| Show ORIGIN OP THE NATIONAL conventions by frank I 1 cobb the republican national convention atch was held at chicago last week vac bossed by president roosevelt kiich to the disgust of many senators and representatives who were ambitious to boss the convention them wives judging from much of the arlt of the president which these disgruntled politicians inspired a foreigner would naturally have assumed that it was one ot the constitutional prerogatives of congressmen to control the conventions of their party curiously enough the national con which Is the most recent of our political institutions was created tor the single purpose of prevent lne equators and representatives from alc the nominations tor president ana vice president rl during the first quarter of the nineteenth century nominations tor president and vice president were dictated by the members of congress no other machine before ora since was ever BO powerful and dictatorial as the congressional caucus wiloh was called into being by alexander hamilton who escaped being a boss by the sheer good luck of living in day when losses were called leaders the framers of the constitution made ro provision tor tha nomination of candidates tor president aad vice dent indeed they were scrupulously careful to remove those offices from tho arena of nominations by providing that the president and vice president were to be chosen by an electoral college no nominations would be necessary each state would select its wisest public counsellors coun who bad succeeded in keeping out of congress and this body of representatives without prejudice or passion or partisanship would choose a president and a vice president their theory managed to exist for twelve years washington was so the unanimous choice of the american people that there was no opposition to his election when he refused a third term tind announced his intention of retiring to mount vernon the federalists were in the majority thanks to the prestige his two administrations had given them it was in the natural order of things that john adams who ahad been vice president under washington should be elected by the federalist electors despite tho opposition of hamilton and many other parly leaders but in 1800 hamilton eel bla wits to work to devise a scheme by which abatta could ba defeated and jefferson at the aade alma kept out of the white house for a long time the federalist members of congress had been holding caucuses to discuss pending legislation and tc unite upon a policy hamilton saw in this caucus a club to defeat adams and avoid what he regarded as the calamity of jefferson hla scheme was to isidure the federalist electors to divide voles equally between adams and pinckney in the hope that would receive a vote or so more than his colleague and thus defeat adams at that alma the candidate receiving the greatest number of votes in the colleges it was a majority was president and the one iiii the next number was declared vice president the federalist caucus Indor seil hamiltons plan but federalist party was discredited by itis alien and sedition law and the anil elected a majority of the presidential electors although the denounced the congressional nomination ot presidential candidates a an outrage ot the parit of the con they were quick 0 o perceive tho political advantages 0 the new machine that hamilton had created from 1800 to lauth e caucus nominated the candidates tor president end the electoral college ratified tha action ot the caucus in till scheme of things the state politicians were they had about aa much influence la national politics aa an antl delegate aniro delaware now has 1 a republican national convention that ts they were allowed to be enthusiastic spectators it they cared to alt y the role soon they make vehement bongi usurpation ot the i A t t nominating power in the meantime a bitter contest was in progress in many of the elates against the legislative caucus which nominated the candidate for state offices in the came manner that the congressmen nominated tho candidates for president and alce amt one by one the legislatures abdicated their nominating powers thi legislative caucus gave way to the mixed caucus composed of members of hie legislature and delegates from the legislative districts in which the party waa not represented in the legislature finally the legislatures surrendered and a representative convention composed exclusively of delegates took over the business of nominating the candidates for state office the opposition to the congressional baucus gained in intensity mass meet ings were held to denounce congressional usurpation of popular rights legislatures particularly in states adopted resolutions denying the power and right of congressmen to im candidates on the electoral college members of the tennessee legislature met in caucus in 1822 and recommended that andrew jackson ts nominated to president by 1824 the congressional caucus waa in such popular ats that two thirds of the republican members refused to attend the one called by crawfords Craw fords managers the caucus was held nevertheless and the minority nominated crawford for president only 66 of the members being present A passionate debate li the senate rutus king falade a brilliant speech in which he denounced the new extraordinary self created central power stronger than that of the constitution which threatens to overturn the balance of power proceeding arom its division and distribution between the state and the united states the debate lasted tor thre e days and when it was finished the caucus had received ita deathblow death blow Craw forda nomination was without force the college of electors waa divided and the election of a president was thrown into the bouse of representatives choso john quincy adams hamiltons machine tor nominating candidates tor president was smashed and the politicians set about constructing a new machine the national nominating convention after the state nominating convention came as a matter of course although slowly the first national convent lott was that of the antl ma party which met in philadelphia 1840 the opposition to jackson amalgamated under the name of national republicans held a convention in baltimore in december 1831 there were delegates present henry clay was nominated for president and jachn sargeant for vice president A committee of notification was appointed a platform was adopted denounce ini jacksons administration and a central corresponding committee wae named for each state which has since developed into the national committee tats convention was the prototype ot the present national convention jacksons by the democrats was a foregone conclusion van tauren wanted the vice presidency ba there was doubt as to his ability to obtain the necessary votes in the electoral college so jacksons Jacke ons kitchen cabinet manipulated state legislatures to demand a national convention to noal rate a candidate the convention was held in may and van buran was noat ju ted for vice president abla conven alon established the unit rule by which the majority of the delegates from each detate in democratic conventions etall vote he minority tiie convention also adopted he two rule which la aall in force requiring the of wo thard of the delegated dele gatea to nominate a candidate for president or to determine any question in connection therewith the campaign of established the national nominating contention conTent lon a part of the permanent machinery for the election of a president |
