1888 Republican National Convention
| 1888 presidential election | |
  Nominees Harrison and Morton | |
| Convention | |
|---|---|
| Date(s) | June 19–June 25, 1888 |
| City | Chicago, Illinois |
| Venue | Auditorium Theatre |
| Chair | Morris M. Estee |
| Candidates | |
| Presidential nominee | Benjamin Harrison of Indiana |
| Vice-presidential nominee | Levi P. Morton of New York |
| Other candidates | John Sherman Russell A. Alger Walter Q. Gresham |
| Voting | |
| Total delegates | 832 |
| Votes needed for nomination | 417 |
| Results (president) | Harrison (IN): 544 (65.38%) Sherman (OH): 118 (14.18%) Gresham (IN): 59 (7.09%) Alger (MI): 100 (12.02%) Blaine (ME): 5 (0.60%) McKinley (OH): 4 (0.48%) Douglass (MD): 1 (0.12%) Others: 1 (0.12%) |
| Results (vice president) | Morton (NY): 592 (71.15%) Phelps (NJ): 119 (14.3%) Bradley (KY): 103 (12.38%) Bruce (MS): 11 (1.32%) Abstaining: 6 (0.72%) Walter S. Thomas: 1 (0.12%) |
| Ballots | 8 |
The 1888 Republican National Convention was a presidential nominating convention held at the Auditorium Building in Chicago, Illinois, on June 19–25, 1888. It resulted in the nomination of former Senator Benjamin Harrison of Indiana for President and former Representative Levi P. Morton of New York for Vice President. During the convention, Frederick Douglass was invited to speak and became the first African-American to have his name put forward for a presidential nomination, in a major party's roll call vote, receiving one vote from Kentucky in the fourth vote.
The ticket won in the election of 1888, defeating President Grover Cleveland and Allen G. Thurman.
Issues addressed
Issues addressed in the convention included support for protective tariffs, repeal of taxes on tobacco, support for the use of gold and silver as currency and support for pensions for veterans. The party also expressed its opposition to polygamy.[1]
State delegates
MICHIGAN: (Incomplete Listings of District Delegates to the State Convention)
Edward Colley/Cowley Wellesley from Colon Mi. was a delegate to the State Convention held in Hartman's Hall in Grand Rapids on May 8, 1888. For the purpose of electing 4 Delegates at Large & 4 alternate delegates at large to go to the Republican National Convention to be held in Chicago. Also electing 2 District delegates from each district to go to the National Convention as listed.
4 Delegates at Large are: William Quincy Atwood from Saginaw
J.K. Boies from Hudson
Thomas B. Dunstan from Hancock
R.E. Frazier from Detroit
2 District Delegates are chosen for each District District #1 John Atkinson from Detroit
Henry M. Duffield from Detroit
District #2 Charles T. Mitchell from Hillside
George Spaulding from Monroe
District #3 William A. Coombs from Coldwater
Charles E. Townsend from Jackson
District #4 Bishop E. Andrews from Three Rivers
L.M. Ward from Benton Harbor
District #5 C.P. Brown from Spring Lake
A.B. Watson from Grand Rapids
District #6 William B. McCreery from Flint
William McPherson Jr. from Howell
District #7 Harrison Geer from Lapeer
Edgar Weeks from Mt. Clemens
District #8 Roswell G. Horr from East Saginaw
S. Perry Youngs from Stanton
District #9 George W. Crawford from Big Rapids
Edwin O. Shaw from Newaygo
District #10 Green Pack from Oscoda
N.M. Richardson from Caro
District #11 Perry Hannah from Traverse City
Samuel M. Stephenson from Menominee
Presidential nomination
-
-
-
-
-
Senator William B. Allison of Iowa
(Withdrew after 7th Ballot) -
New York Central Railroad President Chauncey Depew of New York
(Withdrew after 3rd Ballot) -
Senator John J. Ingalls of Kansas
(Not Formally Nominated) -
-
Former Ambassador William W. Phelps
of New Jersey
(Not Formally Nominated) -
Mayor Edwin Henry Fitler of Pennsylvania
(Withdrew after 1st Ballot) -
Representative William McKinley of Ohio
(Not Formally Nominated)
(Endorsed John Sherman) -
Former Secretary of State, Former Senator, Former House Speaker James G. Blaine of Maine
(Declined to Contest)
| Presidential Ballot | ||||||||
| Ballot | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Benjamin Harrison | 80 | 91 | 94 | 217 | 213 | 231 | 278 | 544 |
| John Sherman | 229 | 249 | 244 | 235 | 224 | 244 | 231 | 118 |
| Russell A. Alger | 84 | 116 | 122 | 135 | 142 | 137 | 120 | 100 |
| Walter Q. Gresham | 111 | 108 | 123 | 98 | 87 | 91 | 91 | 59 |
| William B. Allison | 72 | 75 | 88 | 88 | 99 | 73 | 76 | 0 |
| Chauncey Depew | 99 | 99 | 91 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| James G. Blaine | 35 | 33 | 35 | 42 | 48 | 40 | 15 | 5 |
| John James Ingalls | 28 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jeremiah McLain Rusk | 25 | 20 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| William Walter Phelps | 25 | 18 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Edwin Henry Fitler | 24 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| William McKinley | 2 | 3 | 8 | 11 | 14 | 12 | 16 | 4 |
| Robert Todd Lincoln | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Samuel Freeman Miller | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Joseph B. Foraker | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Frederick Douglass | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Frederick Dent Grant | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Creed Haymond | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Vice Presidential nominaion
Levi P. Morton was asked if he wanted the second spot. He had been asked in 1880, but had declined. The vice presidential nomination then went to Chester A. Arthur. This time Morton decided to accept.
| Vice Presidential Ballot | |
| Ballot | 1st |
|---|---|
| Levi P. Morton | 591 |
| William Walter Phelps | 119 |
| William O'Connell Bradley | 103 |
| Blanche K. Bruce | 11 |
| Walter F. Thomas | 1 |
Accusation of delegate vote-buying
Nearly a decade later, Ohio candidate John Sherman accused Michigan candidate, millionaire Russell A. Alger, of buying the votes of Southern delegates who had already confirmed their vote for Sherman. In Sherman's 1895 two-volume book "Recollections" he asserted, "I believe, and had, as I thought, conclusive proof, that the friends of Gen. Alger substantially purchased the votes of many of the delegates from the Southern States who had been instructed by their conventions to vote for me." Once accused, Alger submitted correspondence to the New York Times, who published one letter from 1888, written after the convention to Alger, where Sherman states, "if you bought some [votes], according to universal usage, surely I don't blame you." Later in the same New York Times article, Alger insisted neither he or friends bought a single vote. The article also quotes another delegate, James Lewis, who claimed that "the colored delegates of the South will unite on a Union soldier in preference" instead of a civilian.[2]
When Sherman introduced his anti-trust legislation two years later, his main example of unlawful combination drew from a Michigan Supreme Court case involving Diamond Match Company and Alger's participation as president and stock holder.[3]
See also
References
- ^ Official Proceedings of the Republican National Convention Held at Chicago, June 19, 20, 21, 22, 23 and 25, 1888
- ^ ALGER ANSWERS SHERMAN; Denial that Southern Delegates Sold Their Votes. THE SENATOR'S CHARGES REFUTED In an Autograph Letter He Practically Withdrew His Charge of Unfairness -- Gen. Sherman Not Opposed to the Purchase of Votes.[1]
- ^ SHERMAN TO ALGER.
External links
- Republican Party platform of 1888 at The American Presidency Project
- Harrison acceptance letter at The American Presidency Project
| Preceded by 1884 Chicago |
Republican National Conventions | Succeeded by 1892 Minneapolis |