EARLY HISTORY OF THE REPUBLICAN PARTY
IN OHIO.
ON July 13th, 1854, the
anniversary of the "Ordinance
of 1787," there assembled, at Neil's New Hall, Columbus,
Ohio, a large delegate convention,
representing every
town in the
State, having for its purpose to fuse into
one practical organization all
political elements which
opposed the repeal of the
"Missouri Compromise," and
were ready to resist the extension of
slavery into Kansas
and Nebraska.
A similar convention met, on the same
day, at Indian-
apolis, in the State of Indiana, and
its presiding officer
was the Hon. Henry S. Lane.
The Ohio convention was a fair
representation of the
anti-slavery elements which belonged to
the old Whig,
Democratic, Free-Soil, and Liberty
parties. Among the
delegates were those who had been the
special friends of
Birney and John Van Buren, as well as
those who took
part in the legislative action of
1848-9, which first placed
Mr. Chase in the United States Senate.
Benjamin F. Leiter, Esq., Democrat,
who, as a member
of the Legislature in 1848-9, had
figured prominently at
the opening of that session, was
elected Chairman of the
convention, and J. H. Baker, Esq.,
Whig, with J. H. Her-
rick, Esq., Free-Soil, were made
Secretaries.
The following Committee on Resolutions
were selected
for the twenty-one Congressional
districts:
First district, Benjamin Eggleston; 2d
district, James
Elliott; 3d district, David
Heaton; 4th district, T. Cun-
ningham; 5th district, Dr.
J. J. Paul; 6th district, Wm.
Allison; 7th district, W. H. P. Denny;
8th district, J.
Corvin; 9th district, Homer
Elliott; 10th district, E. Nye;
11th district, Joshua R. Giddings; 12
district, Henry B.
Carrington; 13th district, Joseph Root;
14th district,
Norton S. Townshend; 15th district,
Joseph W. Vanze;
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Ohio Archaeological and Historical Quarterly.
16th district, Davis Green; 17th
district, John Daven-
port; 18th district, E. N. Sill; 19th
district, Rufus P.
Spaulding; 20th district, George F.
Brown; 21st district,
Ephraim H. Eckley.
This committee assembled at Room 18 of
the Amer-
ican Hotel, and unanimously adopted the
following reso-
lutions:
PREAMBLE.
WHEREAS, The positive prohibition of
slavery in the
territory to the north and west of
Missouri, imposed by
Congress, in the year 1820, at the
instance of Southern
statesmen, and as an equivalent for the
admission of
Missouri as a State without that
restriction, has been
removed by the passage of the bill to
establish territorial
governments in Nebraska and Kansas;
and,
WHEREAS, It becomes important to
ascertain if the
popular mind in regard to slavery has
retrograded in Ohio
during the last thirty-four years,
notwithstanding the
benign influence of the Ordinance of
1787, which made
them perpetually free, and which has been
the principal
means of our unexampled prosperity and
happiness;
therefore,
Resolved, First, that we hail with gladness and grati-
tude the anniversary of that glorious
day when the Con-
gress of the confederacy imposed upon
the Northwest
Territory that ordinance of freedom
which has given
character and confidence to five great
States, now contain-
ing five million of freemen, but not
one slave.
Resolved, Second, that in humble imitation of the
virtue and patriotism which inspired
our fathers in
the enactment of that ordinance, we
solemnly renew this
day our covenant vows to resist the
spread of slavery,
under whatever shape or color it may be
attempted.
Resolved, Third, that to this end we will labor assidu-
ously to render inoperative and void that
portion of "The
Kansas and Nebraska Bill" which
abolishes freedom in
the territories withdrawn from the
influences of slavery
Early History of the Republican Party
in Ohio. 329
by the Missouri Compromise of 1820, and that we
will
oppose by every lawful and
constitutional means every
further increase of slave-territory, or
slave States, in this
"Republican Confederacy."
Resolved, Fourth, that in order that public sentiment
on this great subject may be
concentrated and developed
in the State of Ohio, at the earliest
possible period, we
will proceed to place in nomination
suitable candidates
for the Supreme Bench and Board of
Public Works, and
invite to their support, at the
approaching election, the
votes of all good citizens, without
reference to parties.
Resolved, Fifth, that we concur in the recommendation
of the people of Michigan, that there be
called a general
convention of the free States, and such
of the slave-
holding States, or portions thereof, as
may desire to be
there represented, with the view of the
adoption of other
and more effective measures, in
resistance of the encroach-
ments of slavery, and that a committee
of five persons be
appointed to correspond and co-operate
with our friends
in other States on this subject.
Resolved, Sixth, that a committee be appointed by this
convention, as a pro tem. State
Central Committee, with
power to call another convention of the
friends of liberty,
and to take other measures that may
become necessary to
perfect the declared designs of this
convention.
Resolved, Seventh, that the soil of Nebraska and Kan-
sas shall be appropriated for free homes,
for free men."
During the noon recess of the
convention, and before
the committee on resolutions had fully
completed their
work, Hon. Wm. Dennison, Jr., handed to
his law partner,
Mr. Carrington, who was on the committee
from the
Columbus district, a Detroit paper,
stating that at a meet-
ing held in that city the name
"Republican" had been
suggested for the "Fusion
party." Mr. Giddings and
Messrs. Townshend, Root and Paul opposed
the selection
of any distinctive name, as premature,
until at least one
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Ohio Archaeological and Historical Quarterly.
State election should determine whether
there was a
genuine fusion of all the anti-slavery
elements of the old
parties, or simply a device of the two
old parties to
swallow up the original Free-Soilers.
The expression
"Republican Confederacy," in
the third resolution, took
shape from this discussion.
The resolutions, as above reported, were
adopted by the
convention, and the committee "To
correspond with the
committee of other states on the subject
of a National
Convention," consisted of the
following persons, viz:
Henry B. Carrington, of Columbus,
chairman, and J. H.
Baker, of Chillicothe, Whigs; Joseph R.
Swan, of Col-
umbus, and Rufus K. Spaulding, of
Cleveland, Demo-
crats; Dr. J. B. Coulter, of Columbus,
Free-Soil and Lib-
erty party representative. Messrs.
Carrington and Swan
were known as belonging to the
anti-slavery wings of
their respective parties, so that all
shades of political in-
terest appeared on the committee.
During the closing hours of the
Convention, the follow-
ing telegram was received from Hon.
Henry S. Lane, then
presiding over the Indiana Convention:
"The Indian-
apolis Convention repudiates the
Nebraska swindle and
has organized for a victorious
contest."
The Ohio Convention nominated Judge
Joseph R.
Swan, Free-Soil Democrat, for Supreme
Judge, and he
was elected by a majority of more than
one hundred
thousand. Henry S. Lane presided,
subsequently, and
Wm. Dennison, Jr., was a Vice-President,
at the Philadel-
phia Convention, which placed the first
National Repub-
lican ticket in the field.
Nearly all of the actors who took part
in that Conven-
tion have passed away, Judge Spaulding
reaching the age
of eighty-four. More than seven-eighths
of the parties
with whom the special committee had
correspondence are
no longer among the living. The notes,
interlined by
Mr. Giddings, at Room number 18, of the
American Hotel,
ave become fragmentary and almost
illegible, but the
Early History of the Republican Party
in Ohio. 331
record may have some value as a souvenir
of issues
whose consequences were to be the
completer unity and
the more perfect fraternity of the
citizens of this great
Republic.
HENRY B. CARRINGTON.