Diary of Orville Hickman Browning, Wednesday, May 9, 1860

Decatur     Convention met about 11 Oclock Α. Μ. Between 600 & 700 delegates in attendance. Every County in the State except one¹ represented. Jno. Palmer temporary chairman for organization—Jo. Gillespie permanent President. Contest for Governor² between Judd, Yates & Swett³—Dick Yates nominated after several ballotings—Hoffman, a German, nominated for Lieutenant Governor—Appointed Committees & adjourned till 9 A. M. tomorrow I dined at Dick Ogilsby's,⁴ and am at his house to night—All the gentlemen went out after tea but myself I remained to prepare resolutions for tomorrow⁵—Has been pleasant day, but somewhat cool—Had heavy rain here yesterday

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¹ The only county not sending a regular delegate was Pulaski. This Decatur convention was a much more fully organized meeting than that which met at Bloomington in 1856.

² Concerning this contest for the governorship, Gustave Koerner wrote: "To my surprise Judd, candidate for the nomineeship for Governor, was defeated, probably by an intrigue of Mr. Swett, and Richard Yates was nominated." Memoirs of Gustave Koerner, 2: 83.

³ Leonard Swett, 1825-1889. Born in Maine; came to Bloomington, Illinois, after serving in the Mexican War; active Republican from 1856; National Republican in 1872. A prominent Illinois lawyer and a close friend of Lincoln and Browning.

⁴ Richard J. Oglesby, 1824-1899. Born in Kentucky; came to Decatur, Illinois, 1836; admitted to bar and began practice of law at Sullivan, 1845; served in Mexican War; went to California with the Forty-Niners, returning in 1851; served in the Civil War rising to the rank of major general; elected governor, 1864, 1872, 1884; United States senator, 1873-1879.

⁵ In this convention, besides serving on the resolutions committee, Browning was named presidential elector, and was chosen one of the delegates-at-large to the national convention soon to meet at Chicago. In addition to naming Yates as governor and Francis H. Hoffman, a German-American, as lieutenant governor, the most important act of this convention was to instruct the delegation to the national convention to give its support to Lincoln for president. It appears that Lincoln was consulted in the selection of the delegates. Cole, The Era of the Civil War (Centennial History of Illinois, 3), 190-191; Green B. Raum, History of Illinois Republicanism, 64.

SOURCE: The Diary of Orville Hickman Browning, Vol. 1, p. 405

Diary of Orville Hickman Browning, Thursday, May 17, 1860

Warm day—The convention was occupied all day on credentials, rules and resolutions. The platform was adopted late in the afternoon, when we adjourned to meet at 10 AM tomorrow when we will proceed to nominate candidates [Leaf missing.] *My first choice for the Presidency was Mr Bates of Missouri, but under instructions our whole delegation voted for Mr Lincoln Many reasons influenced me to support Mr Bates, the chief of which, next to his eminent fitness, were to strengthen our organization in the South, and remove apprehension in the South of any hostile purpose on the part of Republicans to the institutions of the South—to restore fraternal regard among the different sections of the Union—to bring to our support the old whigs in the free states, who have not yet fraternized with us, and to give some check to the ultra tendencies of the Republican party. Mr Bates received 48 votes on the first ballot, and would probably have been nominated if the struggle had been prolonged¹

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¹ Browning's entries in his diary give a disappointing account of the work of the convention which nominated Lincoln, and of Browning's own work therein. Though he privately favored Bates, his influence for Lincoln, exerted according to instructions, seems to have been a factor of importance. Gustave Koerner, one of the Illinois delegates, has left an interesting account of the way in which the Illinois men worked to obtain support for Lincoln from the delegations of other states. The Bates forces were working hard to win over the Indiana and Pennsylvania delegations which were holding a meeting at the court house. Koerner states that he and Browning were "despatched to counteract the movement." Koerner urged Lincoln as a candidate far more likely to win the support of German Republicans than Bates. Browning, he said, spoke from the Whig standpoint, showing that Lincoln ought to satisfy the Whigs of Indiana and Pennsylvania, while his opposition to nativism ought to win for him the foreign vote. Koerner adds: "He [Browning] wound up with a most beautiful and eloquent eulogy on Lincoln, which electrified the meeting." After this the delegates held a secret session and it was later learned that Indiana would go for Lincoln at the start, while the Pennsylvanians would support him as a second choice. Memoirs of Gustave Koerner, 2: 87-89.

SOURCE: The Diary of Orville Hickman Browning, Vol. 1, pp. 407-8