The 1900 Republican National Convention was held June 19 to June 21 in the Exposition Auditorium,

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

. The Exposition Auditorium was located south of the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

, and the later Convention Hall was constructed along the building's east wall. It was demolished in 2006. Each state was allotted two delegates per electoral vote, and territories were granted from two to six delegates. Altogether, there were 926 delegates and an equal number of alternates. Mark Hanna opened the convention, and proposed that Senator Edward O. Wolcott of Colorado serve as temporary chairman: this was to show that the party had overcome its division in 1896, when the Colorado delegation walked out of the Republican Convention after a dispute over federal subsidies for the silver industry. Senator

Henry Cabot Lodge Henry Cabot Lodge (May 12, 1850November 9, 1924) was an American politician, historian, lawyer, and statesman from Massachusetts. A member of the History of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served in the United States ...

of Massachusetts served as the convention's permanent chairman. President

William McKinley William McKinley (January 29, 1843September 14, 1901) was the 25th president of the United States, serving from 1897 until Assassination of William McKinley, his assassination in 1901. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Repub ...

was unanimously nominated for reelection after no candidate ran against him, although Admiral George Dewey considered a run.

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. (October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), also known as Teddy or T.R., was the 26th president of the United States, serving from 1901 to 1909. Roosevelt previously was involved in New York (state), New York politics, incl ...

of New York, who was himself a delegate, was nominated for

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 ...

by a vote of 925 to zero, his vote alone abstaining.

State delegates

The 1900 Republican National Convention included a historic first for the Republican Party: Frances Warren of Wyoming served as the party's first-ever female convention delegate. Additionally Jennie L. McCargar Jones, of Utah, and Susan Henderson West of Idaho served as alternate delegates.

Speakers

The 1900 convention had fewer speakers than a modern convention typically has due to lack of TV and even radio at this time. There were however the following speakers:

June 19

* Prayer by Rev. James Gray Bolton D.D. * Senator Mark Hanna (Ohio) * Senator Edward O. Wolcott (Colorado)

June 20

* Prayer by Rev. Charles M. Boswell D.D. * Senator

(Massachusetts)

June 21

* Prayer by Most Rev. P. J. Ryan, Archbishop of Philadelphia * Senator Joseph B. Foraker (Ohio), McKinley nominating speech *

, Governor of New York, McKinley seconding speech Balloting: President McKinley was nominated unanimously. This was the first unanimous nomination since President Grant in 1872. * John W. Yerkes, IRS Commissioner from Kentucky * George A. Knight, attorney and businessman from California * James A. Mount, Governor of Indiana Boss Platt of New York wanted to be rid of reformist governor Roosevelt. He persuaded Roosevelt to accept nomination for the vacant office of Vice President. * Lafayette Young, newspaper reporter from

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

, Roosevelt nominating speech * M. J. Murray, local politician from Massachusetts, Roosevelt seconding speech * General James M. Ashton, lawyer and soldier from Washington, Roosevelt seconding speech Balloting: Roosevelt was nominated for vice president, though he abstained from voting on his own nomination. * Senator Chauncey Depew (New York)

Vice-presidential nomination

Vice-presidential candidates

Image:Theodore Rooseveltnewtry.jpg,

of New York Image:Jonathan P. Dolliver - History of Iowa.jpg, Representative Jonathan P. Dolliver
of

''(withdrawn)'' Image:JDLong.jpg, Navy Secretary
John D. Long
of

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

''(withdrawn)''

Candidates considered

Image:William Boyd Allison.jpg,

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

William B. Allison
of

Image:Cornelius Newton Bliss 2.jpg, Former Interior Secretary
Cornelius Bliss
of New York Image:Charles W Fairbanks by Harris & Ewing.jpg,

Charles W. Fairbanks
of

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

Image:Elihu Root, bw photo portrait, 1902.jpg,

Secretary of War The secretary of war was a member of the U.S. president's Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration. A similar position, called either "Secretary at War" or "Secretary of War", had been appointed to serve the Congress of the ...

Elihu Root
of New York Image:Portrait of John Coit Spooner.jpg,

John C. Spooner
of

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

Image:Timothy L Woodruff.jpg,

Lieutenant Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

Timothy L. Woodruff
of New York Vice President Garret Hobart had announced in September 1899 that he would not seek re-election due to declining health. In the event, he died in office on November 21, 1899, leaving the party the task of choosing a running mate for McKinley. Entering the convention, many had expected that the ticket would consist of President McKinley and New York Governor

. However, Ohio Senator Mark Hanna maneuvered to keep Roosevelt off the ballot, instead proposing Navy Secretary John D. Long of Massachusetts or Iowa Representative Jonathan P. Dolliver. Without the support of McKinley, Hanna's efforts fell short. Roosevelt himself did not particularly want to abandon his position of governor, but he desired to run for president in 1904 and when the party nominated him, he accepted the position. Roosevelt's nomination was spearheaded by bosses

Matthew Quay Matthew Stanley Quay (; September 30, 1833May 28, 1904) was an American politician of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party who represented Pennsylvania in the United States Senate from 1887 until 1899 and from 1901 until his ...

of Pennsylvania and Thomas C. Platt of New York, the latter of whom wished to find a different job for the reformist Roosevelt.
Vice-presidential balloting / 3rd day of convention (June 21, 1900) File:1900RepublicanVicePresidentialNomination1stBallot.png, 1st
Vice-presidential ballot

Platform

The Republican party supported the current administration's actions in the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

, while the Democratic party promoted "anti-imperialism".

References

Bibliography

* Richard C. Bain and Judith H. Parris, ''Convention Decisions and Voting Records'' (Washington DC: Brookings Institution, 1973), pp. 158–161. *

External links

Republican Party platform of 1900
at ''The American Presidency Project''
McKinley acceptance address
at ''The American Presidency Project''
Official proceedings of the twelfth Republican National Convention, held in ... Philadelphia, June, 19, 20 and 21, 1900
{{Authority control 1900 United States presidential election Republican National Conventions Republican National Convention, 1900 Political conventions in Philadelphia

Republican National Convention The Republican National Convention (RNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1856 by the Republican Party in the United States. They are administered by the Republican National Committee. The goal o ...

1900 conferences June 1900 in the United States 1900s political conferences