1876 Democratic National Convention

1876 Democratic National Convention

1876 presidential election
Nominees Tilden and Hendricks
Convention
Date(s)	June 27–29, 1876
City	St. Louis, Missouri
Venue	Merchants Exchange Building
Candidates
Presidential nominee	Samuel Tilden of New York
Vice-presidential nominee	Thomas Hendricks of Indiana

The 1876 Democratic National Convention assembled in St. Louis just nine days after the conclusion of the Republican National Convention in Cincinnati.

This was the first political convention held west of the Mississippi River. St. Louis was notified in February 1876 that it had been selected. Among the events was a fireworks display from the top of the Old Courthouse.

Proceedings

The convention was called to order by Democratic National Committee chairman Augustus Schell. Henry Watterson served as the temporary convention chairman and John Alexander McClernand, a retired congressman and major general, served as permanent convention president.

Platform

The Democratic platform pledged to replace the corruption of the Grant administration with honest, efficient government and to end "the rapacity of carpetbag tyrannies" in the South; called for treaty protection for naturalized U.S. citizens visiting their homeland, restrictions on Oriental immigration, and tariff reform; and opposed land grants to railroads.^[1]

Presidential nomination

Presidential candidates

• 
  Governor Samuel J. Tilden of New York
• 
  Governor Thomas A. Hendricks of Indiana
• 
  Major General Winfield Scott Hancock of Pennsylvania
• 
  Former Governor William Allen of Ohio
• 
  Senator Thomas F. Bayard of Delaware
• 
  Former Governor Joel Parker of New Jersey

Interior of the Merchants Exchange Building of St. Louis, Missouri, during the announcement of Samuel J. Tilden as the Democratic presidential nominee

The 12th Democratic National Convention assembled in St. Louis in June 1876. Five thousand people jammed the auditorium in St. Louis, hoping for the Democrats' first presidential victory in 20 years. The platform called for immediate and sweeping reforms following the scandal-plagued Grant administration.

Six names were placed in nomination: Samuel J. Tilden, Thomas A. Hendricks, Winfield Scott Hancock, William Allen, Thomas F. Bayard, and Joel Parker. Tilden won more than 400 votes on the first ballot, a strong showing, but less than the 492 required by the convention's two-thirds rule. He won the nomination by a landslide on the second ballot. Although Tilden was strongly opposed by "Honest John" Kelly, the leader of New York's Tammany Hall, he was still able to obtain the nomination. According to contemporary accounts, Tilden's nomination was received by the delegates with more enthusiasm than that of any nominee since Andrew Jackson.^[2]

Presidential Ballot[3]
	1st (Before Shifts)	1st (After Shifts)	2nd (Before Shifts)	2nd (After Shifts)	Unanimous
Tilden	403.5	410.5	508	534	738
Hendricks	133.5	140.5	85	60	0
Hancock	77	77	60	59	0
Allen	56	56	54	54	0
Bayard	31	31	11	11	0
Broadhead	19	5	0	0	0
Parker	18	18	18	18	0
Thurman	0	0	2	2	0

Source: Official proceedings of the National Democratic convention, held in St. Louis, Mo., June 27th, 28th and 29th, 1876. (September 3, 2012).

• 
  1st Presidential Ballot
  Before Shifts
  
• 
  1st Presidential Ballot
  After Shifts
  
• 
  2nd Presidential Ballot
  Before Shifts
  
• 
  2nd Presidential Ballot
  After Shifts
  

Vice presidential nomination

Vice presidential candidates

• 
  Governor
  Thomas A. Hendricks
  of Indiana
• 
  Representative
  William R. Morrison
  of Illinois
  (Not Nominated)
• 
  Representative
  Henry B. Payne
  of Ohio
  (Not Nominated)

Tilden/Hendricks campaign poster

Delegates proposed various potential candidates for vice president, including William R. Morrison of Illinois, chairman of the House Committee on Ways and Means.^[3] The Ohio delegation considered nominating U.S. Representative Henry B. Payne.^[3] However, the feeling of unanimity was so great that the Ohio delegates instead seconded the nomination of Hendricks.^[3] Hendricks was the only nominee, and won the nomination nearly unanimously on the first ballot, with the only exceptions being eight abstentions from Ohio.^[3]

Vice Presidential Ballot
Candidate	1st
Hendricks	730
Blank	8

Source: Official proceedings of the National Democratic convention, held in St. Louis, Mo., June 27th, 28th and 29th, 1876. (September 3, 2012).

• 
  1st Vice Presidential Ballot

See also

• 1876 Republican National Convention
• List of Democratic National Conventions
• U.S. presidential nomination convention
• 1876 United States presidential election
• History of the United States Democratic Party

References

1. William DeGregorio, The Complete Book of U.S. Presidents, Gramercy 1997
2. They Also Ran
3. Cook, Theodore Pease (1876). The Life and Public Services of Hon. Samuel J. Tilden. New York, NY: D. Appleton and Company. p. 327 – via Google Books.

Further reading

• Haworth, Paul Leland. The Hayes-Tilden disputed presidential election of 1876 (1895) online.
• Holt, Michael F. By One Vote: The Disputed Presidential Election of 1876 (UP of Kansas, 2008).
• Robinson, Lloyd. The Stolen Election: Hayes versus Tilden—1876 (Macmillan, 2001) online.

Primary sources

• Chester, Edward W A guide to political platforms (1977) pp 97–102 online

91

External links

• Democratic Party Platform of 1876 at The American Presidency Project
• Official proceedings of the National Democratic convention, held in St. Louis, Mo., June 27th, 28th and 29th, 1876

Preceded by 1872 Baltimore, Maryland

Democratic National Conventions

Succeeded by 1880 Cincinnati, Ohio