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Show A POLITICAL TEXT·DOOK ],OR 1860. mously nominated, and the Convention journed. nd- DE\lOCRATI0 NATIONAL CONVEXTION- 1856. ~ I Thi Convention met at Cinc.innnti on the 2d f June, and chose John E. \Vard, of Georgia, pt·eside, nnd nominated James Duchanau on c 11/th ballot, as follows: Ballots. Buchanan. Pier ce. Douglas. CasA. 1. 135 122 ~3 5 2. 1s9 119; s; 6 8. 1301 119 82 or 4. 141! 119 80 bt 6. 140 ll!lt 31 fit 6. 1 ~5 117! 28 t5t 7. 1 ~11- 89 f> IH 8. 147! 87 1>6 (ij 9. 146 87 f>6 l t 0. llWt Snt f>!l! ~t 11. 14 7 t so 63 f>t 12. H 79 68r or 1:3. 150 77t 63 f>i 14. 152! Tf> 03 5! 15. lOSt 81 11 i 4t lo. HiS 121 6 17. 296 /_,..Mr. Buch:wan having been unanimously nominated fot· Pre~ident, the Conventio:1 proceeded to ballot for a candidate for Vice-President, the first ballot r esulting as follows : J . A. Quitman , i\li ss , . . !ill J. C. Brecklnridge, Ky.,. 55 I.inu lJoy<l, l{ y., ...... Hx B. Fitzpatrick, Ala., .... . 11 A. V. Brown, Tenn., . .. 2!1 1[. V. J oi111A0 n1 Ga., . . .. 31 J. A. Bay a rd, Del. , . .. . :H 'l'rnsten Polk, lifo., . . . . 5 T. J. Ru k, Texa s, . ... . 2 J. C. Dobi.Jin, N. C., .... . 13 On the second ballot, the name of Gen. Quitman was with drawn, n.s were also those of other leading can d i date~, ancl Mr. llrcckimidue was unanirnously notll ina te d. 0 he Conventi on adopted the following r r.ATFOR~l: RMolcecl , That thP Amcri cn.n Democracy place their tru~ t ln. t h~ in lelli~ .. rwc, tile p;ltriotism, and the dillcrirlH: tatmg J UStrcc of the Arne r ican people. RuolnJed, 1'ha.t Wl' rcg;trd this as a distinc tive fea ture of our political creed, which we are proud to main tain before the worl1l a~ a. g reat moral element in a form o f gov: rn rnent ~p r in({ing-. fro~n a nd upheld hy the popular will, m; ci we co11tra~t. tt " rth the c reed and pmctice of Federail m, u ~<lcr \l'hatcver name or form, which seek3 to ~ alsy the wrll of 1 he Constituent, aild which conceives no 1mpo t ur t:l toom on~ l ro us for the popula r cr edulity. R~sol/o~d, then·fo rc, 'l'hnt entertaining these views the Democr a tr c_ parly of t lli · Un ion, through their dcleg;tes as~e.m bl cd 111 genera l Un11 vention, coming t ogether in ~ s prnt of concord, of dt•vot inn to the doctrine8 and faith or .a free reJ~r~·~entatl\"t· )!Overnment, an<l appealing to therr fdiOW·Cit IZr nS for I he rectitude Of their l ntenti ~n s renew an<l reasse rt. ht-fore the American people th~ d eclaratioHs . of p~in cipl cs avowed by them, wh e~, on f~rme r nc~asron s,_ur g.:I Icral Convention, they have p re~ n t e•l tlreu· ca,n <i r<l att·~ fur the popular· su!Trage. I 1: That the F e<ieral G-overnment is one or lim ited power d u rved solely fro'!' the Constitution, and the grants or' p ower made ther em ought to be stri ctly constr.ued by a ll ~h~ <~epn.rtmc:nt ... Hnll agents or the Government, and that rt rs r ~wx pcdren t am! danger ous t o ex ercise d oubtful constitutiOnal powers. 2. TIJat the Const itution does n ot confer upon the General Gove rnmen t the power to commence and car on a J(cneral system of int ernal improvements. ry l 8. Tha t t.he Cons titution docs not oonfer authority upon t 1e Federal Government., directly or indirectly to assume ~he debts of the several States, contracted fo; local and nternal improvements, or o ther State purpo8es nor would such_a s~mption be just or expedient, ' 4.. Tha t JUSttce and sound policy forbid the Federal Government to foster one branch of industry to the de tri mfent of a nother, or to cherish the Inte rests of one portion o ~ur common country; that every citizen and ever s ectton of the .country has a right to demand and lnsi!t ~on an equality or rights and privileges, and a complete and ample protection of p ersons ancl p r op erty rrom d mestic violence and foreign aggres~ i on . IS. 1'hn.t it Is the uuty of e very branch o r the Govern. 1ent t o enfor ce and )Jrnctice the most r igiu economy in conducting our public al6a irs , au<l thn t no more r evt:lnu11 ought to be rail!etl than hl r equir eu to defray the necet· sary expenses of the go vemment, and gradual hut certain extinction of the public d eb t. 6. 'J'h at the proceed!! of the p ublic la nds ought to be ~n c reclly applied t o the nation a l ohj ects spec ified in the Cons titution, arHl that we ;tre opposcd to any law for the dlst ribut ion of such proceeds among ti ro Stat cs, ns alike H;xpcd ieot i n policy, and r epugnaut to the Const itution .. 1'hat CongreHs has no powe r to charter a Natlo nlll llank; that we belie ve such an institution OHC of deadlr hostil ity to the best in terests o f t his count ry, d angerous to our r epublican insti tutions an<l the lihe r tic:~ of the people, nnd c alc ulated to place the b u~i n css o f the countr1 within the control or a concentrn tccl 111oney p ower and above the Ia w :~ and will of the people ; n tHl the results of the Dcrnocral ic legisl:\tion in th is nnu a ll ot her financial mea sures upon which issues have been made between ~he two polit ical parties of the country , have demonstrated to Cl\ndid a tHI p ra ctical men of all partie:~ their ~ound· n es~, safety and util ity in all business pur 'Hill:!. 8. That the separation of the moneys of the Govern· ment from ban king i n:j ti lu tions is ind ispensable to the su fcty of the funds of the Government a ud the r ights or tire people. 9. 'J'hnt we nre d ecid edly op posed to tn ki ng from the President tile qualified Ve to }Hnvel', by which he is ena· bl ed, under restrictions and rc~ p ousl bil itie!l amply sum. c ient to guard the public i nt cre~ts , to Ruspcnd t he passabrt o f. a bill whose merits cannot secure the a p p rovnl of twothrrds of the Senate and H ouse of H.~!p rcse ut at iv es, until the judgment of the people can be obtained th ereon and which has saved the American people from the co;·rupt and tyra nnical d ominion of the Bank of the United ~tale:! , and from a corrupting system of gene r al internal Impro vements. 10. 'J'hat the liberal prin ciples embod ied by J efferson In the Decl11 ration or Independence, aud sanctioned in the Constitut ion, which makes our:! the laud of li ber ty and the a sylum of the oppressed o f ev ery n ation, have ever been cardinal principles in the Democratic fa ith; and every attempt to a b ridge the privil cgc of becoming citiz: ns an_rl the ownr rs of soil among Ul'l o ught to be resrs ted wrth the same spirit which swep t the a lien and sotl ition laws from our statute books. And wher eas, Since the foregoi ng declarati on was unlo forruly atlopt t:d by our predecessors in Nation al Conven· tion, :w ad verse politi cal and r eligious test has been sec r e t!~ o rga ni ze~! ~y a party cla iming to bo exclusively Arnen can, an <I tt rs proper that the A mcr ican Dcmocrac1 should clearly define its r elatl ons the reto· and declan its det ermined opposition to all secret p olitica l societles, by wha tever name they may be called. R~sof..fJed, Tha t the fo undation of th is Un ion of Stntea hav.~n ~ been laid in, and its prosperity, expa ns ion, and ~ reenun c nt e_x a rnple of free government, b ull t upon eo· ttre freedom 111 matters o f r eligious concernmen t, and no r esp ect of per~o n s il\ r egard to rnnk, or place of birth, no y a rty can JUStly be d eemed n ational, constit utionlll, or m acc~nla11c e wi_th American princi ples, which bases its ~ x clu srv~ organrsation upon r eligio us opinions and accrd:ntal I.Jtrtil-place. And hence a poli tical crusade In t~ 1e mnetcen th century, and in the Uni ted States or Arne· r1ca, ngainst ~ atholl cs and foreign-bor n, is n either just ified by t l.re pa~ t hts tot·y n or future pi·ospects of the country, nor tn un1son with th e spirit of t oleration a nd enllght.encd freedom which pec uli arly d lstinguish~s the American sy s tem or popula r g overnment. Rtlo/n;~d, 'l'hut we reiterate with r en ewed energy of purpose the well conside red decln.mtions o f former conVt: lntions upon the secti onal issue of d omestic s lav~:ry ancl con cerning the r eserved r igh ts or the Stl.ltes- 1_. 'l'hat Congress has no power under the Const itutioo to tnter fere with or contr ol tbe d omest ic i n ~ ti tut io ns of the several States, and that all s uch , tales are the sole nnd p rop er judges of everyth ing ap1,ertaining to their own a.lrarrs not prohibited by the Co n!! t itu tion; t.bat all effo rts of the Abolitionis ts or oth e rs made to Induce Con· gre~s to inte rfere with questi ons of Slavery, or to take lncrpient ste ps in r elation th er e to, are c al c ul a ted to lead to the most alarming and dangerous comequen ces, and that all euch e.lrorts have an inev it ·1ble tendency to di· mlnl.s~ the happiness of the people and endanger the stab1lrty and permanency of the Union a mi ought not t.o ?e countenanced by any friend of o u;. p olitical ineti· tutrons. 2. 'I'hat the foregoing proposition cov ers and was In• tended to embrace the whole subject or Slanry agitation in Congress, and therefore the Dt:lmocralic p1.u·tr of the NATIONAL CONVENTION.3 AND PLATFORMS. Union, sta nding on th is n a tion11l platfurm, will abi<le 'by and tldhere to a fait hfu l e xcc u~ io n of the a c ts known a t• the Compromise l\f casu rc;~, sctlle1l by the Congre1!!1 or 1850: '1 the :~c t for r eclaiming fugitives fro111 service or labor " included; which act, being d esi ~ned to carry o u t. n.n <'X)lres~ p rovh lon o r the Con:Hitut ion, cnnnot , with fidelity thereto, be re pea led 1 or :w cha nged as to de:st roy o r inq•<lll' its c tli cienc.v. 3. 'l'h;lt. the Ut!IIIOc r atic Pa rty will r e>ll!lt nll attempts a t reiiCWIII~, i 11 C • >IIJ.( r.: ~s or ouL of it, the agitation of I he Sl a v..:ry ((llt!:ltior>, under whatever Hhape or colur the a ttempt 1ua.v ht! 111adc. 4. 'l'haL t he Oemocrntic Party will fai thfully abide by and u phold t he p rin c iples laid down in t he K entu cky and Vi rgi nia re:lolu tio ns of 171:17 an<l 1798, a n d in the r e p ort of Mr. Mad i~o n to the Virgi nia Legislat ure in 17ll!l - that. it adopts thc.;e pl'incip les u conotituting one o f the lllllin f() u ndal io ns of its po litical creed, and is r csolvell to ca.ny them out in their obvious meaning and import. Ancl that we may more distinctly meet the Issue on which a sectio na l party, ubsisting exclusively on ~ l avery ap-itation , now r e lics to test the ficlellty of the p eople, North a nd o uth, to the Const it ution and the UnioH- 1. Rt1Mlved, That claiming fe llowship with a nd desir ing the coiiperation of a ll who regard Lhe p reser vation o'f the Unlort under tire Constitution as the paramount il!s ue, and repudiating nil !lCCtiona.l p arLies ancl p la tfo rms con cerning tl omestic Slaver.v, which seek to erubroil the St a tes and incite to treason and a rmed resistance to Jaw In the Tc rritorle!!, and whose a vowed p u rpose, if consumm: ttecl, must end in civil war and disunion, t he American Oemocracy r ecognize a nd adopt the p rinciples contained in the organic laws establishi ng the 'l'crritories of Nebraska a nd l~ :w ::;as, n embodying the only sound a nu safe l!Olu tion Of t he lavery q uestion, upon which the g reat nation:tl idea or the people of this whole country can 1·epose in it!l d etermined conser vation of the Union, n.nd non-int erference o f Cong 1·e s with ::\lavery in the 'l'err itorie8 or in the District of Columbia. 2. 'l'ha.t this was the basis or the cumpromises of 1 51), confirmed by both t he Democratic and Whig p:~rticl! in National Conventions, ratified b y t he p eople in the e lec-tion of 1 '52, rLnd ri ghtly a p pl:ed to the org<tniza tion of the 'l'er ritories in 1 5 t p 3. 'l'h:~t by the uniform npplication of th e Democratic princi ple to the organization o f 'l'erritori cs, a nd the ntl· mission of new States wi l.h or without <iomestic lavery, ns they may e lect., t he equal r ights or a ll the ,'tat es will be preserved intact, the o riginal compacts of the Const it ution maint;\in ecl inviol:\te, a nd the p erpetuity a nd ex pansion o f t.he Union insu red to its utmost capacity of embracing, in peace a nd harmony, every fut ure American State that may be constitu ted o r a nnexed with a r ep u blican form of governmen t. lle1Julved 1 'l'hat we recognize the r igh t or the p eopl e of all the Tcrnt ories, including I<:ansas and Nebraska, actopment of our growing p ower, r equires that we shoul4 bold sacr ed t he principles involve<l in the liiM:ROK d oc· trine. Their bea ring &nd import arlmit o f no miscon· stru cti on, n ud should IJe applied with unbending rigidIty . 8. R eROived, Tlrat the g1 eat h ighway, whlrh nature as we ll as the as~ent of 't ales mo:lt imm •diat<:l.Y interestt>d in its maiutcnance h a:o~ marked out for free communicat ion h t:ltween the Atlan t ic and the Pacific Oceans, constitutes one of the rno t important aclti 'vcrnellts realized by t ile spirit of modern times, in the un<"onquerahlc en e rgy of our people; and t hat result would he Hecurcd by a timely an1l ellicient e xertion of t he control which we have Lhe r ight to c laim over it; and 110 power on earth should be su ffe r ed to impede o r clog its p rogrc&~ by a ny in t erference with rel:1tions that it r11ay suiL our policy to e!:!tablit~ h between our UO\'Crnment and the ~ovc rn me n t of t he l::Hates within who:.e dominionli 1t lies; we can u nder no cir·cumHtance surrender our prepondern. nce in the adj ustment or all questions aris.ng out o r it. 4. R esowed, That, in view of so comm:u11ling an interest, the people of tire nitcci States cannot but sympathize with tbe efforts which are being made by the people of Centml America to r·egeneratc that portion of the cQntinent which covers the pa!!sage aero~:! the interoceanic isthmus. 6. Resolved 'l'hat the Democratic Party will expect of t he next Administration that every proper effort ue made t o insure our a scendency In the Uulf o f i\l exico, and to mnintaiu permanc:~t p rotection to th ·~ great o u t let!! t hrough which arc emptied into its wr1ters the producl~ raised out of t he soil and the commodities c reated by the industry of ll1o people of our we8tcrn valleys and of the Union at large. R esolved, 1'hat the Administration or FH.I NK LIS P n;RCF: has b een t rue to Democratic principle , amJ the r e for e t rue to the g reat interests of the country; in the face of violent o ppo~ition , he has maintained the la ws aL home, and vindit'alt•d the rights of American citizen8 a broad; a nd thcrcf•HC we proclaim our unqua li.ficd a dmira tion of hi:! measures and policy. WliiG CO ~ VE ~'l'I OX-185G. A \Vhig National ConvC'ntion met nt llaltimore on the 17th of Sept., 1856-Ecl \\ :uti Rltes, o f Mi souri, prcsidn .g. The nominations of Millard :Fillmore for P rcsiJcnt, allll Andrew J . Done! on for Vice-r1·c ·idem, wP rc unanimously conc urred in. The Con vcntion adopted the follo wi ng P L A TFOR ~{: ing t hrough the legally and fairly ex p ressed will of the Reso!Jved, That the Whigs of the Unitr<1 State~, now majority of the actua l r esiden ts, and whenever the n u m- here assembled, hereby declare their rcven'nce for tho b er of their inhabitants justifies it, to form a. Constitu- Constitu tion of the Uniteu ' tales, their u nall emble attion, with or without domestic Slavery, aud be admitted tach rnent to the National Union, and a fixed det ermina-in to the Union upon t erms of p erfec t equality with the tion to do a ll in t heir p ower to preserve them for themother ~tttl.es. sclvel:! a nd their po:~teri t y. They have no new princip lell Re.~otved, jlnally, That in view of t he condition o f to announce ; no n ew platform to establish; but are popul a r i n~ tit u tio n s in the Old World (and the danger·- coutent to broa d ly rest- where their fathers r estedo us tendencies of sectio na l agit ation, combined with the upon the Con::~titution of the Uuited State:~, wl::!hing no o.ttemvt to enforce civil a ud r eligioutl d i8abill t ies agai n ::~t safer guide, no higher hnv. the r igh ts of llcqulring a nd enj oying citizen8hlp in our R esolved, That we regard with the deepest Interest O\Vn land), o. high and sacred duty is involved with in- a ncl anxiety the p r esent disordered condition of our creased responsibility u pon the Democratic Party or this natjon a l a n·alrs-a portion of the country ravaged by country, a!! t he party of the Union, to up hold and nmin- civil wa r, large sections of our population e•nbittcred by t a in the rights of e ver.v tate and thereby the Union of m utual recrimination!l; and we distinctly trace these the States-an<! t o sustain and advance a mong us con- calamit ies to the culpable neglect of duty l>y the present s tituti on:ll libert.y, by continuing to r esist a ll monopolies uational ndmini:,.tmt lon. and exclusive legislation for t he ben efit or the few a t the Re.~olved, That tl1e Oovernment of the United ~tates expense of t he many, ancl by a vigilant an•l cons tant w a~ formed by the conju nction in political unity of wide adherence to those prin ciples and comp romises of t he spread geographical llections materially difrering, not Constitution- which a re broad enough and !!tro ng only in c limate t\nd products, but in social and domestic enough t0 embra ce an<l uphold the lJ u ion as it was, t lac insti tutions; and that nny C <~ use that shall permanently Union as it is, tLnd the Union as it s hall be-in the full arm y the d ifferent sections of the Union in political hosCltJ) t"ee>slon of the en er gies and capacity of t hi11 great nnu t il it.y arHI organized p arties founded on ly ou geographical prog ressive people. d ist in ct :ons must incvital>ly p rove fa ta l to a continuance 1. Resol!Verf, 'J'hat there a re quest ions connect ed wi th of the National Union. the fo reign policy or this country which are in fe rior to Re~Jol-ved, '!'hat tho Whigs or the United States decla r e, no domest ic q ues tion whatever. 'I'lte t ime has come for as a fundamental a rticle o f p oli tical f:tith, an a bsolute the })eople of the Unitcu St.a tes to declare th em:!el ves in necessity for a voiding geographical par·ties. 'l'he danger, favor of free sea s, and prc greas lve free tm dc th roughout so c lcally discerned l>y t he .Fat her o f his Coun t r·y, has the world, and, by solemr. ma ni festations, to place t ltt:lir n ow become fea rfully apparent in the agittltion n ow moral in flu ence a t the side of their successful examp le. con vulsing the n a tion, a nd must be a r rested at once if ~- R e8otved , 'rhat our geograp hical and political pol>i- we would p reser ve ou r Constitution and o ur L'nion frorn tion wi t h r e fer ence to the o ther s tates or this con tinen t, d l:;membenuent, and the name o r Ame:-ica from bc:ng no less than the lnterc1:1t of our commer ce aud the tlevol- 1 blotted out f , om the fa rnlly of civilized na tions. |
