USA > New York > History of the state of New York, political and governmental, Vol. VI > Part 16
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sale corruption; and has been justly impeached for high crimes and misdemeanors and properly pronounced guilty thereof by the votes of thirty-five Senators.
"9. The doctrine of Great Britain and other European powers, that because a man is once a subject he is always so, must be resisted at every hazard by the United States as a relic of the feudal times not authorized by the law of nations and at war with our national honor and independence. Naturalized citizens are entitled to pro- tection in all their rights of citizenship as though they were native- born; and no citizen of the United States, native or naturalized, must be liable to arrest and imprisonment by any foreign power for acts done or words spoken in this country; and, if so arrested and impris- oned, it is the duty of the government to interfere in his behalf.
"10. Of all who were faithful in the trials of the late war there were none entitled to more especial honor than the brave soldiers and seamen who endured the hardships of campaign and cruise and imperiled their lives in the service of the country; the bounties and pensions provided by the laws for these brave defenders of the nation are obligations never to be forgotten. The widows and orphans of the gallant dead are wards of the people-a sacred legacy bequeathed to the nation's protecting care.
"11. Foreign immigration, which in the past has added so much to the wealth, development of resources, and increase of power of this nation-the asylum of the oppressed of all nations-should be fostered and encouraged by a liberal and just policy.
"12. This convention declares its sympathy with all oppressed people struggling for their rights.
"13. That we highly commend the spirit of magnanimity and forgiveness with which the men who have served in the rebellion, but now frankly and honestly cooperate with us in restoring the peace of the country and reconstructing the southern State govern- ments upon the basis of impartial justice and equal rights, are received back into the communion of the loyal people; and we favor the removal of the disqualifications and restrictions imposed upon the late rebels in the same measure as the spirit of disloyalty will die out, and as may be consistent with the safety of the loyal people.
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"14. That we recognize the great principles laid down in the immortal Declaration of Independence as the true foundation of democratic government; and we hail with gladness every effort toward making these principles a living reality on every inch of American soil."
Democratic Party
Convention held in New York, July 4-9, 1868; tem- porary chairman, Henry L. Palmer, of Wisconsin ; per- manent chairman, Horatio Seymour, of New York. There was some discussion about the two-thirds rule, which was retained.
Twenty-two ballots were taken for President. The leading candidate at the beginning was George H. Pendleton, of Ohio, who received 105 on the first bal- lot and made gains until, on the eighth, he had 1561/2; his vote then declined, falling to 561/2 on the eighteenth, and on the nineteenth his name was withdrawn. Pen- dleton's chief competitor on the first ballot was Presi- dent Andrew Johnson, with 65 votes; but the support given Johnson was mostly complimentary and soon became negligible. Two other candidates, Winfield S. Hancock, of Pennsylvania, and Thomas A. Hen- dricks, of Indiana, developed considerable strength as the balloting progressed. But no one who had been voted for from the start received at any time a major- ity. On the fourth ballot 9 votes were cast for Hora- tio Seymour, the chairman of the convention. He em- phatically protested against the introduction of his name and was not again voted for until the twenty- second ballot was being taken, when Ohio led a stam- pede to him and he was nominated unanimously.
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Francis P. Blair, Jr., of Missouri, was nominated for Vice-President by unanimous vote.
Platform :
"The Democratic party, in national convention assembled, repos- ing its trust in the intelligence, patriotism, and discriminating jus- tice of the people, standing upon the Constitution as the foundation and limitation of the powers of the government and the guarantee of the liberties of the citizen; and recognizing the questions of slavery and secession as having been settled for all time to come by the war, or the voluntary action of the southern States in Constitutional con- ventions assembled, and never to be renewed or reagitated, does, with the return of peace, demand :-
"1. Immediate restoration of all the States to their rights in the Union under the Constitution, and of civil government to the American people.
"2. Amnesty for all past political offenses, and the regulation of the elective franchise in the States by their citizens.
"3. Payment of the public debt of the United States as rapidly as practicable : all moneys drawn from the people by taxation, except so much as is requisite for the necessities of the government, economi- cally administered, being honestly applied to such payment; and where the obligations of the government do not expressly state upon their face, or the law under which they were issued does not pro- vide, that they shall be paid in coin, they ought, in right and in jus- tice, to be paid in the lawful money of the United States.
"4. Equal taxation of every species of property according to its real value, including government bonds and other public securities.
"5. One currency for the government and the people, the laborer and the office-holder, the pensioner and the soldier, the producer and the bondholder.
"6. Economy in the administration of the government; the re- duction of the standing army and navy; the abolition of the Freed- man's Bureau and all political instrumentalities designed to secure negro supremacy; simplification of the system and discontinuance of inquisitorial modes of assessing and collecting internal revenue, so
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that the burden of taxation may be equalized and lessened, the credit of the government increased, and the currency made good ; the repeal of all enactments for enrolling the State militia into national forces in time of peace; and a tariff for revenue upon foreign imports such as will afford incidental protection to domestic manufactures, and as will, without impairing the revenue, impose the least burden upon, and best promote and encourage, the great industrial interests of the country.
"7. Reform of abuses in administration; the expulsion of cor- rupt men from office; the abrogation of useless offices; the restora- tion of rightful authority to, and the independence of, the execu- tive and judicial departments of the government; the subordination of the military to the civil power, to the end that the usurpations of Congress and the despotism of the sword may cease.
"8. Equal rights and protection for naturalized and native-born citizens at home and abroad; the assertion of American nationality which shall command the respect of foreign powers and furnish an example and encouragement to people struggling for national integ- rity, constitutional liberty, and individual rights; and the mainte- nance of the rights of naturalized citizens against the absolute doc- trine of immutable allegiance and the claims of foreign powers to punish them for alleged crimes committed beyond their jurisdiction.
"In demanding these measures and reforms we arraign the Radi- cal party for its disregard of right and the unparalleled oppression and tyranny which have marked its career. After the most solemn unanimous pledge of both houses of Congress to prosecute the war exclusively for the maintenance of the government and the preserva- tion of the Union under the Constitution, it has repeatedly violated that most sacred pledge under which alone was rallied that noble volunteer army which carried our flag to victory. Instead of restor- ing the Union, it has, so far as in its power, dissolved it, and sub- jected ten States, in time of profound peace, to military despotism and negro supremacy. It has nullified there the right of trial by jury; it has abolished the habeas corpus, that most sacred writ of liberty; it has overthrown the freedom of speech and the press; it has substituted arbitrary seizures and arrests, and military trials
MILLARD FILLMORE
Millard Fillmore, 13th president; born at Locke, Cayuga county, N. Y., January 7, 1800; lawyer; member of state legis- lature from Erie county, 1829-31; of congress, 1833-35 and 1837-43 ; defeated for governor of New York, 1844; state comp- troller, 1847; elected vice president with Zachary Taylor, 1848; became president upon death of President Taylor and served from July 9, 1850 to March 5, 1853; defeated for reelection in 1852, and as National American candidate in 1856; died in Buffalo, N. Y., March 8, 1874.
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and secret star-chamber inquisitions, for the constitutional tribunals ; it has disregarded, in time of peace, the right of the people to be free from searches and seizures; it has entered the post and tele- graph offices, and even the private rooms of individuals, and seized their private papers and letters without any specific charge or notice of affidavit, as required by the organic law; it has converted the American Capitol into a bastile; it has established a system of spies and official espionage to which no constitutional monarchy of Europe would now dare to resort; it has abolished the right of appeal, on important constitutional questions, to the supreme judicial tribunal and threatens to curtail or destroy its original jurisdiction, which is irrevocably vested by the Constitution; while the learned Chief- Justice has been subjected to the most atrocious calumnies, merely because he would not prostitute his high office to the support of the false and partisan charges preferred against the President. Its cor- ruption and extravagance have exceeded anything known in history, and by its frauds and monopolies it has nearly doubled the burden of the debt created by the war. It has stripped the President of his constitutional power of appointment, even of his own cabinet. Under its repeated assaults the pillars of the government are rocking on their base, and should it succeed in November next, and inaugurate its President, we will meet as a subject and conquered people amid the ruins of liberty and the scattered fragments of the Constitution. .
"And we do declare and resolve that ever since the people of the United States threw off all subjection to the British crown, the privilege and trust of suffrage have belonged to the several States, and have been granted, regulated, and controlled exclusively by the political power of each State respectively, and that any attempt by Congress, on any pretext whatever, to deprive any State of this right, or interfere with its exercise, is a flagrant usurpation of power which can find no warrant in the Constitution, and, if sanctioned by the people, will subvert our form of government and can only end in a single, centralized, and consolidated government, in which the separate existence of the States will be entirely absorbed and an unqualified despotism be established in place of a Federal Union of coequal States.
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"And that we regard the Reconstruction acts (so-called) of Con- gress, as such an usurpation and unconstitutional, revolutionary, and void.
"That our soldiers and sailors who carried the flag of our coun- try to victory against a most gallant and determined foe must ever be gratefully remembered, and all the guarantees given in their favor must be faithfully carried into execution.
"That the public lands should be distributed as widely as possi- ble among the people, and should be disposed of either under the pre- emption or homestead laws, or sold in reasonable quantities, and to none but actual occupants, at the minimum price established by the government. When grants of the public lands may be deemed necessary for the encouragement of important public improvements, the proceeds of the sale of such lands, and not the lands themselves, should be so applied.
"That the President of the United States, Andrew Johnson, in exercising the power of his high office in resisting the aggressions of Congress upon the constitutional rights of the States and the people, is entitled to the gratitude of the whole American people; and in behalf of the Democratic party we tender him our thanks for his patriotic efforts in that regard.
"Upon this platform the Democratic party appeals to every patriot, including all the conservative element and all who desire to support the Constitution and restore the Union, forgetting all past differ- ences of opinion, to unite with us in the present great struggle for the liberties of the people; and that to all such, to whatever party they may have heretofore belonged, we extend the right hand of fellow- ship, and hail all such cooperating with us as friends and brethren.
"Resolved, That this convention sympathize cordially with the workingmen of the United States in their efforts to protect the rights and promote the interests of the laboring classes of the country.
"Resolved, That the thanks of the convention are tendered to Chief-Justice Salmon P. Chase for the justice, dignity, and impar- tiality with which he presided over the Court of Impeachment in the trial of President Andrew Johnson."
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The Election
Mississippi, Texas, and Virginia were still unrecon- structed and did not vote.
Electoral vote for President and Vice-President :
Ulysses S. Grant and Schuyler Colfax, Republicans :- Alabama, 8; Arkansas, 5; California, 5; Connecticut, 6; Florida, 3; Illinois, 16; Indiana, 13; Iowa, 8; Kansas, 3; Maine, 7; Massachusetts, 12; Michigan, 8; Minnesota, 4; Missouri, 11; Nebraska, 3; Nevada, 3; New Hampshire, 5; North Carolina, 9; Ohio, 21; Pennsylvania, 26; Rhode Island, 4; South Carolina, 6; Tennessee, 10; Vermont, 5; West Virginia, 5; Wisconsin, 8. Total, 214. Elected.
Horatio Seymour and Francis P. Blair, Jr., Democrats :- Dela- ware, 3; Georgia, 9; Kentucky, 11; Louisiana, 7; Maryland, 7; New Jersey, 7; New York, 33; Oregon, 3. Total, 80.
Popular vote :
Grant, 3,015,068; Seymour, 2,709,633.
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1872
Republican Party
Convention held in Philadelphia, June 5-6, 1872; temporary chairman, Morton McMichael, of Penn- sylvania; permanent chairman, Thomas Settle, of North Carolina.
By unanimous vote President Grant was renomi- nated.
For Vice-President Henry Wilson received the nomi- nation on the first ballot, having 39912 votes to 3081/2 for Schuyler Colfax and 44 for four others.
Platform :
"The Republican party of the United States, assembled in national convention in the city of Philadelphia on the 5th and 6th days of June, 1872, again declares its faith, appeals to its history, and an- nounces its position upon the questions before the country.
"1. During eleven years of supremacy it has accepted with grand courage the solemn duties of the time. It suppressed a gigantic rebellion, emancipated four millions of slaves, decreed the equal citizenship of all, and established universal suffrage. Exhibiting unparalleled magnanimity, it criminally punished no man for politi- cal offenses, and warmly welcomed all who proved loyalty by obey- ing the laws and dealing justly with their neighbors. It has steadily decreased with a firm hand the resultant disorders of a great war, and initiated a wise and humane policy toward the Indians. The Pacific Railroad and similar vast enterprises have been generously aided and successfully conducted, the public lands freely given to actual set-
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tlers, immigration protected and encouraged, and a full acknowledg- ment of the naturalized citizen's rights secured from European pow- ers. A uniform national currency has been provided, repudiation frowned down, the national credit sustained under the most extra- ordinary burdens, and new bonds negotiated at lower rates. The revenues have been carefully collected and honestly applied. Despite annual large reductions in the rates of taxation, the public debt has been reduced during General Grant's Presidency at the rate of a hun- dred millions a year, great financial crises have been avoided, and peace and plenty prevail throughout the land. Menacing foreign difficulties have been peacefully and honorably composed, and the honor and power of the nation kept in high respect throughout the world. This glorious record of the past is the party's best pledge for the future. We believe the people will not entrust the govern- ment to any party or combination of men composed chiefly of those who have resisted every step of this beneficent progress.
"2. The recent amendments to the national Constitution should be cordially sustained because they are right, not merely tolerated because they are laws, and should be carried out according to their spirit by appropriate legislation, the enforcement of which can safely be entrusted only to the party that secured those amendments.
"3. Complete liberty and exact equality in the enjoyment of all civil, political, and public rights should be established and effectually maintained throughout the Union, by efficient and appropriate State and Federal legislation. Neither the law nor its administration should admit any discrimination in respect of citizens by reason of race, creed, color, or previous condition of servitude.
"4. The national government should seek to maintain honorable peace with all nations, protecting its citizens everywhere and sympa- thizing with all people who strive for greater liberty.
"5. Any system of the civil service under which the subordinate positions of the government are considered rewards for mere party zeal is fatally demoralizing, and we therefore favor a reform of the system by laws which shall abolish the evils of patronage and make honesty, efficiency, and fidelity the essential qualifications for public positions, without practically creating a life tenure of office.
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"6. We are opposed to further grants of the public lands to cor- porations and monopolies, and demand that the national domain be set apart for free homes for the people.
"7. The annual revenue, after paying current expenditures, pensions, and the interest on the public debt, should furnish a moder- ate balance for the reduction of the principal, and that revenue, except so much as may be derived from a tax on tobacco and liquors, should be raised by duties upon importations, the details of which should be so adjusted as to aid in securing remunerative wages to labor and promote the industries, prosperity, and growth of the whole country.
"8. We hold in undying honor the soldiers and sailors whose valor saved the Union. Their pensions are a sacred debt of the nation, and the widows and orphans of those who died for their country are entitled to the care of a generous and grateful people. We favor such additional legislation as will extend the bounty of the government to all our soldiers and sailors who are honorably dis- charged, and who in the line of duty became disabled, without regard to the length of service or the cause of such discharge.
"9. The doctrine of Great Britain and other European powers concerning allegiance-'Once a subject always a subject'-having at last, through the efforts of the Republican party, been abandoned, and the American idea of the individual's right to transfer allegiance having been accepted by European nations, it is the duty of our gov- ernment to guard with jealous care the rights of adopted citizens against the assumption of unauthorized claims by their former gov- ernments; and we urge continued careful encouragement and pro- tection of voluntary immigration.
"10. The franking privilege ought to be abolished and the way prepared for a speedy reduction in the rates of postage.
"11. Among the questions which press for attention is that which concerns the relations of capital and labor, and the Republican party recognizes the duty of so shaping legislation as to secure full protection and the amplest field for capital, and for labor-the creator of capital-the largest opportunities and a just share of the mutual profits of these two great servants of civilization.
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"12. We hold that Congress and the President have only ful- filled an imperative duty in their measures for the suppression of violent and treasonable organizations in certain lately rebellious regions, and for the protection of the ballot-box; and therefore they are entitled to the thanks of the nation.
"13. We denounce repudiation of the public debt, in any form or disguise, as a national crime. We witness with pride the reduc- tion of the principal of the debt and of the rates of interest upon the balance, and confidently expect that our excellent national cur- rency will be perfected by a speedy resumption of specie payment.
"14. The Republican party is mindful of its obligations to the loyal women of America for their noble devotion to the cause of freedom. Their admission to wider fields of usefulness is viewed with satisfaction; and the honest demand of any class of citizens for additional rights should be treated with respectful consideration.
"15. We heartily approve the action of Congress in extending amnesty to those lately in rebellion, and rejoice in the growth of peace and fraternal feeling throughout the land.
"16. The Republican party proposes to respect the rights re- served by the people to themselves as carefully as the powers dele- gated by them to the State and to the Federal governments. It disapproves of the resort to unconstitutional laws for the purpose of removing evils by interference with rights not surrendered by the people to either the State or national government.
"17. It is the duty of the general government to adopt such measures as may tend to encourage and restore American commerce and shipbuilding.
"18. We believe that the modest patriotism, the earnest pur- pose, the sound judgment, the practical wisdom, the incorruptible integrity, and the illustrious services of Ulysses S. Grant have com- mended him to the heart of the American people, and with him at our head we start to-day upon a new march to victory.
"19. Henry Wilson, nominated for the Vice-Presidency, known to the whole land from the early days of the great struggle for liberty as an indefatigable laborer in all campaigns, an incorruptible legisla- tor, and representative man of American institutions, is worthy to
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associate with our great leader and share the honors which we pledge our best efforts to bestow upon them."
Liberal Republicans1
The Liberal Republican movement was organized in opposition to the Grant administration and to the con- tinuance of certain policies of the regular Republican organization. A national mass-convention met in Cin- cinnati on May 1-3, 1872, and was organized on the basis of representation for the States proportioned to their Electoral votes. Temporary chairman, Stanley Matthews, of Ohio; permanent chairman, Carl Schurz, of Missouri.
Six ballots were taken for President. First ballot: -Charles Francis Adams, of Massachusetts, 205; Horace Greeley, of New York, 147; Lyman Trumbull, of Illinois, 110; B. Gratz Brown, of Missouri, 95; David Davis, of Illinois, 9212 ; Andrew G. Curtin, of Pennsylvania, 62; Salmon P. Chase, of Ohio, 21/2. Greeley was nominated on the sixth ballot, after changes, by 482 votes out of the total 714, his leading competitor, Adams, receiving 187.
B. Gratz Brown, of Missouri, was nominated for Vice-President on the second ballot.
Platform :
"We, the Liberal Republicans of the United States, in national convention assembled at Cincinnati, proclaim the following princi- ples as essential to just government :
1Our authority for the transactions of the national convention of this party is Proceedings of the Liberal Republican Convention. New York, Baker & Goodwin, Printers; 1872.
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"1. We recognize the equality of all men before the law, and hold that it is the duty of government, in its dealings with the people, to mete out equal and exact justice to all, of whatever nativity, race, color, or persuasion, religious or political.
"2. We pledge ourselves to maintain the Union of these States, emancipation, and enfranchisement, and to oppose any reopening of the questions settled by the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth amendments to the Constitution.
"3. We demand the immediate and absolute removal of all disabilities imposed on account of the rebellion, which was finally subdued seven years ago, believing that universal amnesty will result in complete pacification in all sections of the country.
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