Editing William A. Wheeler (section)

==Election of 1876==
Wheeler was a delegate to the [[1876 Republican National Convention]], which had nominated [[Rutherford B. Hayes]] for president on the seventh ballot.

[[File:Hayes-Wheeler.jpg|thumb|left|Hayes/Wheeler campaign poster]]
Wheeler was considered a "safe" choice for the vice presidential nomination, as he had not made many enemies over the course of his political career, though Roscoe Conkling himself supported the former congressman from New York, [[Stewart L. Woodford]].  When the time came for the convention to nominate a vice presidential candidate, congressman [[Luke P. Poland]] of Vermont nominated Wheeler, who immediately surged to the lead over Woodford and several other candidates.  By the time the roll call reached New York, the result was apparent, and Woodford withdrew, enabling New York to cast all its votes for Wheeler.<ref>{{cite book |last=Purcell |first=L. Edward |date=2010 |title=Vice Presidents: A Biographical Dictionary |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zq3-BuDVQfMC&pg=PA183 |location=York, PA |publisher=Maple Press |pages=183–184 |isbn=978-0-8160-7707-6}}</ref>  Wheeler won the nomination with 366 votes to the 89 for his nearest rival [[Frederick T. Frelinghuysen]], who later served on the [[Electoral Commission (United States)|Electoral Commission]] which decided the 1876 election in favor of Hayes and Wheeler.

Governor Hayes, when he heard of Wheeler's nomination, wrote to his wife Lucy: "I am ashamed to say: Who ''is Wheeler?"'' Hayes and Wheeler had not served in the House of Representatives at the same time, so Hayes was unfamiliar with his running mate.<ref>{{cite book |last=Trefousse |first=Hans L. |date=2002 |title=The American Presidents Series: Rutherford B. Hayes; The 19th President |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mB84AwAAQBAJ&pg=PA68 |location=New York, NY |publisher=Henry Holt and Company |page=68 |isbn=978-0-8050-6908-2}}</ref>

At the Republican National Convention, [[Frederick Douglass]] asked if the GOP would adhere to its pro-civil rights roots.<ref>Foner, Eric (1988). ''Reconstruction: America's Unfinished Revolution, 1863–1877'', p. 567. New York: Harper & Row.</ref> The advocacy of Hayes and Wheeler, among a faction of Northern Republicans, was to abandon Reconstruction efforts and instead make conciliatory appeals to Southern [[Whig Party (United States)|Whiggery]].<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20211107154757/https://www.senate.gov/about/officers-staff/vice-president/wheeler-william.htm About the Vice President | William A. Wheeler, 19th Vice President (1877–1881)]. ''United States Senate''. Retrieved January 27, 2022.</ref>