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Show tlJINtnilwmiimim'" fffi""""""""" - ,, -i 'fnnnninnpiiip LITTLE BAND-WAGON JOURNEYS JiHUUIUUIJjJby l T. MERMIiLiiilPU,llll"ra,S!n The Divided Democracy in 1860 NOT till 1924 did the Democratic party In any national convention take so uiany ballots on a nomination for President as In Its fateful convention con-vention of 1800 that was destined to break op the party and destroy Its strength for the next two decades as well as having a direct effect In hastening the "Irrepressible conflict" and dividing the nation in a bloody civil war. The show-down on the Issue ot slavery In the last prewar Democratic Demo-cratic convention probably was In evltable. Stephen A. Douglas, the "IH tie glnnt" of Illinois who had been re-elected senator from his state In 1858 following his memorable series of Joint debates with Abrnhnro Lincoln, Lin-coln, represented the point of view of the northern wing of the Democratic Demo-cratic party, with a demand for "popular "pop-ular sovereignty" on the question ot slavery In tha territories. The southern wing of the party stood etonchly to defense of slavery and against any measures taken to curb Its asserted rights of extension They succeeded for the first time In having the convention of the party held In the heart of the South, at Charleston, S. C surrounded by the strongest of proslavery influences. Even in a stronghold of slavery South Carolina Journals professed to fear that a Douglas claque would be Imported In sufficient numbers to In fluence the convention unduly. Charleston Charles-ton papers sold they hoped that northern partisans who were not actually delegates would stay away from the gathering, and In the enterprise enter-prise of keeping them away, ihe Charleston hotel and Inn keepers co-nnerflted co-nnerflted bv rolsins their rates to al Lincoln's First Nomination ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S debate with Stephen A. Douglas m the slavery question In 1858 made him the logical man for the West to put for ward for Republican Presidential honors hon-ors In 186a After the success of his speech at Cooper Institute In New York and the enthusiastic reception he received in New England early In the election year, Lincoln himself became be-came a receptive and active aspirant for the nomlnatloa The Republican convention of 1800 at Chicago was more neurly like the present-day national nominating gatherings gath-erings than any previous convention had been. The huge Wigwam, a building build-ing erected especially for the occasion, with a. seating capacity of 10,(100 enabled en-abled larger crowds than had ever attended a national convention to gather In the auditorium and for the first time by their cheering to take a large part In Influencing the proceedings proceed-ings of a nominating gathering. The niunngers on neither side were slow to try to use to good advantage psychological psycho-logical effects of crowd support, but In the technique of mass demonstrations demonstra-tions Lincoln's managers had rather the better of the show compared with the Impressarlos of any other contender. con-tender. William H. Seward of New York, leading aspirant from the East, came to the convention with a contingent of several thousand supporters and a colorfully uniformed brass band. Bis myrmidons held a grand parade through Chicago streets and basked overlong In the acclaim of admiring crowds. This gave the Lincoln managers opportunity op-portunity to put Into effect a clever piece of strategy. They packed the convention galleries with Lincoln Bhouters and when the Seward pared- ers finished their marching they found the siiace for spectators Jammed almost al-most to capacity. So hundreds of the Seward contingent, other than delegates, dele-gates, cooled their heels outside, while "Old Abe's" adherents, who filled the Wigwam, made the best of their oppor tunltles to whoop up enthusiasm for the Illinois rail-splitter candidate. The Seward supporters bad been overconfident The night previous to placing the favorites' names in nomination they gave a big champagne cham-pagne supper and went about sere nadlng the city with their band. But while they were imbibing liquid refreshment and marching, the Lincoln Lin-coln leaders were swinging large numbers num-bers of delegates to the Lincoln standard by the argument that Seward could not be elected If nominated nomi-nated because of bis more radical utterances ut-terances on the question of slavery than Lincoln had generally been accredited ac-credited with making. The Sewardites had a stunning surprise sur-prise coming to them the next day. They managed to make a great demonstration dem-onstration when their favorite was put In nomination, with a prizefighter of the time acting as cheer-leader. most prohibitory figures for those days. The newspapers exulted when It was noted that fewer than l.IiOO outsiders had come to the convention under these circumstances and gave ungrudging credit to the patriotic bonlfaces. Enough Douglas supporters were present however, to muke a deomn stratlon. But when Yankee delegates tried to march through the streets ot the convention city headed by a Np York military band, they were for bidden to do so by the authorities, who asserted such a demonstniiion would be contrary to the munlipu law which forbade band playlnp nft er ten o'clock at night lest the dnimn be mistaken for the dread alarm si nal of a slave uprising. Signs of an ominous cleavage alone sectional lines, already evident befort the convention met, were fully verified from the first In Its sessions For ten days the convention wrangled over nearly every subject that arose. Threats of bolting were Hung about by the southerners early In the pro ceedings. These threats actunlly ner carried out when the northern wing of the party refused to approve a platform plank upholding the principle prin-ciple of the Supreme court's famous Pred Scott decision favorable to slaveholders. slave-holders. At tills a large bloc of delegates from Alabama, Mississippi, Florida Texas. Louisiana. South Carolina. Georgia and a few from Arkansas Delaware and North Carolina stalked out of the convention, not to return The fact that the remaining dele gates Insisted upon a nomination being be-ing made by a two-thirds vote of the original number. In accordance with the traditional rule of the party, augmented difficulties of trying to agree on a nominotion after the bolters bolt-ers had left. Through 57 ballots, a record num ber up to that time, the convention buttled, with Douglas always In the lead, but with his greatest strength on any ballot only 1.12. while 20? were necessary for a choice. Finally, on the tenth day, despairing of any possibility of making a nominotion the convention voted to adjourn and meet two months later at Raltlmore. When the Baltimore convention as senibled, a temporary flooring In the parquet of the theater where the ses sions were held collapsed at the cen ter. rolling the delegates down Into scrambling mass. The opposition press commented upon this Incident a an ominous portent of the forthcora ing dropping out of the bottom of the party nor was such prophecy Idle. Convention dissensions of 1800 hope Or Hie lime UCUUg us oien-naua. "Hundreds of persons stopped their ears In pain," testified Murat Hal-stead. Hal-stead. Cincinnati editor, who declared the "shouting was absolutely frantic, shrill and wild," and of an 'Infernal Intensity" never equaled by any. Comanche. Co-manche. But the Lincoln managers also had hired a couple of cheer-leaders with stentorian voices. One of them the historian, Rhodes, declares had shouting shout-ing power with which he could make himself heard above the howling of the loudest storms on Lake Michigan. The same authority says the other leather-lunged worthy was a Demo crat, engaged solely for bis recognized recog-nized ability to organize a claque. The puir of them were put in charge of the Lincoln cheering section. The resulting uproar In the Lincoln counter-demonstration - was put down by the Cincinnati eXIItor as "beyond description." de-scription." "1 thought the Seward yell could not be surpassed," be wrote, "but the Lincoln boys were clearly ahead, and, feeling their victory, as there was a lull In the storm, took deep breaths all around, and gave a concentrated shriek that was positively awful, and accompanied It with stamping that made every plank and pillar In the building quiver." When the victory for Lincoln came, such a deafening tumult burst forth Ogata that a cannon which was being fired on the roof of fne Wigwam to signalize the result could not be heard Inside the building. When the roll call of the third ballot bal-lot was taken, Lincoln was found to lessly split the party, resulted in twa Democratic tickets being put Into the field, and contributed to the fli-st Re publican victory that put Ab-uham Lincoln Into the White House and led to the secession of the South. be Just one and a half votes short of a victory. Then Ohio switched four votes to the Lincoln column, and some other states changed their votes tip the rall-sptltter bad a total of 854. or 21 more than a majority, when the nomination wa made unanimous by acclamation. John Tyjer shed tars when Henry Clay, his favorite for the Whig noml-nation, noml-nation, was defeated by Thurlov Weed's doctrine of availability In the Whig convention of 1839. Now it was the turn of Weed, a former law partner part-ner of Seward, to see bis own doctrine doc-trine used with deadly effect against the New York favorite son, and at Seward's defeat he was "completely , unnerved" and "even shed teara. |