The First American Political Conventions

The history of political conventions in America is so long and steeped in lore that its easy to overlook that it took a few decades for nominating conventions to become part of presidential politics. In the early years of the United States, presidential candidates were usually nominated by a caucus of members of Congress. By the 1820s, that idea was falling out of favor, helped along by the rise of Andrew Jackson and his appeal to the common man. The election of 1824, which was denounced as The Corrupt Bargain, also energized Americans to find a better way to select candidates and presidents. After Jacksons election in 1828, party structures strengthened, and the idea of national political conventions began to make sense. At that time there had been party conventions held at the state level but no national conventions. First National Political Convention: the Anti-Masonic Party The first national political convention was held by a long-forgotten and extinct political party, the Anti-Masonic Party. The party, as the name indicates, was opposed to the Masonic Order and its rumored influence in American politics. The Anti-Masonic Party, which began in upstate New York but gained adherents around the country, convened in Philadelphia in 1830 and agreed to have a nominating convention the following year. The various state organizations chose delegates to send to the national convention, which set a precedent for all later political conventions. The Anti-Masonic Convention was held in Baltimore, Maryland on September 26, 1831, and was attended by 96 delegates from ten states. The party nominated William Wirt of Maryland as its candidate for president. He was a peculiar choice, especially as Wirt had once been a Mason. The National Republican Party Held a Convention in December 1831 A political faction calling itself the National Republican Party had supported John Quincy Adams in his unsuccessful bid for reelection in 1828. When Andrew Jackson became president, the National Republicans became a devoted anti-Jackson party. Planning to take the White House from Jackson in 1832, the National Republicans called for its own national convention. As the party was essentially run by Henry Clay, it was a foregone conclusion that Clay would be its nominee. The National Republicans held their convention in Baltimore on December 12, 1831. Due to bad weather and poor traveling conditions, only 135 delegates were able to attend. As everyone knew the outcome ahead of time, the real purpose of the convention was to intensify anti-Jackson fervor. One noteworthy aspect of the first National Republican Convention was that James Barbour of Virginia delivered an address that was the first keynote speech at a political convention. The First Democratic National Convention Was Held in May 1832 Baltimore was also chosen to be the site of the first Democratic Convention, which began on May 21, 1832. A total of 334 delegates assembled from every state except Missouri, whose delegation never arrived in Baltimore. The Democratic Party at the time was headed by Andrew Jackson, and it was obvious that Jackson would be running for a second term. So there was no need to nominate a candidate. The ostensible purpose of the first Democratic National Convention was to nominate someone to run for vice president, as  John C. Calhoun, against the backdrop of the Nullification Crisis, would not be running again with Jackson.  Martin Van Buren of New York was nominated  and received the sufficient number of votes on the first ballot. The first Democratic National Convention instituted a number of rules which essentially created the framework for political conventions that endures to the present day. So, in that sense, the 1832 convention was the prototype for modern political conventions. The Democrats who had gathered in Baltimore also agreed to meet again every four years, which began the tradition of Democratic National Conventions that extends to the modern era. Baltimore Was the Site of Many Early Political Conventions The city of Baltimore was the location of all three political conventions prior to the 1832 election. The reason is fairly obvious: it was the major city closest to Washington, DC, so it was convenient for those serving in the government. And with the nation still mostly positioned along the east coast, Baltimore was centrally located and could be reached by road or even by boat. The Democrats in 1832 did not formally agree to hold all their future conventions in Baltimore, but it worked out that way for years. The Democratic National Conventions were held in Baltimore in 1836, 1840, 1844, 1848, and 1852. The convention was held in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1856, and the tradition developed of moving the convention to different locations. The Election of 1832 In the election of 1832, Andrew Jackson won easily, garnering about 54 percent of the popular vote and crushing his opponents in the electoral vote. The National Republican candidate, Henry Clay, took about 37 percent of the popular vote. And William Wirt, running on the Anti-Masonic ticket, won about 8 percent of the popular vote, and carried one state, Vermont, in the electoral college. The National Republican Party and Anti-Masonic Party joined the list of extinct political parties after the 1832 election. Members of both parties gravitated toward the Whig Party, which formed in the mid-1830s. Andrew Jackson was a popular figure in America and always stood a very good chance of winning his bid for reelection. So while the election of 1832 was never really in doubt, that election cycle made a major contribution to political history by instituting the concept of national political conventions.

Rise and Fall of the Jamestown Colony Essay - 2347 Words

Rise and Fall of the Jamestown Colony The English settlement of Jamestown, Virginia, was founded on May 14, 1607 by Captain Christopher Newport and his fleet of a hundred or so Englishmen. During the next nine decades, this settlement would begin as a verie fit place for the erecting of a great cittie(Tyler, 33), and develop into nothing but Abundance of Brick Rubbish, and three or four good inhabited houses(Miers, 107). Two major factors led to the gradual decay and destruction of Jamestown: (1) The profit-before-survival attitude of the English settlers, and (2) the persistence of the Indians of the area to drive the English from their native lands. On the 26th day of April, 1607, three small ships - Susan Constant,†¦show more content†¦Once the English colonists decided on a site for their settlement they quickly set to work, as Thomas Abby tells us, Now falleth every man to worke, the Councell contrive the Fort, the rest cut downe trees to make place to pitch their Tents; some provide clapboard to relade the ships, some make gardens, some nets, c. The Salvages often visited us kindly(Tyler, 123). The Salvages Abby speaks of, were most likely members of one of the Algonquian tribes which occupied the country near Jamestown. These tribes inhabited the land in Virginia east of a line running from Washington, D.C., through Fredericksburg, Richmond, Petersburg, and then turning southeast along the Blackwater River and extending into coastal North Carolina as far as the Neuse River. They also inhabited the two counties Accomak and Northampton in the present Eastern Shore, Virginia. 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Paradise Lost †What Do We Learn About Satan’s Character from Line 84 To Line 191 Free Essays

Milton’s portrait of Satan has fascinated critics since Paradise Losts first publication, leading some in the romantic period to claim that Satan is, in fact, the heroic protagonist of the whole work. Certainly Milton’s description of Satan has greatly influenced the devil’s image in western art and literature since the book’s publication. From lines 84 to 191 in Paradise Lost Book 1, we are introduced to the character of Satan, who has just been hurled from heaven, ‘because he trusted to have equalled the Most High’. We will write a custom essay sample on Paradise Lost – What Do We Learn About Satan’s Character from Line 84 To Line 191? or any similar topic only for you Order Now As a reader, one first meets a stunned Satan, chained down to the fiery lake of hell, surrounded by his co-conspirators. From lines 84 to 127, where Satan is speaking to his good friend, ‘Beelzebub’, Milton presents him as being nostalgic about heaven, ‘Myriads, though bright†¦ ‘ – something one sees significantly for the first and last time throughout the poem. Satan’s great yearning for heaven is brief, and when finally suppressed, Milton offers a fine and revealing example of Satan’s rhetoric and quick-moving contradictions, as he instantly expresses excuses for his failure. Firstly, he declares that ‘Till then who knew, the force of those dire arms? ‘ explaining how they were unaware of Gods powers before testing him. This is supportive evidence, backing up the suggestion that Satan is the supposed ‘Father Of Lies’, as he is seen to be directly manipulating the truth. He manages to make ‘He with his thunder’ sound as though God had taken unfair advantage by using an illegal weapon. Moreover, he never refers to God by his name, but as ‘He’, ‘The potent victor’, or ‘Our grand foe’. He makes a virtue out of his unwillingness to ‘Repent or change’ – the very unwillingness which imprisons him eternally in the hell of himself. Much of what Satan says makes him sound grand and admirable because of the rhetorical force with which it is expressed, however when studied more closely it is seen to be more hollow, and even absurd. Satan claims that in the war against God, ‘He shook his throne’, and that the battle was ‘dubious’ – that it could have gone either way. This is obviously untrue, and again contributes to the image of him being a rather desperate liar. Satan’s remarkably obvious sense of optimism becomes greatly evident towards the end of his speech, where he describes all the positive things that have been the outcome of their war. Firstly he boasts of how they have now gained experience of Gods power – ‘through experience of this great event’, and then he persuades himself they have learnt a lesson from defeat, and ‘in foresight much advanced’, will do better next time in the ‘eternal war’. In my opinion however, Satan’s brave face is merely superficial. Beneath, he is racked with ‘deep despair’, his essential spiritual condition. His ‘public face’, is that of supreme dissembler, and it is impossible to know the extent to which he is deceived by his own rhetoric. This idea, creates effects of sympathy towards Satan’s character as it almost suggests that he is hopeless and possibly even doomed. Throughout this particular speech, Milton in my opinion, indirectly forces juxtaposing emotions upon his readers in relation to the character of Satan – being that of sympathy Vs admiration. The feeling of sympathy, as he seems so determined to be a successful leader, however it is clear that he does not really know himself where he is leading to. Even though one might feel this pity, the admiration of his great courage to rebel against authority makes Satan more appealing and likable as a rebel. From lines 128 – 55, Beelzebub, the born second-in-command replies to Satan beginning by being sycophantic towards him, and then continuing the myth that their rebellion had ‘endangered’ god. In contrast to Milton’s confident and optimistic portrayal of Satan, he presents Beelzebub in a much dimmer light – portraying him as being heavily depressed through the repetitive use of emotive language, using words such as ‘destruction’, ‘misery’, pain’ and ‘fire’. This key difference in character highlights the extent of Satan’s sheer optimism in their situation, making him appear plausible for his determination and great courage, of which he appears to possess over the other rebel angel. Following Beelzebub’s pessimistic and sorrowful reply, Satan forcefully attacks him with a powerful and persuasive speech, desperately hoping to uplift his despair. From comments such as, ‘to be weak is miserable’, one learns that Satan is determined to scotch such defeatist talk and to abolish any sense of weakness. Although Satan shows signs of great commitment in his ambition to ‘pervert’ God’s providence, I think that he knows in his heart that he is on a hiding to nothing and the worst he can do is cause God temporary inconvenience. Words such as ‘disturb’ and ‘perhaps grieve’ illustrate Satan’s rather poor plans to merely ‘irritate’ God, with his language generally lacking the vigour one would expect from Satan. Although Satan lacks in the quality of his plans, he does successfully manage to in-force a sense of time and place – as well as a feeling of unity, for example through ‘Our enemy’, ‘Our Own loss’. The effect of this is that it brings the rebels closer together reminding them that they have each-other, and therefore have a side. This shows us that Satan has great leadership skills, in that he holds the situation together and persuades his friends to follow his plans. Overall, I believe that from lines 84 to 191, Milton offers his readers an extremely complex and diverse view of Satan’s character, indicating rather important aspects that his personality appears to dominate. As the image created is rather dependable, my personal attitude towards him so far is greatly ambiguous, feeling both attraction, and repulsion – many people, it is relevant to add feel the same about snakes. The most notable aspects that have so far had effect shaping my view of his personality are his sheer courage and energy – that he appears to have on such an enormous scale. However, when analysing the value of these qualities in themselves one is forced to question their significance. In actual fact, when studying all major aspects of Satan’s character so far – the discussion of him rapidly turns into a series of endless questions, which I hope will soon be answered as the poem develops. How to cite Paradise Lost – What Do We Learn About Satan’s Character from Line 84 To Line 191?, Papers