1876 Republican National Convention

The 1876 Republican National Convention was a presidential nominating convention held at the Exposition Hall in Cincinnati, Ohio on June 14–16, 1876. President Ulysses S. Grant had considered seeking a third term, but with various scandals, a poor economy and heavy Democratic gains in the House of Representatives that led many Republicans to repudiate him, he declined to run.[1][2] The convention resulted in the nomination of Governor Rutherford B. Hayes of Ohio for president and Representative William A. Wheeler of New York for vice president.

1876 Republican National Convention
1876 presidential election
Nominees
Hayes and Wheeler
Convention
Date(s)June 14–16, 1876
CityCincinnati, Ohio
VenueExposition Hall
Candidates
Presidential nomineeRutherford B. Hayes of Ohio
Vice presidential nomineeWilliam A. Wheeler of New York
Other candidatesJames G. Blaine
Benjamin H. Bristow

Overview
Interior of the Exposition Hall of Cincinnati during the announcement of Rutherford B. Hayes as the party's nominee for president

The convention was called to order by Republican National Committee chairman Edwin D. Morgan. Theodore M. Pomeroy served as the convention's temporary chairman and Edward McPherson served as permanent president.

The principal candidates at the convention included Senator James G. Blaine of Maine, the former Speaker of the House; Senator Oliver P. Morton of Indiana; Secretary of the Treasury Benjamin H. Bristow of Kentucky; Senator Roscoe Conkling of New York; Governor Rutherford B. Hayes of Ohio; and Governor John F. Hartranft of Pennsylvania. James Russell Lowell, well-known poet and a professor at Harvard College, spoke on behalf of Hayes.[3] Three candidates, including Secretary Benjamin Bristow, Postmaster General Marshall Jewell of Connecticut, and Secretary of State Elihu B. Washburne of Illinois were former Cabinet members of President Ulysses S. Grant.

Blaine led after the first ballot, but had only 285 of the 378 delegates required to secure the nomination. Morton, Bristow, and Conkling each had around 100 delegates, while Hayes and Hartranft each had around 60. The second, third, and fourth ballots saw similar results, but Hayes began to surge on the fifth ballot, passing Morton and Conkling to secure third place after Blaine and Bristow. The sixth ballot saw Blaine rise to 308, but, with the other candidates fading, Hayes continued his surge, moving into second place. After the sixth ballot, the Bristow, Conkling, Morton, and Hartranft supporters withdrew their candidates' names from consideration, leaving Hayes as the sole focus of opposition to Blaine. With the other candidates gone, Hayes won a narrow majority on the seventh ballot and secured the nomination.

The Convention then went on to choose a vice presidential nominee. Representative William A. Wheeler of New York won a majority on the first ballot, defeating Marshall Jewell, Stewart L. Woodford of New York, Joseph R. Hawley of Connecticut, and Frederick T. Frelinghuysen of New Jersey.

The Republican ticket of Hayes and Wheeler went on to lose the popular vote to Democrats Samuel J. Tilden and Thomas A. Hendricks in the election of 1876, but won the electoral vote after a controversy which was resolved by the Compromise of 1877.

Presidential Ballot
Ballot1st2nd3rd4th5th6th7th
Rutherford B. Hayes 61 64 67 68 104 113 384
James G. Blaine 285 296 293 292 286 308 351
Benjamin H. Bristow 113 114 121 126 114 111 21
Oliver P. Morton 124 120 113 108 95 85 0
Roscoe Conkling 99 93 90 84 82 81 0
John F. Hartranft 58 63 68 71 69 50 0
Elihu B. Washburne 0 1 1 3 3 4 0
William A. Wheeler 3 3 2 2 2 2 0
Marshall Jewell 11 0 0 0 0 0 0
Not Voting 2 2 1 2 1 2 0
Vice Presidential Ballot [4]
Ballot1st Partial
William A. Wheeler 366
Frederick T. Frelinghuysen 89
Marshall Jewell 86
Stewart L. Woodford 70
Joseph R. Hawley 25

See also

References
  1. McFeely, William S. (1981). Grant: A Biography. Norton. pp. 440–441. ISBN 0-393-01372-3.
  2. Patrick, Rembert W. (1968). The Reconstruction of the Nation. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 255. ISBN 0-195-01016-7.
  3. Heymann, C. David (1980). American Aristocracy: The Lives and Times of James Russell, Amy, and Robert Lowell. New York: Dodd, Mead & Company. p. 136. ISBN 0-396-07608-4.
  4. Republican party. National convention. 6th, Cincinnati; Clancy, A. M.; Nelson, William (10 April 1876). "Proceedings of the Republican national convention, held at Cincinnati, Ohio ... June 14, 15, and 16, 1876 ." Concord, N.H., Republic press association. Retrieved 10 April 2018 – via Internet Archive.
Preceded by
1872
Philadelphia		 Republican National Conventions Succeeded by
1880
Chicago
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