In the bitter fight that placed John Quincy
Adams in the White House and made Jackson the eternal enemy of
Clay, the congressional caucus met its doom. For several years,
presidential candidates were nominated by various informal
methods. In 1828 a number of state legislatures formally
nominated Jackson. In several States the party members of the
legislatures in caucus nominated presidential candidates. DeWitt
Clinton was so designated by the New York legislature in 1812 and
Henry Clay by the Kentucky legislature in 1822. Great mass
meetings, often garnished with barbecues, were held in many parts
of the country in 1824 for indorsing the informal nominations of
the various candidates.
But none of these methods served the purpose. The President was a
national officer, backed by a national party, and chosen by a
national electorate. A national system of nominating the
presidential candidates was demanded. On September 26, 1831, 113
delegates of the Anti-Masonic party, representing thirteen
States, met in a national convention in Baltimore. This was the
first national nominating convention held in America.
In February, 1831, the Whig members of the Maryland legislature
issued a call for a national Whig convention. This was held in
Baltimore the following December. Eighteen States were
represented by delegates, each according to the number of
presidential electoral votes it cast. Clay was named for
President. The first national Democratic convention met in
Baltimore on May 21, 1832, and nominated Jackson.
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