Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly vol. 2.djvu/42

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26
George H. Williams.

adjourned to Baltimore, where they nominated Stephen A. Douglas for President, and Herschel V. Johnson for Vice-President . Their resolutions affirmed the democratic platform of 1856, and recognized the rightfulness and validity of the fugitive slave law. The republican convention at Chicago nominated Abraham Lincoln for President, and Hannibal Hamlin for Vice-President. Their platform opposed the extension of slavery into the territories, but was quite conservative in other respects. A convention was held at Nashville at which John Bell was nominated for President, and Edward Everett for VicePresident. Though their platforms were somewhat different, there was in fact no essential difference between the republicans and Douglas democrats upon the slavery question. The Breckinridge and Lane party affirmed in effect that the constitution established and protected slavery in the territories of the United States. This the Douglas democrats denied. This was the real issue of the campaign.

Dryer in The Oregonian stigmatized the Douglas democrats as the abolition wing of the democratic party. The Presidential Electors for Lincoln were Thomas J. Dryer, B. J. Pengra and William Watkins. For Breckenridge, James O'Meara, D. W. Douthit and Dalazon Smith. For Douglas, Benjamin F. Hayden, William Farrar and Bruce. For Bell, John Ross, S. Elsworth and Greer. There were numerous speakers in the field. Baker, Dryer, Woods and others for Lincoln; Smith, O'Meara and others for Breckenridge; Hayden, Farrar, Garfield and others for Douglas. I supported Douglas and canvassed for him, not so much to defeat Mr. Lincoln, whose election seemed altogether probable, as to pursuade as many democrats as I could to withold their votes from Breckenridge and Lane. Lincoln carried the state, and was elected President. The vote stood in Ore-