5.
1868 Democratic Convention: 2nd Presidential Ballot
Representative George Pendleton - 103
President Andrew Johnson - 52
Major General Winfield Hancock - 45
Former Lt. Governor Sanford Church - 32
Businessman Asa Parker - 26
Governor James English - 11
Former Governor Joel Parker - 18
Senator James Doolittle - 12
Senator Reverdy Johnson - 6
Major General Francis Blair Jr. - 10
Senator Thomas Hendricks - 1
Former General George McClellan - 1
As the second ballot wound down and fresh ballot slips were prepared for the next spasm of voting, the entire convention was in a state of tension. President Johnson’s bloc was beginning to melt down and the man himself was nowhere to be found, while Pendleton and Hancock battled it out for the heart of the party, other minor candidates busily positioning themselves just in case it was decided that a compromise candidate would be needed. Somewhere in the middle of it all, General McClernand decided that the mess he was watching was simply too chaotic to risk slipping into and decided that he might as well go home. He did so and spent the night enjoying brandy and cigars with a few old army colleagues, not regretting his decision one bit.
1868 Democratic Convention: 3rd Presidential Ballot
Representative George Pendleton - 112
Major General Winfield Hancock - 63
Former Lt. Governor Sanford Church - 32
President Andrew Johnson - 28
Businessman Asa Packer - 26
Former Governor Joel Parker - 15
Major General Francis Blair Jr. - 14
Senator James Doolittle - 13
Governor James English - 7
Senator Reverdy Johnson - 6
Former General George McClellan - 1
Senator Thomas Hendricks - 0
One of the casualties of the third ballot was Indiana senator Thomas Hendricks, who lost his remaining delegate when the man was whisked away into Hancock’s camp. Unhappy, but resolute, Hendricks bid the convention farewell and resolved to head home and campaign harder instead for his gubernatorial campaign. President Johnson remained at the convention, but his attempts to rally his supporters were in vain. With more than two thirds of his already meager share of the delegates having scattered to the four corners of the earth, he was regarded more as a curiosity than anything else. And when he retired to a back room to await the results of the fourth ballot, more than one person reported seeing him with his head in his hands.
1868 Democratic Convention: 4th Presidential Ballot
Representative George Pendleton - 122
Major General Winfield Hancock - 68
Former Lt. Governor Sanford Church - 31
Businessman Asa Packer - 27
Major General Francis Blair Jr. - 17
Former Governor Joel Parker - 15
Senator James Doolittle - 13
President Andrew Johnson - 11
Governor James English - 6
Senator Reverdy Johnson - 6
Former General George McClellan - 0
Though the fourth ballot resulted in few ballot changes, which led to concerns of an early deadlock amongst outside observers, the latest ballot directly led to a number of very important changes amongst the surviving contestants. The lone delegate voting for McClellan was convinced to side with Pendleton instead, and Hancock’s base remained stable even as President Johnson’s imploded completely. Many were stunned by how fast the President’s chances for reelection had been completely annihilated. Not many had expected him to win the nomination, but the readiness with which even his erstwhile supporters fled his camp stunned many observers.
Amongst the others, many of the nominees were beginning to come apart at the seams. Maryland senator Reverdy Johnson bowed out, urging his delegates to vote with their consciouses. Sanford Church of New York also seemed to be faltering, his delegation under siege by Pendleton, Hancock and an array of others. He had already lost one delegate to Major General Blair, and more seemed to be poised to follow, unhappy with the plateau that they appeared to have stalled at.
Governor English of Connecticut also appeared to be on the edge of collapse, though his stirring oration seemed to be staving off disaster for the time being. As the delegates trooped to the voting booths for the fifth time, there was a palpable sense of dread in the air for many in attendance. Nobody seemed to be sure what was going to happen.
1868 Democratic Convention: 5th Presidential Ballot
Representative George Pendleton - 128
Major General Winfield Hancock - 73
Former Lt. Governor Sanford Church - 29
Businessman Asa Packer - 27
Major General Francis Blair Jr. - 20
Former Governor Joel Parker - 15
Senator James Doolittle - 14
Governor James English - 5
President Andrew Johnson - 5
Former General George McClellan - 0
Businessman John Adams II - 1
Senator Johnson’s loose delegates mostly fled to other, established camps, but one decided that none of the various nominees were to his liking and proceeded to cast a vote for Harvard scholar and businessman John Adams II. Adams himself was not present at the convention, but word soon reached him, which left him, in his own words, ‘quite tickled,‘ though he withdrew himself from consideration before the next ballot.
George McClellan was also not present at the convention, and so, with nobody present to officially withdraw him from consideration, he remained on the list of names up for nomination, a perpetual zero next to it.
At this point the rise of Francis Preston Blair Jr. began to be noticed in all corners of the convention hall, and Hancock, who had previously dismissed Blair as a non-entity, began to take this new rival quite seriously. The War Democrats were already on tenuous footing within the party due to their perceived support for some controversial aspects of Reconstruction, and if the faction’s vote was split then it would very likely lead to Pendleton or one of the other Peace Democrats being nominated instead. This was not to Hancock’s liking.
Blair himself was quite the spectacle, he had worn a navy blue coat to the convention that was clearly supposed to look like a uniform and walked circuits around the hall, speaking to delegates from all camps, spreading the word that he was in the running and would soon be coming to sweep the legs out from under the main party establishment. Though he was placed fifth as of the beginning of the sixth ballot, the incredible instability of Church’s delegation, and tensions amongst Doolittle’s little band, made further acquisitions very possible.
Even as Hancock worried about what to do with Blair, Governor English dropped out, offering his delegates to Pendleton, who happily accepted them. Rumors abounded that English was promised a position in a prospective Pendleton administration in exchange, but these were never confirmed.
1868 Democratic Convention: 6th Presidential Ballot
Representative George Pendleton - 133
Major General Winfield Hancock - 75
Businessman Asa Packer - 28
Former Lt. Governor Sanford Church - 25
Major General Francis Blair Jr. - 21
Former Governor Joel Parker - 16
Senator James Doolittle - 12
President Andrew Johnson - 5
Former General George McClellan - 0
Watching the continual degradation of his delegation, Sanford Church arrived at a painful conclusion and realized that he was doomed to fail unless he managed to find someone willing to support him. Nobody however was willing to back him, especially after he had fallen behind Asa Packer, who was still remaining steady somehow after six whole ballots.
Even as he agonized over his fate, President Johnson managed to avoid losing any more delegates. The last five men entrusted to him, out of misplaced loyalty or perhaps apathy, were continuing to cast their ballots for the President, even as it became abundantly clear that the man’s reelection bid had failed. However, the lack of any further devastation to his delegation was of little consolation to the President, who left the convention at that point, stubbornly refusing to bow out.
One person who did end their campaign in the aftermath of the sixth ballot was senator James Doolittle of Wisconsin, ending his candidacy with a speech and a promise to hand his delegates over to Hancock. Doolittle did this with good cheer, but unlike many of his other defeated companions, he remained at the convention for the rest of the time that it ran, enjoying himself and hinting rather openly at gubernatorial ambitions on his part.
As the President rode stiffly away and Doolittle threw his lot behind Hancock, Sanford Church decided that he would bow out. In a brief and decidedly unhappy little speech he emulated senator Johnson and asked his delegation to vote for whoever they thought would make the best President. Church would later be criticized for this, he held the fourth largest delegation in the entire convention at this point, and with a few words had effectively thrown them to the wind, inspiring further chaos where might have been found peace.
But it was too late and once again the surviving candidates found themselves squabbling as voting for the seventh ballot began.
1868 Democratic Convention: 7th Presidential Ballot
Representative George Pendleton - 140
Major General Winfield Hancock - 90
Major General Francis Blair Jr. - 39
Businessman Asa Packer - 27
Former Governor Joel Parker - 16
President Andrew Johnson - 5
Former General George McClellan - 0
The primary beneficiary of Church’s flamboyant exit from the convention was Blair, who absorbed Church’s more conservative delegation and rose to third place, threatening Hancock even more directly. Pendleton, seeing the War Democrats divided, began making overtures to the delegations of Asa Packer and Joel Parker. However, the delegation of New York, which had remained firmly behind Asa Packer for the entire convention, refused to budge, and Joel Parker, a War Democrat himself, refused to deal with Pendleton, instead making it clear that he would likely support Hancock if he withdrew.
This placed Pendleton in a tough position. To win the nomination outright he would need at least 212 delegates, seventy two of which he did not yet have. Hancock was in no better of a position, but both men’s delegations were stable and unwilling to defect to other candidates...at least not yet. With Blair surging and both Parker and Packer unwilling to withdraw, it looked very much like the convention was about to enter a deadlock.
1868 Democratic Convention: 8th Presidential Ballot
Representative George Pendleton - 142
Major General Winfield Hancock - 91
Major General Francis Blair Jr. - 40
Businessman Asa Packer - 26
Former Governor Joel Parker - 15
President Andrew Johnson - 3
Former General George McClellan - 0
While Pendleton and the Peace faction of the convention hunkered down for a long siege, Joel Parker decided to withdraw, pledging his delegation to Hancock in exchange for what was rumored to be the promise of a Treasury post. Of the other surviving minor candidates, Asa Packer, though his delegation was solidly loyal to him, was beginning to have doubts about the viability of his continued candidacy. Soon he would begin to run into conflict with Hancock and Blair, the only other surviving War Democrats in the contest at that point. Though he aired these concerns to the head of the New York delegation, the man’s advice was to wait for at least one more ballot before dropping out. Packer took that advice and settled down to wait.
Blair was restless. He couldn’t foresee any further gains being made in the immediate future, and the thought of his delegation beginning to splinter and flee to Hancock was enough that he began to canvass the three remaining Johnson delegates, trying to gauge their loyalty to the President now that the man was no longer even present. If he plateaued then his delegation, composed of several dozen uneasy War Democrats, could very well defect to a candidate who could better satisfy what they wanted to get out of the convention. Some gains were better than none.
1868 Democratic Convention: 9th Presidential Ballot
Representative George Pendleton - 147
Major General Winfield Hancock - 104
Major General Francis Blair Jr. - 40
Businessman Asa Packer - 26
President Andrew Johnson - 0
Former General George McClellan - 0
The last three delegates to President Johnson were in fact willing to defect, but not to Blair. Instead two ventured to Pendleton’s camp, while the remaining man pledged himself to Hancock. The President could not be reached for comment and though some speculated that he would now withdraw, having no more delegates to his name, such an action never came to light.
Hancock also broke one hundred delegates, and with rumors of an impending withdrawal by Asa Packer beginning to spread around the convention hall, Pendleton did something very risky and went to see Hancock. At their meeting he promised to nominate the Major General as his running mate if he would bow out.
Hancock, skeptical of Pendleton’s promises, and knowing that he stood to gain a substantial number of delegates in the next few ballots if Packer withdrew like he was rumored to be planning to, informed Pendleton that he would consider it. Having secured the equivalent of a ceasefire between himself and Pendleton, Hancock sat down to wait.
While the two frontrunners met and discussed the future of the convention, Blair was canvassing Packer’s delegation, much to the displeasure of the delegation leader, who shooed Blair and his people away more than once before voting for the tenth ballot began. Blair wasn’t dissuaded, and even if Packer didn’t seem to be withdrawing this ballot, he probably would soon, and when he did Blair intended to snatch at least half of his delegation.
1868 Democratic Convention: 10th Presidential Ballot
Representative George Pendleton - 147
Major General Winfield Hancock - 104
Major General Francis Blair Jr. - 40
Businessman Asa Packer - 26
President Andrew Johnson - 0
Former General George McClellan - 0
For the first time in the entire convention, the vote totals remained exactly the same as they had during the last round of voting. It was as if time had stood still. But if a rare moment of peace had descended over the hall, it wasn’t going to last much longer.
Asa Packer, having retained his delegation for ten ballots with nary a defection, announced that he was withdrawing from consideration and that he would be supporting Hancock. All hell proceeded to break loose. Pendleton, taken by surprise, immediately moved to determine if any of Packer’s delegation could be persuaded to join his faction. Blair, desperate to calm his increasingly impatient delegation, did much the same thing, even as Hancock fought to secure his new delegates.
The New York delegation had mostly stuck together through mutual admiration of Packer, and with him gone, defection suddenly became an attractive option for some, who weren’t enamored with Hancock’s politics.
As voting began for the eleventh ballot, the convention hall was once again full of mingled shouting, profanity, prayer and music.
1868 Democratic Convention: 11th Presidential Ballot
Representative George Pendleton - 152
Major General Winfield Hancock - 119
Major General Francis Blair Jr. - 45
President Andrew Johnson - 1
Former General George McClellan - 0
In the end, though Blair was not able to steal away half of Packer’s delegation, he, in unintentional conjunction with Pendleton, did manage to completely split apart the New York delegation and lead to eleven delegates fleeing elsewhere, leaving Hancock with fifteen new arrivals, significantly less than he had hoped for. One man erroneously voted for President Johnson, leading to groans in the convention hall when that fact was announced. The convention now appeared to be properly deadlocked, and Hancock, faced with the twin specters of a well organized Pendleton delegation and a newly resurgent Blair delegation, did not like his chances as he looked ahead, to the long game.
Had his plan worked correctly, then Packer’s delegation would have gone to him unanimously, followed shortly by the breakdown and absorption of Blair’s party as soon as they grew weary of little to no new growth in their numbers. That would put him ahead of Pendleton, who then could hopefully be either worn down through successive ballots, or replaced by a compromise candidate who would accept Hancock as his running mate. Either way, the Peace Democrats would be repudiated before they could get a chance to doom the party at the voting booths for the second time in as many elections.
That plan was no longer on the agenda though. Even if Blair’s faction did eventually implode and side with him, the delegates would likely be too exhausted to sit down and continue voting for the length of time it would take for Pendleton and the Peace Democrats to fall apart.
Hancock and Pendleton sat down for a long wait, and Blair once again began to wonder what exactly he was going to do.
1868 Democratic Convention: 12th Presidential Ballot
Representative George Pendleton - 153
Major General Winfield Hancock - 119
Major General Francis Blair Jr. - 45
President Andrew Johnson - 0
Former General George McClellan - 0
As President Johnson lost his last delegate for the second time, Blair did something unexpected and went to see Pendleton. His delegation was beginning to grow restless and he knew that if he didn’t do something quickly then he would begin to see defections. He had acquired delegates from across a wide enough spectrum of political views that the forty five men in his grasp were practically a time bomb just waiting to go off, and they were dangerously unsatisfied with the slow progress that he was making.
Pendleton, unhappy with the scheme that Hancock had just attempted to foist on him, was reluctant to see Blair, but recognized a potential opportunity and invited him in. Blair proceeded to offer his delegation in exchange for a position as Pendleton’s running mate. Pendleton considered this. However, even if every single one of Blair’s delegates followed their man uncomplainingly into his camp, Pendleton knew that he would still be fourteen delegates short of the two thirds majority that he needed to win the nomination. And if Blair’s faction split apart, as it was all too likely to do, then he would likely end up with an even more deadlocked convention and rumblings of support for a compromise candidate, which was the last thing that he wanted.
The alternative however, was worse. If he let this opportunity slip, then Hancock would clean house with Blair’s delegation, slide ahead of him in terms of delegates, and then watch as the Peace Democrats imploded. Always a pragmatist, Pendleton accepted Blair’s offer, on the condition that the man withdraw immediately. Though he was unhappy at having to act so quickly, Blair agreed and faced his delegation, who reacted in several different ways.
Blair was careful to wait until the last moment before saying this, so most of his delegates were already in line to vote. This gave Hancock less time to try and lead them away, and made sure that they had minimal time to plot any sort of betrayal. It was a shrewd political move, and would have far reaching consequences as the night went on.
1868 Democratic Convention: 13th Presidential Ballot
Representative George Pendleton - 190
Major General Winfield Hancock - 125
President Andrew Johnson - 2
Former General George McClellan - 0
As it turned out, thirty seven of Blair’s forty five delegates ended up following him into Pendleton’s camp, buoyed by promises from the frontrunner that he would tone down his Peace beliefs. Two were so disenchanted though that they voted instead for the President, an unmistakable sign of protest.
Hancock was stunned by the move that Blair had made and responded by attacking Pendleton directly, attempting to win Blair’s delegates back over. This was concerning to Pendleton, who, far from the fourteen delegate gap he had envisioned, was now facing a shortage of twenty two votes. He was on the brink of victory, but now, with only two men still in the race, that victory may as well have been on the moon.
If Pendleton was concerned, that was nothing compared to the panic that Hancock displayed as he practically flew around the convention hall, urging his delegation to remain steady in the face of the unexpected surge by Pendleton. Both sides were suddenly terrified of defection, and at this stage in the process, even a handful of defectors could mean complete ruin for the man that they fled from.
Hancock and Pendleton buckled down, intently awaiting the results of the fourteenth ballot.
1868 Democratic Convention: 14th Presidential Ballot
Representative George McClellan - 190
Major General Winfield Hancock - 127
President Andrew Johnson - 0
Former General George McClellan - 0
President Johnson lost his delegates for the third and last time, and though he didn’t withdraw, he also didn’t receive any further support for the remainder of the convention. The end game was clearly in sight, and everyone knew it. The final readjustments had been made, and now both sides had solidly loyal, well organized delegations that made defections unlikely.
This was not to Pendleton’s liking. Hancock was better equipped to play the waiting game than he was, and if any more of Blair’s delegation decided to cut and run then that would leave him in a very bad position.
He had told Blair this much and to his credit, the man was working very hard, doubtlessly sweating bullets at the thought of failing and subsequently having to face a horde of his War Democrat companions, none of whom would be very amused at his quasi-betrayal of their faction.
But even though Blair’s defection had caused ripples of outrage amongst the rank and file of the War Democrats, there were more than a few people amongst Hancock’s delegation willing to consider swapping, but only if Blair was guaranteed an active role in Pendleton’s administration. They weren’t quite apparent yet, the new reality of the convention still settling in, but they would be, and their influence would be decisive.
1868 Democratic Convention: 15th Presidential Ballot
Representative George Pendleton - 190
Major General Winfield Hancock - 127
President Andrew Johnson - 0
Former General George McClellan - 0
The deadlock, now exacerbated by the fact that only two serious candidates remained in the race, badly scared many in the party, who were not happy that Pendleton and the Peace faction were so close to securing the nomination. Neither were they pleased with what they were increasingly beginning to view as sub-par political maneuvering by Hancock, who had missed a chance to gain a lead over Pendleton and now was stuck at a sixty three delegate deficit.
In the back rooms many began wondering if a compromise candidate would be needed. Several men at the convention were thought of almost immediately, most of them being War Democrats, but one or two Peace Democrats were considered as well.
The list of potential compromise candidates as of the lull between the fifteenth and sixteenth ballots looked something like this:
Brevet Major General Thomas Ewing Jr.
Former Governor Horatio Seymour (the man himself demanded that he be removed from the list of options after being made aware of it)
Chief Justice Salmon Chase
Major General William Rosecrans
Associate Justice Stephen Field
Representative Fernando Wood (this was proposed by War Democrats in the hopes that introducing another ambitious Peace Democrat into the mix would split apart Pendleton’s delegation and allow Hancock to claim victory. Wood himself was not interested though)
Even as the list was being compiled, Pendleton was planning something very risky. He knew very well that a compromise candidate would soon be introduced into the fray, and that it would very likely degrade his delegation, either allowing Hancock or whoever the convention bosses asked to oppose them, to take the nomination. If that happened then Pendleton would very likely not be asked to be on the ticket, and neither would Blair, who had alienated many people with his impromptu alliance with Pendleton. This left only one option open to Pendleton and Blair, and they executed it as quickly as they could.
Pendleton’s only remaining offensive capability was to use Blair to attempt to split Hancock’s delegation. The Missourian was both Pendleton’s biggest liability and greatest asset, and the frontrunner recognized that, sending him out in a last ditch effort to win the nomination outright.
Hancock responded with a blustery speech condemning Pendleton and Blair, and while this solidified many of his followers around him, it scared a number of the more economically and socially conservative delegates, who were beginning to view Blair as having the right idea in allying with the Peace faction.
As voting for the sixteenth ballot began, nobody was entirely sure what to expect.
1868 Democratic Convention: 16th Presidential Ballot
Representative George Pendleton - 199
Major General Winfield Hancock - 118
President Andrew Johnson - 0
Former General George McClellan - 0
Pendleton was now only thirteen delegates away from taking the nomination, and with his sudden gains over Hancock, a considerable amount of support for a compromise candidate began to fade away. This left the desperate War Democrats with a candidate who was beginning to fall apart, and little ability to launch a potential compromise candidate without hurting Hancock in the process.
Even as their opponents attempted to shore up their crumbling defenses, Pendleton and Blair pressed the attack, and there was little anyone could do to stop them.
1868 Democratic Convention: 17th Presidential Ballot
Representative George Pendleton - 215
Major General Winfield Hancock - 102
President Andrew Johnson - 0
Former General George McClellan - 0
By a margin of three votes, George Pendleton had just become the Democratic party’s presidential nominee. A sweating, unhappy Hancock conceded defeat and the delegates decided to take the rest of the day off, pledging to reconvene the next day and nominate Pendleton’s running mate. Nobody especially had the energy for further political shenanigans, and it was as much out of frustrated apathy as anything else that it was decided by the War Democrats that Blair would be allowed to become Pendleton’s running mate.
Though they were not at all happy with who had ended up on the ticket, the thought of Ulysses S. Grant and Benjamin Wade in the White House was enough to suppress outright insurrection amongst the War Democrats.
The delegates simply wouldn’t stand for another protracted struggle, Blair would simply have to do.
1868 Democratic Convention: 1st Vice Presidential Ballot
Major General Francis Blair Jr. - 220
Major General Winfield Hancock - 70
Brevet Major General Thomas Ewing Jr. - 14
Associate Justice Stephen Field - 7
Chief Justice Salmon Chase - 4
Former General George McClellan - 1
President Andrew Johnson - 1
Even if the War Democrats weren’t putting up a fight, Blair was only nominated by a slender margin anyways. The party had been badly split by the fierce struggle for the presidential nomination, and the divides that had been so starkly shown in 1864 were now even deeper than before.
Hancock refused to endorse Pendleton at the convention, though he would reluctantly do so over the telegraph wires several weeks later, more for the sake of party unity than anything else. Though the Peace faction was ecstatic, they were also concerned at how close the entire thing had been. Only a few delegates in the other direction and the convention might have stretched on for weeks.
But as far as they were concerned, the damage done by the nomination process could be healed on the campaign trail. Now was the time to win the presidency back, and fix the nation for good.
Somewhere across the nation, Benjamin Wade read the latest news from the Democratic convention, said something decidedly unChristian, and went to call upon Grant.
