Party History
Many Democrats were very unhappy by the Party’s endorsement of the Liberal Republican ticket and Horace Greeley in particular. Blanton Duncan was a Democratic leader who was particularly unhappy with the national convention. Duncan corresponded with Democrats around the nation. Anti-Greeley Democrats decided to hold a “Straight-Out Democratic National Convention” to set forth a second, truly Democratic, ticket.
Convention Organization
The Straight-Out Democratic Party National Convention assembled in the court house in Louisville KY. There were 604 delegates present from all states. By the time the convention assembled, the delegates had decided to nominate Charles O’Conor, a former Democratic district attorney in New York State.
Temporary Chairman: Levi S. Chatfield NY
Permane
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Party History
Many Democrats were very unhappy by the Party’s endorsement of the Liberal Republican ticket and Horace Greeley in particular. Blanton Duncan was a Democratic leader who was particularly unhappy with the national convention. Duncan corresponded with Democrats around the nation. Anti-Greeley Democrats decided to hold a “Straight-Out Democratic National Convention” to set forth a second, truly Democratic, ticket.
Convention Organization
The Straight-Out Democratic Party National Convention assembled in the court house in Louisville KY. There were 604 delegates present from all states. By the time the convention assembled, the delegates had decided to nominate Charles O’Conor, a former Democratic district attorney in New York State.
Temporary Chairman: Levi S. Chatfield NY
Permanent Chairman: James Lyons VA
On the first day of the convention, a letter was read from O’Conor. In this letter, he outlined some of his concerns for the election. His denunciation of the Democratic National Convention led to the first demonstration by the delegates, which interrupted the reading temporarily.
Nominations.
The second day began with the appointment of a national committee of two men per state.
The second item of business was the presidential nomination. The state delegations were voting almost entirely for O’Conor. During the announcement of the vote of Nebraska, George F. Train attempted to have his own name placed in nomination. The delegates were so incensed that Train left the hall and nominated himself for President elsewhere in the city. When the Ohio delegation announced its vote, four delegates voted for George Pendleton rather than O’Conor, resulting in boos from the other delegates. O’Conor was thus nominated on the first ballot by a vote of 600-4.
Three men were placed in nomination for Vice President: John Q. Adams II of MA, Alfred P. Edgerton IN, and James Lyons VA. The delegates discussed the merits of the three contenders. When one delegate began a long screed against Adams, the other delegates objected to such language against one of their own. Adams was nominated on the third ballot by a vote of 693 to 9 for Edgerton.
Just as the convention was readying to adjourn, a telegram arrived from O’Conor stating that he would not accept their nomination for president. This telegram confused the delegates, especially after O’Conor’s earlier message to the convention. An attempt to nominate the chairman of the convention failed. In the confusion, the chairman adjourned the convention until the next morning to allow state delegations to consider the situation. During the night, half of the delegates went to the Louisville train station and left for home.
On the third day of the convention, the delegates assembled to decide what to do. The New York delegation assured the convention that O’Conor would run on the ticket. They proposed a resolution that O’Conor and Adams would be the nominees of the “National Democratic Party,” which was adopted. The delegates appointed a committee to visit the nominees and then adjourned sine die.
Campaign
With O’Conor not officially accepting the nomination, the Straight Democrats floundered. State affiliates in GA, OH, and MI nominated candidates, and other state affiliates offered slates of Presidential Electors. In the long run, however, the movement which showed so much promise at first fizzled out. O’Conor received a disappointingly low number of votes in the election, and all party candidates performed poorly.
Popular vote of 1872
Electoral vote of 1872
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