Editing 1860 Democratic National Conventions

{{Short description|Series of American presidential nominating conventions}}
{{More citations needed|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox National Political Convention 
| year = 1860 
| party = Democratic 
| date = April 23–May 3, 1860 &<br /> June 18–23, 1860
| image1 = Noimage.png
| image2 = Noimage.png
| caption = Nominees<br /> Douglas and Johnson (Official)<br /> Breckinridge and Lane (Southern)
| city = [[Charleston, South Carolina|Charleston]], [[South Carolina]] &<br /> [[Baltimore]], [[Maryland]]
| venue = South Carolina Institute Hall,<br /> Front Street Theater &<br /> Maryland Institute ''(Southern)''
| date2 = June 18-June 23, 1860
| venue2 = Front Street Theater
| city2 = [[Baltimore]], [[Maryland]] 
| presidential_nominee = [[Stephen A. Douglas]]
| presidential_nominee_state = [[Illinois]] ''(Official)''<br /> [[John C. Breckinridge]] of [[Kentucky]] ''(Southern)''
| vice_presidential_nominee = [[Herschel V. Johnson]]
| vice_presidential_nominee_state = [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]] ''(Official)''<br /> [[Joseph Lane]] of [[Oregon]] ''(Southern)''
| previous_year = 1856
| next_year = 1864
}}
[[File:South Carolina Institute Hall, Charleston, S.C, by Barnard, George N., 1819-1902.jpg|thumb|Stereoscopic image of South Carolina Institute Hall by [[George Norman Barnard]]]]

The '''1860 Democratic National Conventions''' were a series of [[United States presidential nominating convention|presidential nominating conventions]] held to nominate the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]]'s candidates for [[President of the United States|president]] and [[Vice President of the United States|vice president]] in the [[1860 United States presidential election|1860 election]].

The first convention, held from April 23 to May 3 in [[Charleston, South Carolina]], deadlocked after failing to nominate a ticket: two subsequent conventions, both held in [[Baltimore]], Maryland in June, ultimately nominated separate presidential tickets.

Senator [[Stephen A. Douglas]] of Illinois entered the Charleston convention as the front-runner for the presidential nomination, and while he won a majority on the first presidential ballot of the convention, convention rules at the time required a two-thirds majority to win the nomination, with Douglas' adherence to the [[Freeport Doctrine]] regarding [[Slavery in the United States|slavery]] in the [[United States territories|territories]] engendering strong opposition from many [[Southern United States|Southern]] delegates: opponents of Douglas's nomination spread their support among five major candidates, including former Treasury Secretary [[James Guthrie (Kentucky politician)|James Guthrie]] of Kentucky and Senator [[Robert M. T. Hunter]] of Virginia.

After 57 ballots over a span of two days, in which Douglas consistently won at least half of the delegates, the Charleston convention adjourned when it became apparent no candidate could secure the required two-thirds of all votes.

The Democratic convention reconvened in Baltimore on June 18, but many Southern delegates were either excluded from the convention or refused to participate. The convention adopted a platform in which it pledged to abide by the decision of the [[Supreme Court of the United States]] upon questions of Constitutional Law regarding slavery.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://avalon.law.yale.edu/19th_century/dem1860.asp|title=Democratic Party Platform; June 18, 1860|website=avalon.law.yale.edu|access-date=June 13, 2020}}</ref>

Douglas was ultimately nominated for president on the second ballot (the 59th ballot overall). Senator [[Benjamin Fitzpatrick]] of Alabama was nominated for vice president, but he refused the nomination, and was replaced by former Governor [[Herschel V. Johnson]] of Georgia.

The Southern Democrats who had boycotted, or walked out of, the Baltimore convention held their own separate convention and adopted a pro-slavery platform, and nominated incumbent Vice President [[John C. Breckinridge]] for president, with Senator [[Joseph Lane]] of Oregon as vice president.

While Douglas and Breckinridge received a combined 47.62% of the popular vote in the [[1860 United States presidential election|1860 presidential election]], they lost the election to [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] candidate [[Abraham Lincoln]].

== Charleston convention ==

=== Background ===
[[File:The Democratic convention at Charleston, South Carolina - Interior of the hall of the South Carolina Institute in Meeting Street (cropped1).jpg|thumb|right|Wood engraving illustrating the Charleston convention]]

The front-runner for the nomination was Douglas, who was considered a moderate on the [[Slavery in the United States|slavery]] issue. With the 1854 [[Kansas–Nebraska Act]], he advanced the doctrine of [[popular sovereignty]]: allowing settlers in each [[Territories of the United States|Territory]] to decide for themselves whether slavery would be allowed—a change from the flat prohibition of slavery in most Territories under the [[Missouri Compromise]], which the South had welcomed. However, the [[Supreme Court of the United States|Supreme Court]]’s ensuing 1857 [[Dred Scott v. Sandford|'Dred Scott' decision]] declared that the [[Constitution of the United States|Constitution]] protected slavery in all Territories.

Douglas was challenged for his Senate seat by [[Abraham Lincoln]] in 1858, and narrowly won re-election, after the [[Lincoln-Douglas debates]], by professing the [[Freeport Doctrine]], a ''de facto'' rejection of ''Dred Scott'', with militant Southern "[[Fire-Eaters]]", such as [[William Yancey]] of [[Alabama]], opposing him as a traitor. Many of them openly predicted a split in the party and the election of [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] front-runner [[William H. Seward]].<ref name="Catton">{{cite book
  | last = Catton
  | first = Bruce
  | title = The Coming Fury
  | url = https://archive.org/details/comingfury01catt
  | url-access = registration
  | publisher = Doubleday & Co., Inc.
  | year = 1961
  | location = Garden City, New York
  | pages = [https://archive.org/details/comingfury01catt/page/37 37–40]
}}</ref>

The 1860 Democratic National Convention convened at South Carolina Institute Hall (destroyed in the Great Fire of 1861) in [[Charleston, South Carolina]], on April 23, 1860: the galleries at the convention were packed with pro-slavery spectators.<ref name="Catton" />

=== Party platform disputes ===
Urged by Yancey, the delegations from seven Deep South states (Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas) met in a separate caucus before the convention. They reached a tentative consensus to "stop Douglas" by imposing a pro-slavery party platform which he could not run on if nominated.<ref>Heidler, David S. ''Pulling the Temple Down: The Fire-Eaters and the Destruction of the Union'' {{ISBN|0-8117-0634-6}}, p. 149. [[Jefferson Davis]], a relative moderate, saw this coalition of the Deep South with Douglas's enemies in the Buchanan administration as potentially dangerous, and called for abandoning a platform as the Whigs had in 1840, just settling on an agreed-to candidate. The moderates, principally found in Alabama and Georgia, were outvoted in caucus.</ref>

The "Fire-eater" majority on the convention's [[Party platform|platform]] committee, chaired by [[William Waightstill Avery]] of North Carolina, produced an explicitly pro-slavery document,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ushist.com/general-information/1860_national_presidential_election_platforms.shtml|title=1860 National Presidential Election Platforms}}</ref> endorsing ''Dred Scott'' and Congressional legislation protecting slavery in the territories. Northern Democrats refused to acquiesce, as ''Dred Scott'' was extremely unpopular in the North, and the Northerners said they could not carry a single state with that platform: this would end any Democratic prospect of retaining the White House, as no previous candidate had won the presidency without winning either New York or Pennsylvania, and only four ([[John Adams]] in 1796, [[James Madison]] in 1812, [[John Quincy Adams]] in 1824, and [[James Buchanan]] in 1856) had been elected without winning both. Douglas and supporters thus preferred the 1856 Cincinnati platform.

On April 30, the minority (Northern) report was substituted for that of the majority (Southern) report by a vote of 165 to 138. The question next in order before the convention was upon the adoption of the second resolution of the minority of the committee: on this question Alabama, Arkansas, one of Delaware's delegates, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas refused to vote. The Douglas party abandoned the vague second resolution, and it was defeated by an overwhelming vote of 238 to 21 (with 44 abstentions).
<br />
<gallery perrow="2" style="text-align:center;">
File:1860DNCMinorityReport1stResolutionVote.png|'''Minority Report Substitution Vote'''
File:1860DNCMinorityReport2ndResolutionVote.png|'''Minority Report<br /> 2nd Resolution Vote'''
</gallery>

Between April 30 and May 1, 51 Southern delegates walked out of the convention in protest:<ref name="Catton" /> the entire delegations of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina and Texas, three of the four delegates from Arkansas and one of the three delegates from Delaware. These delegates gathered at St. Andrews Hall on Broad Street and declared themselves the real convention as the Institute Hall convention proceeded to nominations.

Since both the majority and the minority resolutions on the Territorial question were rejected, nothing remained except the Cincinnati platform as the Douglas faction had desired. The dominant Douglas forces believed their path was now clear.<ref name="Catton" />

=== Two-thirds rule ===
Before the balloting for president commenced, Mr. Howard of Tennessee succeeded in obtaining a vote of the convention in affirmance of the two-thirds rule: on his motion they resolved, by 141 votes to 112, "that the President of the Convention be and he is hereby directed not to declare any person nominated for the office of President or Vice President unless he shall have received a number of votes equal to two-thirds of the votes of all the Electoral Colleges."

It was well known at the time that this resolution would render the regular nomination of Douglas impossible.
<br />
<gallery perrow="1" style="text-align:center;">
File:1860DNCTwoThirdsRuleVote.png|'''Two-Thirds Rule Vote'''
</gallery>

=== Presidential balloting ===
Six major candidates were nominated at the convention: Douglas, former [[United States Secretary of the Treasury|Treasury Secretary]] [[James Guthrie (American politician)|James Guthrie]] of [[Kentucky]], Senator [[Robert Mercer Taliaferro Hunter|Robert M. T. Hunter]] of [[Virginia]], Senator [[Joseph Lane]] of [[Oregon]], former Senator [[Daniel S. Dickinson]] of [[New York (state)|New York]], and Senator [[Andrew Johnson]] of [[Tennessee]].

==== Presidential candidates ====
<gallery perrow="3">
File:BradyHandy-StephenADouglas restored.jpg|[[List of United States senators from Illinois|Senator]] '''[[Stephen A. Douglas]]''' of Illinois
File:JamesGuthrieKentuckyCropped.png|Former [[United States Secretary of the Treasury|Secretary of the Treasury]] '''[[James Guthrie (Kentucky politician)|James Guthrie]]''' of Kentucky
File:RobertMercerTaliaferroHunter.png|[[List of United States senators from Virginia|Senator]] '''[[Robert M. T. Hunter]]''' of Virginia
File:JosephLane.png|[[List of United States senators from Oregon|Senator]] '''[[Joseph Lane]]''' of Oregon
File:DanielSDickinson.png|Former [[List of United States senators from New York|Senator]] '''[[Daniel S. Dickinson]]''' of New York
File:Andrew Johnson, seated, facing left 1860.jpg|[[List of United States senators from Tennessee|Senator]] '''[[Andrew Johnson]]''' of Tennessee
</gallery>

While Douglas led on the first ballot, receiving {{frac|145|1|2}} of the 253 votes cast, the convention had required a two-thirds vote to win the nomination: further to this, convention chairman [[Caleb Cushing]] ruled that this was two-thirds of ''the whole membership'', not two-thirds of those ''present and voting''.

This ruling meant Douglas needed 202 votes ({{frac|56|1|2}} more votes), or 80% of the remaining 253 delegates: this was all but impossible as it would have required several of the remaining Southern delegates to vote for Douglas, who they vehemently opposed.

Consequently, the convention held 57 ballots, and though Douglas led on all of them, he never received more than {{frac|152|1|2}} votes. On the 57th ballot, Douglas received {{frac|151|1|2}} votes, still {{frac|50|1|2}} votes short of the nomination, though far ahead of Guthrie, who was second with {{frac|65|1|2}}. On 3 May, the delegates voted to adjourn the convention, and reconvene in [[Baltimore]] six weeks later.

A few votes went to former Senator [[Isaac Toucey]] of [[Connecticut]] and Senator [[James Pearce]] of [[Maryland]], while Senator [[Jefferson Davis]] of [[Mississippi]] (the future [[Confederate States of America|Confederate]] President) received one vote on over fifty ballots from [[Benjamin Butler (politician)|Benjamin Butler]] of [[Massachusetts]]. Ironically, during the Civil War, Butler became a Union general, and Davis ordered him hanged as a criminal if he was captured.

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center"
! colspan="23" | '''Presidential Ballot'''
|-
!||1st || 2nd || 3rd || 4th || 5th || 6th || 7th || 8th || 9th || 10th || 11th || 12th || 13th || 14th || 15th || 16th || 17th || 18th || 19th || 20th || 21st || 22nd
|-
![[Stephen A. Douglas|Douglas]] 
|style="background:#5cb3ff"|145.5
|style="background:#5cb3ff"|147
|style="background:#5cb3ff"|148.5
|style="background:#5cb3ff"|149
|style="background:#5cb3ff"|149.5
|style="background:#5cb3ff"|149.5
|style="background:#5cb3ff"|150.5
|style="background:#5cb3ff"|150.5
|style="background:#5cb3ff"|150
|style="background:#5cb3ff"|150.5
|style="background:#5cb3ff"|150.5
|style="background:#5cb3ff"|150.5
|style="background:#5cb3ff"|149.5
|style="background:#5cb3ff"|150
|style="background:#5cb3ff"|150
|style="background:#5cb3ff"|150
|style="background:#5cb3ff"|150
|style="background:#5cb3ff"|150
|style="background:#5cb3ff"|150
|style="background:#5cb3ff"|150
|style="background:#5cb3ff"|150.5
|style="background:#5cb3ff"|150.5
|-
![[James Guthrie (Kentucky politician)|Guthrie]] 
|style="background:#c2dfff"|35.5
|style="background:#c2dfff"|36.5
|style="background:#c2dfff"|37
|style="background:#c2dfff"|37.5
|style="background:#c2dfff"|37.5
|style="background:#c2dfff"|39.5
|style="background:#c2dfff"|38.5
|style="background:#c2dfff"|38.5
|style="background:#82caff"|41.5
|style="background:#82caff"|39.5
|style="background:#82caff"|39.5
|style="background:#82caff"|39.5
|style="background:#82caff"|39.5
|style="background:#82caff"|41
|style="background:#82caff"|41.5
|style="background:#82caff"|42
|style="background:#82caff"|42
|style="background:#82caff"|41.5
|style="background:#82caff"|41.5
|style="background:#82caff"|42
|style="background:#82caff"|41.5
|style="background:#82caff"|41.5
|-
![[Robert M. T. Hunter|Hunter]] 
|style="background:#82caff"|42
|style="background:#82caff"|41.5
|style="background:#82caff"|41
|style="background:#82caff"|41.5
|style="background:#82caff"|41
|style="background:#82caff"|41
|style="background:#82caff"|41
|style="background:#82caff"|40.5
|style="background:#c2dfff"|40.5
|style="background:#c2dfff"|39
|style="background:#c2dfff"|38
|style="background:#c2dfff"|38
|style="background:#c2dfff"|28.5
|style="background:#c2dfff"|27
|style="background:#c2dfff"|26.5
|style="background:#c2dfff"|26
|style="background:#c2dfff"|26
|style="background:#c2dfff"|26
|style="background:#c2dfff"|26
|style="background:#c2dfff"|26
|style="background:#c2dfff"|26
|style="background:#c2dfff"|26
|-
![[Joseph Lane|Lane]] 
||6
||6
||6
||6
||6
||7
||6
||6
||6
||5.5
||6.5
||6.5
||20
||20.5
||20.5
||20.5
||20.5
||20.5
||20.5
||20.5
||20.5
||20.5
|-
![[Daniel S. Dickinson|Dickinson]] 
||7
||6.5
||6.5
||5
||5
||3
||4
||4.5
||1
||4
||4
||4
||1
||0.5
||0.5
||0.5
||0.5
||1
||1
||0.5
||0.5
||0.5
|-
![[Andrew Johnson|Johnson]] 
||12
||12
||12
||12
||12
||12
||11
||11
||12
||12
||12
||12
||12
||12
||12
||12
||12
||12
||12
||12
||12
||12
|-
![[Isaac Toucey|Toucey]] 
||2.5
||2.5
|style="background:#d3d3d3"|0
|style="background:#d3d3d3"|0
|style="background:#d3d3d3"|0
|style="background:#d3d3d3"|0
|style="background:#d3d3d3"|0
|style="background:#d3d3d3"|0
|style="background:#d3d3d3"|0
|style="background:#d3d3d3"|0
|style="background:#d3d3d3"|0
|style="background:#d3d3d3"|0
|style="background:#d3d3d3"|0
|style="background:#d3d3d3"|0
|style="background:#d3d3d3"|0
|style="background:#d3d3d3"|0
|style="background:#d3d3d3"|0
|style="background:#d3d3d3"|0
|style="background:#d3d3d3"|0
|style="background:#d3d3d3"|0
|style="background:#d3d3d3"|0
|style="background:#d3d3d3"|0
|-
![[Jefferson Davis|Davis]] 
||1.5
||1
||1
||1
||1
|style="background:#d3d3d3"|0
||1
||1
||1
||1.5
||1.5
||1.5
||1.5
||1
||1
||1
||1
||1
||1
||1
||1
||1
|-
![[James Pearce|Pearce]]
||1
|style="background:#d3d3d3"|0
|style="background:#d3d3d3"|0
|style="background:#d3d3d3"|0
|style="background:#d3d3d3"|0
|style="background:#d3d3d3"|0
|style="background:#d3d3d3"|0
|style="background:#d3d3d3"|0
|style="background:#d3d3d3"|0
|style="background:#d3d3d3"|0
|style="background:#d3d3d3"|0
|style="background:#d3d3d3"|0
|style="background:#d3d3d3"|0
|style="background:#d3d3d3"|0
|style="background:#d3d3d3"|0
|style="background:#d3d3d3"|0
|style="background:#d3d3d3"|0
|style="background:#d3d3d3"|0
|style="background:#d3d3d3"|0
|style="background:#d3d3d3"|0
|style="background:#d3d3d3"|0
|style="background:#d3d3d3"|0
|-
!Withdrawn
||50
||50
||51
||51
||51
||51
||51
||51
||51
||51
||51
||51
||51
||51
||51
||51
||51
||51
||51
||51
||51
||51
|}

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center"
! colspan="21" | '''Presidential Ballot'''
|-
!||23rd || 24th || 25th || 26th || 27th || 28th || 29th || 30th || 31st || 32nd || 33rd || 34th || 35th || 36th || 37th || 38th || 39th || 40th || 41st || 42nd
|-
![[Stephen A. Douglas|Douglas]] 
|style="background:#5cb3ff"|152.5
|style="background:#5cb3ff"|151.5
|style="background:#5cb3ff"|151.5
|style="background:#5cb3ff"|151.5
|style="background:#5cb3ff"|151.5
|style="background:#5cb3ff"|151.5
|style="background:#5cb3ff"|151.5
|style="background:#5cb3ff"|151.5
|style="background:#5cb3ff"|151.5
|style="background:#5cb3ff"|152.5
|style="background:#5cb3ff"|152.5
|style="background:#5cb3ff"|152.5
|style="background:#5cb3ff"|152
|style="background:#5cb3ff"|151.5
|style="background:#5cb3ff"|151.5
|style="background:#5cb3ff"|151.5
|style="background:#5cb3ff"|151.5
|style="background:#5cb3ff"|151.5
|style="background:#5cb3ff"|151.5
|style="background:#5cb3ff"|151.5
|-
![[James Guthrie (Kentucky politician)|Guthrie]] 
|style="background:#82caff"|41.5
|style="background:#82caff"|41.5
|style="background:#82caff"|41.5
|style="background:#82caff"|41.5
|style="background:#82caff"|42.5
|style="background:#82caff"|42
|style="background:#82caff"|42
|style="background:#82caff"|45
|style="background:#82caff"|47.5
|style="background:#82caff"|47.5
|style="background:#82caff"|47.5
|style="background:#82caff"|47.5
|style="background:#82caff"|47.5
|style="background:#82caff"|48
|style="background:#82caff"|64.5
|style="background:#82caff"|66
|style="background:#82caff"|66.5
|style="background:#82caff"|66.5
|style="background:#82caff"|66.5
|style="background:#82caff"|66.5
|-
![[Robert M. T. Hunter|Hunter]] 
|style="background:#c2dfff"|25
|style="background:#c2dfff"|25
|style="background:#c2dfff"|35
|style="background:#c2dfff"|25
|style="background:#c2dfff"|25
|style="background:#c2dfff"|25
|style="background:#c2dfff"|25
|style="background:#c2dfff"|25
|style="background:#c2dfff"|32.5
|style="background:#c2dfff"|22.5
|style="background:#c2dfff"|22.5
|style="background:#c2dfff"|22.5
|style="background:#c2dfff"|22
|style="background:#c2dfff"|22
|style="background:#c2dfff"|16
|style="background:#c2dfff"|16
|style="background:#c2dfff"|16
|style="background:#c2dfff"|16
|style="background:#c2dfff"|16
|style="background:#c2dfff"|16
|-
![[Joseph Lane|Lane]] 
||19.5
||19.5
||9.5
||9
||8
||8
||7.5
||5.5
||5.5
||14.5
||14.5
||12.5
||13
||13
||12.5
||13
||12.5
||12.5
||13
||13
|-
![[Daniel S. Dickinson|Dickinson]] 
||0.5
||1.5
||1.5
||12
||12
||12.5
||13
||13
||3
||3
||3
||5
||4.5
||4.5
||5.5
||5.5
||5.5
||5.5
||5
||5
|-
![[Andrew Johnson|Johnson]] 
||12
||12
||12
||12
||12
||12
||12
||11
||11
||11
||11
||11
||12
||12
||0.5
|style="background:#d3d3d3"|0
|style="background:#d3d3d3"|0
|style="background:#d3d3d3"|0
|style="background:#d3d3d3"|0
|style="background:#d3d3d3"|0
|-
![[Jefferson Davis|Davis]] 
||1
||1
||1
||1
||1
||1
||1
||1
||1
||1
||1
||1
||1
||1
||1.5
|style="background:#d3d3d3"|0
|style="background:#d3d3d3"|0
|style="background:#d3d3d3"|0
|style="background:#d3d3d3"|0
|style="background:#d3d3d3"|0
|-
!Withdrawn
||51
||51
||51
||51
||51
||51
||51
||51
||51
||51
||51
||51
||51
||51
||51
||51
||51
||51
||51
||51
|}

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center"
! colspan="16" | '''Presidential Ballot'''
|-
!||43rd || 44th || 45th || 46th || 47th || 48th || 49th || 50th || 51st || 52nd || 53rd || 54th || 55th || 56th || 57th
|-
![[Stephen A. Douglas|Douglas]] 
|style="background:#5cb3ff"|151.5
|style="background:#5cb3ff"|151.5
|style="background:#5cb3ff"|151.5
|style="background:#5cb3ff"|151.5
|style="background:#5cb3ff"|151.5
|style="background:#5cb3ff"|151.5
|style="background:#5cb3ff"|151.5
|style="background:#5cb3ff"|151.5
|style="background:#5cb3ff"|151.5
|style="background:#5cb3ff"|151.5
|style="background:#5cb3ff"|151.5
|style="background:#5cb3ff"|151.5
|style="background:#5cb3ff"|151.5
|style="background:#5cb3ff"|151.5
|style="background:#5cb3ff"|151.5
|-
![[James Guthrie (Kentucky politician)|Guthrie]] 
|style="background:#82caff"|65.5
|style="background:#82caff"|65.5
|style="background:#82caff"|65.5
|style="background:#82caff"|65.5
|style="background:#82caff"|65.5
|style="background:#82caff"|65.5
|style="background:#82caff"|65.5
|style="background:#82caff"|65.5
|style="background:#82caff"|65.5
|style="background:#82caff"|65.5
|style="background:#82caff"|65.5
|style="background:#82caff"|61
|style="background:#82caff"|65.5
|style="background:#82caff"|65.5
|style="background:#82caff"|65.5
|-
![[Robert M. T. Hunter|Hunter]] 
|style="background:#c2dfff"|16
|style="background:#c2dfff"|16
|style="background:#c2dfff"|16
|style="background:#c2dfff"|16
|style="background:#c2dfff"|16
|style="background:#c2dfff"|16
|style="background:#c2dfff"|16
|style="background:#c2dfff"|16
|style="background:#c2dfff"|16
|style="background:#c2dfff"|16
|style="background:#c2dfff"|16
|style="background:#c2dfff"|20.5
|style="background:#c2dfff"|16
|style="background:#c2dfff"|16
|style="background:#c2dfff"|16
|-
![[Joseph Lane|Lane]] 
||13
||13
||13
||13
||13
||13
||14
||14
||14
||14
||14
||16
||14
||14
||14
|-
![[Daniel S. Dickinson|Dickinson]] 
||5
||5
||5
||5
||5
||5
||4
||4
||4
||4
||4
||2
||4
||4
||4
|-
![[Jefferson Davis|Davis]] 
||1
||1
||1
||1
||1
||1
||1
||1
||1
||1
||1
||1
||1
||1
||1
|-
!Withdrawn
||51
||51
||51
||51
||51
||51
||51
||51
||51
||51
||51
||51
||51
||51
||51
|}

<br />
'''1st Day of Presidential Balloting / 8th Day of Convention (Tuesday, May 1, 1860)'''
<gallery perrow="6" style="text-align:center;">
File:1860DemocraticPresidentialNomination1stBallot.png|'''1st Ballot'''
File:1860DemocraticPresidentialNomination2ndBallot.png|'''2nd Ballot'''
File:1860DemocraticPresidentialNomination3rdBallot.png|'''3rd Ballot'''
File:1860DemocraticPresidentialNomination4thBallot.png|'''4th Ballot'''
File:1860DemocraticPresidentialNomination5thBallot.png|'''5th Ballot'''
File:1860DemocraticPresidentialNomination6thBallot.png|'''6th Ballot'''
File:1860DemocraticPresidentialNomination7thBallot.png|'''7th Ballot'''
File:1860DemocraticPresidentialNomination8thBallot.png|'''8th Ballot'''
File:1860DemocraticPresidentialNomination9thBallot.png|'''9th Ballot'''
File:1860DemocraticPresidentialNomination10thBallot.png|'''10th Ballot'''
File:1860DemocraticPresidentialNomination11th12thBallots.png|'''11th Ballot'''
File:1860DemocraticPresidentialNomination11th12thBallots.png|'''12th Ballot'''
</gallery>
<br />
'''2nd Day of Presidential Balloting / 9th Day of Convention (Wednesday, May 2, 1860)'''
<gallery perrow="8" style="text-align:center;">
File:1860DemocraticPresidentialNomination13thBallot.png|'''13th Ballot'''
File:1860DemocraticPresidentialNomination14thBallot.png|'''14th Ballot'''
File:1860DemocraticPresidentialNomination15thBallot.png|'''15th Ballot'''
File:1860DemocraticPresidentialNomination16th17th20thBallots.png|'''16th Ballot'''
File:1860DemocraticPresidentialNomination16th17th20thBallots.png|'''17th Ballot'''
File:1860DemocraticPresidentialNomination18th19thBallots.png|'''18th Ballot'''
File:1860DemocraticPresidentialNomination18th19thBallots.png|'''19th Ballot'''
File:1860DemocraticPresidentialNomination16th17th20thBallots.png|'''20th Ballot'''
File:1860DemocraticPresidentialNomination21st22ndBallots.png|'''21st Ballot'''
File:1860DemocraticPresidentialNomination21st22ndBallots.png|'''22nd Ballot'''
File:1860DemocraticPresidentialNomination23rdBallot.png|'''23rd Ballot'''
File:1860DemocraticPresidentialNomination24thBallot.png|'''24th Ballot'''
File:1860DemocraticPresidentialNomination25thBallot.png|'''25th Ballot'''
File:1860DemocraticPresidentialNomination26thBallot.png|'''26th Ballot'''
File:1860DemocraticPresidentialNomination27thBallot.png|'''27th Ballot'''
File:1860DemocraticPresidentialNomination28thBallot.png|'''28th Ballot'''
File:1860DemocraticPresidentialNomination29thBallot.png|'''29th Ballot'''
File:1860DemocraticPresidentialNomination30thBallot.png|'''30th Ballot'''
File:1860DemocraticPresidentialNomination31stBallot.png|'''31st Ballot'''
File:1860DemocraticPresidentialNomination32nd33rdBallots.png|'''32nd Ballot'''
File:1860DemocraticPresidentialNomination32nd33rdBallots.png|'''33rd Ballot'''
File:1860DemocraticPresidentialNomination34thBallot.png|'''34th Ballot'''
File:1860DemocraticPresidentialNomination35thBallot.png|'''35th Ballot'''
File:1860DemocraticPresidentialNomination36thBallot.png|'''36th Ballot'''
File:1860DemocraticPresidentialNomination37thBallot.png|'''37th Ballot'''
File:1860DemocraticPresidentialNomination38thBallot.png|'''38th Ballot'''
File:1860DemocraticPresidentialNomination39th40thBallots.png|'''39th Ballot'''
File:1860DemocraticPresidentialNomination39th40thBallots.png|'''40th Ballot'''
File:1860DemocraticPresidentialNomination41st42ndBallots.png|'''41st Ballot'''
File:1860DemocraticPresidentialNomination41st42ndBallots.png|'''42nd Ballot'''
File:1860DemocraticPresidentialNomination43rd44th45th46th47th48thBallots.png|'''43rd Ballot'''
File:1860DemocraticPresidentialNomination43rd44th45th46th47th48thBallots.png|'''44th Ballot'''
File:1860DemocraticPresidentialNomination43rd44th45th46th47th48thBallots.png|'''45th Ballot'''
File:1860DemocraticPresidentialNomination43rd44th45th46th47th48thBallots.png|'''46th Ballot'''
File:1860DemocraticPresidentialNomination43rd44th45th46th47th48thBallots.png|'''47th Ballot'''
File:1860DemocraticPresidentialNomination43rd44th45th46th47th48thBallots.png|'''48th Ballot'''
File:1860DemocraticPresidentialNomination49th50th51st52nd53rd55th56th57thBallots.png|'''49th Ballot'''
File:1860DemocraticPresidentialNomination49th50th51st52nd53rd55th56th57thBallots.png|'''50th Ballot'''
File:1860DemocraticPresidentialNomination49th50th51st52nd53rd55th56th57thBallots.png|'''51st Ballot'''
File:1860DemocraticPresidentialNomination49th50th51st52nd53rd55th56th57thBallots.png|'''52nd Ballot'''
File:1860DemocraticPresidentialNomination49th50th51st52nd53rd55th56th57thBallots.png|'''53rd Ballot'''
File:1860DemocraticPresidentialNomination54thBallot.png|'''54th Ballot'''
File:1860DemocraticPresidentialNomination49th50th51st52nd53rd55th56th57thBallots.png|'''55th Ballot'''
File:1860DemocraticPresidentialNomination49th50th51st52nd53rd55th56th57thBallots.png|'''56th Ballot'''
File:1860DemocraticPresidentialNomination49th50th51st52nd53rd55th56th57thBallots.png|'''57th Ballot'''
</gallery>

== Baltimore convention (Northern Democratic) ==
The Democrats re-convened at the Front Street Theater (destroyed in the [[Great Baltimore Fire]] of 1904) in [[Baltimore]], [[Maryland]], on 18 June.

=== Delegate re-admission disagreement ===
The resumed convention's first business was to decide whether to re-admit the delegates who had walked out of the Charleston session, or to seat replacement delegates who had been named by pro-Douglas Democrats in some states: other delegates had boycotted the Baltimore convention.

The credentials committee's majority report recommended re-admitting all delegates except those from [[Louisiana]] and Alabama, while the minority report recommended re-admitting some of the Louisiana and Alabama delegates as well. On June 22, the minority (Southern) report failed to be substituted for that of the majority (Northern) report by a vote of {{frac|100|1|2}}-150.
<br />
<gallery perrow="1" style="text-align:center;">
File:1860NDCMinorityReportSubstitutionVote.png|'''Minority Report Substitution Vote'''
</gallery>

After the rejection of the minority report, two votes were taken on the reconsideration of the substitution vote. At first, New York revived hopes of adopting the minority report by voting for its reconsideration. But during the second vote on reconsideration, New York switched back to its original vote.
<br />
<gallery perrow="2" style="text-align:center;">
File:1860NDCMinorityReport1stReconsiderationVote.png|'''1st Reconsideration Vote'''
File:1860NDCMinorityReport2ndReconsiderationVote.png|'''2nd Reconsideration Vote'''
</gallery>

With the admission of the new Louisiana and Alabama delegates, 56 delegates - most of those remaining from the South, and a scattering of delegates from northern and far western states - all walked out of the convention in protest.<ref name="CQ">{{cite book
  | title = Congressional Quarterly's Guide to U.S. Elections
  | publisher = Congressional Quarterly, Inc.
  | year = 1985
  | location = Washington, DC
  | pages = [https://archive.org/details/congressionalqua0000unse/page/45 45–46, 169]
  | isbn = 0-87187-339-7
  | url-access = registration
  | url = https://archive.org/details/congressionalqua0000unse/page/45
  }}</ref>

=== Presidential balloting ===
After the convention resumed voting on a nominee, Douglas received {{frac|173|1|2}} of the {{frac|190|1|2}} votes cast on the first ballot (the 58th overall), and {{frac|181|1|2}} votes of the {{frac|194|1|2}} votes cast on the second ballot (the 59th overall).

A rollcall was taken following the second ballot, and it was realized that there were only {{frac|194|1|2}} delegates present, meaning that there were insufficient delegates for Douglas to receive the 202 votes required by Cushing's ruling at the first convention.

After the delegates unanimously voted to rescind that ruling, it was declared by acclamation that Douglas had received the required two-thirds of the votes cast, and he was therefore nominated.

==== Presidential candidates ====
<gallery perrow="2">
File:BradyHandy-StephenADouglas restored.jpg|[[List of United States senators from Illinois|Senator]] '''[[Stephen A. Douglas]]''' of Illinois
File:JamesGuthrieKentuckyCropped.png|Former [[Secretary of the Treasury]] '''[[James Guthrie (Kentucky politician)|James Guthrie]]''' of Kentucky
</gallery>

==== Declined ====
<gallery perrow="2">
File:John C Breckinridge-04775-restored.jpg|[[Vice President of the United States|Vice President]]<br /> '''[[John C. Breckinridge]]''' <br />of [[Kentucky]]
File:Hon. Horatio Seymour, N.Y - NARA - 528568 (cropped).jpg|Former [[List of Governors of New York|Governor]] '''[[Horatio Seymour]]''' of [[New York (state)|New York]]
</gallery>

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center"
! colspan="3" | '''Northern Democratic Presidential Ballot'''
|-
!||1st || 2nd
|-
![[Stephen A. Douglas|Douglas]] 
|style="background:#5cb3ff"|173.5
|style="background:#5cb3ff"|181.5
|-
![[James Guthrie (Kentucky politician)|Guthrie]] 
|style="background:#82caff"|9
|style="background:#c2dfff"|5.5
|-
![[John C. Breckinridge|Breckinridge]] 
|style="background:#c2dfff"|5.5
|style="background:#82caff"|7.5
|-
![[Horatio Seymour|Seymour]] 
||1
|style="background:#d3d3d3"|0
|-
![[Thomas S. Bocock|Bocock]] 
||1
|style="background:#d3d3d3"|0
|-
![[Daniel S. Dickinson|Dickinson]] 
||0.5
|style="background:#d3d3d3"|0
|-
![[Henry A. Wise|Wise]] 
||0.5
|style="background:#d3d3d3"|0
|-
!Withdrawn / not voting
||112
||108.5
|}
<br />
<gallery perrow="2" style="text-align:center;">
File:1860NorthernDemocraticPresidentialNomination1stBallot.png|'''1st Ballot'''
File:1860NorthernDemocraticPresidentialNomination2ndBallot.png|'''2nd Ballot'''
</gallery>

=== Vice-presidential balloting ===
Senator [[Benjamin Fitzpatrick]] of Alabama was the only candidate for the vice-presidential nomination.

During the call of the states, every vote recorded was in favor of Fitzpatrick with no exception until Pennsylvania was reached. One of Pennsylvania's votes was announced for former state senator [[William Cowper Alexander|William C. Alexander]] of New Jersey. Upon this announcement, a New Jersey delegate informed the delegates that he had been authorized before the convention, by Alexander himself, not to allow his name to be presented as a candidate. The Pennsylvanian who desired Alexander cast one blank vote thereafter.

==== Vice-presidential candidate ====
<gallery perrow="1">
File:BenjaminFitzpatrick.png|[[List of United States senators from Alabama|Senator]] '''[[Benjamin Fitzpatrick]]''' of Alabama
</gallery>

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center"
! colspan="3" | '''Northern Democratic Vice Presidential Ballot'''
|-
!||1st (Before Shift) || 1st (After Shift)
|-
![[Benjamin Fitzpatrick|Fitzpatrick]] 
|style="background:#5cb3ff"|198.5
|style="background:#5cb3ff"|198.5
|-
![[William Cowper Alexander|Alexander]] 
|style="background:#82caff"|1
|style="background:#d3d3d3"|0
|-
!Withdrawn / not voting
||103.5
||104.5
|}
<br />
<gallery perrow="2" style="text-align:center;">
File:1860NorthernDemocraticVicePresidentialNomination1stBallotBefore.png|'''1st Ballot<br /> (Before Shift)'''
File:1860NorthernDemocraticVicePresidentialNomination1stBallotAfter.png|'''1st Ballot<br /> (After Shift)'''
</gallery>

=== Vice-presidential replacement ===
After the unanimous nomination of Fitzpatrick as the candidate for vice president, the convention adjourned on June 23, the sixth and last day of its session. On the same day, but after the adjournment, Fitzpatrick declined the nomination. Fitzpatrick's refusal of the vice-presidential nomination occurred sixteen years after [[Silas Wright]] was the first to turndown the honor. In 1924, [[Frank Lowden]] would be the third and last person to date who refused their party's vice-presidential nomination.

==== Vice-presidential candidate ====
<gallery perrow="1">
Image:HerschelVespasianJohnson.png|Former [[List of Governors of Georgia|Governor]] '''[[Herschel V. Johnson]]''' of Georgia
</gallery>
Since the convention had already adjourned, the executive committee was required to name a replacement for Fitzpatrick.

On motion of Mr. Dick, the lone remaining delegate from North Carolina, the vice-presidential nomination was conferred on former Senator and Governor [[Herschel V. Johnson]] of [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]]<ref name="CQ"/> by acclamation.

== Baltimore convention (Southern Democratic) ==
[[File:At_Lenud_s_on_the_Santee_the_following_toasts_were_given.jpg|thumb|Toasts made in South Carolina on the [[Independence Day (United States)|Fourth of July]] 1860 include the language "Southern Confederacy," applaud the collapse of the Charleston convention, endorse the Breckinridge–Lane ticket, and deem Lincoln a "Black Republican" (''Charleston Daily Courier'', July 16, 1860)]]
A second convention assembled at Baltimore on June 23, 1860. It was composed chiefly of the delegates who had walked out of or boycotted the Northern Democratic convention.

One of their first acts was to abrogate the two-thirds rule, as had been done by the Douglas convention: both conventions acted under the same necessity, since there were insufficient delegates remaining to allow the preservation of this rule at either convention.

The majority resolutions, whose replacement by the minority report facilitated the collapse of the Charleston convention, were reported and adopted unanimously, amid great applause.

=== Presidential balloting ===
After the adoption of the majority resolutions, the convention proceeded to select their candidates. Four names were placed in nomination: Breckinridge, Dickinson, Hunter, and Lane.

==== Presidential candidates ====
<gallery perrow="5" style="text-align:center;">
File:John C Breckinridge-04775-restored.jpg|[[Vice President of the United States|Vice President]]<br /> '''[[John C. Breckinridge]]'''<br />of [[Kentucky]]
File:DanielSDickinson.png|Former [[List of United States senators from New York|Senator]]<br />'''[[Daniel S. Dickinson]]'''<br />of New York
File:RobertMercerTaliaferroHunter.png|[[List of United States senators from Virginia|Senator]]<br />'''[[Robert Mercer Taliaferro Hunter|Robert M. T. Hunter]]'''<br />of Virginia<br /><small>''(withdrawn)''</small>
File:JosephLane.png|[[List of United States senators from Oregon|Senator]]<br />'''[[Joseph Lane]]'''<br />of Oregon<br /><small>''(withdrawn)''</small>
File:Jefferson Davis by Vannerson, 1859.jpg|[[List of United States senators from Mississippi|Senator]]<br /> '''[[Jefferson Davis]]'''<br />of [[Mississippi]]<br /><small>''(declined consideration)''</small>
</gallery>

Despite instructions from their state convention, the Mississippi delegation, with Jefferson Davis' concurrence, desired that his name be removed from possible consideration for the sake of harmony. The names of Hunter and Lane were subsequently withdrawn in the spirit of harmony and unanimity. After New York cast an obligatory vote for Dickinson, Breckinridge was declared the unanimous choice of the convention for president.

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center"
! colspan="3" | '''Southern Democratic Presidential Ballot'''
|-
!||1st || Unanimous
|-
![[John C. Breckinridge|Breckinridge]] 
|style="background:#5cb3ff"|103.5
|style="background:#5cb3ff"|105.5
|-
![[Daniel S. Dickinson|Dickinson]] 
|style="background:#82caff"|2
|style="background:#d3d3d3"|0
|-
!Unrepresented / Not Voting
||197.5
||197.5
|}

<br />
<gallery perrow="2" style="text-align:center;">
File:1860SouthernDemocraticPresidentialNomination1stBallot.png|'''1st Ballot'''
</gallery>

=== Vice-presidential balloting ===
After the applause for Breckinridge's nomination had subsided, the whole hall resounded with cries for Yancey for Vice President. After Yancey got on his feet, but before he could speak, Lane's name was presented and seconded.

No other names being presented for the office, the states were called and voted unanimously for Lane.

==== Vice-presidential candidates ====
<gallery perrow="2" style="text-align:center;">
File:JosephLane.png|[[List of United States senators from Oregon|Senator]]<br />'''[[Joseph Lane]]'''<br />of Oregon
File:WmLYancey.jpg|Former [[List of United States representatives from Alabama|Representative]]<br />'''[[William Lowndes Yancey|William L. Yancey]]'''<br />of Alabama<br /><small>''(Not Nominated)''</small>
</gallery>

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center"
! colspan="2" | '''Southern Democratic Vice Presidential Ballot'''
|-
!||1st
|-
![[Joseph Lane|Lane]] 
|style="background:#5cb3ff"|105.5
|-
!Unrepresented / Not Voting
||197.5
|}

<br />
<gallery perrow="2" style="text-align:center;">
File:1860SouthernDemocraticVicePresidentialNomination1stBallot.png|'''1st Ballot'''
</gallery>

== Consequences ==
After the break-up of the Charleston convention, many of those present stated that the Republicans were now certain to win the 1860 Presidential election.<ref name="Catton"/>

In the general election, the actual division in Democratic popular votes did not directly affect any state outcomes except [[California]], Oregon, Kentucky, [[Tennessee]], and Virginia. Of these states, only California and Oregon were free states, and although both were carried by Republican nominee [[Abraham Lincoln]] they combined for only seven of Lincoln's 180 electoral votes. The latter three states were slave states that were carried by neither Douglas, Breckinridge nor Lincoln but by [[John Bell (Tennessee politician)|John Bell]], nominee of the [[Constitutional Union Party (United States)|Constitutional Union Party]]. Composed mainly of former Whigs and Know-Nothings, the Constitutional Union Party attempted to ignore the slavery issue in favor of preserving the Union.

Even if California, Oregon and every state carried by Douglas, Breckinridge or Bell had been carried by a single presidential nominee, Lincoln would still have had a large majority of [[Electoral College (United States)|electoral votes]].<ref name="CQ" /> However, the split in the Democratic Party organization was a serious handicap in many states, especially [[Pennsylvania]], and almost certainly reduced the aggregate Democratic popular vote. Pennsylvania's 27 electoral votes were especially decisive in ensuring a Republican victory – had Lincoln failed to carry that state combined with any other free state, he could not have obtained a majority of electoral votes, forcing a contingent election in the House of Representatives.

[[James M. McPherson]] suggested in ''[[Battle Cry of Freedom (book)|Battle Cry of Freedom]]'' that the “Fire-eater” program of breaking up the convention and running a rival ticket was deliberately intended to bring about the election of a Republican as president, and thus trigger secession declarations by the slave-owning states. Whatever the “intent” of the fire-eaters may have been, doubtless many of them favored secession, and the logical, probable, and actual consequence of their actions was to fragment the Democratic party and thereby virtually ensure a Republican victory.<ref>Davis, Jefferson. ''The Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government'' pp. 43-46</ref>

== See also ==
* [[History of the United States Democratic Party]]
* [[U.S. presidential nomination convention]]
* [[List of Democratic National Conventions]]
* [[1860 Republican National Convention]]
* [[1860 United States presidential election]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}
* ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=CJQk9Ax6fZAC Official proceedings of the Democratic national convention, held in 1860, at Charleston and Baltimore]''
* ''Proceedings of the conventions at Charleston and Baltimore. Published by order of the National Democratic Convention assembled in Maryland Institute, Baltimore, and under the supervision of the National Democratic Executive Committee.'' (Breckinridge Faction)

== External links ==
* [http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=29577 Democratic Party Platform of 1860] at ''The American Presidency Project''
* [http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=29614 Democratic Party Platform (Breckinridge Faction) of 1860]

{{sequence|
 prev=[[1856 Democratic National Convention|1856]]<br />[[Cincinnati, Ohio]]|
 list=[[Democratic National Convention]]s|
 next=[[1864 Democratic National Convention|1864]]<br />[[Chicago, Illinois]]|
}}
{{Democratic National Convention}}
{{United States presidential election, 1860}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1860 United States presidential election]]
[[Category:1860 in South Carolina]]
[[Category:19th-century in Charleston, South Carolina]]
[[Category:Events in Charleston, South Carolina]]
[[Category:Conventions in South Carolina]]
[[Category:Political events in South Carolina]]
[[Category:South Carolina Democratic Party]]
[[Category:1860s in Baltimore]]
[[Category:1860 in Maryland]]
[[Category:Political conventions in Baltimore]]
[[Category:Maryland Democratic Party]]
[[Category:Political events in Maryland]]
[[Category:Democratic National Conventions]]
[[Category:Secession crisis of 1860–61]]
[[Category:1860 conferences]]
[[Category:April 1860]]
[[Category:May 1860]]
[[Category:June 1860]]
[[Category:19th-century political conferences]]
[[Category:John C. Breckinridge]]
[[Category:Stephen A. Douglas]]
[[Category:Andrew Johnson]]