Only two ballots were had for President, and on the second Hancock was so largely in the lead, having 320 to 128¹⁄₂ for Randall, that the delegations began to change their votes until Hancock had 705 to 33 for all others. The following table gives the ballots in detail:
| CANDIDATES. | First. | Second. | After changes. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winfield S. Hancock, Pennsylvania | 171 | 320 | 705 | ||
| Thomas F. Bayard, Delaware | 153 | ¹⁄₂ | 113 | 2 | |
| Henry B. Payne, Ohio | 81 | — | — | ||
| Allen G. Thurman, Ohio | 68 | ¹⁄₂ | 50 | — | |
| Stephen J. Field, California | 65 | 65 | ¹⁄₂ | — | |
| William R. Morrison, Illinois | 62 | — | — | ||
| Thomas A. Hendricks, Indiana | 50 | ¹⁄₂ | 31 | 30 | |
| Samuel J. Tilden, New York | 38 | 6 | 1 | ||
| Horatio Seymour, New York | 8 | — | — | ||
| Samuel J. Randall, Pennsylvania | — | 128 | ¹⁄₂ | — | |
| Scattering | 31 | 22 | — | ||
As Indiana was one of the debatable States, William H. English, of that State, was nominated for Vice-President, with only Richard M. Bishop, of Ohio, named against him. Before the ballot had proceeded to any considerable extent, Bishop’s name was withdrawn, and English given a unanimous nomination. The following platform was unanimously adopted:
The Democrats of the United States, in convention assembled, declare—
1. We pledge ourselves anew to the constitutional doctrines and traditions of the Democratic party, as illustrated by the teachings and example of a long line of Democratic statesmen and patriots, and embodied in the platform of the last national convention of the party.
2. Opposition to centralizationism and to that dangerous spirit of encroachment which tends to consolidate the powers of all the departments in one, and thus to create, whatever be the form of government, a real despotism. No sumptuary laws; separation of Church and State for the good of each; common schools fostered and protected.
3. Home rule; honest money, consisting of gold and silver, and paper convertible into coin on demand; the strict maintenance of the public faith, State and national; and a tariff for revenue only.
4. The subordination of the military to the civil power, and a general and thorough reform of the civil service.
5. The right to a free ballot is the right preservative of all rights, and must and shall be maintained in every part of the United States.
6. The existing administration is the representative of conspiracy only, and its claim of right to surround the ballot-boxes with troops and deputy marshals, to intimidate and obstruct the electors, and the unprecedented use of the veto to maintain its corrupt and despotic power, insult the people and imperil their institutions.