The 1888 Republican National Convention was a

presidential nominating convention A United States presidential nominating convention is a political convention held every four years in the United States by most of the political parties who will be fielding nominees in the upcoming U.S. presidential election. The formal purpo ...

held at the

Auditorium Building The Auditorium Building in Chicago is one of the best-known designs of Louis Sullivan and Dankmar Adler. Completed in 1889, the building is located at the northwest corner of South Michigan Avenue and Ida B. Wells Drive. The building was des ...

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, on June 19–25, 1888. It resulted in the nomination of former Senator

Benjamin Harrison Benjamin Harrison (August 20, 1833March 13, 1901) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 23rd president of the United States from 1889 to 1893. He was a member of the Harrison family of Virginia–a grandson of the ninth pr ...

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

for

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

and Levi P. Morton of New York, a former

Representative Representative may refer to: Politics * Representative democracy, type of democracy in which elected officials represent a group of people * House of Representatives, legislative body in various countries or sub-national entities * Legislator, som ...

and Minister to France, for

vice president A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on ...

. During the convention,

Frederick Douglass Frederick Douglass (born Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey, February 1817 or 1818 – February 20, 1895) was an American social reformer, abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman. After escaping from slavery in Maryland, he became ...

was invited to speak and became the first African-American to have his name put forward for a presidential nomination in a

major party A major party is a political party that holds substantial influence in a country's politics, standing in contrast to a minor party. According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary: Major parties hold a significant percentage of the vote in elect ...

's roll call vote; he received one vote from

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...

on the fourth ballot. The ticket won in the election of 1888, defeating President

Grover Cleveland Stephen Grover Cleveland (March 18, 1837June 24, 1908) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 22nd and 24th president of the United States from 1885 to 1889 and from 1893 to 1897. Cleveland is the only president in American ...

and former Senator Allen G. Thurman from Ohio.

Venue

The convention was held in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Auditorium Theatre The Auditorium Theatre is a music and performance venue located inside the Auditorium Building at 50 Ida B. Wells Drive in Chicago, Illinois. Inspired by the Richardsonian Romanesque Style of architect Henry Hobson Richardson, the building was ...

. Since the construction on the theater had not been completed in time for the convention, a tent canvas was utilized as a temporary roof during the convention. Controversy was generated, with labor movement supporters taking issue with the non

trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ...

labor utilized in the construction of the

(which the theater is a component of).

Issues addressed

Issues addressed in the convention included support for protective tariffs, repeal of taxes on tobacco, support for the use of gold and silver as currency and support for pensions for veterans. The party also expressed its opposition to polygamy.

Presidential nomination

Nominated

Image:BHarrison.jpg, Former U.S. Senator

Image:JohnSherman.png, U.S. Senator

John Sherman John Sherman (May 10, 1823October 22, 1900) was an American politician from Ohio throughout the Civil War and into the late nineteenth century. A member of the Republican Party, he served in both houses of the U.S. Congress. He also served as ...

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

Image:Russell Alexander Alger by by The Detroit Publishing Co..jpg, Former

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Russell A. Alger
of

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

Image:Walter Q. Gresham - Brady-Handy.jpg, Former

Secretary of the Treasury The United States secretary of the treasury is the head of the United States Department of the Treasury, and is the chief financial officer of the federal government of the United States. The secretary of the treasury serves as the principal a ...

Walter Q. Gresham
of

Image:William Boyd Allison.jpg, U.S. Senator

William B. Allison William Boyd Allison (March 2, 1829 – August 4, 1908) was an American politician. An early leader of the Iowa Republican Party, he represented northeastern Iowa in the United States House of Representatives before representing his state in th ...

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to th ...

''(Withdrew after 7th Ballot)'' Image:YoungerDepew.jpg, NYC RR President

Chauncey Depew Chauncey Mitchell Depew (April 23, 1834April 5, 1928) was an American attorney, businessman, and Republican politician. He is best remembered for his two terms as United States Senator from New York and for his work for Cornelius Vanderbilt, as ...

of New York
''(Withdrew after 3rd Ballot)'' Image:Jeremiah McLain Rusk - Brady-Handy.jpg,

Jeremiah M. Rusk
of

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

''(Withdrew after 3rd Ballot)'' Image:Edwin H. Fitler (Philadelphia Mayor).jpg,

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

Edwin Henry Fitler Edwin Henry Fitler (December 2, 1825 – May 31, 1896) was an American businessman and politician from Pennsylvania. He founded Edwin H. Fitler & Company, the largest cordage manufacturer in the United States at the time, and served as a Rep ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

''(Withdrew after 1st Ballot)'' File:Joseph Roswell Hawley - Brady-Handy.jpg, Senator

Joseph R. Hawley Joseph Roswell Hawley (October 31, 1826March 18, 1905) was the 42nd Governor of Connecticut, a U.S. politician in the Republican and Free Soil parties, a Civil War general, and a journalist and newspaper editor. He served two terms in the U ...

from

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...

''(Withdrew after 1st Ballot)''

Not Nominated

Image:JamesGBlaine.png, Former
Secretary of State
James G. Blaine
of

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and ...

''(Declined to Contest)''
''(Recommended Harrison)'' Image:John James Ingalls - Brady-Handy.jpg, U.S. Senator
John J. Ingalls
of

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to th ...

Image:William Walter Phelps - Brady-Handy.jpg,

William Walter Phelps William Walter Phelps (August 24, 1839 – June 17, 1894) was a United States Congressman and diplomat who served as United States Ambassador to Germany and Austria-Hungary. He was the son of John Jay Phelps, a successful New York City ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

Image:Mckin.jpg,

William McKinley William McKinley (January 29, 1843September 14, 1901) was the 25th president of the United States, serving from 1897 until his assassination in 1901. As a politician he led a realignment that made his Republican Party largely dominant in ...

''(Endorsed John Sherman)'' Image:Frederick Douglass (circa 1879).jpg,

Suffragist Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise, is the right to vote in public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally in English, the right to v ...

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

The early favorite for the nomination was James G. Blaine. After he disclaimed interest, several candidates vied for the prize, with the frontrunners being Russell A. Alger, Walter Q. Gresham,

, and

. After several ballots, none of the leading candidates was able to obtain a majority.

, who had served in the U.S. Senate from 1881 to 1887, but had lost reelection after the Democrats gained control of the Indiana legislature, was a dark horse candidate. Republicans were dispirited after losing the presidency in 1884 and were attracted to Harrison because of the speech announcing his presidential candidacy, in which he described himself as a "living and rejuvenated Republican." Harrison won the nomination on the eighth ballot and "Rejuvenated Republicanism" became the party's campaign slogan. File:1888RepublicanPresidentialNomination1stBallot.png, 1st Presidential Ballot File:1888RepublicanPresidentialNomination2ndBallot.png, 2nd Presidential Ballot File:1888RepublicanPresidentialNomination3rdBallot.png, 3rd Presidential Ballot File:1888RepublicanPresidentialNomination4thBallot.png, 4th Presidential Ballot

Vice Presidential nomination

Blaine, who had recommended Harrison for the presidential nomination, suggested former Representative and Minister to Austria-Hungary

of New Jersey for vice president. Thomas C. Platt, an influential

political boss In politics, a boss is a person who controls a faction or local branch of a political party. They do not necessarily hold public office themselves; most historical bosses did not, at least during the times of their greatest influence. Numerous of ...

New York State New York, officially the State of New York, is a state in the Northeastern United States. It is often called New York State to distinguish it from its largest city, New York City. With a total area of , New York is the 27th-largest U.S. stat ...

, supported fellow New Yorker Levi P. Morton, a former Representative and Minister to France. He had been asked in 1880, but declined. This time Morton decided to accept. He was easily elected on the first ballot as Platt's support of Morton helped him defeat Phelps by a margin of five to one.

Accusation of delegate vote-buying

1888 Republican National Convention in session in the Auditorium Building Chicago Ill (cropped)

Nearly a decade later, Ohio candidate John Sherman accused Michigan candidate millionaire Russell A. Alger of buying the votes of Southern delegates who had already confirmed their vote for Sherman. In Sherman's 1895 two-volume book "Recollections" he asserted, "I believe, and had, as I thought, conclusive proof, that the friends of Gen. Alger substantially purchased the votes of many of the delegates from the Southern States who had been instructed by their conventions to vote for me." Once accused, Alger submitted correspondence to the ''New York Times'', who published one letter from 1888, written after the convention to Alger, where Sherman states, "if you bought some otes according to universal usage, surely I don't blame you." Later in the same New York Times article, Alger insisted neither he or friends bought a single vote. The article also quotes another delegate, James Lewis, who claimed that "the colored delegates of the South will unite on a Union soldier in preference" instead of a civilian. When Sherman introduced his antitrust legislation two years later, his main example of unlawful combination drew from a Michigan Supreme Court case involving Diamond Match Company and Alger's participation as president and stock holder.Sherman to Alger.
/ref>

References

External links

Republican Party platform of 1888
at ''The American Presidency Project''
Harrison acceptance letter
at ''The American Presidency Project''
Guide to the Republican National Convention Collection 1884-1888
at th
University of Chicago Special Collections Research Center
{{Authority control Republican National Conventions Political conventions in Chicago 1888 United States presidential election 1888 in Illinois 1888 conferences June 1888 events