1866 National Union Convention

Political conventions in Philadelphia thumb|Meeting of the National Union Convention at Philadelphia, August 14, 1866—Sketched by C. H. Wells (Harper's Weekly, September 1, 1866) The National Union Convention (also known as the Arm-In-Arm Convention) was held on August 14–16, 1866, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.McKitrick 1960 394–420 Convention The convention was called in Philadelphia before the midterm elections of 1866, in an attempt to encourage political support for US President Andrew Johnson, who was under attack by both moderate and Radical Republicans. Johnson's friends tried to rally support for his lenient pro-South Reconstruction policies. Some hoped to create a new political party, but that goal was not realized.Wagstaff 1968 For their part, Republican-aligned newspapers called it the Rebel–Johnson convention, insinuating Johnson's true loyalty was to the Confederacy.1866-08-29 Johnson argues post-Civil War Congress is unrepresentative 2 The Franklin Repository https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-franklin-repository-custerjohnson-a/128651130/ Newspapers.com 2023-07-22 2023-07-22 https://web.archive.org/web/20230722033322/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-franklin-repository-custerjohnson-a/128651130/ live Delegates gathered at a hastily built temporary structure that was designed to accommodate the several thousand people expected to attend. Formally called "the Wigwam," the immense edifice was on Girard Avenue, between 19th and 20th Streets, across from Philadelphia's Girard College.Wagstaff 1968 About 7000 prominent politicians and activists attended the convention. At its opening, representatives from Massachusetts (General Darius Nash Couch) and South Carolina (Governor James Lawrence Orr) paraded arm-in-arm to symbolize national reconciliation and social equity. The convention was called to order by US Postmaster General Alexander Randall. General (and former New York Governor and Senator) John Adams Dix served as the temporary chairman and Wisconsin Senator James R. Doolittle served as permanent convention president. In the end, the convention was not successful in unifying the country behind Johnson. He launched a speaking tour (known as the "Swing Around the Circle") hoping to regain public and political support. On the speaking tour, Johnson at times attacked his Republican opponents with crude and abusive language and on several occasions appeared to have had too much to drink. Ultimately, the tour was a disaster for Johnson and emboldened Congress to override him and to impeach him in 1868.Wagstaff 1968 Aftermath In an effort to counter the National Union Convention's support for Johnson, a group of Southern Radical Republicans who opposed Johnson's Reconstruction policy organized the Southern Loyalists' Convention, which was held on September 3, 1866 in Philadelphia's Independence Hall.The Tribune Tracts. — No. 2: The Southern Loyalists' Convention https://www.loc.gov/item/06008177/ Library of Congress New York Tribune 7 June 2026Abbott 1986 66 The September convention voted on a resolution supporting black suffrage. Governor Arthur I. Boreman argued against it as "we did not come here to commit suicide" and that passing the resolution would have them "damned to all eternity". Frederick Douglass, attending the convention despite pleas from Oliver P. Morton, was one of two black delegates to the convention and argued for passing the resolution.Abbott 1986 66-71 On September 7, delegates to the Southern Loyalists' Convention voted to pass a resolution endorsing universal male suffrage.Image 2 of Urbana union (Urbana, Ohio), September 12, 1866 https://www.loc.gov/item/sn85026309/1866-09-12/ed-1/ Library of Congress Urbana Union 7 June 2026Gallman J. Matthew America's Joan of Arc: The Life of Anna E. Dickinson 2006 Oxford University Press 82–83 Notable attendees Notable attendees of the National Union Convention include: Augustus C. Baldwin, U.S. Representative from Michigan John Minor Botts, U.S. Representative from Virginia Augustus Brandegee, U.S. Representative from Connecticut George Briggs, U.S. Representative from New York Ralph P. Buckland, U.S. Representative from Ohio Darius Couch, U.S. Army General John Covode, U.S. Representative from Pennsylvania Edgar Cowan, U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania James A. Cravens, U.S. Representative from Indiana William Earl Dodge, U.S. Representative from New York James Rood Doolittle, U.S. Senator from Wisconsin William McKee Dunn, U.S. Representative from Indiana Joseph Barton Elam, U.S. Representative from Louisiana James Edward English, U.S. Representative and U.S. Senator from Connecticut Nathan A. Farwell, U.S. Senator from Maine Thomas W. Ferry, U.S. Representative and U.S. Senator from Michigan Horace Greeley, publisher and U.S. Representative from New York William S. Groesbeck, state legislator from Ohio Andrew Jackson Hamilton, U.S. Representative from Texas Aaron Harding, U.S. Representative from Kentucky James Harlan, U.S. Senator from Iowa James K. Holland, state legislator from Texas Samuel Hooper, U.S. Representative from Massachusetts George S. Houston, U.S. Representative from Alabama Jacob Merritt Howard, U.S. Senator from Michigan Reverdy Johnson, U.S. Senator from Maryland William Lawrence, U.S. Representative from Ohio John Wesley Longyear, U.S. Representative from Michigan Samuel S. Marshall, U.S. Representative from Illinois Horace Maynard, U.S. Representative from Tennessee Robert Mallory, U.S. Representative from Kentucky Thomas Amos Rogers Nelson, U.S. Representative from Tennessee Richard Oglesby, Governor of Illinois James Lawrence Orr, Governor of South Carolina Halbert E. Paine, U.S. Representative from Wisconsin George Hunt Pendleton, U.S. Senator from Ohio Cyrus L. Pershing, jurist and later candidate for Governor of Pennsylvania Thomas G. Pratt, Governor and U.S. Senator from Maryland Henry Jarvis Raymond, U.S. Representative from New York James S. Rollins, U.S. Representative from Missouri Robert Cumming Schenck, U.S. Representative from Ohio James Speed, U.S. Attorney General John Dodson Stiles, U.S. Representative from Pennsylvania Byron Gray Stout, U.S. Representative from Michigan John L.N. Stratton, U.S. Representative from New Jersey Lorenzo D.M. Sweat, U.S. Representative from Maine William Barrett Washburn, U.S. Representative from Massachusetts Peter Godwin Van Winkle, U.S. Senator from West Virginia Fernando Wood, copperhead Mayor of New York City Clement Vallandigham, a copperhead from Ohio, was elected to the convention but withdrew to avoid disturbing the harmony of the convention. thumb|right|Thomas Nast's rendition of news reports about the convention See also National Union Party (United States) 1864 National Union National Convention References Works cited Abbott Richard The Republican Party and the South, 1855–1877: The First Southern Strategy University of North Carolina Press 1986 https://archive.org/details/republicanparty00abbo 0807816809 McKitrick Eric Andrew Johnson and Reconstruction 1960 394–420 60005467 1476846 University of Chicago Press The Arm-in-Arm Convention 1968 10.1353/cwh.1968.0036 Wagstaff Thomas Civil War History 14 2 101–119 144301855 Further reading The proceedings of the National union convention, held at Philadelphia, August 14, 1866 at Internet Archive. primary sources External links Address to President, by Hon. Reverdy Johnson, Aug. 18, 1866, communicating proceedings National Union Convention entered into the record of Johnson's impeachment trial. collapsed Category:1866 conferences Category:1866 in American politics Category:1866 in Pennsylvania Category:19th century in Philadelphia Category:19th-century political conferences Category:August 1866 in the United States Category:United States presidential nominating conventions in Philadelphia Category:Reconstruction era