REMARKABLE 1912 SIGNED LETTER BY WOODROW WILSON
This historically important letter was written by Wilson as Governor of New Jersey. Composed on official gubernatorial letterhead, Wilson writes to Judge Charles E. S. Simpson, of Jersey City, NJ, requesting that he attend the upcoming Democratic National Convention. The ensuing convention has been described as "one of the more memorable United States presidential conventions of the 20th century."
Wilson's letter reflects his genuine concern for the prospect of victory leading up to the convention, as he personally canvases friends for support. Letter was typed by Wilson just two weeks prior to the historic convention, and is boldly signed by him. He writes:
"My dear Mr. Simpson:- / The plot is thickening for the Convention at Baltimore and it has seemed to some of my best counselors as if it would be very useful and effective thing if as many of our friends as could afford the time and energy would go down to Baltimore as early as possible, so as to be on hand before the Convention meets, as well as during the session, to exercise such influence as seems possible in the circumstances. it would be very serviceable to the cause if you yourself could go, and I am taking the liberty to ask if it would be possible for you to do so. Cordially and sincerely yours, / Woodrow Wilson".
"Some conventions seem to have been so chaotic - so subject to irrationality, coincidence and conflicts of ambition - as to have been controlled by the hand of fate rather than the hand of man. None has produced a candidate by means more unpredictable, more confusing or more raucously hilarious than those by which the Democratic Convention of 1912 selected Woodrow Wilson at Baltimore's Fifth Regiment Armory." [Life magazine, July 5th, 1968].
"At the Democratic convention of 1912, Wilson was something of a dark horse, running a distant second to House Speaker Champ Clark of Missouri. When the New York delegation gave Clark a simple majority of delegates, virtually everyone assumed that Clark would soon command the two-thirds majority needed to win the nomination. But Wilson's managers held onto Wilson's delegates and began chipping away at Clark's lead. On the fourth day, on the 46th ballot, Wilson won the nomination. The exhausted Democrats closed ranks behind their candidate." [Liberty, Equality, Power: A History of the American People, Vol. II; Murrin, Johnson, McPherson, and Fahs].
Initially, the front runner appeared to be Clark, who received 440¼ votes on the first ballot to 324 for Wilson. Governor Judson Harmon of Ohio received 148 votes while U.S. Representative Oscar W Underwood of Alabama, the Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, received 117¼ with the rest of the votes scattered among the other delegates. No candidate managed to gain a majority until the ninth ballot, when the New York delegation shifted its allegiance to Clark. Due to the then-official two-thirds rule used by the Democratic Party, Clark was never able to secure the nomination as he failed to get the necessary two-thirds majority for victory.
In past conventions, once a candidate received a majority of the votes, it would start a bandwagon rolling to the nomination. Clark's chances were hurt when Tammany Hall, the powerful and corrupt Democratic political machine in New York City, threw its support behind him. This was the move that gave Clark a majority on the ninth ballot, but instead of propelling Clark's bandwagon towards victory, the endorsement led William Jennings Bryan to turn against the Speaker of the House. A three-time Democratic presidential candidate and still the leader of the party's liberals, Bryan delivered a speech denouncing Clark as the candidate of "Wall Street".
Up until the Tammany endorsement, Bryan had remained neutral, but once the corrupt machine put itself behind Clark, he threw his support to New Jersey Governor Woodrow Wilson, who was regarded as a moderate reformer. Wilson had consistently finished second to Clark on each ballot, Ironically, Wilson had nearly given up hope that he could be nominated, and he was on the verge of having a concession speech read for him at the convention freeing his delegates to vote for someone else. Bryan's endorsement of Wilson influenced many other delegates, and Wilson gradually gained in strength while Clark's support dwindled. Wilson received the nomination on the 46th ballot.
The 46 ballots were the most cast at a convention since 1860. Thomas R. Marshall, the Governor of Indiana, who had swung his state's delegate votes to Wilson in later ballots, was named as Wilson's running mate. Wilson and Marshall went on to win a landslide victory in the 1912 Presidential election against a split Republican Party.
Condition: Letter remains in good condition [see images]. Some toning, edge shading, scattered spotting, typical folds, old paste residue on verso from previous mounting. Letter measures approx 7.5" x 9.25". Quite a find and a very worthy acquisition indeed.
Accompanied by a Letter of Authenticity from James Spence Authentication (JSA).