The Democratic Party faced an unusual situation following the Civil War. The northern wing of the party, which won 45% of the vote in the 1864 election, faced the opportunity of forming a new winning coalition with the South. There, the immediate post-war parties were the National Union Party (supporters of President Johnson) and the Conservatives (advocates of returning to the antebellum political system). Republicans in Congress realized the precarious situation, and they refused to seat the new southern delegations.

Under Radical Reconstruction, the political situation in the South became more fluid. Most of the indigenous politicians in the National Union Party bolted to the Conservative Party, affiliated with the national Democratic Party. The Party began 1865 in opposition to the policies of the Administration, but as the year progressed, the Democrats began to give the President more support. The Democrats recognized that southern states needed to reject the doctrine of secession, but the party wanted to minimize other requirements. The North, fearing that the gains of the Civil War would be lost through legislation, returned a larger and more radical Republican majority to Congress in the elections of 1866-1867. The National Union Party ceased to exist, and the Democrats become the supporters of President Johnson’s Reconstruction policy.

Unlike the Republican field, the Democratic field of presidential contenders was well-populated. The front-runner was George H. Pendleton, the VP nominee of 1864 and advocate of the so-called “Ohio Plan,” which proposed to issue federal greenbacks to inflate the dollar and use this money to retire the national debt. Easterners were particularly opposed to the idea, as they held most of the government bonds. Other contenders included mainly favorite son candidates, such as Governor James E. English CT, Governor Joel Parker NJ, U.S. Rep. Asa Packer PA, and U.S. Senator James R. Doolittle WI. New York State’s Lt. Governor, Sanford E. Church, was offered as a stalking horse to test the strength of support for Salmon P. Chase OH, and President Johnson was also secretly seeking the nomination.

Procession past Tammany Hall on first day of the Democratic National Convention; adapted from Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper, 7/18/1868.

Convention Organization

The 10th Democratic National Convention assembled in Tammany Hall, New York City, on Independence Day. August Belmont, chairman of the DNC, criticized the Reconstruction policies of Congress, which he stated infringed upon the civil rights of Southerners (i.e., white Southerners). There were 634 delegates present, each casting half a vote.

Temporary Chairman: Henry L. Palmer WI

Permanent Chairman: Horatio Seymour NY

Several interesting discussions took place early in the convention. First, the use of the rules of the U.S. House of Representatives in the conduct of the convention, which had taken place for decades without opposition, was overturned as a swipe at the Reconstruction Congress. The next major discussion was the question of whether or not to provide representation to the territories; they were denied representation by a vote of 106-184. A resolution was passed condemning the impeachment proceedings and calling for a constitutional amendment shifting the power of impeaching the President to the U.S. Supreme Court. When the credentials committee reported, territorial delegates were seated without voting privileges. While awaiting the presentation of the platform, the convention entered into a wrangling series of motions to begin the process of nominating a presidential candidate; the convention finally voted 209-106 to adjourn for the day.

Platform

The committee producing the platform took more time than usual because it wanted to be unanimous in supporting what it proposed. They such a good job that the convention also accepted it unanimously. Key planks: 1. Guarantee of state and civil rights; 2. Support of the “Ohio Plan” for re-paying the federal debt; 3. New Federal currency.

Nominations.

As nominations began, a delegate asked a procedural question: could the delegates cast votes for a contender whose name was not in nomination? Seymour ruled that “the Convention has a right, at any time, to bring forward any new candidate it may see fit.” The only candidate who was not openly seeking votes was Salmon P. Chase; many delegates sought the nomination of Seymour, who was not seeking the nomination.

With 212 votes needed to nominate, Pendleton placed first on the first ballot, followed by President Johnson and nine others. Pendleton continued to gain until he peaked on the 8th ballot at 156.5; meanwhile, Johnson’s support subsided. Hancock began to surge, leading to a failed attempt to adjourn the convention after the 16th ballot. At this time, Thomas A. Hendricks began to climb, nearly reaching a tie with Hancock on the 21st ballot.

The final ballot was the 22d. Halfway through the roll call, Hendricks had gained 30 over his earlier vote and was reaching the highest vote of any candidate in the convention on any earlier roll call. The bandwagon broke when Ohio gave its vote. The vote of Ohio was cast for Horatio Seymour. As chairman, Seymour attempted to make it clear that he was not a candidate. Ohio refused to change its vote. Other states then cast their votes nearly the same as on the 21st ballot, except WI which voted for Seymour. One state after another asked to be recognized, and Seymour left his chair to ponder the situation. In the meantime, the states switched their votes. Samuel J. Tilden had the honor of making the last announcement, making New York unanimous for Seymour and thus nominating him unanimously.

Contender	First Ballot	5th	10th	16th	20th	21st	22d before shifts	22d after shifts
Horatio Seymour NY	0	0	0	0	0	0	22	317
George H. Pendleton OH	105	122	147.5	107.5	0	0	0	0
Andrew Johnson TN	65	24	6	5.5	0	5	4	0
Sanford E. Church NY	34	33	0	0	0	0	0	0
Winfield S. Hancock PA	33.5	46	34	113.5	142.5	135.5	103.5	0
Asa Packer PA	26	27	27.5	0	0	0	0	0
William H. English CT	16	7	0	0	16	19	7	0
Thomas A. Hendricks IN	2.5	19.5	82.5	70.5	121	132	145.5	0
Scattering	35	38.5	19.5	20	26	25	35	0

After the tumultuous presidential roll call, the convention adjourned an hour before beginning the vice presidential balloting. Four names were placed in nomination, but three of them withdrew. The convention nominated Francis P. Blair Jr. MO unanimously on the first ballot.

Popular vote of 1868

Electoral vote of 1868

9th Democratic National Convention (1864)

11th Democratic National Convention (1872)