The 1856 Republican National Convention

Republican National Convention

The Republican National Convention is the presidential nominating convention of the Republican Party of the United States. Convened by the Republican National Committee, the stated purpose of the convocation is to nominate an official candidate in an upcoming U.S...

convened from June 17 to June 19, 1856 at the Musical Fund Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

, United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, and nominated General John C. Frémont

John C. Frémont

John Charles Frémont , was an American military officer, explorer, and the first candidate of the anti-slavery Republican Party for the office of President of the United States. During the 1840s, that era's penny press accorded Frémont the sobriquet The Pathfinder...

 of California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

 and former Senator

United States Senate

The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...

 William Dayton of New Jersey

New Jersey

New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...

 for President

President of the United States

The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....

 and Vice President of the United States

Vice President of the United States

The Vice President of the United States is the holder of a public office created by the United States Constitution. The Vice President, together with the President of the United States, is indirectly elected by the people, through the Electoral College, to a four-year term...

, respectively, in the 1856 presidential election

United States presidential election, 1856

The United States presidential election of 1856 was an unusually heated contest that led to the election of James Buchanan, the ambassador to the United Kingdom. Republican candidate John C. Frémont condemned the Kansas–Nebraska Act and crusaded against the expansion of slavery, while Democrat...

. The convention also appointed the Republican National Committee

Republican National Committee

The Republican National Committee is an American political committee that provides national leadership for the Republican Party of the United States. It is responsible for developing and promoting the Republican political platform, as well as coordinating fundraising and election strategy. It is...

.

The Convention's location and date were determined during an informal convention in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...

, on February 22 and February 23.

Convention Balloting

Presidential Ballots	Informal 1	Formal 1	Vice Presidential Ballots	Informal 1	Formal 1
John C. Frémont John C. Frémont John Charles Frémont , was an American military officer, explorer, and the first candidate of the anti-slavery Republican Party for the office of President of the United States. During the 1840s, that era's penny press accorded Frémont the sobriquet The Pathfinder...	359	520	William L. Dayton William L. Dayton William Lewis Dayton was an American politician.A distant relation of U.S. House Speaker and U.S. Constitution signatory Jonathan Dayton, he was born in Basking Ridge, New Jersey to farmer Joel Dayton and his wife...	253	523
John McLean John McLean John McLean was an American jurist and politician who served in the United States Congress, as U.S. Postmaster General, and as a justice on the Ohio and U.S...	190	37	Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...	110	20
Charles Sumner Charles Sumner Charles Sumner was an American politician and senator from Massachusetts. An academic lawyer and a powerful orator, Sumner was the leader of the antislavery forces in Massachusetts and a leader of the Radical Republicans in the United States Senate during the American Civil War and Reconstruction,...	2	0	Nathaniel P. Banks	46	6
William H. Seward William H. Seward William Henry Seward, Sr. was the 12th Governor of New York, United States Senator and the United States Secretary of State under Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson...	1	1	David L. Wilmot	43	0
Nathaniel P. Banks	1	0	Charles Sumner Charles Sumner Charles Sumner was an American politician and senator from Massachusetts. An academic lawyer and a powerful orator, Sumner was the leader of the antislavery forces in Massachusetts and a leader of the Radical Republicans in the United States Senate during the American Civil War and Reconstruction,...	35	3
Not voting	8	3	Jacob Collamer Jacob Collamer Jacob Collamer was an American politician from Vermont.-Biography:Jacob Collamer was born in Troy, New York. He graduated from the University of Vermont at Burlington, served in the War of 1812, studied law in St. Albans, Vermont, was admitted to the bar in 1813, and served as an officer in a...	15	0
			John A. King	9	1
			Samuel C. Pomeroy Samuel C. Pomeroy Samuel Clarke Pomeroy was an American Republican Senator from Kansas in the mid-19th century, serving in the United States Senate during the American Civil War. Pomeroy served in the Massachusetts House of Representatives...	8	0
			Thomas Ford Thomas Ford Thomas Ford or Tom Ford may refer to:* Thomas F. Ford , California politician and foreign-trade expert* Thomas Ford , English composer, lutenist, and viol player...	7	1
			Cassius M. Clay	3	0
			Henry C. Carey	3	0
			Whitfield S. Johnson	2	0
			Joshua R. Giddings	2	0
			Aaron S. Pennington	1	0
			Henry Wilson Henry Wilson Henry Wilson was the 18th Vice President of the United States and a Senator from Massachusetts...	1	0
			Not voting	23	7

External links

• Proceedings of the first three Republican national conventions of 1856, 1860 and 1864
• OurCampaigns overview of the First Republican National Convention