1900 Republican National Convention

The 1900 National Convention of the Republican Party of the United States was held June 19 to June 21 in the Exposition Auditorium, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Exposition Auditorium was located south of the University of Pennsylvania, and the later Convention Hall was constructed along the building's east wall. It was demolished in 2006.

1900 Republican National Convention
1900 presidential election
Nominees
McKinley and Roosevelt
Convention
Date(s)June 19–21, 1900
CityPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania
VenueConvention Hall
ChairHenry Cabot Lodge
Candidates
Presidential nomineeWilliam McKinley of Ohio
Vice presidential nomineeTheodore Roosevelt of New York
Voting
Total delegates926
Votes needed for nomination464
Results (president)McKinley (OH): 926 (100%)
Results (vice president)Roosevelt (NY): 925 (99.9%)
Abstaining: 1 (0.1%)
Ballots1
1900 Republican Convention

Each state was allotted two delegates per electoral vote, and territories were granted from two to six delegates. Altogether, there were 926 delegates and an equal number of alternates.

Mark Hanna opened the convention. He proposed that Senator Edward O. Wolcott of Colorado serve as temporary chairman. The purpose of Wolcott's selection was to show that the party had overcome its divisiveness of 1896, in which the Colorado delegation had walked out of the Republican convention. Senator Henry Cabot Lodge of Massachusetts served as the convention's permanent chairman.

President William McKinley was unanimously nominated for reelection: no candidate ran against him, although Admiral George Dewey considered a run.

Governor Theodore Roosevelt of New York, who was himself a delegate, was nominated for vice president by a vote of 925 to zero, his vote alone abstaining.

State delegates

The 1900 Republican National Convention included a historic first for the Republican Party: Jennie L. McCargar Jones of Salt Lake City, Utah, and Susan Henderson West of Lewiston, Idaho, served as alternate delegates.[1][2][3]

Speakers

The 1900 convention had fewer speakers than a modern convention typically has due to lack of TV and even radio at this time. There were however the following speakers:

June 19

June 20

June 21

Balloting: President McKinley was nominated unanimously. This was the first time this happened since President Grant was nominated in 1872.

  • John W. Yerkes, IRS Commissioner from Kentucky
  • George A. Knight, Attorney and Businessman from California
  • James A. Mount, Governor of Indiana

Wanting to get rid of him, Boss Platt, convinced New York governor Theodore Roosevelt, hero of the hour, to allow himself to be nominated for Vice President.

  • Lafayette Young, Newspaper reporter from Iowa, Roosevelt nominating speech
  • M.J. Murray, local politician from Massachusetts, Roosevelt seconding speech
  • General James M. Ashton, lawyer and soldier from Washington, Roosevelt seconding speech

Balloting: Governor Roosevelt was nominated for Vice President, though he abstained from voting on his own nomination.

Vice Presidential nomination

Vice President Garret Hobart had announced in September 1899 that he would not seek re-election due to declining health. In the event, he died in office on November 21, 1899, leaving the party the task of choosing a running mate for McKinley.

Entering the convention, many had expected that the ticket would consist of President McKinley and New York Governor Theodore Roosevelt.[4] However, Ohio Senator Mark Hanna maneuvered to keep Roosevelt off the ballot, instead proposing Navy Secretary John D. Long of Massachusetts or Iowa Representative Jonathan P. Dolliver.[4] Without the support of McKinley, Hanna's efforts fell short.[5] Roosevelt himself did not particularly want to abandon his position of governor, but he desired to run for president in 1904 and when the party nominated him, he accepted the position.[5] Roosevelt's nomination was spearheaded by bosses Matthew Quay of Pennsylvania and Thomas C. Platt of New York, the latter of whom wished to find a different job for the reformist Roosevelt.[5]

Platform

The Republican party supported the current administration's actions in the Philippines, while the Democratic party promoted "anti-imperialism".

See also

References
  1. Freeman, Jo (2000). A Room at a Time: How Women Entered Party Politics. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. p. 65. ISBN 0-8476-9804-1. Retrieved May 20, 2013.
  2. Thiriot, Amy Tanner (August 2019). "Jennie McCargar Jones: "Women Know Their Own Convictions"". Utah Women's History. BetterDays2020. Retrieved August 18, 2019.
  3. Blumenberg, Milton W. (1900). Official Proceedings of the Twelfth Republican National Convention, Held in ... Philadelphia, June, 19, 20 and 21, 1900. Philadelphia: Dunlap Printing Company. pp. 62, 77. Retrieved May 22, 2013.
  4. "Roosevelt's Fate is Still in Doubt". New York Times. 19 June 1900. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
  5. "Theodore Roosevelt, 25th Vice President (1901)". US Senate. US Senate. Retrieved 8 October 2015.

Bibliography
  • Richard C. Bain and Judith H. Parris, Convention Decisions and Voting Records (Washington DC: Brookings Institution, 1973), pp. 158–161.
  • Andrews, E. Benjamin (1912). History of the United States. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. pp. 301–325.
Preceded by
1896
St. Louis, Missouri		 Republican National Conventions Succeeded by
1904
Chicago, Illinois
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