1872 Democratic National Convention

1872 Democratic National Convention
1872 presidential election
Nominees
Greeley and Brown
Convention
Date(s)July 9–10, 1872
CityBaltimore, Maryland
VenueFord's Grand Opera House, East Fayette Street (between North Howard & Eutaw Streets)
Candidates
Presidential nomineeHorace Greeley of New York
Vice-presidential nomineeBenjamin Gratz Brown of Missouri
‹ 1868 · 1876 ›
Interior of Ford's Grand Opera House of John T. Ford (1829–1894) on East Fayette Street between North Howard and Eutaw Streets in Baltimore during the 1872 Democratic National Convention. Built 1871, razed 1964.

The 1872 Democratic National Convention was a presidential nominating convention held at Ford's Grand Opera House on East Fayette Street, between North Howard and North Eutaw Streets, in Baltimore, Maryland on July 9 and 10, 1872. It resulted in the nomination of newspaper publisher Horace Greeley of New York and Governor Benjamin Gratz Brown of Missouri for president and vice president, a ticket previously nominated by the rump Liberal Republican faction convention meeting, also held in Baltimore's newly built premier Opera House of nationally well-known theatre owner/operator John T. Ford (infamous as the owner of the Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C. where 16th President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated in April 1865) of the major Republican Party, which had already re-nominated incumbent President Ulysses S. Grant of the regular Republicans for another term.[1]

The convention was called to order by Democratic National Committee chairman August Belmont. Thomas Jefferson Randolph served as the convention's temporary chairman and James R. Doolittle served as permanent president. At six hours in length, stretched over two days, the convention was the shortest meeting of a major political party convention in history.[2]

  1. ^ Matthew T. Downey, "Horace Greeley and the Politicians: The Liberal Republican Convention in 1872." Journal of American History 53.4 (1967): 727–750 online.
  2. ^ CNN.com: Think you know your Democratic convention trivia?