Official proceedings of the National Democratic convention, held at New York, July 4-9, 1868.: Reported by George Wakeman, official reporter of the Convention.

OFFICIAL PROCEEDINGS OF THE
ferred against the President. Its corruption and extravagance have exceeded
anything known in history, and by its frauds and monopolies it has nearly
doubled the burden of the debt created by the war; it has stripped the
President of his constitutional power of appointment even of his own Cabi net. Under its repeated assaults the pillars of the government are rocking
on their base, and should it succeed in November next and inaugurate its
president, we will meet as a subject and conquered people amid the ruins of
liberty and the scattered fragments of the Constitution.
And we do declare and resolve, That ever since the people of the United
States threw off all subjection to the British crown, the privilege and trust
of suffrage have belonged to the several States, and have been granted,
regulated, and controlled exclusively by the political power of each State
respectively, and that any attempt by Congress, on any pretext whatever, to
deprive any State of this right, or interfere with its exercise, is a flagrant
usurpation of power, which can find no warrant in the Constitution; and if
sanctioned by the people will subvert our form of government, and can only
end in a single centralized and consolidated government, in which the sep arate existence of the States will be entirely absorbed, and an unqualified
despotism be established in place of a federal union of co-equal States; and
that we regard the reconstruction acts, so called, of Congress, as such an
usurpation, and unconstitutional, revolutionary, and void.
That our soldiers and sailors, who carried the flag of our country to victory
against a most gallant and determined foe, must ever be gratefully remem bered, and all the guaranties given in their favor must be faithfully carried
into execution.
That the public lands should be distributed as wisely as possible among the
people, and should be disposed of either under the pre-emption or homestead
laws, or sold in reasonable quantities, and to none but actual occupants, at the
minimum price established by the government. When grants of the public
lands may be deemed necessary for the encouragement of important public
improvements, the proceeds of the sale of such lands, and not the lands
themselves, should be so applied.
That the President of the United States, Andrew Johnson, in exercising
the powers of his high office, in resisting the aggressions of Congress. upon
the Constitutional rights of the States and the people, is entitled to the
gratitude of the whole American people; and, in behalf of the Democratic
party, we tender him our thanks for his patriotic efforts in that regard.
Upon this platform the Democratic party appeals to every patriot, ineluding all the Conservative element, and all who desire to support the Constitution
and restore the Union, forgetting all past differences of opinion, to unite
with us in the present great struggle for the libel:ties of the people; and
that to all such, to whatever party they may have heretofore belonged, we
extend the right hand of fellowship, and hail all such co-operating with us as
friends and brethren.
At the conclusion of the reading of the platform, Mr. Murphy said,
As might have been expected in the preparation of this platform there were
differences of opinion, which, however, upon consultation, have vanished. I
say to this Convention that this platform has received the unanimous approval of the Committee. (Great applause.) And, sir, in view of this fact, I
move the previous question upon its adoption. (Applause.)
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