Pinckney, and
a caucus of Republican Congressmen nominated Jefferson and Burr,
for the offices of President and Vice-President. The Republican
members of Congress continued to hold a regular caucus and thus to
direct the votes of the party electors until 1824. In that year
William H. Crawford, the last Congressional nominee, was defeated.
There was opposition to the Congressional caucus from the
beginning, for such a method was regarded as undemocratic. In 1824
and 1828 the several State legislatures put forward their favorites
for the office of President.

Development of National Conventions.--As early as 1812, De
Witt Clinton was nominated as the candidate of the Federalists in a
convention held in New York City, made up of seventy delegates, who
represented eleven States. But the National nominating convention,
as we know it, was used for the first time by the Anti-Masonic
party, which selected William Wirt for its candidate in 1831. This
method was followed in the same year by the National Republican
party, which nominated Henry Clay. The National convention of the
Democratic party in 1832 nominated Andrew Jackson, who had already
been nominated by many local conventions and State legislatures.
Many years elapsed before the present complex organization was
reached, but since 1836, with the single exception of the Whig
party in that year, parties have regarded the National convention
as an essential factor in electing President and Vice-President.

Prior to the nominations for the Presidency in 1912, the usual plan
was to select two delegates to the National convention from each of
the Congressional districts, and also four delegates at large. The
district delegates were chosen in the district conventions of the
different parties, and the delegates at large in State conventions.
In some of the States all of the delegates were selected in the
State conventions.

It now seems probable before another Presidential election that
some form of the _direct primary_ will be in use in all of the
States. The growth of sentiment in favor of the selection of
delegates to the National convention by the direct primary has been
most remarkable. Oregon, California, Nebraska, New Jersey, North
Dakota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, an