A House Divided
Democratic Convention 1856,1860
Second in a 20 party series on the history of the Democratic Convention
1856: Pierce Gets Rejected
Date: June 2-6, 1856
Venue: Smith and Nixon Hall, Cincinnati, Ohio. Smith and Nixon was a major piano manufacturer, and they set up the hall as a demonstration venue for their products. The auditorium was on Fourth Street between Walnut and Main. Today it is part of commercial downtown.
Events: Buchanan, who had been seeking the presidency for years, finally got his shot in 1856. Franklin Pierce did seek the nomination, and while he started strong, his support declined steadily. A bitter Pierce made a last ditch effort to kill Buchanan’s chances by throwing his support to Stephen Douglas of Illinois . It failed, and Buchanan wound up winning with 296 votes on the 17th ballot. Delegates would select 35 year old Kentucky Congressman John Breckenridge as the vice presidential nominee.
November: Buchanan defeated John C Fremont of the newly created Republican party by a fairly large margin. Former president Millard Fillmore managed to get 21 percent as the candidate of the Know Nothing Party. Buchanan is generally ranked as one of the worst presidents in history, as his support of the Slave Power was a major factor leading to the Civil War.
1860: A Tale of Three Conventions
The Democratic Party actually had three conventions during 1860. And if you think slavery had something to do with it, you were paying attention in history class.
Convention 1: April 23 – May 3, 1860
Venue: South Carolina Institute Hall, 134 Meeting Street, Charleston SC. While the building burned down in 1861, several plaques note its location. Only seven months after Democrats met, the building held the signing of the Ordinance of Secession on December 20.
Events: Stephen Douglas of Illinois was the leading candidate from the start, but southern delegates refused to support him, denying him the 2/3rd he needed for the nomination. Pro-slavery delegates known as “Fire Eaters” were led by William Yancey of Alabama; they objected to Douglas’ more moderate views on the issue of slavery. Eventually, all of the delegates from the Deep South walked out of the Convention. After 57 ballots, delegates determined things were futile and decided to meet at a later date.
Convention 2: June 18-23, 1860
Venue: Front Street Theater, Front and Low Streets, Baltimore, Maryland. The building burned down in the fire of 1904. The site today is near the Main Baltimore Post Office.
Events: Delegates reconvened, and the Southern delegates once again walked out. After two ballots, it was clear Douglas had the votes of almost everyone left in the building, so he was declared the nominee. Senate Benjamin Fitzpatrick of Alabama was chosen as the vice presidential candidate, but he declined; Douglas asked Herschel Vespasian Johnson of Georgia to run with him and Johnson agreed.
The 1860 Platform stated it would abide by the Supreme Court on the issue slavery, meaning the Dred Scott decision of 1857 (the worst decision in the history of the Court). The platform also called for a coast to coast railroad, the acquisition of Cuba and supported the Fugitive Slave Law.
Convention 3: June 18-23, 1860
Venue: Maryland Institute, Baltimore and Frederick. The building was destroyed in the Baltimore fire of 1904. Today the site contains the Central District Baltimore Police Department station.
Events: The handful of Southern delegates who had fled the main convention nominated Vice President John Breckenridge for President and former governor/Senator Joseph Lane of Oregon for Vice President.
November 1860: Republicans nominated Abraham Lincoln of Illinois, who handily won the electoral college in a four-way race. Douglas and Breckenridge together got more votes (2.2 million) than Lincoln (1.86 million). Lincoln’s election led the southern states to secede, starting with South Carolina in December. A month after Lincoln’s inauguration, the Civil War began.
About the Creator
Keep reading
More stories from John Heckenlively and writers in The Swamp and other communities.
The Baltimore Conventions
The First in a 20 party series on the history of the Democratic Convention The first six Democratic national conventions were held in Baltimore. Given that much of the population of the US still lived on the east coast, it was convenient, especially for Washington politicians. Here is a rundown of the first conventions.
By John Heckenlively4 years ago in The Swamp
Rivers of Death
Rivers bring water the element essential to all life on Earth but wherever rivers flow they also bring death surprise attacks Savage kills and brutal fights every day is a battle for survival on these rivers of [Applause] death I'm under the African Sun Staying Alive is hot thirsty work and among the ranks of animals jostling to get a drink lurk Killers waiting to strike but while Lions may be fearsome and the huge Nile crocodiles ruthless Predators one of the continent's deadliest River Killers is mostly vegetarian renowned wallowers spending up to 16 hours a day lounging in the water hippos could be mistaken for relaxed creatures and yet the river horse as their name translates from ancient Greek can be a very angry pony indeed with tusks up to a foot and a half long hippos are literally armed to the teeth and a charging bull Hipp can impact with the weight force of a pickup truck what's more hippos May brutally defend their territory an Impala has been chased into a muddy Watering Hole by a lion it's stuck but for fortunately for the stricken analou the lion is reluctant to follow it into the Meer unfortunately it finds itself in the domain of a hippo ill disposed to uninvited guests the hippo's not stealing the watching Lion's meal she's most likely just aggressively defending her calf and the Impala pays the ultimate price for crossing a doting mother hippos are thought to kill more people each year than the rest of Africa's most dangerous animals combined and during mating season their ruthless aggression is directed at other hippos two bulls square up the pod's dominant male and a Challenger at stake the Riverbanks Prime mating territory and a Herm of females the dominant male puts on an aggressive display posturing to show he will not yield but the interloper Demands a fight finally the dominant male is Victorious the Conqueror celebrates with a dung shower marking the border of the territory he has successfully defended while the vanquished suffers more than just the agony of defeat his back is carved open and by Sunset the crocodiles are watching closely they'd be unlikely to take on a bull in rude Health but now they Circle an expectation the hippo breathes his last the price of insurrection is life his Hulk will not go to waste the crocodiles move in swiftly to Feast on the corpse for these voracious Predators it's a considerable meal but one dead hippo is a mere snack compared with the annual Feast provided by a particular African river each year the serengetti vast grass Plains filled to the Horizon with grazing animals taking part in one of Nature's greatest spectacles around 1 and2 million wilder beast join 700,000 other herbivores on the Great Migration around 1 in six of these migrants will die before completing the 500 M circuit many are outrun and taken down down by Africa's formidable array of Savannah carnivores their Journey coming to a Grizzly end but one of the deadliest single obstacles the vast herds must Traverse is the mara River after 3 months on the move the wilderbeast are exhausted and emaciated all that separates them from the Fresh pastures of the msai mara is the width of the river and a whole bunch of huge ravit Nile crocodiles despite the chilling threat posed by these powerful Predators some of the herd are either oblivious to the danger or so thirsty they dare to take a drink anyway for an unlucky few it will be their last and these witless victims merely wet the Croc's appetite the true Feast begins when the first of the herd Braves the river in the crush and Chaos of the crossing the 16t Crocs grabs scores of victims when 1,600 lb of musc futile the marus Crocs survive on meager rations for most of the year so take full advantage of the great migrations time of Plenty they Gorge themselves eating up to half their body weight in one sitting and with so many different species crossing the river the banquet is as varied as it is Bountiful but not all Africa's Crocs have such an easy meal ticket on the banks of this Kenyon River a Croc has got too close to a pack of feeding Lions a move it's about to regret it's a fierce attack but the Crocs skin is covered in bony armor plating eventually the Lion's Uninvited Guest Retreats having taught the Crocs and dinner manners the big cats return to the carcass the Amazon is a giant of a river and and conceal some monstrous Predators which kill with a crush and in a bloody frenzy draining a lowland Basin of close to 3 million square miles around 1/5 of the water that runs off the earth's surface is carried by the Amazon this giant of a river is renowned for its oversized residence both prey and Predator around 4 ft long and and weighing as much as an adult human capibara are the world's largest rodent they're
By cacloaidongvat2 days ago in The Swamp
Iran and Israel: Dangerous Game.
Israel and Iran have been locked in a deadly duel for decades. Ever since Ayatollah Khomeini came to power in 1979, both nations have been at loggerheads. Israel did help Iran briefly, in the First Gulf War of 1980 - 1981. Iraq was a common enemy of Israel and Iran. Israel helped the Iranians with weapons. Sadly, that moment in history is a blip in an otherwise confrontational relationship.
By Nicholas Bishop6 days ago in The Swamp
Comments
There are no comments for this story
Be the first to respond and start the conversation.