LINCOLN ROOM UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS LIBRARY k f B^^ CAUCUSES OF 1860. A HISTORY *^..,^?..,..^^^t ^..tfif CURRENT PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN COMPLETE RECORD OF THE BUSINESS OF ALL THE CONVENTIONS; SKETCHES OF DISTINGUISHED MEN IN ATTENDANCE UPON THE:VI^ AND DESCRIPTIONS OF THE MOST CHARACTERISTIC SCENES AND MEMORABLE EVENTS. Cfizapiled from tlie Correspondence of the Cincinnati Commercial, writteck " On the Circuit of the Conventions," and the Official Beports. By M. HALSTEAD, AH ETE-VriT-VESS OF THEM All. COLUMBUS: FOLLETT, FOSTER AND COMPANY, 1860. — ; PREFACE. If I have a prejudice against or partiality for any political party, such that I am incapable of taking an impartial view of its proceedings, and of telling the truth of it irrespective of the antagonisms, that de- mand concealment on the one hand and perversion on the other, I am unconscious of the fact. I know that in making the " Circuit of the Conventions," in the capacity of a journalist, I endeavored to pursue the path of candor and that this was not only my personal feeling but the policy of tho journal with which I am eonneeted. In the first letter of the correspondence from which this publication is largely made up, I promised to remember in my writings of the Con- ventions the entreaty of Othello, concerning information to be des- patched from Cyprus to Venice : " I pray you, in your letters, When you shall these unlucky deeds relate, * * * Nothing extenuate, Nor set down aught in malice " I should consider the displeasure and hostile criticisms of partisans of all persuasions and organizations, the best testimony that I have kept this promise. M. H. .iub-i5 CONTENTS. Page The Charleston Convention 1 The Constitutional Democratic Conventiou at Charleston 97 The Baltimore National Constitutional Union Convention 104 The Chicago Convention 120 The Constitutional Democratic Convention at Richmond 154 The National Democratic Convention at Baltimore 159 Institute Hall (" Seceders ") Convention 217 The Second Richmond Convention 2*1 ERRATA Page 9, first line, second paragraph, for "Magnolia Hall" read "Eibernia Hall." Page 31, last line, read " equivocal " for " equivalent^' " Page 101, last line of page, read leonine " instead of " canine." THE CHARLESTON CONVENTION. Teie Hon. Stephen A. Douglas wa'fj ,tfi^'|)i,\;<;Jt .Indiyidual of the Charleston Convention. Every d3leg3,te. yras top dr.'aijajBSt'.Jiini. Ev- ery motion meant to nominate or *ipt to/EtopiviSat^, him.' 'E^ery parlia- ' • '.' ?," ;• • mentary war was ]}ro or con Douglas. , ; 'J On the route to Charleston, delegaties'afj^ pthefs? who/Ai^er© proceed- ' ing to attend the Convention, talked .i^!Dtt'i\t ."Mr. >Doviglas! ' 'tke ques- tions in every car and at every station, were': ' Wqi\ii','hs^;be ? could he be? should he be nominated V Could he get a majority of the Conven- tion ? could he get two-thirds ? Would the Sourh support him if he should be nominated? Would the Administration acquiesce if he were nominated ? NOTES BY THE WAY. [The following extract from a letter written at Atlanta, Ga., April 17th, will give an idea of the spirit of Southernei's when en route for the Convention :] , Atl-vnta, Ga., April 17th. We had interesting political talk on the cars this evening. Two Georgians were disputing as to the strength of Douglas in the State. One, a Charleston delegate, said he would not do. Hii might possibly vote for him if nominated, but it would be with great reluctance. He did not know but one man in favor of Douglas in his district. The other had been defeated as a candidate for Charleston delegate. He said Douglas men were thick as blackberries all through the region from which he came. Douglas would carry the State by twenty thou- sand majority. " Let him be nominated, and there will be such a war- whoop as never was hoard in the land." The same man said the old- line Democrats of Georgia were for Douglas, and the old-line Whigs and the Americans, turned Democrats, were against him. Tbis man was asked if he believed in Douglas's doctrine of popular sovereignty, which was no better than Abolitionism, and he said he " went the whole " of it ; and he was backed up by a Douglas man from Kentucky. The Georgians and Kentuckians generally, on the train, considered that it would not do at all to run Douglas. Some man must be run who would utKte the party—somebody not obnoxious to any section of it—somebody who had not been so I'ecently as Douglas fighting side by side with the Black Republicans against the one and indivisible De- mocracy. — [The following from a letter written at Social Circle, Georgia, on the 18tb Apiil, is still farther illu.strative :] Social Circle, Ga., April 18lh. We have had warm times among the delegates to the Convention since our stop here. A conversation conimencod at the flinner taMe about Douglas. There was a delegate from Indiana and an outsider from Kentucky, sitting very near a couple of Misgissippians, delegatcH, frien<is of Jiff. Davi.-J, and " fire-eattTs." a.s we term them. Some private whi>ky was pa.sscd, and the Mitsis.^ippians drank to "the health of the nominee." The question was askod wheiher that in- cludi'd Dnuiil'i^. ]\lissis«:po' i-aid he did not con.-^ider him in the ring at all. Up [Dougli-.^^j had no ^harct of being the nominee, and there- fore, when he diank to the he ilth of the nominee it did not include him. The Douglas niao thought Dougla« should be included, and pro- ceeded to say that if h<i woa n/jminated he must have the support of the entire Democratic pa'rtj.' 'A man could not go into a Conven- tion and then boll tne nominee if not pleased with him— not at all, cer- tainly not with honoL. Now, the Missi.^sippians do intend to bolt Douglas if he is nominated, and hence they were touched, and took fire. The controversy ran high. The Indianian was asked what he meant by "Southern fanatics and fire-caters"—an expre.ss'on he had used —and he said, " such men as Jeff. Duvis." This was touching the Mi.-.-is.«;ippians on a tender point. They demanded very explicitly to know in what respect Davis was fiinatical — and the spccitications were rather vague. Mississippi wanted to know whether Davis had ever demanded any thing but tlie rights of the South, and if so, what ? and said th-it certain ailenrations made against the conservatism of Davis were mere falsehoods. Indiana claimed the same right to ori;ici.>?e Da- vis that Mississippi had to criticise Douglas. Mississippi denied that. " Davis was a patriot, and Douglas was a traitor, d — d little better than Seward —that was the difference." Indiana talked abuut fighting thtt-battles of the South in the North, and all that sort of thing. Mi.s- sissijipi did not thank the Northern Democracy for doing any such thing. The South was able to figlit her own battles, and to protect her rights She could do this out of the Union, if not in it. Indiana talked about returning fugitive slaves, and Mississippi laughed scorn- fully. And as iho parties had to either bt t or fight, a bet of one thou- sand dollars was made on the spot. The Mississippian bet that Doug- las would not receive the electoral vote of that State if he were nomi- nated. The Douglasife bet that he would. If Douglas is not nomi- nateii at Charleston, the stakes arc, of cour.-e, to be withdrawn* The feeling excited by this cf)ntroversy, was warm and general. 'I'lie dele- gates who did not mix in, shook their heads and talked of stormy times ahead, and the peril in which the party would be placed. It was man- ifest that if the Mi.ssissippian and the Indianian were joint representa- tive men of their sections, there was little chance for the n<miination of a candidate who could, by any possibility, be elected, or of th(5 cou- * TbU bot WM wilbJrawn >t the FOlicitntion of uiutunl friontlii rrom Konttirky. — struction of a platform that would be even superficially Hatisfactory. Tlie Mississippians understood themselves to be of the class that dic- tates doctrine to the Democratic party, and talked as if the party was their property, "peculiar," at that, and rather a worn out old nijrger, welcome to die. Indiana talked of love for the party, and devotion to it, and a determination to support the nominee, wlioever he might he. Mi.-sis.-ippi talked of principle, and " damn the party," if it was not placed .^^quarely upon principle. In other words, if the party was not to serve the South, its mission was accompli.sheH. My Indiana frit'nd, was, I think, astonished to find a real live specimen of fire-eater—and his di^-covery. was rather embarrassed hy , /., J have dwelt on this scene thus fuliy, .bj'cavist is is,a preliminary symptom of the Charleston Cinvenji)!!, and h, iitdefec4,tl{e' history of the Convention in miniature and waiM-ng the- cljmax.' While the war went on, the Kentucky delegation, quiet,, sui>3ta/)ii,al gentlemen, who don't want office, and would not havu i{,, ;s.toiid bac4<, aml„talked in bus- iness-like style of the great merits as a, in.i.rto;<pd tfivtvjlybilify -sts a candi- date, of their friend, the Hon. James Gutlivio. Xhfe.Mississippians have the Freeport speech of Douglas with them, at.d intend to bom- bard him in the Convention with ammunition drawn from it.