HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK "10. Resolved, That the national faith, pledged for the redemption of the public debt, must be kept inviolate, and that for this purpose we recommend economy and rigid responsibility in the public expenditures, and a vigorous and just system of taxation; and that it is the duty of every loyal State to sustain the credit and promote the use of the national currency. "11. Resolved, That we approve the position taken by the government, that the people of the United States can never regard with indifference the attempt of any European power to overthrow by force, or to supplant by fraud, the institutions of any republican government on the western continent; and that they will view with extreme jealousy, as menacing to the peace and independence of their own country, the efforts of any such power to obtain new footholds for monarchical governments, sustained by foreign military force, in near proximity to the United States." Radical Republicans Previously to the assembling of the regular Republican or National Union convention, there had been a development in the Republican party of opposition to the renomination of Lincoln. The malcontents took the name of Radical Republicans and held a national convention in Cleveland on May 21; chairman, John Cochrane, of New York. Nominations:-For President, John C. Fremont; for Vice-President, John Cochrane. On September 21 both candidates withdrew in favor of the regular Republican nominees, Lincoln and Johnson. Platform: "1. That the Federal Union shall be preserved. "2. That the Constitution and laws of the United States must be observed and obeyed. "3. That the rebellion must be suppressed by force of arms and without compromise. "4. That the rights of free speech, free press, and habeas corpus be held inviolate, save in districts where martial law has been proclaimed. "5. That the rebellion has destroyed slavery; and the Federal Constitution should be so amended as to prohibit its reëstablishment and to secure to all men absolute equality before the law. "6. That integrity and economy are demanded at all times in the administration of the government, and that in time of war the want of them is criminal. "7. That the right of asylum, except for crime and subject to law, is a recognized principle of American liberty; and that any violation of it cannot be overlooked and must not go unrebuked. "8. That the national policy known as the Monroe doctrine has become a recognized principle; and that the establishment of any anti-republican government on this continent by any foreign power cannot be tolerated. "9. That the gratitude and support of the nation are due to the faithful soldiers and the earnest leaders of the Union army and navy for their heroic achievements and deathless valor in defense of our imperiled country and civil liberty. "10. That the one-term policy for the Presidency adopted by the people is strengthened by the force of the existing crisis, and should be maintained by constitutional amendment. "11. That the Constitution should be so amended that the President and Vice-President shall be elected by a direct vote of the people. "12. That the question of the reconstruction of the rebellious States belongs to the people, through their representatives in Congress, and not to the Executive. "13. That the confiscation of the lands of the rebels and their distribution among the soldiers and actual settlers is a measure of justice." HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK Democratic Party Convention held in Chicago, August 29-31, 1864; temporary chairman, William Bigler, of Pennsylvania; permanent chairman, Horatio Seymour, of New York. The delegates admitted were restricted to the nonseceding States, all of which were represented except Nevada and West Virginia. George B. McClellan, of New Jersey, was nominated for President on the first ballot, which, after changes in his favor, stood: McClellan, 2022; Thomas H. Seymour, of Connecticut, 232. The Vice-Presidential nomination also was made on a single ballot. The roll-call resulted in 651⁄2 for James Guthrie, of Kentucky; 551⁄2 for George H. Pendleton, of Ohio; and complimentary votes for various others. As soon as the totals were announced the names of all but Pendleton were withdrawn, and he was then nominated unanimously. Platform: "Resolved, That in the future, as in the past, we will adhere with unswerving fidelity to the Union under the Constitution as the only solid foundation of our strength, security, and happiness as a people, and as a framework of government equally conducive to the welfare and prosperity of all the States, both northern and southern. "Resolved, That this convention does explicitly declare, as the sense of the American people, that after four years of failure to restore the Union by the experiment of war, during which, under the pretense of a military necessity or war power higher than the Constitution, the Constitution itself has been disregarded in every part, and public liberty and private right alike trodden down, and the material prosperity of the country essentially impaired-justice, humanity, liberty, and the public welfare demand that immediate efforts be made for a cessation of hostilities with a view to an ultimate convention of the States, or other peaceable means, to the end that, at the earliest practicable moment, peace may be restored on the basis of the Federal Union of the States. "Resolved, That the direct interference of the military authorities of the United States in the recent elections held in Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, and Delaware was a shameful violation of the Constitution; and a repetition of such acts in the approaching election will be held as revolutionary and resisted with all the means and power under our control. "Resolved, That the aim and object of the Democratic party is to preserve the Federal Union and the rights of the States unimpaired; and they hereby declare that they consider that the administrative usurpation of extraordinary and dangerous powers not granted by the Constitution-the subversion of the civil by military law in States not in insurrection; the arbitrary military arrest, imprisonment, trial, and sentence of American citizens in States where civil law exists in full force; the suppression of freedom of speech and of the press; the denial of the right of asylum; the open and avowed disregard of State rights; the employment of unusual test oaths; and the interference with the denial of the right of the people to bear arms in their defense is calculated to prevent a restoration of the Union and the perpetuation of a government deriving its just powers from the consent of the governed. "Resolved, That the shameful disregard of the administration to its duty in respect to our fellow-citizens who now are and long have been prisoners of war in a suffering condition, deserves the severest reprobation on the score alike of public policy and common humanity. "Resolved, That the sympathy of the Democratic party is heartily and earnestly extended to the soldiers of our army and sailors of our navy who are and have been in the field and on the sea under the flag of their country, and in the event of its attaining power they will receive all the care, protection, and regard that the brave soldiers and sailors of the republic have so nobly earned." HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK The Election States not voting:-Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia. Electoral vote for President and Vice-President: Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson, Republicans:-California, 5; Connecticut, 6; Illinois, 16; Indiana, 13; Iowa, 8; Kansas, 3; Maine, 7; Maryland, 7; Massachusetts, 12; Michigan, 8; Minnesota, 4; Missouri, 11; Nevada, 21; New Hampshire, 5; New York, 33; Ohio, 21; Oregon, 3; Pennsylvania, 26; Rhode Island, 4; Vermont, 5; West Virginia, 5; Wisconsin, 8. Total, 212. Elected. George B. McClellan and George H. Pendleton, Democrats:Delaware, 3; Kentucky, 11; New Jersey, 7. Total, 21. Popular vote: Lincoln, 2,216,067; McClellan, 1,808,725. 1Nevada chose three Electors, one of whom died before the meeting of the Electoral College. |