election to the Presidency, it was generally accepted by all the
varied phases of politics opposed to radical Republicanism that the
Republican movement was like a bee—biggest at its birth—and that it
never could win a national victory; but all the chief events affecting
the political sentiment of the country from 1856 until 1860 tended to
strengthen Republican sentiment and to alienate a large portion of the
intelligent elements of Democracy. The significant elections of 1858
and 1859, with the Kansas-Nebraska war convulsing the country from
centre to circumference, steadily strengthened Republican lines, and
when the leaders of the party came to face the great battle of 1860
they well understood that success was within their reach, and never did
a party exhibit greater sagacity in leadership than was displayed in
the convention that nominated Lincoln.
William H. Seward was the confessed Republican leader of the nation.
He was admittedly its ablest champion and was among its earliest
supporters. He had been long in the Senate, and was the peer of any
in the discussion of all the grave questions which then agitated our
national Legislature. He was not only the ablest of his party, but
he was one of the most exemplary and courteous of men. Two-thirds of
all the delegates elected to that convention were friends of Seward
and expected to vote for him, and his nomination would have been
inevitable on the 1st ballot had not the convention been restrained
by considerations of expediency which were most reluctantly accepted.
Lincoln’s own delegation from Illinois embraced one-third of positive
Seward men. They were instructed for Lincoln without hope of his
nomination at the time, and most of them expected to perform a mere
perfunctory duty by voting for him on one or more ballots.
[Illustration: ABRAHAM LINCOLN]
Horace Greeley had sounded the first note of warning against the
nomination of Seward, and his paper, the New York _Tribune_, was then
the most influential journal ever published in this country. It was the
Republican Bible, and its weekly edition was more read in the West than
all other Eastern papers combined. He startled the party by a series of
dignified and masterly articles in favor of Edward Bates, of Missouri,
for President, on the ground that Seward was not available, and that
a man of the great ability and conservative attitude of Bates alone
could win in that contest. But though the conservative element of the
opposition to the Democracy was not enthusiastic for Seward and his
“irrepressible conflict,” the true reason of Seward’s defeat was not
presented either by Mr. Greeley or by any public discussion before the
meeting of the convention.
I have read many romances about how, why and by whom Abraham Lincoln
was nominated for President at Chicago, but the explanation is very
simple, and when presented must be accepted by all as conclusive. Henry
S. Lane had been nominated as the Republican candidate for Governor of
Indiana, and Andrew G. Curtin had been nominated by the Republicans for
Governor of Pennsylvania. These States voted for Governor and other
State officers on the second Tuesday of October, and they were the
pivotal States of the national contest. It was an absolute necessity to
carry them in October to assure the election of a Republican President,
and the first inquiry of the Republican leaders at Chicago, outside of
those who were blindly devoted to Seward, was “Who can carry Indiana
and Pennsylvania?”
Lane and Curtin were there solely for the purpose of getting the
strongest possible national ticket nominated to aid them in their
State contests. With Lane was John D. Defrees, as Chairman of the
Republican State Committee of Indiana, and I was with Curtin, as he had
charged me with the same responsible duty in Pennsylvania. Curtin and
Lane decided that they could not be elected if Seward were nominated
for President. They were not personally or politically hostile to him;
they had but one thing in view, and that was their own election, which
was essential to elect a Republican President.
Prior to 1860 the Republican party had never carried either
Pennsylvania or Indiana. Opposition to the pro-slavery policy of
the Buchanan administration had crystallized antislavery Democrats,
Whigs, and Americans into the support of Union State tickets, and had
elected them; but in Pennsylvania the Republican name was omitted from
necessity, and the organization was entitled the People’s party. In
both of these States there was an organized and powerful American party
yet in existence, without which the Republicans could not succeed. It
was the remnant of the American or Know-Nothing revolution of 1854,
and they cherished their own faith with great fidelity and would not
support any candidate who was friendly to the Catholics.
When Seward was elected Governor of New York in 1838 it was largely
by the influence of Archbishop Hughes, one of the ablest Catholic
prelates this country has ever had; and Seward, not only because of his
gratitude to his Catholic friends, but because of his broad and liberal
views generally, in a message to the Legislature urged a division of
the school fund between the Catholics and Protestants. That was the
rock on which Seward was wrecked. Had he been nominated, the entire
American element of the opposition would have been aggressively against
him, and Pennsylvania and Indiana would have been lost not only by the
defeat of Curtin and Lane in October, but by the defeat of Seward in
November.
The situation was earnestly presented by Curtin and Lane, and Mr.
Defrees and I accompanied them in their conferences with various
delegations which were devoted to Seward, but were willing to abandon
him—not because they loved Seward less, but because they loved
Republican success more. I saw several rural delegates from New England
States shed tears as they confessed that they must abandon Seward
because he could not carry Pennsylvania and Indiana, and certainly
more than one-third of all the delegates who voted for Lincoln in that
convention did it in sincerest sorrow because compelled to abandon
their great leader for the sake of victory.
Under such conditions the Seward lines were steadily weakening,
but never was a movement so ably led as was the Seward movement at
Chicago. It was literally a battle of giants. Thurlow Weed, the master
of masters in politics, led the fight for Seward, and he had around
him Governor Morgan, Chairman of the National Committee; Raymond,
of the _Times_, and many others of distinguished ability in such
struggles. Weed invited Lane to drive with him, and, in the course of
their conversation, assured him that if his delegation would support
Seward all the money needed to carry his election in Indiana would be
generously furnished; but Lane knew that no amount of money could give
him victory in October with Seward as the national candidate.
The convention met on Wednesday, May 16, and George Ashman, of
Massachusetts, was made permanent president. The first day was devoted
to routine duties, and the second to the adoption of a platform and
rules to govern the convention. The convention adjourned on Thursday
evening profoundly impressed with the great battle that was to be
fought on the following day, and both sides exhausted political
strategy to gain the advantage. Weed organized a most imposing street
parade of the Seward people. They had thousands of Seward spectators
outside of the delegates, and it was one of the most impressive public
displays I have ever witnessed. They paraded the streets for an hour or
more before the meeting of the convention.
The friends of Lincoln had been tireless in their efforts, and they
displayed wonderful ability in handling their forces. The leaders
in immediate charge of the Lincoln people were Colonel Medill, of
the Chicago _Tribune_; David Davis, afterward Judge of the Supreme
Court; Norman B. Judd, Chairman of the Republican State Committee, and
Leonard Swett, who was almost a copy of Lincoln physically, and who was
Lincoln’s closest friend until the day of his death. When they found
that the Seward parade was to come off, they counselled how to meet it,
and they finally decided that while the Seward men were parading they
would fill the immense temporary wigwam—erected for the convention,
and capable of holding five thousand spectators—with men who should
go there solely for the purpose of hurrahing for Lincoln. They
carried this plan into very successful operation, and when the Seward
procession attempted to march into the convention hall they found it
filled to overflowing, and very few Seward men outside the delegation
could obtain admission.
Just before the convention opened I saw the New York delegation file
in and fill the only vacant place in the immense building. They
were appalled when they saw how they had been outgeneralled. Almost
immediately behind the New York men, who were under the lead of Evarts
as Chairman of the delegation, sat Horace Greeley at the head of the
Oregon delegation. That new State, just admitted into the Union, was
so far from civilization, as the iron horse had not yet been heard
in either the Rockies or the Sierra Nevadas, that the Republican
convention selected a number of prominent men in the East, including
Greeley, to represent the State. I never saw a more benignant face than
that of Greeley’s when the nomination of Lincoln was declared. It was
known by the supporters of Seward that Pennsylvania and Indiana had
both decided to support Lincoln, the Pennsylvanians having declared
for Lincoln by four majority over Bates, after giving a complimentary
ballot to Cameron.
With very little preliminary movement the ballot began, and Seward’s
two-thirds vote of the convention dwindled down to 173-1/2 when 234
were necessary to a choice. Lincoln, with Pennsylvania and Ohio giving
complimentary ballots to Cameron and Chase, had 102 votes. As the
ballots were announced, every vote for Lincoln was cheered to the echo,
while there were but few cheers for Seward except from the delegates
themselves. When the 2d ballot was called the Seward people felt that
they must largely increase their strength or fall in the race. As
Lincoln gained most of the vote of Pennsylvania, with important gains
from other States, the wildest cheering greeted the announcements,
and when the ballot was given with only 10 votes gained by Seward and
75 votes gained by Lincoln, it became evident to all that Seward’s
strength was exhausted and that Lincoln was the coming man. The next
and last ballot soon showed Lincoln as leading Seward, and from that
time on it was difficult to announce the votes of the States because of
the frenzied cheers for “Abe Lincoln.”
When the last State was called it was known that Lincoln was either
nominated or very close to it. The vote as recorded was 231-1/2 for
Lincoln, being 2-1/2 votes short of a majority, and 180 for Seward,
with some 50 scattering. Before the result was announced Chairman
Carter, of Ohio, got up on his chair to assure the attention of the
President, and said:
“I rise to announce the change of four votes from Ohio from Mr. Chase
to Abraham Lincoln.”
It was known then that this gave Lincoln the majority, and I have never
before nor since witnessed such a scene as was made by the great mass
of the Lincoln people who were in the hall. A large charcoal picture
of Lincoln was presented in the gallery at the rear of the hall, and
the whole vast audience, with few exceptions outside of the New York
delegation, rose to indulge in the wildest enthusiasm for some minutes.
When order was finally restored, Maine, Massachusetts, and Missouri
changed a number of votes to Lincoln, giving him a total of 354, being
120 odd votes more than he needed. When the vote was announced by the
President cheers broke out afresh, but they soon quieted down to await
the action of the New York delegation that was expected to move the
unanimous nomination. There was certainly fully five minutes of dead
silence in the body, as the New York delegates were mortified beyond
expression at their discomfiture; but after a long wait that seemed to
be vastly longer than it was, the tall form of William M. Evarts arose,
and with reluctance that was unconcealed said:
“Mr. President, I move that the nomination of Abraham Lincoln be made
unanimous.”
Governor Andrew, of Massachusetts, rose as soon as he saw Evarts rise,
and when Evarts’s motion was made Andrew seconded it, and with the
unanimous vote of the convention and the heartiest huzzas from the many
thousands who witnessed the proceedings, Abraham Lincoln was declared
the Republican candidate for President. The convention adjourned to
meet again in the evening to nominate a candidate for Vice-President.
As there will be general interest felt in the proceedings of the
Republican National Convention that gave the country the first
Republican President in Abraham Lincoln, I give the detailed vote of
each State represented in the convention on the three ballots for
President, as follows:
═════════════╤══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
│ 1ST BALLOT.
STATES. ├───────┬────────┬─────┬────────┬──────┬───────┬─────┬──────┬───────┬───────┬────────┬─────────
│Seward.│Lincoln.│Wade.│Cameron.│Bates.│McLean.│Read.│Chase.│Dayton.│Sumner.│Fremont.│Collamer.
─────────────┼───────┼────────┼─────┼────────┼──────┼───────┼─────┼──────┼───────┼───────┼────────┼─────────
Maine │ 10 │ 6 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ――
New Hampshire│ 1 │ 7 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ 1 │ ―― │ ―― │ 1 │ ――
Vermont │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ 10
Massachusetts│ 21 │ 4 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ――
Rhode Island │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ 1 │ 5 │ 1 │ 1 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ――
Connecticut │ ―― │ 2 │ 1 │ ―― │ 7 │ ―― │ ―― │ 2 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ――
New York │ 70 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ――
New Jersey │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ 14 │ ―― │ ―― │ ――
Pennsylvania │ 1-1/2│ 4 │ ―― │ 47-1/2│ ―― │ 1 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ――
Maryland │ 3 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ 8 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ――
Delaware │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ 6 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ――
Virginia │ 8 │ 14 │ ―― │ 1 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ――
Kentucky │ 5 │ 6 │ 2 │ ―― │ ―― │ 1 │ ―― │ 8 │ ―― │ 1 │ ―― │ ――
Ohio │ ―― │ 8 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ 4 │ ―― │ 34 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ――
Indiana │ ―― │ 26 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ――
Missouri │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ 18 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ――
Michigan │ 12 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ――
Illinois │ ―― │ 22 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ――
Texas │ 4 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ 2 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ――
Wisconsin │ 10 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ――
Iowa │ 2 │ 2 │ ―― │ 1 │ 1 │ 1 │ ―― │ 1 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ――
California │ 8 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ――
Minnesota │ 8 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ――
Oregon │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ 5 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ――
Kansas │ 6 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ――
Nebraska │ 2 │ 1 │ ―― │ 1 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ 2 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ――
District of │ 2 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ――
Columbia │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │
├───────┼────────┼─────┼────────┼──────┼───────┼─────┼──────┼───────┼───────┼────────┼───────────
Totals │173-1/2│ 102 │ 3 │ 50-1/2│ 48 │ 12 │ 1 │ 49 │ 14 │ 1 │ 1 │ 10
═════════════╧═══════╧════════╧═════╧════════╧══════╧═══════╧═════╧══════╧═══════╧═══════╧════════╧═══════════
═════════════╤════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
│ 2D BALLOT.
STATES. ├───────┬─────────┬──────┬────────┬───────┬──────┬───────┬───────────
│Seward.│Lincoln. │Bates.│Cameron.│McLean.│Chase.│Dayton.│C. M. Clay.
─────────────┼───────┼─────────┼──────┼────────┼───────┼──────┼───────┼───────────
Maine │ 10 │ 6 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ――
New Hampshire│ 1 │ 9 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ――
Vermont │ ―― │ 10 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ――
Massachusetts│ 22 │ 4 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ――
Rhode Island │ ―― │ 3 │ ―― │ ―― │ 2 │ 3 │ ―― │ ――
Connecticut │ ―― │ 4 │ 4 │ ―― │ ―― │ 2 │ ―― │ 2
New York │ 70 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ――
New Jersey │ 4 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ 10 │ ――
Pennsylvania │ 2-1/2│ 48 │ ―― │ 1 │ 2-1/2│ ―― │ ―― │ ――
Maryland │ 3 │ ―― │ 8 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ――
Delaware │ ―― │ 6 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ――
Virginia │ 8 │ 14 │ ―― │ 1 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ――
Kentucky │ 7 │ 9 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ 6 │ ―― │ ――
Ohio │ ―― │ 14 │ ―― │ ―― │ 3 │ 29 │ ―― │ ――
Indiana │ ―― │ 26 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ――
Missouri │ ―― │ ―― │ 18 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ――
Michigan │ 12 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ――
Illinois │ ―― │ 22 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ――
Texas │ 6 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ――
Wisconsin │ 10 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ――
Iowa │ 2 │ 5 │ ―― │ ―― │ 1/2 │ 1/2 │ ―― │ ――
California │ 8 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ――
Minnesota │ 8 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ――
Oregon │ ―― │ ―― │ 5 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ――
Kansas │ 6 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ――
Nebraska │ 3 │ 1 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ 2 │ ―― │ ――
Dist. of │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │
Columbia│ 2 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ――
├───────┼─────────┼──────┼────────┼───────┼──────┼───────┼───────────
Totals │184-1/2│ 181 │ 35 │ 2 │ 8 │42-1/2│ 10 │ 2
═════════════╧═══════╧═════════╧══════╧════════╧═══════╧══════╧═══════╧═══════════
═════════════╤═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
│ 3D BALLOT.
STATES. ├───────┬──────┬───────┬────────┬───────┬───────┬───────────
│Seward.│Bates.│ Chase.│Lincoln.│McLean.│Dayton.│C. M. Clay.
─────────────┼───────┼──────┼───────┼────────┼───────┼───────┼───────────
Maine │ 10 │ ―― │ ―― │ 6 │ ―― │ ―― │ ――
New Hampshire│ 1 │ ―― │ ―― │ 9 │ ―― │ ―― │ ――
Vermont │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ 10 │ ―― │ ―― │ ――
Massachusetts│ 18 │ ―― │ ―― │ 8 │ ―― │ ―― │ ――
Rhode Island │ 1 │ ―― │ 1 │ 5 │ 1 │ ―― │ ――
Connecticut │ 1 │ 4 │ 2 │ 4 │ ―― │ ―― │ 1
New York │ 70 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ――
New Jersey │ 5 │ ―― │ ―― │ 8 │ ―― │ 1 │ ――
Pennsylvania │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ 52 │ 2 │ ―― │ ――
Maryland │ 2 │ ―― │ ―― │ 9 │ ―― │ ―― │ ――
Delaware │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ 6 │ ―― │ ―― │ ――
Virginia │ 8 │ ―― │ ―― │ 14 │ ―― │ ―― │ ――
Kentucky │ 6 │ ―― │ 4 │ 13 │ ―― │ ―― │ ――
Ohio │ ―― │ ―― │ 15 │ 29 │ 2 │ ―― │ ――
Indiana │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ 26 │ ―― │ ―― │ ――
Missouri │ ―― │ 18 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ――
Michigan │ 12 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ――
Illinois │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ 22 │ ―― │ ―― │ ――
Texas │ 6 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ――
Wisconsin │ 10 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ――
Iowa │ 2 │ ―― │ 1/2 │ 5-1/2│ ―― │ ―― │ ――
California │ 8 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ――
Minnesota │ 8 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ――
Oregon │ 1 │ ―― │ ―― │ 4 │ ―― │ ―― │ ――
Kansas │ 6 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ――
Nebraska │ 3 │ ―― │ 2 │ 1 │ ―― │ ―― │ ――
Dist. of │ │ │ │ │ │ │
Columbia │ 2 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ――
├───────┼──────┼───────┼────────┼───────┼───────┼───────────
Totals │ 180 │ 22 │ 24-1/2│ 231-1/2│ 5 │ 1 │ 1
═════════════╧═══════╧══════╧═══════╧════════╧═══════╧═══════╧═══════════
So keen were the disappointments of the New York delegation, and Mr.
Weed, who was the Seward leader, that when earnestly urged to name a
candidate for Vice-President, who would have been accepted by a nearly
unanimous vote, they churlishly refused to do so. Governor Morgan would
have been taken as the candidate to emphasize the desire of the friends
of Lincoln to recognize the friends of Seward, but he peremptorily
refused to accept it, and the convention then nominated Hannibal
Hamlin, of Maine, as a representative of the Democratic-Republican
element; but New York divided her vote between five candidates, giving
a bare majority to Hamlin from personal choice.
As the friends of Seward declined to indicate a candidate for
Vice-President the convention reassembled in the evening to enter
a free-for-all race for the second place on the ticket. Hamlin
commanded nearly a solid vote from New England that attracted others.
He was known throughout the country as the man who had resigned the
chairmanship of his committee in the Senate in 1856 to declare himself
for Fremont, although an earnest Democrat up to that time, and that he
had accepted the Republican nomination for Governor and won out by an
overwhelming majority. There was a strong sentiment in the convention
in favor of Cassius M. Clay, not because he was personally preferred,
but because it was thought wise by many to desectionalize the party by
taking a candidate for Vice-President from a Slave State. Hamlin had a
good lead on the 1st ballot, and on the 2d won an easy victory. The two
ballots were as follows:
═════════════╤════════════════════════════════════════════╦══════════════════════
│ 1ST BALLOT. ║ 2D BALLOT.
STATES. ├───────────┬───────┬───────┬────────┬───────╫───────┬─────┬────────
│C. M. Clay.│ Banks.│Reeder.│Hickman.│Hamlin.║Hamlin.│Clay.│Hickman.
─────────────┼───────────┼───────┼───────┼────────┼───────╫───────┼─────┼────────
Maine │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ 16 ║ 16 │ ―― │ ――
New Hampshire│ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ 10 ║ 10 │ ―― │ ――
Vermont │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ 10 ║ 10 │ ―― │ ――
Massachusetts│ ―― │ 20 │ 1 │ 1 │ 1 ║ 26 │ ―― │ ――
Rhode Island │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ 8 ║ 8 │ ―― │ ――
Connecticut │ 2 │ 1 │ ―― │ 2 │ 5 ║ 10 │ ―― │ 2
New York │ 9 │ 4 │ 2 │ 11 │ 35 ║ 70 │ ―― │ ――
New Jersey │ 1 │ ―― │ 7 │ ―― │ 6 ║ 14 │ ―― │ ――
Pennsylvania │ 4-1/2 │ 2-1/2│ 24 │ 7 │ 11 ║ 54 │ ―― │ ――
Maryland │ 2 │ ―― │ ―― │ 1 │ 8 ║ 10 │ 1 │ ――
Delaware │ 3 │ ―― │ ―― │ 1 │ 2 ║ 6 │ ―― │ ――
Virginia │ 23 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― ║ ―― │ 23 │ ――
Kentucky │ 23 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― ║ ―― │ 28 │ ――
Ohio │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ 48 ║ 46 │ ―― │ ――
Indiana │ 18 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ 8 ║ 12 │ 14 │ ――
Missouri │ ―― │ 9 │ ―― │ 9 │ ―― ║ 13 │ 5 │ ――
Michigan │ 4 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ 8 ║ 8 │ 4 │ ――
Illinois │ 2 │ ―― │ 16 │ 2 │ 2 ║ 20 │ 2 │ ――
Texas │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― ║ ―― │ 6 │ ――
Wisconsin │ 5 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ 5 ║ 5 │ 5 │ ――
Iowa │ ―― │ 1 │ 1 │ ―― │ 6 ║ 3 │ ―― │ ――
California │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ 8 │ ―― ║ 7 │ 1 │ ――
Minnesota │ 1 │ ―― │ ―― │ 1 │ 6 ║ 7 │ 1 │ ――
Oregon │ ―― │ 1 │ ―― │ 3 │ 1 ║ 3 │ ―― │ 2
Kansas │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ 6 │ ―― ║ 2 │ 1 │ 3
Nebraska │ 1 │ ―― │ ―― │ 5 │ ―― ║ ―― │ ―― │ 6
District of │ │ │ │ │ ║ │ │
Columbia│ 2 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― ║ 2 │ ―― │ ――
├───────────┼───────┼───────┼────────┼───────╫───────┼─────┼────────
Totals │ 101-1/2 │ 38-1/2│ 51 │ 58 │ 194 ║ 367 │ 86 │ 13
═════════════╧═══════════╧═══════╧═══════╧════════╧═══════╩═══════╧═════╧════════
The Chicago convention that nominated Lincoln for President was not
only the ablest national political body that ever met in the country up
to that time, but it exhibited the highest type of political strategy.
It has never since then been equalled in ability and leadership, with
the single exception of the Republican convention of 1880, in which the
friends of Grant made their last stand to give their chieftain a third
term. As compared with these two, all subsequent conventions were tame.
The following platform was unanimously adopted:
_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 unalienable 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.