1896 Republican National Convention

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1896 Republican National Convention
1896 presidential election
RP1896.png RV1896.png
Nominees
McKinley and Hobart
Convention
Date(s)June 16–18, 1896
CitySt. Louis, Missouri
ChairJohn M. Thurston
Candidates
Presidential nomineeWilliam McKinley of Ohio
Vice presidential nomineeGarret A. Hobart of New Jersey
Voting
Total delegates924
Votes needed for nomination463
Results (president)McKinley (OH): 661.5 (71.59%)
Reed (ME): 84.5 (9.15%)
Quay (PA): 61.5 (6.66%)
Morton (NY): 58 (6.28%)
Allison (IA): 35.5 (3.84%)
Not Voting: 22 (2.38%)
Cameron (PA): 1 (0.11%)
Ballots1
‹ 1892  ·  1900 ›
Inside of the convention hall

The 1896 Republican National Convention was held in a temporary structure south of the St. Louis City Hall in Saint Louis, Missouri, from June 16 to June 18, 1896.

Former Governor William McKinley of Ohio was nominated for president on the first ballot with 661½ votes to 84½ for House Speaker Thomas Brackett Reed of Maine, 61½ votes for Senator Matthew S. Quay of Pennsylvania, 58 votes for Governor Levi P. Morton of New York who was vice president (1889–1893) under President Benjamin Harrison. New Jersey banker Garret A. Hobart was nominated for vice president over Henry Clay Evans of Tennessee. Joseph B. Foraker of Ohio placed McKinley's name in nomination.

The convention was originally slated for the St. Louis Exposition and Music Hall. However it was determined that repairs and upgrading the Hall could not be done in time and so a temporary wood convention hall was built in 60 days at a cost of $60,000 on the lawn south of City Hall which was under construction.[1] At the conclusion of the convention, both the temporary building as well as the original Exposition Hall were torn down and a new Coliseum was built.

The 1896 Convention was held in St. Louis less than a month after the infamous 1896 tornado that devastated a large swath of the city and killed at least 255 people. There was speculation that it might be unfeasible to hold the convention in the city, but, after a concerted cleanup effort was undertaken, the convention went ahead as planned.

Platform[]

The Republican platform of 1896 favored the gold standard but left the door open to free coinage of silver, it also supported acquisition of Hawaii and parts of the Danish West Indies, favored a canal across Central America, naval expansion, sympathized with revolutionaries in Cuba and Armenia, wanted exclusion of all illiterate immigrants, applauded gains in women's rights and pledged "equal pay for equal work". It also supported creation of a "".

Presidential nomination[]

Candidates[]

  • Former Governor
    William McKinley
    of Ohio
  • Speaker
    Thomas Brackett Reed
    of Maine
  • Senator
    Matthew S. Quay
    of Pennsylvania
  • Governor
    Levi P. Morton
    of New York,
    former Vice President
  • Senator
    William B. Allison
    of Iowa
Presidential Ballot
William McKinley 661.5
Thomas Brackett Reed 84.5
Matthew S. Quay 61.5
Levi P. Morton 58
William B. Allison 35.5
Not Voting 22
James D. Cameron 1
  • 1st Presidential Ballot

Vice Presidential nomination[]

Coming into the convention, former Vice President Levi P. Morton had strong support to re-take his former office from delegates who favored the gold standard. However, McKinley's manager, Mark Hanna opposed Morton's addition to the ticket, instead favoring Garret A. Hobart or Minnesota Senator Cushman Kellogg Davis.[2] Though McKinley's camp did not strongly oppose the party's gold standard platform, Hanna feared that the nomination of Morton would cause silver Republicans such as Colorado Senator Henry M. Teller to bolt the party.[3] Hanna was ultimately successful at keeping Morton off the ticket, but many silver Republicans nonetheless supported the Democratic ticket of William Jennings Bryan and Arthur Sewall.

Candidates[]

  • State Senator
    Garret A. Hobart
    of New Jersey
  • Former Representative
    Henry Clay Evans
    of Tennessee
  • Former Governor
    Morgan G. Bulkeley
    of Connecticut
  • Representative
    James A. Walker
    of Virginia
  • Governor
    Charles W. Lippitt
    of Rhode Island
Vice Presidential Ballot
Garret A. Hobart 523.5
Henry Clay Evans 287.5
Morgan Bulkeley 39
James A. Walker 24
Charles W. Lippitt 8
Thomas Brackett Reed 3
Chauncey Depew 3
John Mellen Thurston 2
Frederick Dent Grant 2
Levi P. Morton 1

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ Official Proceedings of the Eleventh Republican National Convention – 1896
  2. ^ "Hanna Fighting Hard Aainst Morton". New York Times. 17 June 1896. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
  3. ^ "McKinley to be Nominated Today". New York Times. 18 June 1896. Retrieved 8 October 2015.

Bibliography[]

External links[]

Preceded by
1892
Minneapolis, Minnesota 		Republican National Conventions Succeeded by
1900
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
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