REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION OF 1880. NOMINATION OF THE COMPROMISE
CANDIDATE, GARFIELD
Since the indications were that the Democrats would be successful in the
Congressional elections of 1878, the election in the "shoe-string
district" that year was allowed to go by default.
In 1880, the year of the Presidential election, I decided that I would
again measure arms with Chalmers for Representative in Congress from
that district. It was practically a well-settled fact that there was to
be a bitter fight for the Republican Presidential nomination that year.
There were three prominent candidates in the field for the
nomination,--James G. Blaine, U.S. Grant, and John Sherman. Grant was
especially strong with southern Republicans, while Blaine had very
little support in that section. Sherman was well thought of on account
of the splendid record he had made as a member of the United States
Senate, and, in addition to that, he had the influence and the support
of the National Administration, of which he was a member,--being at that
time Secretary of the Treasury.
In the State of Mississippi Bruce, Hill and I,--the three leading
colored men,--had formed an offensive and defensive alliance. Bruce was
United States Senator, which position he had secured largely through the
influence and active support of myself and Hill,--of Hill especially,
since he was on the ground at the time of the election, which enabled
him to take personal charge of the campaign before the Legislature in
the interest of Mr. Bruce.
Hill had been elected Secretary of State on the ticket with Ames in 1873
and, after the expiration of his term, was, through the influence and
support of Bruce and myself, made Collector of Internal Revenue for the
State of Mississippi. The office of Secretary of State, to which he was
elected in 1873, was one that the Democrats did not take possession of
in 1876. Unlike the Governor and Lieutenant-Governor, the removal of the
incumbent was not necessary to put that party in possession of the State
Government.
I, Lynch, was at that time a member of the National House of
Representatives, which position I was able to retain for a long time
with the active assistance and support of Bruce and Hill,--especially of
Bruce.
That we three should work in perfect political harmony was both natural
and proper, since, in doing so, we protected our own interests and
secured for ourselves, and for our friends and supporters, appropriate
official recognition. At nearly every State convention either Bruce or I
was made chairman of the convention, with Hill as floor manager.
The State committee was organized and controlled in the same way.
Through that thorough and effective organization I was Chairman of the
Republican State Committee from 1881 to 1892, and I could have retained
it longer had I consented to serve; notwithstanding the dissolution of
the combination, which took place about that time, as will be shown and
explained later.
There was a faction in the party that was opposed to the leadership of
these three influential colored men, but it was never strong enough to
organize or control a State Convention as long as we three worked in
union. While this union had the effect of keeping us at the front as
recognized leaders of the party it could not be said it was detrimental
to the party organization, for the reason that under that leadership the
organization never failed to support the men that the party believed to
be the strongest. In other words, while we used the party machinery to
prevent our own political extinction we never allowed our own ambitions
to conflict with what was believed by other influential members of the
party to be for the best interest of the organization.
It looked for a while as if the State Convention of 1880 would result
in a dissolution of this combination which had so successfully
controlled the party organization in the State so many years. Bruce and
Hill were supporters of Secretary Sherman for the Republican
Presidential nomination, while I was favorable to the candidacy of
ex-President Grant. That Grant was the choice of a large majority of the
Republicans of the State could not be truthfully denied. Mr. Bruce was
the Republican United States Senator in harmony with the administration.
Mr. Hill was an office-holder under that administration, and Secretary
Sherman was believed to be the administration candidate for the
nomination.
As soon as the fact was developed that Bruce and Hill were for Sherman
and that I was for Grant, the faction which had always opposed and
fought the leadership of the Bruce-Lynch-Hill combination took up the
fight for Grant, with the determination to take advantage of Grant's
strength and popularity in order to secure control of the party
machinery. It was this that prevented at that time a dissolution of the
Bruce-Hill-Lynch combination. The situation with which we were
confronted made it necessary for the three to come together and, in a
spirit of concession, agree upon a common line of action. Upon the
suggestion of Mr. Bruce a conference soon took place at which I agreed
that, since it was my purpose to be a candidate for the Congressional
nomination in the Sixth or "shoe-string district," I would not be a
candidate for delegate to the National Convention, but that I would
support Bruce and Hill as delegates from the State at large, with the
understanding that, if at any time Sherman's name should be withdrawn
and Grant's nomination were possible, they should support Grant. It was
further agreed that I should support the Bruce-Lynch-Hill combination in
the fight for the organization of the State Convention, but that I
should be at liberty to use my influence for the election of Grant men
as delegates other than Bruce and Hill.
At the conclusion of this conference I made public announcement of the
fact that, since it was my purpose to become a candidate for Congress in
the Sixth or "shoe-string district," I would not be a candidate for
delegate to the National Convention but would give my support to Bruce
and Hill, for two of the four places on the delegation from the State at
large, with the understanding that the delegation, if controlled by
them, would not be hostile to Grant. I had reasons to know that Mr.
Bruce, in consequence of his cordial relations with Senator
Conkling,--the national leader of the Grant forces,--was not unfriendly
to Grant, and that he would use his influence to prevent the delegation
from going into any combination for the sole purpose of defeating the
nomination of Grant. In other words, Grant was Brace's second choice for
the nomination.
The fight for the delegation was waged with a good deal of heat and
bitterness. The canvass had not progressed very far before it was
developed that Grant was much stronger than the faction by which he was
being supported. The fight was so bitter, and the delegates to the State
Convention were so evenly divided, that the result was the election of a
compromise delegation which was about evenly divided between Grant and
Sherman. Bruce and Hill were among those that were elected.
The National Convention, which was held in Chicago in June of that year,
was one of the most exciting and interesting in the history of the
party. It was that convention that abolished what was known as "the unit
rule." Up to that time the right of a State Convention to elect all the
delegates to which the State was entitled,--district as well as
State,--and to instruct them as a body had never before been questioned.
New York, as well as other States, had instructed the delegates to cast
the entire vote of the State for Grant. This was the unit rule. It is a
rule which even now is enforced in National Conventions of the
Democratic party. It was through the enforcement of this rule that Mr.
Cleveland was renominated, when he was so bitterly opposed by a portion
of the delegation from his own State,--especially the Tammany
delegates,--that General Bragg was moved to make the celebrated
declaration that he "loved Mr. Cleveland on account of the enemies he
had made." Notwithstanding the fact that those delegates were strongly
opposed to Mr. Cleveland, and though they protested against having their
votes recorded for him, they were so recorded through the application
and enforcement of the unit rule. It was the enforcement of this rule
upon which Mr. Conkling insisted in the National Republican Convention
of 1880. About twenty of the New York district delegates, under the
leadership of Judge W.H. Robertson, refused to be governed by the
instructions of the State Convention. Their contention was that the
State Convention had no right to bind by instructions any delegates
except the four from the State at large. After a lengthy and heated
debate the convention finally sustained this contention, and since that
time the unit rule has not been recognized in a National Republican
Convention.
This action, no doubt, resulted in the defeat of General Grant for the
nomination; for it was a well-known fact that his nomination was
possible only through the enforcement of the unit rule. His friends and
supporters, however, under the leadership of Senator Conkling, made a
strong and desperate fight with the hope that the tide might ultimately
turn in their favor, but with the intention, in any event, of
preventing if possible the nomination of Mr. Blaine. General Grant's
name was placed before the Convention by Senator Conkling in one of his
most eloquent and masterly efforts.
"The man whose name I shall place in nomination," he said, "does not
hail from any particular State; he hails from the United States. It is
not necessary to nominate a man that can carry Michigan. Any Republican
can carry Michigan. You should nominate a man that can carry New York.
That man is U.S. Grant."
Mr. Blaine's name was placed in nomination by a delegate from Michigan
by the name of Joy. His effort did not come up to public expectation.
The eloquent speech of Senator Frye, of Maine, who seconded the
nomination, made up in part for the public disappointment in Mr. Joy's
effort. The name of Secretary John Sherman was placed before the
Convention in one of General Garfield's most powerful and convincing
efforts. It is safe to say that the speech delivered by General Garfield
on that occasion made him the nominee of that convention. After drawing
an eloquent and vivid picture of the kind of man that should be made
President,--with the intention of naming John Sherman as the man thus
described,--he asked in a tone of voice that was pitched in a high key:
"Who is that man?"
The response came from different parts of the hall, "Garfield."
And sure enough it was Garfield. After a number of fruitless ballots it
became apparent that neither of the three leading candidates could
possibly be nominated. Very few, if any, of the Grant men would at any
time go to either Blaine or Sherman. Very few, if any, of the Sherman
men would go to Blaine, while Blaine men could not in any considerable
numbers, be induced to go either to Grant or Sherman. While a number of
Sherman men would have supported Grant in preference to Blaine, there
were not enough of them, even with the Grant men, to constitute a
majority. When Garfield's name was suggested as a compromise candidate
he was found to be acceptable to both the Blaine and the Sherman men as
well as to some of the Grant men, who had abandoned all hope of Grant's
nomination. The result was that Garfield was finally made the unanimous
choice of the convention. The New York delegation, being allowed to name
the man for Vice-President, nominated Chester A. Arthur, of that State.
Although General Garfield was nominated as a compromise candidate his
election was by no means a foregone conclusion. The Democrats had
nominated a strong and popular man, General W.S. Hancock, one of the
most brilliant and successful generals in the Union Army. Associated on
the ticket with him was a popular Indiana Democrat, William H. English.
It looked for a while as if Democratic success were reasonably certain,
especially after the September State and Congressional elections in the
State of Maine, the result of which was virtually a Democratic victory.
What was known as the celebrated Mentor Conference then took place.
Mentor was the home of General Garfield. The conference consisted of
General Garfield, General Grant, and Senator Conkling. Who was
instrumental in bringing that conference into existence perhaps will
never be known, and what was actually said and done on that occasion
will, no doubt, remain a mystery. But it resulted in bringing the
Grant-Conkling wing of the party,--which up to that time had been
lukewarm and indifferent,--into the active and aggressive support of the
ticket. Senator Conkling immediately took the stump and made a brilliant
and successful campaign, not only in New York but also in the other
close and doubtful States. The result was that Garfield carried New York
by a majority of about twenty thousand and was elected. Without New York
he would have been defeated; for the South this time was unquestionably
solid in its support of the Democratic ticket; at least, according to
the forms of law. It was not necessary to resort to the questionable
expedient of an electoral commission to determine the result of that
election. It is safe to say that, but for the active support given the
ticket in that campaign by General Grant and Senator Conkling, New York
would have been lost to the party and Garfield would have been defeated.
With the election of Garfield the National House of Representatives was
also Republican. The majority was small, but it was large enough to
enable the party to organize the House. The Garfield administration
started out under very favorable auspices. How it ended will be told in
another chapter.