CharlesTon,S.G.
democrat\o Convention, I860
Deadlock at Charleston - - -1860
The only national convention ever held in South Carolina couldn't agree
on candidate or platform and broke up after 58 futile roll calls
By Kathleen Leu is
PXACTLY AT 12 o'clock noon
£j on April 23, I860, in the
prrmanent chairman, the dele
in
Institute
Carolina
siuth
Charleston, Judce Snialley of
Vermont, chairman of the Na
tional Democratic committee,
banged his gavel! The Quadren
nial Convpntion of the Demo
cratic party was under WHY!
mission to read the communica
tion. It was then too late: the
Wood faction, which the letter
denied
had hren
supported,
seats, alone with pplit factions
from Illinois and two other
states.
In. his address. th*> honorable
Mr. dishing- referred, to the
Democratic party as "the great
party of the Union, whise proud
mission it is to maintain public
liberties, reconcile popular free
dom with constituted order; to
maintain the sacred reserved.
rights of the sovereign states
and to stand as perpetual senti
nel*; on Ihe outposts of the con
stitution."
Wednesday. April 25. the con
vention hall was bnchtenpd by
the ladies who came bringing
bouquets, but even that was not
pnouch to rheer the delecatps
whosfe ideas ucre becoming as
far apart as the poles. The vis
itors, too, already tired from
long trips, some as far away as
Oregon, were occupying every
nook and corner nf the city's
overtaxed facilities, sleeping in
closets, on mantelpieces, on ta
bles and under them.
First order of business to the
then smoothly-running convention
was the election by acclamation
of Francis B. Flournoy of Arkan
sas as president pro temporp.
followed hy that of William F.
Ritchie of Virginia as temporary
secretaryThat, however, was the last bit
of harmony achieved hy tho
Democrats who realized that
th« business of politics was. a
very practical affair and who
warted one of their own in Ihp
presidential srat. S.yi.nnn.noo a
year in patronage was cause lor
big concern!
Scarcely had the president pro
lem and secretary taken their
teats before the first convention
floor ficht developed. This one
arose over a poim of order whr n
I Mr. Fishrr frnm Virginia
sought to have the chair read a
communication.
That opened the fireworks o{
i the convention, in which dc|p; gates arose- from various points
to move that hp was "out of
order"; "no business could be
taken care of except that relating
to the organi/an'on of the con
vention"; "that the delegations
ttt polled", and so on. Kven
| though Mr. Fisher Jiad t_he floor,
others claimed they had it. an
argument which drew supporters
for "both sides", causing the
chairman apparently to become
confused, first giving permission
that it be read and then that it
be denied,
At this point one delegate
moved that a man not be allowed
I to speak over once and that his
I »ppf»ch be limited to 15 minutes.
after the
I Some days later
I Committees on Credentials and
I Organization bad met and after
I the Hon. Caleb dishing of Massa-
gate from Virginia received per
Under those conditions, it was
plain to see that tempers misht
flare, and it was probably a very
good thing that only half of the
expected 15,000 guests turned up.
Charleston then was populated by
55,000 to 63,000 people and its
corporate limits were thrpp milps
by two miles square tat its wid
est point).
At the end of seven days, still
no platform had been adopted,
The hptrerogcnous groups could
mt asrpp. hut finally the c^nventinn voted to accept the platform
thnt had been proposed by a
"minority group."
This was distasteful to the
Pnutherner^, whose chinf objec
tion was the plank whirh stated
that thr Supreme Court h;td tho
power to rule on the question of
constitutional law. Also, they bnlir-vpd that it was an oprn viola
tion of the constitution for the
governors of some states to re-
Sketches are from the file* nf Harper's Illustrated
Weekly In the McKlssIck Library.
fuse to deliver up fugitives from
justice; and that the centraliza
tion of power was too great in
The now familiar refrain
"we'll walk out" resounded
throneh convention hall. Ala
bama led the way. Others were
Arkansas, Florida, Georgia.
Texas, I/iuistana, Mississippi, and
South Carolina.
The three issues facing them
then might be compared to Ihree
present -day issues; 1 1 ) I'Kiirpa,tK>n of power by the Supreme
Court; (2). States' Rights; Ol
The Slavery Q'lPstion (then);
sr^rrgalmn or integration ' to
day*.
The "Speed* rs" nr "hot heads"
or "bolters", as thry were term
ed, withdrew tn fnrm Ihrir own
organization, electing John C.
Trcston of South Carolina chair
man. Chonsinq to remain from
the S. C. delegation were a Mr.
Perry and Colonel Boozrr.
Although the stated purpose ot
heved in the "Anti-squatter sn\preicnty platform" to send delrgntcie.
Abniit the only twn matters r-n
which the stormy IRfiO conven
tion did a^rre we re- thrsp; th^t
const nirt inn should begin soon
on a railroad from the Mississippi
river to the Pacific coast to link
thp east and the west; and th;.t
the Island of. Cuba should be ac
quired at a price "honorable 'o
ourselves and to Spain."
COLUMBIA, S. C., SI MMV Al M >V 12.
thp 1WV) convention, like others,
had been to "place in nomination
candidates for offices of presi
dent and vice president of the
United States", no "favorite son''
could garner the majority (202)
votes needed.
Douglas, who had arrived in
Charleston as the strongest canrtirlafp, revived 145'a on the first
MIot and 57 hnlloN later had
pirked up only seven more. His
nearest rival, fJuthrip of Ken
tucky, who polled 36'i on the
first ballot, tallied 65(i on the
5Rth.
Breckinridge, favorite Southern
candidate, who was vice presi
dent of the United States under
Buchanan, was not even in the
running. Jefferson Davis, later
to become president of the Con
federacy, received one.
The last 2ft ballots presenting
nn essential chance, Mr. Russell
of Virginia moved that the con
vention adjourn, tn meet nt R--il
timore June ]8. Following a hn» [
address by dishing, the drh
gales broke up May 3. The hullcrs adjourned shortly thrrenftfr,
to mpft in Richmond June 11
Delegate! to the 1860 Democratic convention
cruemb/eo' in Institute Hall, Charleston. Gallery on
right wos reserved /or women, the only p/oce in
which they appeared, os there were no national
committeewomen in those days. Left balcony was
occupied by OYtrifow membtrx of press, includ~
ing foreign correspondent and other visitors.
State: