<P> The first national convention of that new party convened in St. Louis, Missouri in July 1904, with plans to field candidates in states that had sizeable Black populations . Its platform included planks that dealt with disfranchisement, insufficient career opportunities for Blacks in the United States military, imperialism, public ownership of railroads, "self - government" for the District of Columbia (Washington, D.C.), lynching, and pensions for ex-slaves . The convention also selected "Col ." William Thomas Scott of East St. Louis, Illinois as its candidate for the office of president of the United States for the 1904 election and William C. Payne a little - known teacher from Warrenton Virginia as his vice presidential running mate . The 37 - year - old Payne who later founded an industrial school in Puerto Rico, served as a Cabin Steward on the USS Dixie during the Spanish--American War . When convention delegates had left St. Louis and when Scott was arrested and jailed for having failed to pay a fine imposed in 1901, the party's executive committee turned to Taylor (who had just stepped down as president of the National Negro Democratic League) to lead the party's ticket . </P> <P> Taylor's campaign in 1904 was unsuccessful . The party's promise to put 300 speakers on the stump to support his candidacy and its plan to field 6,000 candidates for local offices failed to materialize . No newspaper supported the party . State laws kept the party from listing candidates officially on election ballots . Taylor's name failed to be added to any state ballot . The votes he received were not recorded in state records . William Scott later estimated that the party had received 65,000 votes nationwide, a number that could not be verified . </P> <P> In 1972, Shirley Chisholm was the first African - American major party candidate for president . She was a candidate for the Democratic Party nomination and participated in the Democratic primaries in numerous states . She campaigned in 12 states and won 28 delegates . In the actual balloting at the 1972 Democratic National Convention, she gained additional votes from disaffected Democrats and ended with 152 delegates . </P> <P> In the 1984 presidential election and 1988 presidential election, Jesse Jackson was the first major party black candidate to run nationwide primary campaigns . He also competed as a Democrat . In 1984, he garnered around 3 million votes in the primaries and in 1988, around 7 million . </P>

Who was the first african american to run for president of the united states