1876 Federal Republican National Convention

The 1876 Republican National Convention was a presidential nominating convention held in Calhoun Mississippi on June 14–16, 1876. The convention finalized the coalition of the Democratic Republican Party and the Federalist Party as a real party of its own, and not just a loose coalition. Colonel James Longstreet was able to shock all who attended the convention by winning the nomination, after his supporters were able to convince enough delegates he was a moderate who could unite the party. Edward S. Bragg was chosen as Longstreet's running mate, and they would go on to win the election, defeating the Labor and Populist nominees.

Background
After much debate, the convention was held in Chicago, Illinois, with Abraham Lincoln as the chairman of the convention.

The main contenders for the nomination were: Governor of New York Frederick W. Seward, former Secretary of State under President Seward Charles Francis Adams, Orator and Senator Hiram R. Revels, Democratic Congressman Edward S. Bragg, and New Mexico Governor Edmund G. Ross. Despite the many high profile names, none were chosen for the nomination. Only one man truly caught the eye of the convention, and that man was James Longstreet.

53 year old Colonel James Longstreet of Georgia had served in the military since 1842 and found himself subject to a growing draft movement, in part due to his military status granting him a lack of a controversial political past or controversial positions. Though a personal friend of Prohibitionist hero Ulysses S. Grant, Longstreet's own views were widely unknown, as were his views on economic and social issues, beyond having commanded black troops. Thus, his supporters argued, that the nomination of a relatively young soldier of rank without positions that could alienate either the Federalists or Democrats of the party would maintain party unity while granting a heroic and popular appeal to the ticket. In opposition, many opponents argued that Longstreet's lack of a political record would be detrimental and that his military record was not significant enough to warrant the presidency, some even went further and accused Longstreet of being a secret Laborite.

Presidential
After the nominating speeches and an interruption by Massachusetts’ George Hoar in an attempt to expand the platform, the balloting began. Seward’s lead seemed assured, yet Longstreet would prove a formidable opponent, gradually gaining until finally and narrowly overtaking Seward by the end of the counting. With Longstreet and Seward in a near tie for first and Revels a close third, the convention’s tension was clear. Revel’s, with the implicit aid of Convention Chairman James L. Alcorn, was able to jump to 97 votes to 98 for Seward, with Longstreet 25 votes ahead. Longstreet’s managers such as Joseph E. Brown of Georgia were jubilant, but cautious of the strength of the New York machine.

With the aid of Chester A. Arthur, Seward was able to stymie the defections from his camp. Revels remained only a handful of votes behind, and Longstreet’s lead grew to 32 votes. The Delaware, Maryland, Maine, New Hampshire, and New Jersey delegations switched to Adams in an attempt to cause an early boom and disrupt the frontrunners. While it weakened Seward and devastated Revels, Longstreet only continued to gain.

Seeing the Adams boom as hopeless, the 5 delegations switched to Edward S. Bragg in yet another unsuccessful attempt to cause a boom, and failed to hurt Longstreet at all. The dark horse Colonel’s lead grew to 75 votes as Illinois’ dying Stephen Douglas and Indiana’s Oliver P. Morton flipped their delegations to him. Bragg’s near boom imploded along with Revels’ strength as the Longstreet won a majority. Chester Arthur was able to gather opponents largely behind Seward, but Ross and the rest saw their support crumble. As Amos Akerman of Georgia, a former delegate to have voted to draft Benjamin Bristow, would put it: “Longstreet is the only man who can unite this convention, we’ve seen corruption and division at this convention and the nation’s ready for unity and progress with a man they can respect.”

Vice Presidential and the unification of the parties
Despite his upset victory, the views of Colonel Longstreet were not well known, and the emissary sent to inform the shocked and reluctant candidate was told to ask Longstreet of any details on his views. Longstreet proceeded to telegram the convention in reply, stating that he had voted only four times before: for States’ Rights candidate Zachary Taylor in 1848, Federalist Winfield Scott in 1852, and Democrat P. G. T. Beauregard in 1864, all due to respect of their military service rather than political consideration; finally, he had voted for Dix in 1872. He declared himself to be “foreign to abstract political principles, but dedicated to equal rights to all, states’ rights, and understanding of the value of a sound currency and protection for industry.”

Thus, with his antecedents seeming mildly Federalist, the convention leaned in the direction of a Democrat for Vice President. Seward and other Federalists remained dedicated to nominating a fellow Federalist as Vice President, declaring “the majority will of this convention stands for Federal principles.” Hiram Revels was the initial frontrunner, but declined the nomination to maintain geographic balance. Yet, it was William Windom who would orchestrate the nomination. Windom, dedicated to party unification, called Bragg for a meeting over cigars with several Federalist organizers. Over three quarters of an hour, Windom would lay out the case for unification and why it would help both elements of the party. Windom then made his pitch: if Bragg, who had led the opposition to unification among the candidates, would throw his support behind unification, Windom would work to flip enough Federalists to his cause to nominate him for Vice President.

Thus in the minutes before the nominating speeches for the Vice Presidency were to begin, Democrat B. Gratz Brown of Missouri introduced the Brown Resolutions, officially forming the Federal Republican Party as a union of two constituent parties on every level of government. Edward Bragg rose to the floor to speak on it, presumed to be in opposition, and shocked the convention by declaring for it. Amidst demonstrations, cheers, and jeers, the Brown Resolutions were passed. William Windom then took to the stage to nominate Bragg for the Vice Presidency, which he would narrowly win despite Frederick Seward and others propping up Shelby Cullom of Illinois.

1876 presidential election
The ticket of Longstreet and Bragg proved to be spectacular in uniting the Federalists and Democratic-Republicans, as Longstreet won in a massive landslide, defeating Labor Nominee Vice President Hendrick B. Wright and Populist nominee Ignatius Donnelly.