1835 Democratic National Convention
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The 1835 Democratic National Convention was held from May 20 to May 22, 1835, in
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. The convention nominated incumbent
Vice President A vice president or vice-president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vi ...
Martin Van Buren Martin Van Buren ( ; ; December 5, 1782 – July 24, 1862) was the eighth president of the United States, serving from 1837 to 1841. A primary founder of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as Attorney General o ...
for
president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...
and Representative
Richard Mentor Johnson Richard Mentor Johnson (October 17, 1780 – November 19, 1850) was an American lawyer, military officer and politician who served as the ninth vice president of the United States from 1837 to 1841 under President Martin Van Buren. He is ...
of
Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...
for vice president. Former
Speaker of the House The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, is its presiding officer, or the chair. The title was first used in 1377 in England. Usage The title was first recorded in 1377 to describe the role of Thomas de Hung ...
Andrew Stevenson served as the convention chairman. With the support of President
Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before Presidency of Andrew Jackson, his presidency, he rose to fame as a general in the U.S. Army and served in both houses ...
, Van Buren won the presidential nomination unanimously. Johnson narrowly won the two-thirds majority necessary for the vice presidential nomination, overcoming a challenge from William Cabell Rives of Virginia. The Democratic ticket of Van Buren and Johnson went on to win the 1836 presidential election.


Background

On February 23, 1835, President
Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before Presidency of Andrew Jackson, his presidency, he rose to fame as a general in the U.S. Army and served in both houses ...
wrote to James Gwin of
Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...
and claimed a preference for someone who would "most likely to be the choice of the great body of republicans" in regard to his successor. He expressed the desire to hold another national convention to nominate candidates for the presidency and vice presidency. He instructed Gwin to show the letter to the editor of the ''Nashville Republican''. The newspaper later reprinted the letter.


Proceedings

Andrew Stevenson of
Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...
served as the chairman and convention president. Six convention vice presidents and four secretaries were appointed. Tennessee,
Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...
,
South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...
, and
Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...
sent no delegates to the convention.


Presidential nomination


Presidential candidates

Image:Martin Van Buren MET ap93.19.2 (cropped 3x4).jpg,
Vice President A vice president or vice-president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vi ...

Martin Van Buren Martin Van Buren ( ; ; December 5, 1782 – July 24, 1862) was the eighth president of the United States, serving from 1837 to 1841. A primary founder of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as Attorney General o ...

of
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President Jackson had long planned for Vice President Martin Van Buren to succeed him, and Van Buren was the unanimous choice of the delegates for the presidency. File:1835DemocraticPresidentialNomination1stBallot.png, 1st Presidential Ballot


Vice Presidential nomination


Vice Presidential candidates

Image:Richard Mentor Johnson A29919 (cropped 3x4).jpg, Image:Rives, William Cabell.jpg, Jackson and other major Democrats had settled on
Richard Mentor Johnson Richard Mentor Johnson (October 17, 1780 – November 19, 1850) was an American lawyer, military officer and politician who served as the ninth vice president of the United States from 1837 to 1841 under President Martin Van Buren. He is ...
, a Kentucky representative who had fought in the
War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...
, as Van Buren's running mate, but many Virginia Democrats backed William Cabell Rives, the former Ambassador to France. A man from Tennessee, Edward Rucker, who was present at the convention but was not sent as a delegate, cast all 15 votes Tennessee was entitled to for Van Buren, and for Johnson for the vice presidential nomination. Johnson was nominated for vice president after winning one vote more than the two-thirds majority required. The delegation of Virginia declared that it had no confidence in Johnson's character and principles, and would not support him. File:1835DemocraticVicePresidentialNomination1stBallot.png, 1st Vice Presidential Ballot Letters went out on May 23 from the convention president and vice presidents asking for the acceptance of the nominations by the nominees. Van Buren replied and accepted the nomination on May 29; Johnson, likewise on June 9.


General election

The Whigs did not put forward a national ticket nominated by national convention. Van Buren defeated his many competitors for the presidency in the
general election A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from By-election, by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. Gener ...
. While the electors of Virginia supported Van Buren for the presidency, they cast their vice presidential votes for William Smith. Consequently, Johnson received a plurality, but not a majority, of the electoral votes for the vice presidency. In the subsequent contingent election in the
Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
, Johnson was elected vice president.


See also

*
History of the United States Democratic Party The Democratic Party is one of the two major political parties of the United States political system and the oldest active political party in the country. Founded in 1828, the Democratic Party is the oldest active voter-based political party ...
*
List of Democratic National Conventions This is a list of Democratic National Conventions. These conventions are the U.S. presidential nominating convention, presidential nominating conventions of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party of the United States of America. ...
*
U.S. presidential nomination convention A United States presidential nominating convention is a party conference, political convention held every four years in the United States by most of the political parties who will be fielding nominees in the upcoming United States presidential ...
* 1836 United States presidential election


Notes


References


Proceedings of the convention
''Niles' Weekly Register'', Volume XLVIII, March 1835 to September 1835 {{Authority control 1836 United States presidential election 1836 in Maryland 1830s in Baltimore Political conventions in Baltimore Maryland Democratic Party Political events in Maryland Democratic National Conventions 1836 conferences May 1836 19th-century political conferences Martin Van Buren