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 president and Levi P. Morton of New York, a former Representative and Minister to France, for vice president. During the convention, Frederick Douglass was invited to speak and became the first African-American to have his name put forward for a presidential nomination in a major party's roll call vote; he received one vote from Kentucky on the fourth ballot.

1888 Republican National Convention

1888 presidential election
Nominees Harrison and Morton
Convention
Date(s)	June 19–25, 1888
City	Chicago, Illinois
Venue	Auditorium Theatre
Chair	Morris M. Estee
Candidates
Presidential nominee	Benjamin Harrison of Indiana
Vice-presidential nominee	Levi P. Morton of New York
Other candidates	John Sherman Russell A. Alger Walter Q. Gresham
Voting
Total delegates	832
Votes needed for nomination	417
Results (president)	Harrison (IN): 544 (65.38%) Sherman (OH): 118 (14.18%) Alger (MI): 100 (12.02%) Gresham (IN): 59 (7.09%) Blaine (ME): 5 (0.60%) McKinley (OH): 4 (0.48%) Others: 1 (0.12%)
Results (vice president)	Morton (NY): 592 (71.15%) Phelps (NJ): 119 (14.3%) Bradley (KY): 103 (12.38%) Bruce (MS): 11 (1.32%) Abstaining: 6 (0.72%) Walter S. Thomas: 1 (0.12%)
Ballots	8
‹ 1884 · 1892 ›

The ticket won in the election of 1888, defeating President Grover Cleveland and former Senator Allen G. Thurman from Ohio.

Venue

The convention was held in Chicago's Auditorium Theatre. 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.^[1] Controversy was generated, with labor movement supporters taking issue with the non trade union labor utilized in the construction of the Auditorium Building (which the theater is a component of).^[2]

Issues addressed

Illustration of the convention

Illustration of the convention

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.^[3]

Presidential nomination

Nominated

• 
  Former U.S. Senator
  Benjamin Harrison
  of Indiana
• 
  U.S. Senator
  John Sherman
  of Ohio
• 
  Former Governor
  Russell A. Alger
  of Michigan
• 
  Former Secretary of the Treasury
  Walter Q. Gresham
  of Indiana
• 
  U.S. Senator
  William B. Allison
  of Iowa
  (Withdrew after 7th Ballot)
• 
  NYC RR President
  Chauncey Depew
  of New York
  (Withdrew after 3rd Ballot)
• 
  Governor
  Jeremiah M. Rusk
  of Wisconsin
  (Withdrew after 3rd Ballot)
• 
  Mayor
  Edwin Henry Fitler
  of Pennsylvania
  (Withdrew after 1st Ballot)
• 
  Senator
  Joseph R. Hawley
  from Connecticut
  (Withdrew after 1st Ballot)

Not Nominated

• 
  Former Secretary of State
  James G. Blaine
  of Maine
  (Declined to Contest)
  (Recommended Harrison)
• 
  U.S. Senator
  John J. Ingalls
  of Kansas
• 
  Representative
  William Walter Phelps
  of New Jersey
• 
  Representative
  William McKinley
  of Ohio
  (Endorsed John Sherman)
• 
  Suffragist
  Frederick Douglass
  of Washington, D.C.

The early favorite for the nomination was James G. Blaine.^[4] After he disclaimed interest, several candidates vied for the prize, with the frontrunners being Russell A. Alger, Walter Q. Gresham, Chauncey Depew, and John Sherman.^[4] After several ballots, none of the leading candidates was able to obtain a majority. Benjamin Harrison, 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.^[4][5] 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."^[5] Harrison won the nomination on the eighth ballot and "Rejuvenated Republicanism" became the party's campaign slogan.^[5]

Presidential Balloting
Candidate	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th
Harrison	85	91	94	216	212	231	279	544
Sherman	229	249	244	235	224	244	230	118
Alger	84	116	122	135	143	137	120	100
Gresham	107	108	123	98	87	91	91	59
Allison	72	75	88	88	99	73	76	0
Depew	99	99	91	0	0	0	0	0
Blaine	35	33	35	42	48	40	15	5
Ingalls	28	16	0	0	0	0	0	0
Phelps	25	18	5	0	0	0	0	0
Rusk	25	20	16	0	0	0	0	0
Fitler	24	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
McKinley	2	3	8	11	14	12	16	4
Hawley	13	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Lincoln	3	2	2	1	0	0	2	0
Miller	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	0
Douglass	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0
Foraker	0	0	0	1	0	1	1	0
Grant	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0
Creed Haymond	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
Blank	1	2	2	4	5	2	1	2

Presidential Balloting / 4th Day of Convention (June 22, 1888)

• 
  1st Presidential Ballot
• 
  2nd Presidential Ballot
• 
  3rd Presidential Ballot

Presidential Balloting / 5th Day of Convention (June 23, 1888)

• 
  4th Presidential Ballot
• 
  5th Presidential Ballot

Presidential Balloting / 6th Day of Convention (June 25, 1888)

• 
  6th Presidential Ballot
• 
  7th Presidential Ballot
• 
  8th Presidential Ballot

Vice presidential nomination

Vice presidential candidates

• 
  Former Minister
  Levi P. Morton
  of New York
• 
  Representative
  William W. Phelps
  of New Jersey
• 
  Gubernatorial Candidate
  William O. Bradley
  of Kentucky

Blaine, who had recommended Harrison for the presidential nomination, suggested former Representative and Minister to Austria-Hungary William Walter Phelps of New Jersey for vice president. Thomas C. Platt, an influential political boss in New York State, supported fellow New Yorker Levi P. Morton, a former Representative and Minister to France. He had been asked in 1880, but declined.^[6] This time Morton decided to accept.^[4] 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.^[4]

Vice Presidential Ballot
Candidate	1st
Morton	592
Phelps	119
Bradley	103
Bruce	11
Thomas	1
Not Voting	6

Vice Presidential Balloting / 6th Day of Convention (June 25, 1888)

• 
  1st
  Vice Presidential Ballot

Accusation of delegate vote-buying

Illustration of the convention

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 [votes], 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.^[7]

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.^[8]

See also

• History of the United States Republican Party
• List of Republican National Conventions
• United States presidential nominating convention
• 1888 United States presidential election
• 1888 Democratic National Convention

References

1. Brewer, Carole Kuhrt (May 27, 2014). "Auditorium Theatre Chicago: 25 Things You Should Know About "The Eighth Wonder of the World"". Chicago Now. Archived from the original on May 30, 2014. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
2. "A PARTY BOYCOTT FEARED.; THE AUDITORIUM AND THE REPUBLICAN CONVENTION". The New York Times. 23 April 1888. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
3. Official Proceedings of the Republican National Convention Held at Chicago, June 19, 20, 21, 22, 23 and 25, 1888 Archived 2008-08-29 at the Wayback Machine
4. Girard, Jolyon P. (2019). Presidents and Presidencies in American History. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO. pp. 700–701. ISBN 978-1-4408-6591-6.
5. Spetter, Allan B. (2019). "Benjamin Harrison: Campaigns and Elections". U.S. Presidents. Charlottesville, VA: Miller Center, University of Virginia. Retrieved June 9, 2020.
6. Historian of the U.S. Senate. "Levi Parsons Morton, 22nd Vice President (1889-1893)". Senate.gov. Washington, DC: United States Senate. Retrieved June 9, 2020.
7. Alger Answers Sherman; Denial that Southern Delegates Sold Their Votes. The Senators Charges Refuted In an Autograph Letter He Practically Withdrew His Charge of Unfairness -- Gen. Sherman Not Opposed to the Purchase of Votes.
8. Sherman to Alger.

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 the University of Chicago Special Collections Research Center

Preceded by 1884 Chicago

Republican National Conventions

Succeeded by 1892 Minneapolis