Wheaton twice represented Minnesota at the Republican National Convention . At the 1896 Republican National Convention , he was the alternate delegate to state senator Charles Alfred Pillsbury , and lobbied on behalf of eventual nominee William McKinley to African American delegates from the South . At the 1900 Republican state convention , he gave an impassioned speech where , as described by the '' Minneapolis Journal '' , he " hypnotize d the convention with oratory " in arguing for a spot in Minnesota 's national convention delegation for an African American . The '' Journal '' would report that " Before the delegates had time to pull up the lower jaws they dropped in amazement when they heard him nominate himself . . . Before the convention scarce knew what happened , Mr. Wheaton had won the prize . " He was selected as the alternate to Knute Nelson
1896 Republican National Convention
1896 Republican National Convention
John Francis Wheaton