Stalwarts (politics)
Stalwarts | |
|---|---|
| Leader | • Roscoe Conkling • Zachariah Chandler • Oliver P. Morton • Benjamin Wade[1] • Benjamin Butler • Thomas C. Platt • Chester A. Arthur • Levi P. Morton • John A. Logan • J. Donald Cameron • William B. Allison • Frederick T. Frelinghuysen[2] |
| Founded | 1877 |
| Dissolved | c. 1890 |
| Preceded by | Radical faction of the Republican Party |
| Merged into | Republican Party |
| Ideology | Grantism Pro-machine politics Pro-spoils system Conservatism[3] |
| Political position | Center-right[4] to right-wing |
| National affiliation | Republican Party |
| This article is part of a series on |
| Conservatism in the United States |
|---|
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The Stalwarts were a faction of the Republican Party that existed briefly in the United States during as well as after Reconstruction and the Gilded Age during the 1870s and 1880s. Led by U.S. Senator Roscoe Conkling—also known as "Lord Roscoe"—Stalwarts were sometimes called Conklingites. Other notable Stalwarts included Chester A. Arthur, Thomas C. Platt, and Leonidas C. Houk.[5] The faction favored Ulysses S. Grant, the eighteenth President of the United States (1869–1877), running for a third term in the 1880 United States presidential election.
The designation of "Stalwart" to describe the faction was coined by James G. Blaine, who would later lead the rival "Half-Breed" faction during the Garfield administration.[6] Blaine and his political organization formed an informal coalition with the Stalwarts during the presidency of Rutherford B. Hayes,[7][8] supporting patronage and advocating on behalf of Southern blacks. The Maine Senator also frequently joined Stalwarts in voting against nominations of reformers by President Hayes who received the support of Democrats and staunch Half-Breed Republicans.[9][10][11]
Stalwarts were the "traditional" Republicans who advocated for the civil rights of African-Americans and opposed Rutherford B. Hayes's efforts to enact civil service reform. They were pitted against the "Half-Breeds" (classically liberal moderates) for control of the Republican Party. The most prominent issue between Stalwarts and Half-Breeds was patronage. The Half-Breeds worked to enact moderate civil service reform, and finally helped pass the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act. This was signed by Arthur, who became President after the assassination of James A. Garfield, a Half-Breed.[12] Stalwarts favored traditional machine politics.[13]
Background[]
During the Civil War and afterwards, congressional Radical Republicans feuded with so-called "Moderates" and "Conservatives" (who were in reality more liberal and supportive of civil service reform) on Reconstruction policy. Radical Republicans pushed through harsher, more coercive measures to safeguard the rights of newly freed slaves and promote a system of free-market capitalism in the South,[14] which "Moderates" were skeptical of and "Conservatives" opposed.
Over time, the power of the Radical Republicans disintegrated as members became disenchanted with the associated corruption during the presidency of Ulysses S. Grant. Many remaining Radicals, unwavering in their tactic of "waving the bloody shirt" and their defense of black civil rights, formed the Stalwarts, including but not limited to Roscoe Conkling, Frederick T. Frelinghuysen, John A. Logan, Zachariah Chandler, Benjamin Butler, William B. Allison, Benjamin Wade, and Oliver P. Morton.
Characteristics[]
The Stalwarts were mostly identifiable through their support of the presidency and re-election of Ulysses S. Grant.[15] The 1880 Republican National Convention was the event in which the group participated most prominently. Of the Stalwarts present, most were from former Confederate states, with others being from New York, Illinois, and Pennsylvania, home to some prominent Republican leaders.[15]
Although commonly described as "conservative", Stalwarts were not uniformly bound on ideology aside from their advocacy of spoils system politics and African-American civil rights. Some members, including John A. Logan, broke with the standard Republican Party position on the issue of protective tariffs and favored lower rates.[16][17]
Stalwarts were more cautious in policy than non-Stalwarts, preferring to avoid controversial policies popular with other Republicans, such as a higher protective tariff. This caution led the Stalwarts to support the nomination of Grant, a popular former President, at the 1880 Republican National Convention.[15]
1880 Republican National Convention[]
Hayes' actions as president cost support not only from Stalwarts, as Half-Breeds also expressed skepticisms. Following Hayes' attempts twice to appoint Half-Breeds to the Collector of the Port of New York only for Conkling to defeat the nominations, the New York senator and political boss secured the position for loyal Stalwart Chester A. "Chet" Arthur.[18] Arthur's tenure was marked with corruption, appointing thousands of Republicans to government jobs on the mere basis of political affiliation without regard for qualifications.[19] An outraged Hayes and Secretary of the Treasury John Sherman subsequently fired Arthur.[18] The decision, however, elicited the criticisms and antipathy of Half-Breeds, whose support Hayes needed for renomination.[20]
During the 1880 Republican National Convention, the Half-Breeds advocated the nomination of Senator George F. Edmunds of Vermont for President.[21] The Stalwarts, in a bid for power within their own party in spite of their loss of power due to the rise in popularity of the Democratic Party, stubbornly supported the nomination of Ulysses S. Grant, who, if elected, would be serving a third, non-consecutive third term. A stalemate ensued between the Half-Breeds and the Stalwarts, so a compromise was struck by the Half-Breeds and supporters of John Sherman to nominate James A. Garfield, with Chester A. Arthur, former Collector of the Port of New York, as his running mate, to satisfy the Stalwarts and thereby ensure their support for the general election.[15]
Decline[]
After the Republican victory in November 1880, President Garfield and Conkling fought bitterly and publicly over patronage in Conkling's home state of New York. Garfield, with assistance and advice from Blaine, won the battle, and Conkling and Platt resigned from the Senate, convinced that they would be easily re-elected by the New York legislature. However, Garfield was shot by a self-proclaimed "Stalwart of the Stalwarts", Charles J. Guiteau, on July 2, 1881, and Arthur became President of the United States upon Garfield's death on September 19, 1881. The shock of the assassination broke both Conkling's power and that of the Stalwarts, and Conkling's former protege Arthur helped to create civil service reforms in his term, in part because he felt that he had to follow up on and finish Garfield's work.[22]
The Pendleton Act passed with no Senate Republican opposition. Remaining Senate Stalwarts, including John A. Logan, William B. Allison, J. Donald Cameron, voted for passage.[23] Only seven House Republicans (being Benjamin F. Marsh, James S. Robinson, Robert Smalls, William Robert Moore, Orlando Hubbs, John Robert Thomas, and George Washington Steele) voted against passage of the Pendleton Act.[24]
In the 1884 United States presidential election, Conkling and Platt opposed the Republican Party renomination of their former ally Arthur.[25] The nomination went to James G. Blaine, who Conkling continued loathing and refused to lend any support to in spite of the vice presidential selection going to Stalwart John A. Logan. When asked to campaign for the ticket, Conkling remarked: "I don't engage in criminal practice."[26]
In some states such as Wisconsin, the term "stalwart" continued to be used for the conservative element of those states' Republican parties, as contrasted with the progressive elements, well into the 1930s.[27]
See also[]
- James G. Blaine, opponent of civil service reform during the Hayes administration
Citations[]
- ^ Riddleberger, Patrick W. (April 1960). The Radicals' Abandonment of the Negro During Reconstruction. JSTOR. Retrieved January 1, 2021.
- ^ Weisberger, Bernard A. James A. Garfield and Chester A. Arthur. Encyclopedia.com. Retrieved January 2, 2021.
- ^ ." dictionary of American HISTORY. . encyclopedia.com. 12 Jan. 2021 . (2021, February 08). Retrieved February 08, 2021, from https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/dictionaries-thesauruses-pictures-and-press-releases/stalwarts
- ^ Hague Academy of International Law, ed. (1991). Collected courses of the Hague Academy of International Law. Hachette. p. 19.
- ^ Schlup, Leonard (October 8, 2017). Leonidas Campbell Houk. Tennessee Encyclopedia. Retrieved January 1, 2022.
- ^ Muzzey, David Saville (1934). James G. Blaine: A Political Idol of Other Days, p. 133. New York: Dodd, Mead, and Company.
- ^ Welch, p. 91.
- ^ Banks, Ronald F. (June 1958). The Senatorial Career of William P. Frye, p. 5–6. The University of Maine. Retrieved February 3, 2022.
- ^ TO CONSENT TO THE NOMINATION OF THEODORE ROOSEVELT AS COLLECTOR OF CUSTOMS AT NEW YORK. GovTrack.us. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
- ^ TO CONSENT TO THE NOMINATION OF EDWIN A. MERRITT AS COLLECTOR OF CUSTOMS FOR THE DISTRICT OF NEW YORK. GovTrack.us. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
- ^ TO CONSENT TO THE NOMINATION OF SILAS W. BURT AS NAVAL OFFICER IN THE DISTRICT OF NEW YORK. GovTrack.us. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
- ^ Sauer, Patrick (2000). The Complete Idiot's Guide to the American Presidents. Indianapolis, Indiana: Alpha Books. pp. 290. ISBN 0-02-863821-2.
- ^ "Stalwart (American political faction) - Britannica Online Encyclopedia". Britannica.com. Retrieved 2012-01-30.
- ^ Foner, p. 235.
- ^ a b c d Peskin, Allan (1984–85). "Who Were the Stalwarts? Who Were Their Rivals? Republican Factions in the Gilded Age". Political Science Quarterly. 99 (4): 703–716. doi:10.2307/2150708. JSTOR 2150708.
- ^ Jones, p. 27.
- ^ Jones, pp. 41–42.
- ^ a b Stalwarts, Half Breeds, and Political Assassination. National Park Service. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
- ^ Arthur, Chester A. Encyclopedia.com. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
- ^ The Key Political Issues: Patronage, Tariffs, and Gold. University of Central Florida. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
- ^ Welch, Richard E., Jr. (1968). George Edmunds of Vermont: Republican Half-Breed, p. 67–68. Vermont History. Retrieved January 1, 2022.
- ^ Zachary Karabell, Chester Alan Arthur: The American Presidents Series: The 21st President, 1881–1885 (Macmillan, 2004).
- ^ TO PASS S. 133. GovTrack.us. Retrieved January 2, 2021.
- ^ TO PASS S. 133, A BILL REGULATING AND IMPROVING THE U. S. CIVIL SERVICE. (J.P. 163). GovTrack.us. Retrieved January 2, 2021.
- ^ Muzzey, David Saville (1934). James G. Blaine: A Political Idol of Other Days, p. 283. New York: Dodd, Mead, and Company.
- ^ Jones, p. 196.
- ^ "PROGRESSIVE SLATE AHEAD IN WISCONSIN; La Follette Faction Leads the Stalwarts in Primary -- Roosevelt Democrats Winning." The New York Times April 6, 1932; p. 12
General sources[]
- Foner, Eric (1988). Reconstruction: America's Unfinished Revolution, 1863–1877. New York: Harper & Row.
- Jones, James Pickett (2001). John A. Logan: Stalwart Republican from Illinois. SIU Press. ISBN 9780809323890.
- Welch, Richard E., Jr. (1971). George Frisbie Hoar and the Half-Breed Republicans. Harvard University Press.
External links[]
- . New International Encyclopedia. 1905.
- Stalwarts (Republican Party)
- Activists for African-American civil rights
- Conservatism in the United States
- 1877 establishments in the United States
- 1890 disestablishments in the United States
- Assassination of James A. Garfield
- Political party factions in the United States
- Republican Party (United States) terminology
- Republican Party (United States)