The 6th Republican National Convention met in Exposition Hall in Cincinnati OH. It was attended by 756 delegates: an increase of 4 from 1872. The four additional delegates were given to Colorado, recently organized as a state.
The convention nominated Gov. Hayes (OH) for President on the 7th ballot and US Rep. Wheeler (NY) for VP on the first ballot. When agreeing upon the rules for the roll call, a delegate introduced a resolution that the convention take a 30 minute recess following any inconclusive ballot. Another delegate offered an amendment that in such cases each delegation might first announce its preference of cash or country produce for its votes. This amendment killed a very wise motion. The only major credentials issue was a set of competing delegations from Alabama; a Blaine delegation was seated instead of a Morton delegation by a vote of 375-354.
The presidential roll call was the most contentious to date among the Republicans. Robert G. Ingersoll placed Blaine in nomination with a magnificent speech in which he coined the phrase "the plumed knight" for Blaine. The delegate who placed Hayes in nomination mentioned that he had already defeated three Democratic presidential contenders in Ohio elections: Thurman, Pendleton, and Allen.
During the balloting, the Pennsylvania delegation asked for clarification about the Unit Rule. Since most delegates had been selected at congressional district conventions, where they were directed to support certa
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The 6th Republican National Convention met in Exposition Hall in Cincinnati OH. It was attended by 756 delegates: an increase of 4 from 1872. The four additional delegates were given to Colorado, recently organized as a state.
The convention nominated Gov. Hayes (OH) for President on the 7th ballot and US Rep. Wheeler (NY) for VP on the first ballot. When agreeing upon the rules for the roll call, a delegate introduced a resolution that the convention take a 30 minute recess following any inconclusive ballot. Another delegate offered an amendment that in such cases each delegation might first announce its preference of cash or country produce for its votes. This amendment killed a very wise motion. The only major credentials issue was a set of competing delegations from Alabama; a Blaine delegation was seated instead of a Morton delegation by a vote of 375-354.
The presidential roll call was the most contentious to date among the Republicans. Robert G. Ingersoll placed Blaine in nomination with a magnificent speech in which he coined the phrase "the plumed knight" for Blaine. The delegate who placed Hayes in nomination mentioned that he had already defeated three Democratic presidential contenders in Ohio elections: Thurman, Pendleton, and Allen.
During the balloting, the Pennsylvania delegation asked for clarification about the Unit Rule. Since most delegates had been selected at congressional district conventions, where they were directed to support certain candidates, the Unit Rule effectively negated local control of delegate selection. Following a lengthy debate between the second and third persidential roll calls, the convention voted 395-353 to end the Unit Rule. Only once again would the Unit Rule be introduced into a Republican National Convention.
The presidential balloting was dominated by the intense feelings towards Blaine. He had the support of nearly half of the delegates but was earnestly opposed by nearly half of the other delegates. The first six ballots proceeded with little change among the contenders. As the seventh ballot proceeded, it was clear that Blaine was moving ever closer to the nomination. When Indiana was called, Blaine had absorbed 17 of the 19 Morton delegates from earlier states and was headed for a majority of all delegates. Morton's home state swung 25 of the state's 30 votes to Gov. Hayes as a protest to Blaine's impending victory. This was a key step, since throughout the remainder of the ballot, no votes were cast for any candidate except for Hayes and Blaine. The anti-Blaine delegates had the strength to hand Hayes the victory.
| Presidential Balloting, RNC 1876 |
| Contender: Ballot | 1st | 2d | 3d | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th |
| Rutherford B. Hayes OH | 61 | 64 | 67 | 68 | 104 | 113 | 384 |
| James G. Blaine ME | 285 | 296 | 293 | 292 | 286 | 308 | 351 |
| Benjamin H. Bristow KY | 113 | 114 | 121 | 126 | 114 | 111 | 21 |
| Oliver P. Morton IN | 124 | 120 | 113 | 108 | 95 | 85 | 0 |
| Roscoe Conkling NY | 99 | 93 | 90 | 84 | 82 | 81 | 0 |
| John F. Hartranft PA | 58 | 63 | 68 | 71 | 69 | 50 | 0 |
| Others | 16 | 6 | 4 | 7 | 6 | 8 | 0 |
Temporary Chairman - Theodore M. Pomeroy (NY)
Permanent Chairman - Edward McPherson (PA)
5th Republican National Convention (1872)
7th Republican National Convention (1880)
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