ident.
King was nearly double the age of Fenton. He had been a lieutenant of
cavalry in the War of 1812 and an opponent of DeWitt Clinton in the
early twenties. The two men presented a broad contrast, yet King
represented the traditions of the past along the same lines that
Fenton represented the hopes of the future. One looked his full age,
the other appeared younger than he was, but both were serious.
Whatever their aspirations, they existed without rivalry or
ill-feeling, the desire for the success of their principles alone
animating leaders and followers.

Each convention organised separately, and, after adopting platforms
and dividing their tickets equally between men of Whig and Democratic
antecedents, conference committees of sixteen were appointed, which
reported that the two bodies should appoint committees of sixteen on
resolutions and of thirty-two on nominations. These committees having
quickly agreed to what had already been done, the Whigs marched in a
body to the hall of the Republican convention, the delegates rising
and greeting them with cheers and shouts of welcome as they took the
seats reserved for them in the centre of the room.

The occasion was one of profound rejoicing. The great coalition which
was to stand so strong and to work such wonders during the next
half-century doubtless had a period of feebleness in the first months
of its existence; but never in its history has it had stronger or more
influential men in its ranks, or abler and more determined leaders to
direct its course. Horace Greeley reported its platform, demanding
that Congress expressly prohibit slavery in the territories, and
condemning the doctrines and methods of the Know-Nothings; John A.
King, Edwin D. Morgan, and Reuben E. Fenton, destined to lead it to
victory as its candidate for governor, sat upon the stage; Henry J.
Raymond occupied a delegate's seat; and, back of the scenes, stood the
great manager, Thurlow Weed, who had conferred with the Free-soil
leaders, and anticipated and arranged every detail. Present in spirit,
though absent in body, was William H. Seward, who, within a few weeks,
put himself squarely at the head of the new organisation in a speech
that was read by more than half a million voters.

After the enthusiasm had subsided the two chairmen, John A. King and
Reuben E. Fenton, standing side by side, called the joint convention
to order. This was the signal for more cheering. One delegate declared
t