home > reference & research > special collections > Minneapolis collection
Clubs & Organizations Annotated Index
Republican National Convention of 1892 Collection M/A 2011.01.01-03

Republican National Convention of 1892 Collection M/A 2011.01.01-03
Creator:Republican National Convention. (10th: 1892 : Minneapolis, Minn.)
Title: Republican National Convention of 1892 Collection
Dates:1891-1892, 1956
Quantity: 3.0 boxes
Repository: James K. Hosmer Special Collections Library

History

The Republican National Convention of 1892, which took place from June 7 to June 10, was the first national political convention to take place west of the Mississipi. Held at the Industrial Exposition Building, in Minneapolis, the result of the convention was the nomination of the Benjamin Harrison for re-election as President and Whitelaw Reid of New York for Vice President. Harrison lost his bid for re-election and Grover Cleveland succeeded him as President.

The Convention's arrival in Minneapolis was contingent on a suitably sized hall and the availablity of accomodations for delegates and members of the press. The Industrial Exposition Building, built in response to Saint Paul's construction of the state fairgrounds, had seven and half acres of floor space and a total seating capacity of between eleven and fifteen thousand. With construction complete in 1887, the city made a bid for the 1888 Republican Convention, but lost to Chicago. In bidding for the 1892 Convention, the convention committee convinced Chicago not to enter a bid and got Western Union to install more telegraph wires in Minneapolis to support press coverage. The committee's bid was accepted by the Republican national committee on November 23, 1891, and planning went into high gear. The convention drew in about thirty-five thousand people, which was well below the estimated hundred thousand the committee had expected, but in the process of planning for the convention, Minneapolis built up city infrastructure and showed its metropolitan character to the country.

The bulk of this collection consists of correspondence regarding press accomodations. The citizen's executive committee, led by George A. Brackett, was responsible for the logistics of housing, feeding, and transporting people from all over the country, and the collection reflects the complexity and immensity of this task. Arrangements specifically for the press were handled by a separate committee, chaired by Gilbert A. Pierce of the Minneapolis Tribune. Many members of the press were housed at the newly built New York Life Insurance Building, which was converted to a hotel just for the event, and reconverted to offices afterwards. Others stayed in hotels in Saint Paul and Minneapolis, and some lodged in boarding houses or private homes.

Description of the Collection

This collection consists of three boxes of correspondence, clippings, and ephemera regarding the Republican National Convention of 1892. The first and second boxes contain correspondence between members of the press and the Convention committee regarding attendance and accomodations. The correspondence is organized by state. Of particular interest are the letterheads of various newspapers, both large and small, from the Baltimore Sun to the Sioux City Times.

The third box contains directories and programs from the event, ephemera including tickets and delegate ribbons from the convention hall, and newspaper clippings remembering the convention. Also in the third box are a facsimile of the front page of the Convention edition of the Minneapolis Tribune, June 7, 1892, an 1892 Cosmopolitan article describing the Convention, and "Convention City - The Republicans in Minneapolis, 1892", a comprehensive article on the planning and execution of the convention from the journal Minnesota History, June 1956.

Subject Headings

Corporate Bodies

Minneapolis Industrial Exposition Building.
Republican Party. (U.S.:1854-)

Subjects

Convention facilities -- Minnesota -- Minneapolis.
Political campaigns.

Places

United States -- Politics and government.

Table of Contents

Press accommodations correspondence 1891-1892 --
Press Committee Correspondence -- Box 1, Folder 1Press Committee Correspondence
California -- Box 1, Folder 2California
Colorado -- Box 1, Folder 3Colorado
Connecticut -- Box 1, Folder 4Connecticut
District of Columbia -- Box 1, Folder 5District of Columbia
Foreign Press -- Box 1, Folder 6Foreign Press
Georgia -- Box 1, Folder 7Georgia
Illinois -- Box 1, Folder 8Illinois
Indiana -- Box 1, Folder 9Indiana
Iowa -- Box 1, Folder 10Iowa
Kansas -- Box 1, Folder 11Kansas
Kentucky -- Box 1, Folder 12Kentucky
Louisiana -- Box 1, Folder 13Louisiana
Maine -- Box 1, Folder 14Maine
Maryland -- Box 1, Folder 15Maryland
Massachussets -- Box 1, Folder 16Massachussets
Michigan -- Box 1, Folder 17Michigan
Minneapolis -- Box 1, Folder 18Minneapolis
Minnesota (excepting Minneapolis) -- Box 1, Folder 19Minnesota (excepting Minneapolis)
Missouri -- Box 1, Folder 20Missouri
Montana -- Box 1, Folder 21Montana
Nebraska -- Box 1, Folder 22Nebraska
Nevada -- Box 1, Folder 23Nevada
New Hampshire -- Box 1, Folder 24New Hampshire
New Mexico -- Box 1, Folder 25New Mexico
New York City -- Box 1, Folder 26New York City
New York State -- Box 1, Folder 27New York State
North Dakota -- Box 1, Folder 28North Dakota
Ohio -- Box 1, Folder 29Ohio
Oregon -- Box 1, Folder 30Oregon
Press accommodations correspondence 1891-1892 --
Pennsylvania -- Box 2, Folder 1Pennsylvania
Rhode Island -- Box 2, Folder 2Rhode Island
South Carolina -- Box 2, Folder 3South Carolina
South Dakota -- Box 2, Folder 4South Dakota
Tennessee -- Box 2, Folder 5Tennessee
Utah -- Box 2, Folder 6Utah
Virginia -- Box 2, Folder 7Virginia
Washington -- Box 2, Folder 8Washington
West Virginia -- Box 2, Folder 9West Virginia
Wisconsin -- Box 2, Folder 10Wisconsin
Convention materials and newspaper clippings --
Directory of delegates and alternates -- Box 3, Folder 1Directory of delegates and alternates
2 guest tickets, 1 editorial ticket, 1 reciprocity ribbon, One Pillsbury’s Best sponsored ribbon -- Box 3, Folder 22 guest tickets, 1 editorial ticket, 1 reciprocity ribbon, One Pillsbury’s Best sponsored ribbon
Grand Concert program -- Box 3, Folder 3Grand Concert program
Newspaper clippings, recollections and remembrances of convention 1900-1940 -- Box 3, Folder 4Newspaper clippings, recollections and remembrances of convention 1900-1940
Correspondence (facsimiles) regarding convention planning 1891-1892 -- Box 3, Folder 5Correspondence (facsimiles) regarding convention planning 1891-1892
Facsimile of Minneapolis Tribune June 7, 1892 front page, Convention City article from Minnesota History, June 1956 -- Box 3, Folder 6Facsimile of Minneapolis Tribune June 7, 1892 front page, Convention City article from Minnesota History, June 1956
10 guest tickets -- Box 3, Folder 710 guest tickets
“The Convention at Minneapolis”, article from Cosmopolitan Magazine 1892 -- Box 3, Folder 8“The Convention at Minneapolis”, article from Cosmopolitan Magazine 1892


hcl mobile app
hclib
mobile
app
Facebook Twitter Tumblr YouTube Vimeo Flickr Federal Depository Library Federal
Depository
Library		 Hennepin County Government Hennepin
County
Government
© 2013  Hennepin County Library, 12601 Ridgedale Drive, Minnetonka, MN 55305 Comments and Feedback    |    Extranet    |    RSS