The Boss and the Machine | Page 9

"two-thirds of the whole number of the votes in the convention shall be
necessary to constitute a choice." This "two-thirds" rule, so
undemocratic in its nature, remains the practice of the Democratic party

today. The Whigs and Republicans always adhered to the majority rule.
The early Democratic conventions also adopted the practice of allowing
the majority of the delegates from any State to cast the vote of the
entire delegation from that State, a rule which is still adhered to by the
Democrats. But the Republicans have since 1876 adhered to the policy
of allowing each individual delegate to cast his vote as he chooses.
The convention was by no means novel when accepted as a national
organ for a national party. As early as 1789 an informal convention was
held in the Philadelphia State House for nominating Federalist
candidates for the legislature. The practice spread to many
Pennsylvania counties and to other States, and soon this informality of
self-appointed delegates gave way to delegates appointed according to
accepted rules. When the legislative caucus as a means for nominating
state officers fell into disrepute, state nominating conventions took its
place. In 1812 one of the earliest movements for a state convention was
started by Tammany Hall, because it feared that the legislative caucus
would nominate DeWitt Clinton, its bitterest foe. The caucus, however,
did not name Clinton, and the convention was not assembled. The first
state nominating convention was held in Utica, New York, in 1824 by
that faction of the Democratic party calling itself the People's party.
The custom soon spread to every State, so that by 1835 it was firmly
established. County and city conventions also took the place of the
caucus for naming local candidates.
But nominations are only the beginning of the contest, and obviously
caucuses and conventions cannot conduct campaigns. So from the
beginning these nominating bodies appointed campaign committees.
With the increase in population came the increased complexity of the
committee system. By 1830 many of the States had perfected a series
of state, district, and county committees.
There remained the necessity of knitting these committees into a
national unity. The national convention which nominated Clay in 1831
appointed a "Central State Corresponding Committee" in each State
where none existed, and it recommended "to the several States to
organize subordinate corresponding committees in each county and

town." This was the beginning of what soon was to evolve into a
complete national hierarchy of committees. In 1848 the Democratic
convention appointed a permanent national committee, composed of
one member from each State. This committee was given the power to
call the next national convention, and from the start became the
national executive body of the party.
It is a common notion that the politician and his machine are of
comparatively recent origin. But the American politician arose
contemporaneously with the party, and with such singular fecundity of
ways and means that it is doubtful if his modern successors could teach
him anything. McMaster declares: "A very little study of long-forgotten
politics will suffice to show that in filibustering and gerrymandering, in
stealing governorships and legislatures, in using force at the polls, in
colonizing and in distributing patronage to whom patronage is due, in
all the frauds and tricks that go to make up the worst form of practical
politics, the men who founded our state and national governments were
always our equals, and often our masters." And this at a time when only
propertied persons could vote in any of the States and when only
professed Christians could either vote or hold office in two of them!
While Washington was President, Tammany Hall, the first municipal
machine, began its career; and presently George Clinton, Governor of
New York, and his nephew, DeWitt Clinton, were busy organizing the
first state machine. The Clintons achieved their purpose through the
agency of a Council of Appointment, prescribed by the first
Constitution of the State, consisting of the Governor and four senators
chosen by the legislature. This council had the appointment of nearly
all the civil officers of the State from Secretary of State to justices of
the peace and auctioneers, making a total of 8287 military and 6663
civil offices. As the emoluments of some of these offices were
relatively high, the disposal of such patronage was a plum-tree for the
politician. The Clintons had been Anti-Federalists and had opposed the
adoption of the Constitution. In 1801 DeWitt Clinton became a
member of the Council of Appointment and soon dictated its action.
The head of every Federalist office-holder fell. Sheriffs, county clerks,
surrogates, recorders, justices by the dozen, auctioneers by the score,

were proscribed for the benefit of the Clintons. De Witt was sent to the
United States Senate in 1802, and at the age of thirty-three he found
himself on