1854 Massachusetts gubernatorial election
 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||
| Elections in Massachusetts |
|---|
 |
The 1854 Massachusetts gubernatorial election was held on November 15. Know-Nothing candidate Henry J. Gardner was elected to his first term as Governor, defeating incumbent Whig Governor Emory Washburn.
Future Senator and Vice President of the United States Henry Wilson also ran as a candidate for the new Massachusetts Republican Party. This marks the first campaign in which the new party participated, following its founding on Worcester Common in September.
The election was also the first after the 1853 legislature repealed the secret ballot law passed a few years earlier, returning the state to public balloting.[1]
Republican convention[]
The new Republican Party held their founding convention on Worcester Common on September 7. A highlight of the convention was the speech of Charles Sumner.[2]
Candidates[]
- Nathaniel Prentiss Banks, U.S. Representative from Waltham
- Ebenezer Rockwood Hoar, Judge of the Court of Common Pleas
- Samuel Hoar, former U.S. Representative from Concord
- Stephen C. Phillips, former U.S. Representative and Mayor of Salem
- Henry Wilson, former President of the Massachusetts Senate and Free Soil candidate for Governor in 1853
All of the candidates were considered free-soilers, except Samuel Hoar, though he had founded the Free Soil Party.[2]
Balloting[]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Henry Wilson | 316 | 65.83% | |
| Republican | Stephen C. Phillips | 68 | 14.17% | |
| Republican | Ebenezer Rockwood Hoar | 48 | 10.00% | |
| Republican | Samuel Hoar | 38 | 7.92% | |
| Republican | Nathaniel Banks | 5 | 1.04% | |
| Republican | Scattering | 5 | 1.04% | |
| Total votes | 480 | 100.00% | ||
A Democrat, Increase Sumner of Great Barrington, was nominated for Lieutenant Governor.[2]
A platform was adopted opposing the acquisition of Cuba or any other territory without a free vote of its residents, denouncing the Boston Municipal Government for the arrest of Anthony Burns and calling for state intervention, and pledging "to make the question of freedom paramount to all other political questions." The platform proposed the repeal of the Fugitive Slave Act, restoration of abolition in Kansas and Nebraska, prohibition of slavery in all territories, refusal of admission for new slave states, and abolition of slavery in the District of Columbia.[2]
Democratic convention[]
The Democratic Party held their convention in Lowell on September 26. Isaac Adams was elected President with 297 out of 553 votes.[3]
Candidates[]
- Henry W. Bishop
Henry Bishop was nominated by acclamation, despite his letter declining the nomination.[3]
A state party platform was passed endorsing the national Democratic platform of 1852, the Pierce administration, the principle of democratic self-government, and a recent act of Congress "changing the superintendence of our National armories from the military to the civil." The platform also included a plank emphasizing the freedom of religion.[3]
Free Soil convention[]
At the Free Soil convention in Springfield on October 17, the party voted to disband and endorse the Republican ticket.
Native American convention[]
The Native American Party (better known as the "Know Nothings") held their first convention at Tremont Temple in Boston on October 18. Henry J. Gardner served as President.[4]
Candidates[]
- Simon Brown, publisher of the New England Farmer
- Nahum F. Bryant
- Henry J. Gardner, businessman and member of the Boston Common Council
- Eli Thayer, founder of the Oread Institute and Massachusetts Emigrant Aid Company
- Marshall Pinckney Wilder, merchant, amateur horticulturalist, and former President of the Massachusetts Senate
- Henry Wilson, former President of the Massachusetts Senate and Republican and Free Soil candidate for Governor
- Ephraim M. Wright, Secretary of the Commonwealth
Balloting[]
| 1854 Native American Party Convention | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ballot | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| Gardner | 0 | 0 | 396 | 623 |
| Bryant | 80 | 333 | 254 | 181 |
| Wright | 180 | 222 | 109 | 27 |
| Thayer | 0 | 113 | 67 | 24 |
| Wilder | 343 | 109 | 43 | 0 |
| Wilson | 66 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Brown | 66 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 968 | 1,206 | 944 | 988 |
After the contentious first ballot, Henry Wilson withdrew his name from consideration. A motion was passed disqualifying any person who had joined the party within the prior month, effectively eliminating front-runner Marshall Wilder as well.[4] There was some accusation that the Boston Whig Party had inordinate influence at the convention.[4]
After balloting was concluded, the party secretary was instructed to misinform the Boston newspapers as to which candidates had been nominated.[4]
General election[]
Candidates[]
- Henry W. Bishop, candidate for Governor in 1852 and 1853 (Democratic)
- Bradford L. Wales, candidate for Governor in 1853 (Democratic Hunker)
- Charles Allen, former U.S. Representative for Massachusetts's 5th congressional district (Independent Free Soil)
- Henry Wilson, former President of the Massachusetts Senate and candidate for Governor in 1853 (Free Soil, Republican[5])
- Henry J. Gardner, Member of the Boston City Council (Native American)
- Emory Washburn, incumbent Governor (Whig)
Campaign[]
A dominant issue in the campaign was the Fugitive Slave Act. Allen and Wilson both strongly opposed it and Allen charged Gardner with having supported it, which he denied. Gardner advocated for the repeal or modification of the law and said that he had, in the past, favored a fusion between the Whig and Free Soil parties.[6]
Results[]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Know Nothing | Henry J. Gardner | 81,503 | 62.58% | N/A | |
| Whig | Emory Washburn (incumbent) | 27,279 | 20.94% |  25.00
| |
| Democratic | Henry W. Bishop | 13,742 | 10.55% | 16.67
| |
| Republican | Henry Wilson | 6,483 | 4.98% | N/A | |
| Indep. Free Soil | Charles Allen | 477 | 0.37% | N/A | |
| Democratic-Hunker | Bradford L. Wales | 477 | 0.37% | 3.88
| |
| Write-in | 288 | 0.22% |  0.13
| ||
| Total votes | 130,249 | 100.00% | |||
| Know Nothing gain from Whig | Swing | ||||
See also[]
References[]
- ^ Darling, Arthur B. (1925). Political Changes in Massachusetts, 1824–1848. Yale University Press. p. 171.
- ^ a b c d e "Massachusetts Republican State Convention". The New York Times. 8 Sep 1854. p. 1.
- ^ a b c "Massachusetts Democratic State Convention". The New York Times. 27 Sep 1854. p. 1.
- ^ a b c d "The Massachusetts Know-Nothing State Convention". The New York Times. 19 Oct 1854. p. 1.
- ^ "Acceptance of General Henry Wilson of the Nomination for Governor of Massachusetts". The New York Times. 4 Oct 1854. p. 1.
- ^ "Massachusetts Politics". The New York Times. 1 Nov 1854. p. 1.
- ^ "1854 Massachusetts governor results".
- 1854 Massachusetts elections
- Massachusetts gubernatorial elections
- 1854 United States gubernatorial elections
- November 1854 events