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Show LITTLE BAND -VTAGOTST JOURNEYS m iruifi:u:ji.ii.i...-By i,. x. MERRILL Ih.mli.. . 1328, Western Newnpnper Union.) Death of "King Caucus" IN THIS election ot 1824 the people for the first time had a fairly direct di-rect Inlluenee in making Presidential nominations, "King Caucus" wus dying. Keen dissatisfaction with the selection ol ninees by little groups of congress men had crystallized. Cen. Andrew Jackson, whose Tennessee friends had prevailed upon him to enter the Pres Identiai race, soon succeeded in making mak-ing the untlcaucus iss-ue the para mount one of the campaign. Other aspirants, with a single notable ex ception. were constrained to frown upon up-on the system nnd eschew its benefits. bene-fits. With the caucus discredited, the -outest for the Presidential succession, which began only a few mouths after President Monroe entered upon his lecond term, soon developed Into a ivide-open fight among Jackson, Henry Clay of Kentucky, John C. Calhoun ot South Carolina, John tjulucy Adams of Massachusetts, and William H Crawford of Georgia. Various state legislatures, local muss meetings, and one state conven lion, held at Harris-burg, Pa., had put the names of the first four of these leuders in nomination. The Georgian was the last nominee of a congressional caucus. And wdille the caucus system was expiring, its Inst greut manipulator suddenly wus stricken and lay at the point of death, too. Overcome by paralys-ls, shut In a dark room, threatened by blindness and loss of speech, bled by doctors 23 times In three weeks, as was the old-fashioned old-fashioned surgical method of treating nearly all forms of Illness, Crawford was unable to conduct his official duties du-ties as President Monroe's secretary of the treasury or to wage his political politi-cal battles. His prospects as a Presidential Presi-dential cundidate, indeed looked dark, but his friends In congress rallied strongly to the support of the broken lender. The canvass wns waged on all fronts with vigor. A new campaign device lent novelty to the contest. Instead of wearing campaign buttous bearing likenesses of their favorites, as is done, today, adherents of the various norm nees donned snowy sun wuiaicuuia on which portraits of the men they favored had been stamped. Jackson waistcoats bearing the likeness of "Old Hickory" became especially the symbol of membership in Hickory clubs formed by his supporters. Finally the electoral vote wns known, and it was found Jackson had 99. Adams 84, Crawford 41, aud Clay 37, late returns from Louisana, about which there was much suspense, having hav-ing shoved Crawford into third position po-sition ahead of Clay. None having a majority, the result meant that under the Constitutional provision for such a contingency the lower house of congress must decide the election from among the three men standing highest in the poll. This definitely put Clay out of the running. But although he could not be President himself, he was left with the power practically of deciding who the President should be I This because be-cause of the tremendous inlluenee he wielded as speaker and as probably the most popular mamber of the house of representatives. Friends of Jackson, Crawford and Adams at once maneuvered to win Clay's favor. Jackson's friends were particularly anxious, because of an old feud that existed between the general und the speaker. They succeeded in patching It up. Soon it appeared however, that Jackson's aud Craw ford's friends were fishing in vain Clay was going to throw his influence to Adams. Crestfallen, the Jackson managers began to abuse the Kentuckian. They made dire prophecies that there would he rioting and bloodshed ,f the "old hero" of New Orleans failed of election elec-tion in the house. Then they put a Pennsylvania member of congress up ,0 the' business ot getting an anonymous anony-mous letter printed in a Pennsylvania newspaper charging that Clay had bar tered his support to Adams in return for the promise of selection sj .',da,s secretary of state Ir case the latter should be elected. Came rhe election In the house There Adams, though l,e had run second sec-ond m the electoral college poll, se cured the congressional .ote of 13 d the then 24 stales In the Union Jack son got the congressional vote of only seven states, nnd Crawford 4. Jackson's friends were angry and hitter. For the next four years they keep saying Adams had won the Pres Id-'Ucy as result of a "corrupt bar ;:i" with '.'lay. Although no evi drnce of such an intrigue ever came ,o light, the fact thai Clay was made Adams secretary ol state furnished a good talking point for those who co, .tinned to make the charges. Lu! ihe principal consequence ot t tier election of 1S24 was to deal a deaih hlow to caucus nominations The lirsi state nominating convention had made its appearance. It was inevitable thai the convention Idea should he broad ened from a state to a national hasi?. though this did not come till ,he next decade. Then an inconsequent,'!.! Ihird pa.-ty was to have the distinction distinc-tion of holding the first national uomi iiRlinK get.ver.tlia In America. First National Conventions STATE nominating conventions appeared ap-peared In 1824 In protest against the congressional caucus system. It was six years later that the first national na-tional party convention was held. Pennsylvania citizens, besides holding hold-ing the first state convention, bad given the idea for a national gathering. gather-ing. The Democrats of Lancaster county coun-ty In the Keystone slate went on record rec-ord In 1824 us favoring "a convention ot delegates from all slates of the Union" us "the best and most unexceptionable unex-ceptionable method" of nominating Presidential candidates, although they admitted It would be "entirely Impracticable, Im-practicable, from the Immense extent of our country and from the great expense ex-pense necessarily Incident to an attendance at-tendance from the extreme parts of the United Slates." These difficulties were real. In 1830 wdien the first national convention was attempted, the United States had only 23 miles of railway, and stage and horseback travel over ill-made roads was extremely slow. The Anti-Masonic party was one of metunrlike third Darties l"uoi that are bom and die almost In the same campaign. But to It goes the credit of holding the first national convention. con-vention. Thj gathering met at Philadelphia in September, 1830, and called a second sec-ond convention to meet in Baltimore a year luter. At the latter meeting the party had a representation equal to the number of senators and representatives repre-sentatives of the states in congress. The National Republicans, forerunners forerun-ners of the Whig party, were not slow to Imitate the Anti-Masons' example. Baltimore in 1831 was also the scene of their first national convention, with 1G7 delegates, representing in somewhat some-what irregular fashion 17 states. Members decided upon the candidates by a roll of delegates, each rising In his place as his name was called and announcing his vote. Henry Clay was the unanimous nominee of the convention, and It recommended the convening of a national na-tional assembly of young men in Washington the next year. This body, known derisively as "Ciav's Infant School." also indorsed the great com promiser. Neither ot these early conventions adopted what could be strictly regarded regard-ed as a phuform, in the modern sense, although they passed resolutions. The ten resolutions adopted by the young men at Washington have been referred re-ferred to as the first platform ever formulated by a national party convention. con-vention. Gen. Andrew Jackson, who had been elected President in 1828, with his keen instinct for getting close to the people, was quick to see advantage in the new nominating method. So, although Jackson was' sure of being renominated by the Democrats to succeed suc-ceed himself, he had a national convention con-vention summoned for the purpose of ratifying his preference for Martin Van Buren of New York to be the vice presidential nominee. The larter was far from being a favorite with the party, and Jackson decided upot. holding the convention to give his running-mate the semblance of a popular pop-ular mandate. "Old Hickory" saw to it in advance that most of the delegates were lined up for his man. Those who disapproved disap-proved of the New Yorker were told it would be well for them to climb aboard the bandwagon unless they wished "to quarrel with the general." It is interesting to note that from this earliest Democratic national convention con-vention dale certain practices peculiar to Democratic conventions, notably the two-thirds rule, that have persisted per-sisted right down through the party history. |