At nearly midnight, before the second day of the convention, Cameron had decided that he must give up the battle against Blaine and assent to his nomination, as his delegation had become very refractory, and all knew that Blaine could be nominated whenever all who desired his nomination were free to vote for him. His defeat was planned in and executed from Cameron’s room, who had his trusted lieutenants about him, including the late Robert W. Mackey, who was the most accomplished and practical politician of his day in Pennsylvania, and the late William H. Kemble. It was decided to propose to the Pennsylvania delegation that as they were instructed for Hartranft, and to vote as a unit, they should do so only while Hartranft’s vote increased, and that whenever he dropped in the race the delegation should then vote as a unit as the majority directed. This was enthusiastically accepted by the friends of Blaine, as they believed that Hartranft’s strength would soon be exhausted, and that then they would get a solid vote for Blaine; but Mackey and Kemble, who understood how to manage politicians of every grade, including the carpet-baggers and colored political speculators from the South, arranged with a number of delegations, chiefly in the Southern States, to have Hartranft’s vote increased slightly on every ballot.
Instead of starting Hartranft with an exhibition of his full strength, part of it was held back, and, to the consternation of the Blaine men from this State, Hartranft’s vote was maintained until the climax came in the landslide to Governor Hayes, of Ohio, as a compromise candidate. But for Secretary Cameron and State Treasurer Mackey and ex-State Treasurer Kemble, Blaine’s nomination would have been absolutely certain at the Cincinnati convention in 1876.
The convention had as permanent president Edward McPherson, of Pennsylvania, who was a devoted friend of Blaine, but whose delegation, under the manipulation of Chairman Cameron, was held from Blaine until it was too late to be of service to him. Conkling, of New York, who had the unanimous support of his State, was the favorite candidate of the administration, but from Blaine’s opponents was heard on every side the slogan “anybody to beat Blaine.” It was not until the third day that a ballot was reached, and on the 7th a stampede was made to Governor Hayes, of Ohio, and he was unanimously declared the nominee of the party. The following table exhibits the ballots in detail:
| First. | Second. | Third. | Fourth. | Fifth. | Sixth. | Seventh. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blaine | 285 | 296 | 293 | 292 | 286 | 308 | 351 |
| Morton | 125 | 120 | 113 | 108 | 95 | 85 | — |
| Bristow | 113 | 114 | 121 | 126 | 114 | 111 | 21 |
| Conkling | 99 | 93 | 90 | 84 | 82 | 81 | — |
| Hayes | 61 | 64 | 67 | 68 | 104 | 113 | 384 |
| Hartranft | 58 | 63 | 68 | 71 | 69 | 50 | — |
| Jewell | 11 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Scattering | 3 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 5 | — |
William A. Wheeler, of New York, was nominated for Vice-President without a formal ballot, as soon after the balloting began the several other candidates were withdrawn, and he was nominated by acclamation. The following platform was unanimously adopted:
When, in the economy of Providence, this land was to be purged of human slavery, and when the strength of government of the people, by the people, and for the people, was to be demonstrated, the Republican party came into power. Its deeds have passed into history, and we look back to them with pride. Incited by their memories to high aims for the good of our country and mankind, and looking to the future with unfaltering courage, hope, and purpose, we, the representatives of the party in national convention assembled, make the following declaration of principles:
1. The United States of America is a nation, not a league. By the combined workings of the national and State governments, under their respective Constitutions, the rights of every citizen are secured, at home and abroad, and the common welfare promoted.
2. The Republican party has preserved these governments to the hundredth anniversary of the nation’s birth, and they are now embodiments of the great truths spoken at its cradle, “That all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, among which are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; that for the attainment of these ends governments have been instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.” Until these truths are cheerfully obeyed, or, if need be, vigorously enforced, the work of the Republican party is unfinished.
3. The permanent pacification of the Southern section of the Union, and the complete protection of all its citizens in the free enjoyment of all their rights, is a duty to which the Republican party stands sacredly pledged. The power to provide for the enforcement of the principles embodied by the recent constitutional amendments is vested by those amendments in the Congress of the United States, and we declare it to be the solemn obligation of the legislative and executive departments of the Government to put into immediate and vigorous exercise all their constitutional powers for removing any just causes of discontent on the part of any class, and for securing to every American citizen complete liberty and exact equality in the exercise of all civil, political, and public rights. To this end we imperatively demand a Congress and a Chief Executive whose courage and fidelity to these duties shall not falter until these results are placed beyond dispute or recall.
4. In the first act of Congress signed by President Grant, the National Government assumed to remove any doubts of its purpose to discharge all just obligations to the public creditors, and “solemnly pledged its faith to make provision, at the earliest practicable period, for the redemption of the United States notes in coin.” Commercial prosperity, public morals, and national credit demand that this promise be fulfilled by a continuous and steady progress to specie payment.