USA > Illinois > Will County > Souvenir of settlement and progress of Will County, Ill. A review of the lives of our presidents, political, military and commercial history of the United States and of the state of Illinois Business directory of Joliet Comp. specially for the people of the county > Part 3
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49
Franklin Pierce, born at Hillsboro, New Hampshire, on November 23, 1804, died at Concord, New Hampshire,
51
UNITED STATES HISTORY.
October 8, 1869, aged sixty-five years. He received the Democratic vote in 1852, was installed President in 1853, and served the Union in this position for a full term. His marriage with Miss Jane Means was celebrated in 1834. He was friendly to the slave owners, notwithstanding his North- ern residence, legal associations, Senatorial friendships and Mexican war experiences.
James Buchanan, born at Stony Batter, Pennsylania, April 23, 1791, died June 1, 1868, at Wheatland, Pennsyl- nia, aged seventy-seven years. His administration was characterized by a total want of any one strong character- istic which should mark the Chief Magistrate. While the President himself was sincere in his attachments to the Union, his immediate advisers were, unfortunately, insin- cere in their professions of patriotism, so that when the next President was installed, he had to reorganize every department of the government, and prepare to meet one of the greatest rebellions-one of the greatest wars ever recorded. President Buchanan was unmarried.
Abraham Lincoln was born in Hardin county, Kentucky, on the 12th of February, 1809. He was elected President in 1860, and was re-elected in 1864, and had entered upon the duties of his office for the second time, when he was assinated by John Wilkes Booth, April 14, 1865, and died the following day. His father was unable to read or write. Abraham's education consisted of one year's schooling. When he was eight years old his father moved to Indiana, the family floating down the Ohio on a raft. When nine- teen years of age the future President hired out as a hand on a flat-boat at ten dollars a month, and made a trip to New Orleans. On his return he accompanied the family to Illinois, driving the cattle on the journey, and on reaching their destination helped them to build a cabin and split rails to enclose the farm. He was now in succession a flat-boat hand, clerk, captain of a company of volunteers in the Black Hawk war, country storekeeper, postmaster and surveyor, yet he managed to get a knowledge of law by borrowing books at an office, before it closed at night, and returning them at its opening in the morning. On being admitted to the bar, he rapidly rose to distinction. At twenty-five he was sent to the legislature, and was thrice re-elected. Turn- ing his attention to politics, he soon became a leader. He was sent to Congress; he canvassed the State, haranguing the people daily on great national questions; and, in 1858, he was a candidate for Senator a second time, against
52
UNITED STATES HISTORY.
Stephen A. Douglas. The two rivals stumped the State together. The debate, unrivaled for its statemanship, logic and wit, won for Lincoln a national reputation. He lost the election in the Legislature, as his party was in the minority. After his accession to the Presidency, his history, like Washington's, is identified with that of his country. He was a tall, ungainly man, little versed in the refinements of society, but gifted by nature with great common sense, and everywhere known as "Honest Abe." Kind, earnest, sympathetic, faithful, democratic, he was only anxious to serve his country. His wan, fatigued face, and his bent form, told of the cares he bore and the grief he felt. In 1832, Lincoln, Anderson and Jefferson Davis were at Dixon, Illinois, considering the means for defense against the Indi- ans. Black Hawk was interned at Fortress Monroe, where Davis was subsequently in prison for a like offense. Ander- son defended Sumter in 1861, while Lincoln was President.
Andrew Johnson, Lincoln's Vice-President, was born at Raleigh, North Carolina, December 29, 1808, died July 31, 1875, aged sixty-seven years. Such a character, coming after Lincoln, should of necessity fail to satisfy the people, and in President Johnson's case there was no exception. During his three years and ten and a half months' adminis- tration no one was pleased. His term began at a time when the Union was preserved. Every opportunity was presented to him to carry out the ideas of the trusted Lin- coln, yet he lost them all, and retired in 1869 unregretted.
Ulysses S. Grant was born at Point Pleasant, Clermont county, Ohio, April 27, 1822. He was very unwilling to follow his father's trade, which was that of a tanner, and at seventeen an appointment was secured for him at West Point. His name having been wrongly registered, Grant vainly attempted to set the matter right, but finally accepted his "manifest destiny," assumed the change thus forced upon him, and thenceforth signed himself "Ulysses Simp- son," the latter being his mother's family name. Two years after completing his four years' course as cadet, the Mexican war broke out, in which Grant conducted himself with great gallantry, receiving especial mention and pro- motion. In 1847 he was made first-lieutenant, captain in 1853, and in 1854 he resigned his commission, and entered the leather and saddlery business at Galena, Illinois, in 1859, where he remained until the opening of the war in 1861, when he immediately offered his services in behalf of the Union. His modesty and diffidence delayed their
53
UNITED STATES HISTORY.
acceptance and Governor Yates, of Illinois, was the first to avail himself of them. Grant finally took the field as Colo- nel of the Twenty-first Regiment Illinois Volunteers. In February, 1862, he was made a major-general, and com- manded the armies of the southwest. On the 12th of March, 1864, he was made Lieutenant-General, placed in command of all the armies, and took personal direction of the military operations in Virginia, and on the 9th of April, 1865, General Lee surrendered the Confederate armies to him, at Appomatox Court House, and hostilities were ended. He was nominated and elected by the Republicans President of the United States in 1868 and re-elected by the same party in 1872. His term expired in 1877. Few are unacquainted with the efforts made to renominate him in 1880. His tour round the world and his latter day commer- cial enterprises are too well known to be dwelt on here.
Rutherford B. Hayes, born at Delaware, Ohio, in 1822, was married to Miss Lucy Webb in 1849. He was declared President and installed into that office in 1877 under cir- cumstances which had no precedent. The vote on which his election rested was as follows: Tilden, Democrat, 4,285,- 992; Hayes, Republican, 4,033,761; Peter Cooper, Greenback, 81,737; -
- -, Prohibition, 9,322; American, 539; imperfect, 14,715; thus giving a popular majority of 145,911. The Electoral College gave him the majority notwithstanding this vote. The term of his administration was marked by the revival of all branches of trade; prosperity shed its genial rays over the whole land.
James A. Garfield, born near Cleveland, Ohio, November 19, 1831, was fired at and wounded by Charles J. Guiteau, July 2, 1881, and died from the effects of the wound Sep- tember 19, 1881. The celebrated Convention of 1880, which nominated him for President of the Union, built up high hopes on this Ohio educator. He entered on his duties under the brightest auspices. He selected for his Cabinet the most practical statesmen in the country, and was on the eve of announcing a policy of Jacksonian strength, when the assassin interfered.
Chester A. Arthur, born at Fairfield, Vermont, October 5, 1830, was elected Vice-President in 1880, and succeeded to the Presidency September 20, 1881. Never, in the whole history of the Union, was there a time when this high po- sition could be accepted under such favorable circumstances. The warring parties were at peace under the cloud which the late President's death cast over the country. Peace
54
UNITED STATES HISTORY.
was within and without-prosperity everywhere. However weak and vacillating the foreign policy of the Executive, there was in it a something between the sublime and the ridiculous, which eventually succeeded, and left the country leading still in the race after greatness.
National Nominating Conventions .- Previous to 1796 the nominations for President and Vice-President were entirely in the hands of the Electoral College: subsequently the nominating power became one of the privileges of the sev- eral parties in Congress.
George Washington, as was of course to be expected, was nominated as the first President without any formality of convention in 1788. It is, perhaps, forgotten that John Adams had nearly half as many votes in the Electoral Col- lege. Washington was renominated for a second term in 1792, but not without considerable opposition. Probably most readers of this generation do not know that in the first Electoral College the names of Lincoln and Harrison were presented as rival candidates for election. R. H. Harrison, of Maryland, received six votes ; and Benjamin Lincoln, of Massachusetts, one vote.
The sharp contrast between the method of nominating candidates now and in the early days of the Republic is shown by the following sketch of the contest for the Presidency in 1800 : The method, as the Constitution then stood, of voting for two candidates without distinction as to the office for which they were intended-the one receiving the highest number of votes to be President-furnished peculiar facili- ties for quietly displacing Adams without seeming to make any open attack upon him ; and even without the necessity that more than a limited number of influential politicians should be in the secret. The names of Adams and Pinckney being brought forward in a private caucus of the Federal members of Congress held for the purpose of agreeing upon candidates to be supported by the party, it was recommended pretty unanimously that both should be voted for equally ; but the opponents of Adams secretly hoped that means might be found to secure Pinckney the larger vote.
A similar caucus of the opposition members selected as their candidates Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr-with the distinct understanding, however, that Jefferson was the choice of the party for President. Both these caucuses were held with profound secrecy-this sort of dictation being not yet recognized as a part of the institutions of the country. Their proceedings, instead of being formally reported and
55
UNITED STATES HISTORY.
published in the newspapers, according to our present usage, were only diffused among the local leaders by personal com- munication and private correspondence.
In 1804, for the first time, the electors balloted separately for President and Vice-President. Jefferson was re-elected as the choice of the Administration caucus, and Charles C. Pinckney by the Federalist party.
In 1808, Virginia having been unable to decide between Madison and Monroe, a Congressional caucus was held in Washington, which decided in favor of Madison. Madison's nomination-January 23, 1808-was accomplished in this manner: Several very affectionate and flattering addresses -some of them from State Legislatures-had urged upon Jefferson to continue in office for a third Presidential term. These addresses had remained unanswered until just before the enactment of the embargo, when the President stated, in reply to one of them, his fixed intention to retire, as well on account of his age and growing infirmities as on the Democratic principle of rotation in office. Some three weeks after the announcement Bradley, one of the Vermont Senators, Chairman of the Congressional caucus of 1804, took upon himself to issue written notices to the Republican members of both Houses to assemble on a specified day and hour in the Senate-Chamber, for the purpose of nominating candidates for the Presidency and Vice-Presidency. The caucus was not called, however, with any view to discussion or selection, but only to indorse Madison, long ago desig- nated for the successorship by an understanding between Jefferson and himself ; and specially to support whose claims a short-lived newspaper, called the Monitor, had lately been started at Washington.
Of the one hundred and thirty Democratic Senators and Representatives, eighty-nine were present at the caucus. Of those not present, some were prevented by business, sick- ness, or absence from the city, while a few kept away because they were opposed to what they knew would be done. Eighty-three ballots were cast for Madison as candidate for the Presidency, three for George Clinton, and three for Monroe. For the Vice-Presidency, Clinton, the incumbent, received seventy-nine votes. Madison and Clinton were, accordingly, pronounced the candidates of the Democratic- Republican party. John Quincy Adams placed the seal to his transfer of party allegiance by being present at and taking a part in this caucus. Two days before this Con- gressional nomination two separate caucuses had been held
56
UNITED STATES HISTORY.
at Richmond-where the Virginia Legislature was then in session-by the respective friends of Madison and Monroe, between whom a very eager rivalry had sprung up. A hundred and thirty-four members of the Assembly had given Madison a unanimous nomination. In the other caucus, attended by sixty members, ten ballots had been given for Madison, the rest for Monroe. Each caucus nom- inated its ticket of electors, and both entered into the can- vass with great zeal. Charles C. Pinckney and Rufus King were selected by the Federalist Congressional caucus ; receiv- ing only forty-seven votes in the electoral college.
In 1812 there was another Congressional caucus, which renominated Madison for the second term. There began at this time to be much restiveness at the dictation of the Con- gressional caucus, and an opposition convention was held in New York city, which put De Witt Clinton and Jared Ingersoll in the field. Clinton was also nominated by the Legislature of New York State. The convention which met in New York and nominated Clinton represented eleven States. This probably was the nearest approach to a Na- tional nominating convention of modern times. Notwith- standing the opposition to the caucus system, Madison was nominated for the second time by the Congressional caucus ; but he secured his nomination only as a concession to the party of 1812. The historian says :
"Though willing to sign a bill declaring war, Madison was very unwilling to take any further responsibility in bring- ing it on. But the leaders of the war party were inexora- ble. The war must not seem to be forced on the President ; it must be, not their war-the war of a few young hot- headed, upstart leaders-but his. A committee, headed by the imperious Clay, waited upon him with assurances to that effect. He must consent to recommend a declaration of war, or they would not support him for President. To this hard condition Madison yielded; and, the preliminaries thus arranged, the Congressional caucus was presently held. Eighty-two members were present. Varnum acted as Pres- ident, and Richard M. Johnson as Secretary. For President Madison received the entire vote of the caucus. George Clinton, the late Vice-President, had died a few weeks before; and for that office Langdon was nominated. He was already seventy-one years of age, and had lately retired from the Governorship of his own State-where Plumer, a recruit from the Federal party, had just been chosen to suc- ceed him-on the score of age and infirmities. Langdon
57
UNITED STATES HISTORY.
declined the nomination, which, as a solace for his late defeat in Massachusetts, was subsequently bestowed upon the aged Gerry, for whom sixteen votes had been given at the first caucus. A Committee on Correspondence and Arrange- ment was appointed, made up of one member from each State."
Monroe was nominated March 16, 1816, in a Congres- sional caucus, which met after a great deal of intriguing, and even then the result was not absolutely certain. Hil- dreth says that Clay, who was an ardent champion of Mon- roe at this time, and Taylor, of New York, each made a motion that Congressional caucus nominations were inexpe- dient and ought not to be continued. But they failed to pass, and Monroe received sixty-five votes, to fifty-four for Crawford. At the same time Tompkins received eighty-five votes for the Vice-Presidency, against thirty for Governor Snyder. Rufus King and John J. Howard were the Feder- alist candidates.
In 1820, a Congressional caucus was called to renominate Monroe; but the power of the caucus was broken. The attempt to make a formal nomination is thus described : "In the course of the session Smith, of Maryland, as Chairman of the last Congressional caucus, issued a call for a new one to nominate candidates for the Presidency and Vice-Presi- dency. But, as no special need was felt at this moment of this means of designating candidates, the proposed caucus was generally scouted. Not more than fifty members assem- bled, and they separated without doing anything. There was a general acquiescence in the re-election of the present incumbents. Monroe and Tompkins were re-elected."
In 1834, there was one more attempt made to dictate a Presidential nomination. The leaders were beginning to .realize that the country could not always exist half slave, half free. The landmarks of the old parties were disappear- ing. The war with England was ended. The country had extended its borders. Domestic questions had become para- mount. The discussion of the slave interest had begun. The epoch in our National history from which our modern politics date had been reached. It was under circumstances like these that the canvass for the Presidential nomination in 1824 began. It commenced with a revolt against the sys- tem of the Congressional caucus. This resulted in a bolt from the caucus and an abandonment of the system. In that year, Crawford, of Georgia, was nominated for Presi- dent by the Congressional caucus, but only sixty-six of the
58
UNITED STATES HISTORY.
two hundred and sixteen Republican or " Democratic " mem- bers attended. The caucus system had become very tyran- nical ; and, although the caucus which nominated Crawford was attended by most of the Senators, there were but eight- een Representatives present. The revolt against the caucus system resulted in the nomination of Clay, Jackson and John Quincy Adams by their respective State Legislatures. The result was that the election was thrown into the House of Representatives, which elected Adams. The result of this bitter contest was that both the " Republican " party of that day and the rule of the Congressional caucus were over- thrown.
In 1828, Jackson's friends did not endeavor to re-establish the overthrown system of Congressional caucus, but nom- inated him by the Tennessee Legislature and he was elected. Adams and Rush represented the National Republicans.
In 1830, there was the first movement for a National nominating convention. In September of that year, ninety- six Anti-Masons, so-called, met at Philadelphia and called a nominating convention, which assembled in Baltimore in September, 1831, and nominated William Wirt, of Mary- land, for President, and Amos Ellmaker for Vice-President. In 1831, December 12, the National Republicans at Balti- more nominated for President and Vice-President Clay and Sargent ; and from that time for very many years Baltimore was known as "the City of Conventions"-a title which it has now been compelled to yield to Chicago. In 1832, in May, the Democrats, although satisfied with Jackson for President, were not pleased with Calhoun for Vice-Presi- dent, and held a convention at Baltimore, where Van Buren was nominated for Vice-President. Up to that time it had been the custom to advance the Vice-President to the Presi- dency when the chief in office went out ; but John C. Cal- houn, who had been Vice-President with Andrew Jackson from 1828 to 1832, quarreled with "Old Hickory," where- upon the latter made Martin Van Buren-his Secretary of State-his favorite. Jackson had no opposition for renom- ination for President, and, in order to get rid of Calhoun for Vice-President, he was instrumental in having this con- vention called at Baltimore to nominate a Vice-President. This was the first National Democratic convention, and it had its origin in a quarrel between the party leaders. Van Buren was known in the popular language of the day as " Little Matty Van."
In May, 1836, another Democratic Convention was held
59
UNITED STATES HISTORY.
at Baltimore, which was the first one at which a President was nominated by that party-Van Buren being successful, Jackson vacating the office. Van Buren was chosen by the unanimous vote, on the first ballot, of two hundred and sixty-five delegates, who represented twenty-one States, and Richard M. Johnson was nominated for Vice-President. A two-thirds rule was then probably for the first time adopted. In the same year the Whigs held a convention at Harris- burg, Pa., and nominated Harrison and Granger.
On November 13, 1839, the Abolitionists had become strong enough, or audacious enough, to hold their first convention, which was held at Warsaw, N. Y., and James Birney was nominated for President, and Frank J. Le Moyne for Vice- President. On December 4, 1839, the Whig National Con- vention met at Harrisburg, Pa., and nominated Harrison and Tyler. On May 5, 1840, the Democrats held a National Convention at Baltimore, and unanimously renominated Van Buren ; but he was defeated at the polls. No candidate at that time was named by the convention for the Vice-Presi- dency, the nomination for that office being left to the vari- ous States; but most of the party votes were again cast for Johnson. All the Democratic Conventions from that date were held at Baltimore, up to, and including that of, 1852.
On August 30, 1843, the " Liberty " party met at Buffalo, and nominated Birney and Morris. On May 1, 1844, the Whigs met at Baltimore, and nominated by acclamation .Harry Clay for President, with Frelinghuysen for Vice- President. May 27, 1844, at Baltimore, the Democrats held their convention, adopted the two-thirds rule, and, after a stormy three-days' contest, nominated Polk for President, and Dallas for Vice-President, and Polk was elected. A large majority of the delegates had been pledged to Van Buren; but General Cass, of Michigan, and a num- ber of Southerners stood in his way, and Van Buren failed to get the necessary two thirds. His name was withdrawn after eight ballots.
On May 12, 1848, the Democrats met in convention at Baltimore, where Cass was nominated on the fourth ballot for President, with William O. Butler for the second place. Van Buren was not a strong enough party man to relish this defeat, and he took revenge by starting the Free-Soil, Democratic-Barnburner ticket in New York State, which resulted in the election of General Taylor, the Whig candi- date. August 9, 1848, these Free-Soilers, at the instigation of Van Buren, held their convention at Buffalo, N. Y.,
60
UNITED STATES HISTORY.
nominating the ticket of Van Buren and Adams. Before that, June 7, 1848, at Philadelphia, the Whigs had nominated for President General Taylor, and for Vice-President Mill- ard Fillmore, which, owing to the disaffection among the Democrats, was the successful ticket.
On June 1, 1852, the Democrats nominated, at Baltimore, for President Franklin Pierce, and for Vice-President Will- iam R. King. Franklin Pierce had been the dark horse, and was not nominated until the forty-ninth ballot. The Whig Convention met at Baltimore, June 16, 1852, and nominated General Scott for President, after fifty-three ballots, and Graham for Vice-President. The election re- sulted in the choice of Pierce, and the final overthrow of the Whig party.
On February 22, 1856, the first convention was held at Philadelphia, and was known as the American National Convention. It nominated Fillmore and Donelson. June 2, 1856, the Democrats met in convention at Cincinnati for the first time, and nominated, after seventeen ballots, James Buchanan for President, and John C. Breckinridge for Vice- President by a unanimous vote. June 17, 1856, the Repub- lican party of our own day held its first National Conven- tion at Philadelphia, where Fremont and Dayton were nominated for President and Vice-President. The long resistance to the domination of the Slave-power resulted in the organization in 1854 of the Republican party. This Republican ticket of Fremont and Dayton carried every free State excepting New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Illinois, and California. In the Electoral College this ticket had one hundred and forty-four of the two hundred and ninety-five votes polled.
The events which followed the inauguration of Franklin Pierce in 1853 had indicated the probable speedy disruption of the Democratic party, and the pitting of the two sections of the country against each other. The Kansas troubles had resulted in a sort of border warfare, and the manifesta- tions of partisanship in Congress were very bitter and excit- ing. The Missouri Compromise had been swept away by the Kansas-Nebraska bill; and neither section seemed any longer to care to conceal its sentiments on the slavery question. The Democratic platform at Cincinnati, with Buchanan and Breckinridge for its head, fully committed the party to the doctrines of the Kansas-Nebraska bill. The result was a severe shock to the Democratic party. and the utter annihila- tion of the remnant of the Whig party. It was under such
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.