Progress and Reform
and had been one of the founders of the Republican party. But his course had generally been eccentric. He had opposed his one-time political partner, Seward, for the Presidency in 1860 because of personal pique at Seward's having declined to advance his political and office-seeking ambitions; he had raised the untimely cry of “forward to Richmond!" in 1861 which led to the disaster of Bull Run; he had bitterly opposed Lincoln's administration because Lincoln would not issue the Emancipation Proclamation as soon as he wished; he had advocated the severest possible punishment for all the participants in secession; and yet, soon after the close of the war, he had gone upon the bail-bond of Jefferson Davis. Despite his great abilities as a political writer and the purity and benevolence of his character and motives he was obviously not a man of sound leadership. The platform of this convention was devoted chiefly to denunciation of President Grant and his administration. It expressed adherence to most of the principles of the Republican party, though in a somewhat equivocal manner, and was obviously intended to be so vague and neutral as to be acceptable, or at least not unacceptable, to all who were for any reason dissatisfied with or opposed to the Republican party. Indeed, the prevailing cry at the convention was, “anything to beat Grant!"
The Democrats met in national convention at Baltimore on July 9th and, realizing the hopelessness of running a ticket of their own, with little demur ratified the candidates of the Liberal Republicans; thus accepting as their leader the man whom down to that day they had most of all reviled and detested and who had been their bitterest foe and most scathing critic in
75
