., 242, 260, 302.
Windom, William, 192, 301, 302.
Wing, Simon, 239.
Winkler, F. C., 192.
Winston, P. H., 207.
Wolcott, Senator, 237, 264.
Woman's Rights, recognized by Republicans, 163, 173, 253.
Woodford, Stewart L., 176.
Woodmansee, D. D., 294.
Wool, 204, 218, 249.
Wooley, John G., 263.
Worcester, Dean C., 262.
Workingmen's National Convention, 164.
Wright, Luke E., 262, 289.
Yerkes, John W., 273.
Young, Lafe, 273.

________________________________________



Transcriber's Note

Some words which appear to be typos are printed thus in the original book.
A list of these possible misprints (along with suggested corrections) follows:


CHAPTER I.
... the history of the immediate casual[**causal] events which ... (?)


CHAPTER VIII.
... African slave trade, the services [**of] which, doubtless, ...


CHAPTER IX.

The House at this time was dead-locked over the election ...

[**deadlocked] (Erase the hyphen -- but, there is another one, at
                CHAPTER V., definitely with a hyphen.)


CHAPTER XI.

The Convention was again called to order by Edwin B[**D]. Morgan ... (?)

... of the army and navy who have peril[**l]ed their lives ...

[In two other occurrences, in a composite word, imperilled, it is spelled
 with double l:
 CHAPTER XIII., and CHAPTER XIV.]

also:
... shall be held in grateful and everlasting rememb[**e]rance.

[It is also spelled without an e in CHAPTER XVII., but, in CHAPTER XIV.,
 it is spelled rememberance.]


CHAPTER XII.

... Representatives, many of whom less than a year before had been engaged in
active rebel-loin, ...

rebel-[**]loin[**lion] (Erase the hyphen and anagrammatize correctly.)

... when an Act to enlarge the provis[**i]ons of the Freedmen's Bureau Bill ...


CHAPTER XIV.

The election was held on Ne[**o]vember 7th, ...

These decis[**i]ons, as already noted, could not be set aside without ...


CHAPTER XV.

... and to conserve the freedom of the sufferage, ...

suffe[**]rage (Erase the e.)

... and Elihu B. Washburn[**e] by J. E. Cassady.


CHAPTER XVI.

In this spirit spirit we denounce the importation of contract labor, ...

spirit [**spirit] (repetition)


CHAPTER XVII.

The Union Labor Convention at Cinc[**i]nnati ...


CHAPTER XIX.

The provisions of The Hague convention was[**were] wisely regarded ...

We are proud of the courage and fidelity of the American soldier and sailors ...

soldier and sailors [**either both singular or both plural -- a typo? I suggest
that both be in plural, as they are in other occurrences throughout the book.]


CHAPTER XX.

... stifling competit[**i]on and dictating wages and prices, ...


APPENDIX

- PRESIDENTS PRO TEM. OF THE UNITED STATES SENATE
  SINCE THE ORGANIZATION OF THE REPUBLICAN PARTY.
  49-51       1887-91     Jno. J. Ingalls, Kansas.

  Jno[**John] J. Ingalls

- POPULAR AND ELECTORAL VOTE, 1876.

  [**Under the Electoral Vote, the candidates' pairs are reversed -- relatively
   to the respective Popular Vote columns; in other tables, as well.]

- POPULAR AND ELECTORAL VOTE, 1868.

  [**The total of the second column reads 2,703,249; should read 2,703,243.
   see also:
   CHAPTER XIII.
   ... Grant and Colfax 3,012,833, and Seymour and Blair 2,703,249.]

- POPULAR AND ELECTORAL VOTE, 1880.

  [**The total of the first column reads 4,454,416; should read 4,454,506.
   see also:
   CHAPTER XV.
   Garfield ............ 4,454,416]

- POPULAR AND ELECTORAL VOTE, 1888.

  [**The total of the first column reads 5,540,329; should read 5,840,329.
   see also:
   CHAPTER XVII.
   Cleveland ............ 5,540,329)

   **The total of the third column reads 249,506; should read 249,512.
   see also:
   CHAPTER XVII.
   ... the total Prohibition vote was 249,506, ...]

- POPULAR AND ELECTORAL VOTE, 1892.

  [**The total of the third column reads 268,361; should read 268,368.

   **The total of the fourth column reads 1,030,128; should read 1,022,102.]

- POPULAR AND ELECTORAL VOTE, 1896.

  [**The total of the fifth column reads 13,969; should read 13,971.]

- [Barker, ]M. R. P[**e]op.
   see also:
   CHAPTER XIX.
   ... Barker (M. R. Peop.), 50,373; ...)

- POPULAR AND ELECTORAL VOTE, 1900.

  [**The total of the sixth column reads 50,373; should read 50,307.
   see also:
   CHAPTER XIX.
   Barker (M. R. Peop.), 50,373;]


INDEX

Bright, Jesse D[**.], 303.
Edmunds, George F., ... 300,[**.]
Imper[**i]alism, 274.
Lamont, Daniel S[**.], 302.
... at Philadelphia, 1856, 89,[**;] 1860, 114; ...
Wanamaker, John, 302[**.]
People[**']s Party, appearance of, 228; ...








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