How many elections did Lincoln lose before becoming President? 

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Eight! 

Often used as a testament to his persistence and motivation for others, Abraham Lincoln personifies the phrase, “never give up!” 

With that sort of record, how did Lincoln get the Republican nomination to run for President of the United States in the first place? The winning strategy was to divide and conquer, with a pinch of conventional skullduggery. 

National political conventions have changed with the times. Smoke-filled backroom “deals” have been replaced by texts, sound bites, super funds and lost promises. 

My old friend, nope, scratch that, good friend Bob Slater, as a reporter, worked five National Conventions, three Republican and two Democratic. His recollections are as diverse as the times: lavish parties, important people, hookers, protesters and cheese. 

Whether it’s taking an afternoon swim with future Democratic VP hopeful Tom Eagleton, conversing with a lovely lady on a corner until a cop told him she would want to charge him later, or surviving Grant Park in the Chicago riots of '68. National political conventions have been a unique part of our democratic process since the election of 1832. 

Slater was robbed at knifepoint in New York, stunned by a Jackie O appearance and saved by Mayor Daley’s thugs. 

Hubert Humphrey survived a new form of attack when anti-war activists sabotaged the ventilation system at Chicago’s Palmer House hotel with Linberger cheese. No deaths were reported, but the next day Humphrey’s speech stunk, and nobody wanted to sit next to Bob. 

Lincoln was the least known of the major candidates. He basically had four others to contend with to get the nomination. 

A former governor and senator from New York was the front-runner, William A. Seward, a well-funded and organized man. Seward, an abolitionist, left no middle ground for any negotiation with moderates and was negatively aligned with a few “criminal bosses” in the East.

Different prejudices at the time were overt. Seward supported "nativism," people born in the United States, anti-immigrant, mostly, think Irish, Catholics and the movie Gangs of New York. 

It would take 233 delegate votes to get the nomination and New York had almost ⅓ of those. 

Governor Salmon P. Chase of Ohio was also a staunch anti-slaver. He had little appeal outside Ohio but held all 46 state votes, splitting the tally that would have gone to Seward. Chase also had the personality of a dishrag. 

Sen. Simon Cameron from Pennsylvania was considered a crook by most of the country, controlled the State, but would not render any other support. 

Former Congressman Edwin Bates of Missouri was a long shot, but being a frontier moderate, he somehow received the endorsement of Horace Greeley of the New York Times, the nation's most powerful editor. 

The May 1860 convention took place in Chicago, an enormous “home field” advantage for Lincoln. 

To receive this national event was quite a coup for upstart 110,000-populated Chicago. The city hastily built a wooden arena that could hold 12,000, dubbing it “The Wigwam.” 

First ballot came in as expected: Seward 173, Lincoln 102, Cameron 50, Chase 49 and Bates 48. This is where the horse trading began. 

A second vote was immediately called for. 

Lincoln wasn’t even there, which is the standard, but instructed his managers to “make no deals that bind me.” They didn’t listen. David Davis, a trusted friend with no scruples is just who Lincoln needed. 

Seward’s men were delivering cases of champagne during the day and promising “oceans of money” in the future. 

On the second ballot, with Davis pledging cabinet posts and appointments, Lincoln closed the gap, picking up votes from others dropping out. There was a stop-Seward sentiment. 

Second vote, Seward 184, Lincoln 181, with others now pledging Abe their support. Seward knew he was in trouble; momentum in a packed arena is everything, and Lincoln had it! 

Davis, Lincoln’s “fixer,” carried more tricks up his sleeve. For the next day’s session, he printed up fake admission tickets and handed them out to Lincoln supporters.

After a well-planned parade through the downtown streets of Chicago by Seward loyalists. They arrived at “The Whigwam” only to find their seats taken. Now, either not gaining entrance or having to sit in the back, Seward’s people were out of touch. Crowd support and enthusiasm were everything; the third vote would be telltale. 

Sen. Cameron traded the Pennsylvania bloc vote for a cabinet seat on the third ballot on May 18; now it was inevitable. Just three votes shy of the needed 233, four Ohio delegates indicated they would switch. 

“The Whigwam” shook with jubilation as the announcement was made, Abraham Lincoln, the backwoodsman, “rail splitter,” from the frontier had won the Republican nomination for President of the United States. 

The mayhem at the Republican Convention didn’t hold a candle to the utter chaos at the Democratic Convention in Charleston, SC. 

After 57 votes, they could not decide on a candidate. Fights, walkouts and bribes littered the hall. The Democratic Party was fractured upon its return. Southern states demanded a slave code be embedded into their platform, while northern Douglas supporters demanded moderation. 

After adjourning the Charleston convention, weeks later, they reconvened in Baltimore. Douglas finally prevailed only after an all-out floor brawl and walkout by the defiant and unified southern delegates. 

The stage was set for an election of the ages to determine the future of the country. 

Lincoln, of course, went on to become the 16th President of the United States, causing those convention IOU’s to come due. In the Lincoln cabinet, Seward was named Secretary of State, Cameron Secretary of War, Chase Secretary of the Treasury and Bates Attorney General. 

What many historians consider a stroke of genius, putting adversaries in your cabinet may be just an “honest” man keeping his word. 

In historic irony, as the 1860 Republican Convention drew to a close, two blocks away at McVickers Theater, a new comedy was having its Opening Night, “Our American Cousin.” Sadly, five years later, at Ford’s Theater in Washington on April 15, 1865, that’s the same play President Lincoln was attending on what turned out to be his last day on Earth. 

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Bob Ford’s History will appear in each edition of the Weekender, Midweek and Corner Post. You can find more of Bob’s work on his website bobfordshistory.com and videos on YouTube, TikTok and Clapper.