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Show TIIE OltllilN AM) nilllVTTII 01' l'OLITICAL Ct)tt.MIOS. Lii;nthe Bpesker or tho Houte of Ileprnontatlvtt at Washington the national convention It entirely unknown un-known tn the Constitution of the United Hlatea. Hut like Mr. Bpcsker, the convention has become a national Inatltutlou, aud, la aa firmly rooted aa If It had contlltutlonal aanctlon. It la of ueceialty the outgrowth of party, and whenever repmeutatlvo popular Kuvernmentirevalleparty dote exltt, and, Itlaronlenltd mutt rilat If tho govtrnment la to be retained democra tic and popular. Tlure waa no convention to nominate nomin-ate George Waihlngton, In fact theru wna no party In 17dS, He wnt unanimously unani-mously chosen I'rcallent In February, 1780, and Inaugurated on April 30, following, llu was re-elected In tho lime manner In I "9 A but In 1701 declined a third term. Meanwhile a division un urty lines was going on baaed on Inter retatlons of tho now constitution. Ono parly Interpreted It to mean n alrong central government with a tendency to erlitocracy, the other the oxaot oppotlte, John Adama and Thomaa JtHrreon were the respective re-spective leadera ol theto partita. In lTti-l though a dlvlalon of opinion e lilted there were atlll no attempts at parly organisations, and under the system of electing than prevailing John Adams waa choaen Proliant and Thomat JftTerson Vlce-1'roslcent, n clrcumtlance which I't our day would look at If In 1633 llrnjamln Harrlaon wire elected Prealdeut and Grover Clevelaud, Vlca-l'rcaldont. In 1S01 the fliilnttemit at party nominations waa made, by a con grtaalonal caucus hel 1 In Philadelphia which nominated Jtflinon and llurr on Ihe Itepullloan or antl-Foileral ticket. The coru llcelloni attending tbla election cauaed au amendment pertaining to I residential elcctora to be adorted. In 1601 thcrola no record ol how nomlnatlona were made, tut JefTersonwss reelected. In 1603 tho rongreaaloual caucus was again re-torlrdto. re-torlrdto. Nluly-fourof tbo IS) Ita publican moiiibere attendeJ, and Jaroea Madiaon was nominated. In 1812 the caucua re-oloclcdJamea Mall too, but by this tlmo a strong dislike for the caucus system begsn to prevail, andlnHeptembcrof that year a convention con-vention was hold In New York City, composed of KeJerals and dlstatltfled llcpubllcans, rcpriaentlng eleven Utalea. James Madison waa however re-elected. In 1810 Monroe waa choaon under the caucua ayatem and eleoted, I n the tame way ho was re-elected In 1S20. The caucus system tvat by this time thoroughly deteitoi, and In 1SJI caused a split In the Its-publican Its-publican party. There were four candidates, Jackson, Adami, Clay and Crawford, The election waa thrown Into the House and John tjulucy Adama was oliofeu President. In 16:8 the Legislature of Teniun.ee nominated Andrew Jackson for Preil-dent, Preil-dent, and the ltepuhllcan, which b) this tlmo began to be called the Demo, cratio party, ratified the nomluatlpu. In 1830 the first political national convention of tho kind bow prevailing rat held at Philadelphia by the Anil-Maaonlo Anil-Maaonlo party. In 1831 It met again In llalllmoro and nominated William Wirt for the Presidency. In 1632 a Dimocratlo national convention was held In Baltimore, aud Jackson and Vau Ilurenweronomlnated. Another nations) ltepuhllcan convention nominated nom-inated Henry Clay aud John Hargeant. Then let In tho era of national party conventions, and the methoJ of ( ro-codure ro-codure la now as regular and aa fully eatabllahrd aa If statute law aud con-Btltutloual con-Btltutloual warrant were behind thtm. |