| 1832 presidential election | |
  Nominees Jackson and Van Buren | |
| Convention | |
|---|---|
| Date(s) | May 21–23, 1832 |
| City | Baltimore,Maryland |
| Venue | "The Athenaeum" (first), St. Paul and East Lexington Streets Warfield's Church (First Universalist) |
| Candidates | |
| Presidential nominee | Andrew Jackson ofTennessee |
| Vice-presidential nominee | Martin Van Buren ofNew York |
| Voting | |
| Total delegates | 283 |
| Results (president) | Jackson (TN): 283 (100%) |
| Results (vice president) | Van Buren (NY): 208 (73.5%) Barbour (VA): 49 (17.3%) Johnson (KY): 26 (9.2%) |
| 1835 › | |
The1832 Democratic National Convention was held from May 21 to May 23, 1832, inBaltimore, Maryland.[1] In the firstpresidential nominating convention ever held by theDemocratic Party, incumbentPresidentAndrew Jackson was nominated for a second term, while formerSecretary of StateMartin Van Buren was nominated forvice president.
TheAnti-Masonic Party and theNational Republican Party had held the first presidential nominating conventions in 1831, and Jackson's "Kitchen Cabinet" helped organize a Democratic convention in 1832.
As the party leaders assumed that Jackson would be nominated for president, the primary purpose of the convention was to find a new running mate: Vice PresidentJohn C. Calhoun had fallen out with Jackson following thePetticoat affair and theNullification Crisis, and subsequently resigned the office in order to take a Senate seat.[2]
The convention, which was presided over by GovernorRobert Lucas, hosted delegates from every state exceptMissouri; Jackson won the presidential nomination unanimously.[3]
With Jackson's strong endorsement, Van Buren easily won the vice presidential nomination on the first ballot, defeating former RepresentativePhilip P. Barbour of Virginia and RepresentativeRichard Mentor Johnson of Kentucky.[4] The Democratic ticket of Jackson and Van Buren went on to win the1832 presidential election.
In the summer of 1822, "Richmond Junto" leaderThomas Ritchie ofVirginia began raising the idea of a national convention to resolve the issue of nomination; ultimately, thecongressional nominating caucus was appealed to by the devotees ofTreasury SecretaryWilliam H. Crawford's candidacy.[5] Following that defeat in theelection of 1824, early in 1827, Van Buren privately made the argument to Richie for an exclusive national convention of Republicans to ensure Jackson's nomination.[5] However, it did not immediately come to fruition while state conventions and legislatures took up Jackson as their presidential candidate for theelection of 1828 with Vice PresidentJohn C. Calhoun as his running mate. Such a type of national convention would occur after the election.[citation needed]
Calhoun soon became politically estranged from President Jackson, due in part to an 1830 letter written by Crawford stating that Calhoun, asSecretary of War under PresidentJames Monroe, pushed for a reprimand of then-General Jackson for his actions in the1818 invasion of Florida. ThePetticoat affair in whichCalhoun's wife, Floride, was a central figure further alienated Jackson from the vice president and his supporters. The final blow to the relationship came in January 1832, when Calhoun, as President of the Senate, sank Van Buren'snomination asMinister to Great Britain bycasting a tie-breaking vote in theUnited States Senate.[6] Consequently, Calhoun was replaced as the party's 1832 vice presidential nominee by Van Buren.[7] Later that year, on December 28, he resigned as vice president, after having been elected to the U.S. Senate.[8] There he continued to be a proponent of thedoctrine of nullification in opposition to Jackson.[citation needed]
The proposal for the convention began with members of Jackson's "Kitchen Cabinet", his coterie of informal advisers and confidants. MajorWilliam Berkeley Lewis wrote on May 25, 1831, toAmos Kendall, who was then inNew Hampshire. He proposed that the New Hampshire legislature call for a national gathering of Republican supporters of the Jackson administration to nominate a candidate for the vice presidency, and asked Kendall to pass the idea toIsaac Hill.[9] After the New Hampshire legislature issued the call for a general convention, theWashington Globe, the principal Jacksonian newspaper,[a] seconded the recommendation on July 6, 1831:
The recommendation of a Convention at Baltimore to nominate a candidate for the Vice-Presidency deserves a serious consideration. It is probably the best plan which can be adopted to produce entire unanimity in the Republican party, and secure its lasting ascendancy.[9]
Lewis later recalled warning former Secretary of War and delegateJohn Eaton the day before the convention not to vote for anyone there except Van Buren unless he was prepared to "quarrel with the General [Jackson]."[9]
The convention was called to order by Frederick A. Sumner of New Hampshire, who said of the origins and purpose of the convention:
Gentlemen—The proposition for calling a general convention of delegates, to act on the nomination of a candidate for president, and to select a suitable candidate for vice-president of the United States, originated in the state of New Hampshire, by the friends of democracy in that state; and it appears that the proposition, although opposed by the enemies of the democratic party, has found favor in nearly and perhaps all the States of the Union ... The object of the representatives of the people of New Hampshire who called this convention was not to impose on the people as candidate for either of the two offices in this government, any local favorite; but to concentrate the opinion of all the states ... They believed that the example of this convention would operate favorably in future elections; that the people would be disposed after seeing the good effects of this convention in conciliating the different and distant sections of the country, to continue this mode of nomination.[10]
Delegates from all states exceptMissouri were present. GovernorRobert Lucas ofOhio served as the chairman and convention president.Peter Vivian Daniel,James Fenner, John M. Barclay, andAugustin Smith Clayton were chosen as convention vice presidents.John Adams Dix was appointed secretary at the first meeting, with other additional secretaries thereafter. A resolution was passed by the convention requiringtwo-thirds majority support of the delegates for a nomination.[citation needed]
An address by the Republican delegates of New York gave a history of previous national political activity in the United States. They denounced the National Republicans asFederalists under a new designation and they denounced theNullifiers while they declared that their own party held the middle ground between the positions of the other two. The address described what they claimed were political similarities between Andrew Jackson andThomas Jefferson and it defended the policies of Jackson's administration. It characterized Van Buren as astrict constructionist and welcomed his nomination.[citation needed]
The convention concluded by adopting a resolution calling for an address or report from the delegations to their constituents.[citation needed]
Jackson was nominated for re-election by acclaimation.
Martin Van Buren was nominated for vice president on the first ballot after receiving 208 votes of the 283 cast, 19 more than the two-thirds majority required to win.[7]
| Vice Presidential Ballot[11] | |
|---|---|
| Candidate | 1st |
| Van Buren | 208 |
| Barbour | 49 |
| Johnson | 26 |
| Not Represented | 5 |
Andrew Jackson and Martin Van Buren defeated their main competitors,Henry Clay andJohn Sergeant of the National Republican Party, by a large electoral vote margin in theelection of 1832.[12]
| Preceded by - | Democratic National Conventions | Succeeded by 1835 Baltimore, Maryland |
