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Congressional nominating caucus
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Congressional nominating caucus is the name for informal meetings in which American congressmen would agree on who to nominate for the Presidency and Vice Presidency from their political party. This system started in 1796 after George Washington stepped down as President. The first such meeting was by the Democratic-Republican Party to decide on who should run for Vice President with Thomas Jefferson. The system ended in 1824 as existing political parties began to decentralize as a result of the westward expansion of America. The system had come to be known as "King Caucus," because the power that these caucuses had to nominate a president was seen as undemocratic. The failure of the caucus nominee of 1824, William Crawford, to become elected resulted in no candidate achieving an electoral majority and John Quincy Adams finally being elected in the House of Representatives. These informal meetings were replaced with national presidential nominating conventions from 1831 onwards.