1860 Republican National Convention

United States presidential nominating convention November 2025 November 2025 1860 Republican Lincoln Oval.png 125 Hamlin Oval.png 125 NomineesLincoln and Hamlin May 16–18, 1860 The Wigwam Chicago, Illinois Abraham Lincoln Illinois Hannibal Hamlin Maine William H. Seward 1856 1864 The 1860 Republican National Convention was a presidential nominating convention that met May 16–18 in Chicago, Illinois. It was held to nominate the Republican Party's candidates for president and vice president in the 1860 election. The convention selected former representative Abraham Lincoln of Illinois for president and Senator Hannibal Hamlin of Maine for vice president. Entering the 1860 convention, Senator William H. Seward of New York was generally regarded as the front-runner, but Lincoln, Governor Salmon P. Chase of Ohio, former representative Edward Bates of Missouri, and Senator Simon Cameron of Pennsylvania all commanded support from a significant share of delegates. Seward led on the first ballot but fell short of a majority, while Lincoln finished in a strong second place. Cameron's delegates shifted to Lincoln on the second ballot, leaving Lincoln essentially tied with Seward. Lincoln clinched the nomination on the third ballot after consolidating support from more delegates who had backed candidates other than Seward. Hamlin was nominated on the second vice presidential ballot, defeating Cassius Clay of Kentucky and several other candidates. The ticket of Lincoln and Hamlin went on to win the 1860 general election. After taking office in 1861, Lincoln appointed all four of his major opponents to his cabinet: Seward for secretary of state, Chase for secretary of the treasury (and later for chief justice), Bates for attorney general, and Cameron for secretary of war. History Background thumb|right|320px|Wood-frame "Wigwam" building specially designed for the 1860 Republican Convention in Chicago By 1860 the dissolution of the Whig Party in America had become an accomplished fact, with establishment Whig politicians, former Free Soilers, and a certain number of anti-Catholic populists from the Know Nothing movement flocking to the banner of the fledgling anti-slavery Republican Party. While 1856 Republican presidential nominee John C. Frémont had met with failure, party gains were made throughout the Northern United States as the sectional crisis over slavery intensified. Horace Greeley, Ebenezer R. Hoar, and Edwin D. Morgan were interested in holding the 1860 convention in a border state.Abbott 1986 10 Party leaders sought to hold their 1860 nominating convention in the burgeoning Middle Western trade center of Chicago, then a city of some 110,000 people. The city had no sufficiently large meeting hall, so an appropriation was made for a temporary wood-frame assembly hallknown as the "Wigwam"to seat ten thousand delegates, guests, and observers.George O. Seilhamer, Leslie's History of the Republican Party: Vol. 1: Narrative and Critical History, 1856–1898. New York: L.A. Williams Publishing and Engraving Co., 1898; p. 55. The rapidly designed and constructed building proved well fit for the purpose, featuring excellent lines of sight and stellar acoustics, allowing even an ordinary speaker to be heard throughout the room.Seilhamer, Leslie's History of the Republican Party, vol. 1, p. 56. The Convention commanded the interest and attention of a multitude of curious citizens who crowded the "Wigwam" to the rafters. Delegations were seated by state and the gathering was virtually devoid of Southern participation, with no delegations attending from the slave states of North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Arkansas, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Florida.Proceedings of the Republican National Convention held at Chicago, May 16, 17 and 18, 1860 Albany, NY Weed, Parsons, and Company 1860 42 https://archive.org/details/proceedingsofrep00repuiala Delegation voting strength was loosely based upon the size of each state's congressional delegation, subject to some modification by the Credentials Committee, with the Northeastern delegations of New York (70), Pennsylvania (54), Massachusetts (26), and New Jersey (14) constituting the largest regional block, surpassing the Midwestern states of Ohio (46), Indiana (26), Illinois (22), and Iowa (8).Proceedings of the Republican National Convention held at Chicago, May 16, 17 and 18, 1860 Albany, NY Weed, Parsons, and Company 1860 69 https://archive.org/details/proceedingsofrep00repuiala Some 86 votes were apportioned to the six states of New England. Slave and border states with substantial delegations under the rules (but with small actual party organizations) included Kentucky (23), Virginia (23), and Missouri (18). The total of all credentialed delegate votes was 466.Proceedings of the Republican National Convention held at Chicago, May 16, 17 and 18, 1860 Albany, NY Weed, Parsons, and Company 1860 75 https://archive.org/details/proceedingsofrep00repuiala Daily affairs With the convention called to order on May 16, former U.S. Representative David Wilmot of Pennsylvania was elected temporary chairman of the gathering. He had been the author in 1848 of the Wilmot Proviso which would have banned slavery from new states incorporated into the Union. Upon his election, Wilmot delivered the keynote speech to the convention, in which he declared that: A great sectional and aristocratic party, or interest, has for years dominated with a high hand over the political affairs of this country. That interest has wrested, and is now wresting, all the great powers of this government to the one object of the extension and nationalization of slavery. It is our purpose, gentlemen, it is the mission of the Republican Party and the basis of its organization, to resist this policy of a sectional interest.... It is our purpose and our policy to resist these new constitutional dogmas that slavery exists by virtue of the constitution wherever the banner of the Union floats.David Wilmot in Proceedings of the Republican National Convention held at Chicago, May 16, 17 and 18, 1860 Albany, NY Weed, Parsons, and Company 1860 5 https://archive.org/details/proceedingsofrep00repuiala Organizational tasks filled the rest of the first day's activities, including the appointment of a Credentials Committee and a Resolutions Committee. There were no contested seats although a delegation purporting to represent the state of Texas was ruled ineligible by the Credentials Committee. A Platform Committee was also named, including one delegate from every state and territory in attendance. This committee began its work at once and completed its task with a report on the evening of the second day, May 17. Platform thumb|1860 Republican Platform The platform was drawn up by the Platform Committee chaired by Judge William Jessup of Pennsylvania. The reading of the platform was received with stormy applause and an immediate move followed to adopt the document unanimously and without amendments. US Representative Joshua Reed Giddings of Ohio proposed an amendment to insert the famous language from the Declaration of Independence that "All men are created equal; and they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights..." This amendment was initially rejected by the convention, prompting Giddings to walk out. The matter was hastily reconsidered by the convention, and with the addition of the amendment the disgruntled Mr. Giddings returned to his seat, crisis resolved. The 1860 Republican platform consisted of 17 declarations of principle, of which 10 dealt directly with the issues of "free soil", slavery, the Fugitive Slave Act, and the preservation of the Union, while the remaining 7 dealt with other issues. Clauses 12 through 16 of the platform called for a protective tariff, enactment of the Homestead Act, maintaining the current naturalization laws and full rights to all "native or naturalized" citizens, internal improvements, and the construction of a Pacific railroad.Republican Party National Platform, 1860 Reported from the Platform Committee by Judge Jessup of Pennsylvania and adopted unanimously by the Republican National Convention held at Chicago on May 17, 1860. Broadside printing by The Chicago Press & Tribune, May, 1860 In addition to the preservation of the Union, all five of these additional promises were enacted by the Thirty-seventh Congress and implemented by Abraham Lincoln or the presidents who immediately succeeded him. Presidential nomination Presidential candidates thumb|right|320px|Drawing of the Wigwam interior during the 1860 nominating convention. Note the second story gallery and curved ceiling structure to allow for better acoustics. The Republican National Convention met in mid-May 1860, after the Democrats had been forced to adjourn their convention in Charleston, South Carolina. With the Democrats in disarray and a sweep of the Northern states possible, the Republicans felt confident going into their convention in Chicago. William H. Seward from New York was considered the front-runner, followed Salmon P. Chase from Ohio, and Missouri's Edward Bates. Abraham Lincoln from Illinois, was lesser known, and was not considered to have a good chance against Seward. Seward had been governor and senator of New York, was from firm Whig backgrounds, and was a very able politician. Also running were John C. Frémont, William L. Dayton, Cassius M. Clay, and Benjamin Wade, who might be able to win if the convention deadlocked.Donald David Herbert Lincoln Simon & Schuster 1995 0684808463 New York 230–256 32589068 As the convention developed, however, it was revealed that frontrunners Seward, Chase, and Bates had each alienated factions of the Republican Party. Seward had been painted as a radical, and his speeches on slavery predicted inevitable conflict, which spooked moderate delegates. He also was firmly opposed to nativism, which further weakened his position. He had also been abandoned by his longtime friend and political ally Horace Greeley, publisher of the influential New-York Tribune. Chase, a former Democrat, had alienated many of the former Whigs by his coalition with the Democrats in the late 1840s. He had also opposed tariffs demanded by Pennsylvania, and even had opposition from his own delegation from Ohio.December 2020 However, Chase's firm antislavery stance made him popular with the radical Republicans. But what he had in policy he lacked in charisma and political acumen. Bates' candidacy was pushed by Francis Preston Blair and Francis Preston Blair Jr. despite Bates not being a member of the party. They had the Republican parties of Missouri and Maryland send delegations pledged to Bates. Greeley and Schuyler Colfax were interested in his candidacy, but he failed to receive a large amount of support from northern or border state delegates.Abbott 1986 14-16 The conservative Bates was an unlikely candidate. Bates outlined his positions on the extension of slavery into the territories and equal constitutional rights for all citizens, positions that alienated his supporters in the border states and Southern conservatives, while German Americans in the party opposed Bates because of his past association with the Know Nothings. Into this mix came Lincoln. Lincoln was not unknown; he had gained prominence in the Lincoln–Douglas debates, and had served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Illinois. He had been quietly eyeing a run since the Lincoln–Douglas debates in 1858, ensuring that the debates were widely published, and that a biography of himself was published. He gained great notability with his February 1860 Cooper Union speech, which may have ensured him the nomination. At that time he had not yet announced his intentions to run, but it was a superb speech. Delivered in Seward's home state, and attended by Greeley, Lincoln used the speech to show that the Republican party was a party of moderates, not crazed fanatics as the South and Democrats claimed. Afterwards, Lincoln was in much demand for speaking engagements.Holzer Harold https://archive.org/details/lincolnatcooperu00haro_0/page/1 Lincoln at Cooper Union: The Speech That Made Abraham Lincoln President 2006 0743299647 1 Simon & Schuster [H]ad he not triumphed before the sophisticated and demanding audience he faced at New York's Cooper Union on February 27, 1860, Lincoln would never have been nominated, much less elected, to the presidency that November. March 12, 2016 As the convention approached, Lincoln did not campaign very actively, as the "office was expected to seek the man". So it did at the Illinois state convention in downstate Decatur, a week before the national convention. Young politician Richard Oglesby had secretly found several fence rails from the Hanks-Lincoln farm that Lincoln may have split as a youngster, and paraded them into the convention with a banner that proclaimed Lincoln to be "The Rail Candidate" for president. Lincoln received a thunderous ovation, surpassing the expectations of him and his political allies.Donald David Herbert Lincoln Simon & Schuster 1995 0-684-80846-3 New York 230–256 32589068 Even with such support from his home state, Lincoln faced a difficult task if he was to win the nomination. He set about ensuring that he was the second choice of most delegates, realizing that the first round of voting at the convention was unlikely to produce a clear winner. He engineered that the convention would happen in Chicago, which would be inherently friendly to the Illinois-based Lincoln. He also made sure that the Illinois delegation would vote as a bloc for him. Lincoln did not attend the convention in person, and left the task of delegate wrangling to his friends Leonard Swett, Ward Hill Lamon, and David Davis. Lincoln's team even printed counterfeit convention tickets, which they handed out to his supporters.https://www.npr.org/2024/08/13/nx-s1-5036519/democrats-and-republicans-have-chosen-chicago-as-a-party-convention-site-since-1860 Democrats and Republicans have chosen Chicago as a party convention site since 1860 August 13, 2024 NPR Julian Hayda During the night of May 17–18, they worked frantically to win anti-Seward delegates for Lincoln. They showed that Lincoln already had the most support after Seward, which persuaded some. They also made a deal with Simon Cameron of Pennsylvania, who recognized that he had no chance of winning the nomination himself. Cameron controlled the Pennsylvania delegation, and he offered to trade his support for the promise of a cabinet position for himself and control of Federal patronage in Pennsylvania. Lincoln did not want to make any such deal; from Springfield, he telegraphed to Davis "I authorize no bargains and will be bound by none".The Complete Papers And Writings Of Abraham Lincoln https://books.google.com/books?id=wCozjDf2C9QC&pg=PT792 792 978-3849620103 Lincoln Abraham 2012 Jazzybee Verlag Despite this restriction, Davis reached an understanding with Cameron, which eventually led to Cameron's appointment as Secretary of War. The next day (May 18), when voting for the nomination began, Seward led on the first ballot with Lincoln a distant second. But on the second ballot, the Pennsylvania delegation switched to Lincoln, as well as some other delegates, putting him in a near-tie with Seward.Hamand Lavern Marshall Doctoral thesis Ward Hill Lamon: Lincoln's Particular Friend Graduate College of the University of Illinois 1949 https://books.google.com/books?id=AF_qJwAACAAJ Lincoln's combination of a moderate stance on slavery, long support for economic issues, his western origins, and strong oratory proved to be exactly what the delegates wanted in a president. On the third ballot on May 18, Lincoln secured the nomination overwhelmingly.Proceedings of the Republican national convention held at Chicago, May 16, 17 and 18, 1860 : Republican National Convention (2nd : 1860 : Chicago, Ill.) : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive https://archive.org/details/proceedingsofrep00repuiala 2020-12-28 Internet Archive 1860 en Senator Hannibal Hamlin from Maine was nominated for vice-president, defeating Cassius M. Clay. Hamlin was surprised by his nomination, saying he was "astonished" and that he "neither expected nor desired it."Foner The Fiery Trial 2011 W.W. Norton & Company 978-0393340662 140 Among other accounts, an article, entitled "The Four Votes", published in the May 19, 1860, edition of the Chicago Press and Tribune attests that after seeing how close Lincoln was to the 234 votes needed, Robert K. Enos, a member of the Ohio delegation, was responsible for getting three fellow Ohio delegates to announce after the close of the third ballot that they were shifting their four votes to Lincoln, giving him sufficient votes to win the nomination.Good Timothy S. Lincoln for President: An Underdog's Path to the 1860 Republican Nomination 2009 McFarland 978-0786453061 137 This triggered an avalanche towards Lincoln on the fourth ballot, with a final count of 350 votes for Lincoln out of 466 cast.http://archive.org/details/proceedingsofrep00repuiala Proceedings of the Republican national convention held at Chicago, May 16, 17 and 18, 1860 Ill ) Republican National Convention (2nd : 1860 : Chicago December 28, 1860 Albany : Weed, Parsons, and Company, printers Internet Archive Presidential BallotCandidate1st 2nd 3rd (Before Shifts) 3rd (After Shifts)Lincoln 102 181 231.5 350Seward 173.5 184.5 180 111.5Cameron 50.5 2 0 0Chase 49 42.5 24.5 2Bates 48 35 22 0Dayton 14 10 1 1McLean 12 8 5 0.5Collamer 10 0 0 0Wade 3 0 0 0Clay 02 1 1Frémont 1 0 0 0Read 1 0 0 0Sumner 1 0 0 0Not Represented152152152152Not Voting1110 Presidential Balloting / 3rd Day of Convention (May 18, 1860) Vice Presidential nomination Vice Presidential candidates Senator Hannibal Hamlin of Maine was nominated for vice president, defeating Cassius M. Clay of Kentucky. Vice Presidential BallotCandidate1st 2ndHamlin194367Clay100.586Hickman5713Reeder510Banks38.50Davis80Houston60Dayton30Read10Not Represented152152Not Voting70 Vice Presidential Balloting / 3rd Day of Convention (May 18, 1860) See also 1860 Democratic National Convention 1860 United States presidential election History of the United States Republican Party List of Republican National Conventions United States presidential nominating convention Wide Awakes Wigwam — Chicago venue for the 1860 convention. References 2 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 Further reading The Lincoln Miracle: Inside the Republican Convention That Changed History 2023 Edward Achorn Atlantic Monthly Press 978-0802160621 Casdorph Paul Douglas The Bogus Texas Delegation to the 1860 Republican National Convention Southwestern Historical Quarterly 65 4 1962 480–486 30237786 Curry Earl R. Pennsylvania and the Republican Convention of 1860: A Critique of McClure's Thesis Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography 97 2 1973 183–198 20090731 Ecelbarger Gary The Great Comeback: How Abraham Lincoln Beat the Odds to Win the 1860 Republican Nomination New York St. Martin's 2008 978-0312374136 https://books.google.com/books?id=KX5u9WExZmsC Egerton Douglas Year of Meteors: Stephen Douglas, Abraham Lincoln, and the Election That Brought on the Civil War New York Bloomsbury 2010 978-1596916197 Foner Eric Eric Foner Free Soil, Free Labor, Free Men: The Ideology of the Republican Party before the Civil War New York Oxford University Press 1970 0195013522 https://books.google.com/books?id=Wl38uYb85DgC Foner Eric Politics and Ideology in the Age of the Civil War New York Oxford University Press 1980 0195027817 https://archive.org/details/politicsideology00fone registration Grinspan Jon 'Young Men for War': The Wide Awakes and Lincoln's 1860 Presidential Campaign Journal of American History 96 2 2009 357–378 10.1093/jahist/96.2.357 25622297 Halsteadd Murat A history of the national political conventions of the current presidential campaign: being a complete record of the business of all the conventions; with sketches of distinguished men in attendance upon them, and descriptions of the most characteristic scenes and memorable events https://archive.org/details/cu31924032772406/page/n7/mode/2up Johnson Charles W. Proceedings of the First Three Republican National Conventions of 1856, 1860 and 1864: Including Proceedings of the Antecedent National Convention Held at Pittsburg in February, 1856, as Reported by Horace Greeley Minneapolis, MN Harrison and Smith, Printers 1893 https://archive.org/details/proceedingsoffir00repu Luthin Reinhard H. Reinhard H. Luthin Indiana and Lincoln's Rise to the Presidency Indiana Magazine of History 38 4 1942 385–405 27787334 Kellogg Amherst W. The Chicago Convention of 1860 https://archive.org/details/sim_wisconsin-magazine-of-history_1921-09_5_1/page/98 Wisconsin Magazine of History 5 1 1921 99–104 4630342 Roll Charles Indiana's Part in the Nomination of Abraham Lincoln for President in 1860 Indiana Magazine of History 25 1 1929 1–13 27786367 Shutes Milton H. Republican Nominating Convention of 1860: A California Report California Historical Society Quarterly 27 2 1948 97–103 10.2307/25156091 25156091 Temple Wayne C. Delegates to the Illinois State Republican Nominating Convention in 1860 Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society 92 3 1999 289–298 40193228 Van Deusen Glyndon G. Thurlow Weed's Analysis of William H. Seward's Defeat in the Republican Convention of 1860 Mississippi Valley Historical Review 34 1 1947 101–104 10.2307/1895998 1895998 Proceedings of the Republican National Convention held at Chicago, May 16, 17 and 18, 1860. Albany, NY: Weed, Parsons, and Company, 1860. External links 1856Philadelphia Republican National Conventions 1864Baltimore Republican Party Platform of 1860 at The American Presidency Project "Republican National Platform, 1860," Central Pacific Railroad Photographic History Museum, www.cprr.org/ —Digital image of printed campaign flyer. 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