1888 Democratic National Convention
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The 1888 Democratic National Convention was a
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 June 5 to 7, 1888, in the
St. Louis Exposition and Music Hall St. Louis Exposition and Music Hall was an indoor exposition hall, Music Hall and arena in St. Louis, Missouri from 1883 to 1907. Three national presidential nominating conventions were held in three separate buildings in or near the complex be ...
in
St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...
. It nominated 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 ...
for reelection and former Senator
Allen G. Thurman Allen Granberry Thurman (November 13, 1813 – December 12, 1895), sometimes erroneously spelled Allan Granberry Thurman, was a United States Democratic Party, Democratic United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative, Supre ...
of
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 ...
for vice president. St. Louis won the convention after a presentation in February 1888.


Proceedings

Stephen M. White served as temporary chairman and Patrick A. Collins served as the convention's permanent president.


Platform

The Democratic platform largely confined itself to a defense of the Cleveland administration, supporting reduction in the tariff and taxes generally as well as statehood for the western territories.


Presidential nomination


Presidential candidates

Image:StephenGroverCleveland.png, President Cleveland was renominated by acclamation. An event few could directly remember, as the last time a Democrat was renominated was 48 years earlier, in
1840 Events January–March * January 3 – One of the predecessor papers of the ''Herald Sun'' of Melbourne, Australia, ''The Port Phillip Herald'', is founded. * January 10 – Uniform Penny Post is introduced in the United Kingdom. * Janua ...
. Presidents
Franklin Pierce Franklin Pierce (November 23, 1804October 8, 1869) was the 14th president of the United States, serving from 1853 to 1857. He was a northern Democrat who believed that the abolitionist movement was a fundamental threat to the nation's unity ...
and
Andrew Johnson Andrew Johnson (December 29, 1808July 31, 1875) was the 17th president of the United States, serving from 1865 to 1869. He assumed the presidency as he was vice president at the time of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Johnson was a Dem ...
lost the nomination in
1852 Events January–March * January 14 – President Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte proclaims a new constitution for the French Second Republic. * January 15 – Nine men representing various Jewish charitable organizations come tog ...
and
1868 Events January–March * January 2 – British Expedition to Abyssinia: Robert Napier leads an expedition to free captive British officials and missionaries. * January 3 – The 15-year-old Mutsuhito, Emperor Meiji of Jap ...
respectively, and Presidents
James K. Polk James Knox Polk (November 2, 1795 – June 15, 1849) was the 11th president of the United States, serving from 1845 to 1849. He previously was the 13th speaker of the House of Representatives (1835–1839) and ninth governor of Tennessee (183 ...
and
James Buchanan James Buchanan Jr. ( ; April 23, 1791June 1, 1868) was an American lawyer, diplomat and politician who served as the 15th president of the United States from 1857 to 1861. He previously served as secretary of state from 1845 to 1849 and repr ...
refused to run for a second term.


Vice Presidential nomination


Vice Presidential candidates

Image:AllenGThurman.png, Former Senator
Allen G. Thurman Allen Granberry Thurman (November 13, 1813 – December 12, 1895), sometimes erroneously spelled Allan Granberry Thurman, was a United States Democratic Party, Democratic United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative, Supre ...
of
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 ...
File:IsaacPGray.png,
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 ...
Isaac P. Gray of
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 ...
File:John c black-illinois-1902.png, U.S. Commissioner of Pensions
John C. Black John Charles Black (January 27, 1839 – August 17, 1915) was a Democratic U.S. Congressman from Illinois. He received the Medal of Honor for his actions as a Union Army lieutenant colonel and regimental commander at the Battle of Prairie Grove ...
of
Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...
After Cleveland was re-nominated, Democrats had to choose a replacement for
Thomas A. Hendricks Thomas Andrews Hendricks (September 7, 1819November 25, 1885) was an American politician and lawyer from Indiana who served as the 16th governor of Indiana from 1873 to 1877 and the 21st vice president of the United States from March until his ...
, who had died in office on November 25, 1885. Hendricks had run unsuccessfully as the Democratic nominee for vice-president in
1876 Events January–March * January 1 ** The Reichsbank opens in Berlin. ** The Bass Brewery Red Triangle becomes the world's first registered trademark symbol. * February 2 – The National League of Professional Base Ball Clubs i ...
, but had won the office when he ran again with Cleveland in
1884 Events January–March * January 4 – The Fabian Society is founded in London. * January 5 – Gilbert and Sullivan's ''Princess Ida'' premières at the Savoy Theatre, London. * January 18 – Dr. William Price atte ...
. Three names were placed in nomination:
Allen G. Thurman Allen Granberry Thurman (November 13, 1813 – December 12, 1895), sometimes erroneously spelled Allan Granberry Thurman, was a United States Democratic Party, Democratic United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative, Supre ...
, Isaac P. Gray, and
John C. Black John Charles Black (January 27, 1839 – August 17, 1915) was a Democratic U.S. Congressman from Illinois. He received the Medal of Honor for his actions as a Union Army lieutenant colonel and regimental commander at the Battle of Prairie Grove ...
. Former Senator Thurman of Ohio was nominated for vice-president over Indiana Governor Gray, his nearest rival, and John C. Black, who trailed behind. Gray lost the nomination to Thurman primarily because his enemies brought up his actions while a Republican.Jacob Piatt Dunn, George William Harrison Kemper, ''Indiana and Indianans'' (p. 724).
File:1888DemocraticVicePresidentialNomination1stBallot.png,


See also

*
History of the United States Democratic Party The Democratic Party is one of the two major political parties of the United States political system and the oldest existing political party in that country founded in the 1830s and 1840s. It is also the oldest voter-based political party in t ...
*
Grover Cleveland 1888 presidential campaign President of the United States Grover Cleveland's first term (1885-1889) was most notable "for its record number of vetoes (414), more than double the number issued by all his predecessors combined." During Cleveland's first term, controlling Co ...
*
1888 United States presidential election The 1888 United States presidential election was the 26th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 6, 1888. Republican nominee Benjamin Harrison, a former Senator from Indiana, defeated incumbent Democratic President Grover C ...
*
U.S. presidential nomination 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 ...
*
List of Democratic National Conventions This is a list of Democratic National Conventions. These conventions are the presidential nominating conventions of the Democratic Party of the United States. List of Democratic National Conventions * Conventions whose nominees won the subseq ...
*
1888 Republican National Convention The 1888 Republican National Convention was a presidential nominating convention held at the Auditorium Building in Chicago, Illinois, on June 19–25, 1888. It resulted in the nomination of former Senator Benjamin Harrison of Indiana for preside ...


References


Further reading

* Nevins, Allan. ''Grover Cleveland: A Study in Courage'' (1932
online


Primary sources

* Chester, Edward W ''A guide to political platforms'' (1977) pp 115–12
online


External links


Democratic Party Platform of 1888
at ''The American Presidency Project'' *
Official Proceedings of the National Democratic Convention, Held in St. Louis, Mo., June 5th, 6th and 7th, 1888
' {{Authority control 1888 United States presidential election 1888 in Missouri 19th century in St. Louis Conventions in St. Louis Political conventions in Missouri Missouri Democratic Party Democratic National Conventions 1888 conferences June 1888 events