1856 Chicago mayoral election
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
|
Elections in Illinois |
---|
![]() |
In the 1856 Chicago mayoral election, Thomas Dyer defeated former mayor Francis Cornwall Sherman.[1] The race was shaped by the divisive national political debate surrounding the issue of slavery, particularly debate surrounding the controversial KansasโNebraska Act, and the election was treated by many as a referendum on it.[2] Dyer vocally supported the act, while Sherman stood in opposition to it.
The election was held on March 10.[3]
Campaigning
First-term incumbent Know Nothing mayor Levi Boone did not seek reelection. His tenure had been very unpopular, and his anti-immigrant policies had led to a strong blowback from Chicago's immigrant community.[4]
Taking place several years prior to the start of the American Civil War, the election was shaped by the tenuous national debate surrounding slavery. The campaign was particularly shaped by debate surrounding the KansasโNebraska Act (such as whether or not popular sovereignty should be applied in determining the status of new states as slave or free states).[5] The debate was so central to the election that rather than affiliate with traditional political parties, both (Democratic) candidates for mayor instead ran under the banner of "Pro-Nebraska" (Dyer) and Anti-Nebraska (Sherman).[5]
Democratic US Senator
In February 1856, two organizations that sided with Douglas' side of the debate had nominated separate candidates. "Douglas Democracy" nominated L. M. Keith, and a fusion organization that included "Nebraska Democrats" nominated Dyer.[7][8][2] However, Keith refused to accept the mayoral nomination, thus Dyer was also supported by "Douglas Democracy" (who voted by acclamation to support his candidacy).[7] Dyer was nominated alongside a ticket of candidates for other municipal offices.[2]
Sherman did not run alongside a ticket of his own. However, his candidacy was supported by the
The campaign was very contentious.[7] Individuals on either side of the debate resorted to issuing character attacks against those on the opposing side.[7] Among incidents that arose from the political tension was a public fight between Sherman-supporting Chicago Journal editor C. L. Wilson and Dyer-supporting United States District Attorney Thomas Hoyne in late-February, which resulted in them both tumbling through a plate-glass window at the Illinois State Bank Building.[7][2]
Sherman was regarded to be the "anti-slavery extension" candidate, and received the backing of many Whig Party members.[7]
Dyer's campaign was considered to be well-funded.[7]
It was alleged that Douglas Democrats, in an effort to stack the vote in Dyer's favor, brought in as many as 1,500 Irish voters from neighboring Bridgeport, which was then outside the city limits, to vote illegally in the election as well as German voters.[5] It was believed that German voters were inclined to support the "Pro Nebraska" ticket not out of their stance on the issue of the Nebraska Act but the presence of liquor candidates on the ticket.[2] Similar allegations had previously arisen in the previous election.[11][12] If that is true for the 1856 election, electoral fraud would have contributed to Dyer's margin of victory.
Endorsements
- Samuel Ashton, registrar of the U.S. Land Office and aldermanic candidate[2]
- Stephen A. Douglas, United States Senator
- Thomas Hoyne, United States District Attorney[2]
- Newspapers
- C. L. Wilson,[2] editor of Chicago Daily Journal
- C.S. Blackwell,[7] baptist reverend
- Francis Hoffmann[7]
- Edwin C. Larned,[7] lawyer and political activist[13]
- William B. Ogden,[7] former Mayor of Chicago
- J. Young Scammon[7]
- Mark Skinner,[7] former member of the Illinois House of Representatives
- John Wentworth,[7] former Mayor of Chicago and US Congressman
- Newspapers
- Chicago Daily Journal[2][10]
- Chicago Democrat[2][10]
- Daily Democratic Press[2][10]
- Illinois Staats-Zeitung[2]
- Chicago Tribune[7][2][10]
- Political parties
Results
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Nebraska Democrat | Thomas Dyer | 4,712 | 53.24 | |
Anti-Nebraska Democrat | Francis Cornwall Sherman | 4,138 | 46.76 | |
Turnout | 8,850 |
The Daily Democratic Press and the
In the coinciding municipal races, the Know Nothing Party won only two Common Council seats and the "Nebraska" slate won the majority of offices.[10]
References
- ^ "RaceID=486035". Our Campaigns. Retrieved December 4, 2018.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Property Rules: Political Economy in Chicago, 1833-1872 by Robin L. Einhorn
- ^ "Mayor Thomas Dyer Biography". www.chipublib.org. Chicago Public Library. Retrieved January 2, 2021.
- ^ Gunderson, Erica (August 12, 2016). "Original Chicago Cocktail: Bridgeport's Revenge". WTTW.
- ^ a b c d e f "CHICAGO'S MAYORS". Genealogy Trails. Retrieved December 4, 2018.
- ^ "Thomas Dyer v F C Sherman Mayoral race Dyer a Douglas man". Chicago Weekly Tribune. February 23, 1856.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Goodspeed, Weston A. (February 6, 2017). The History of Cook County, Illinois. Jazzybee Verlag.
- ^ a b Making an Antislavery Nation: Lincoln, Douglas, and the Battle over Freedom By Graham A. Peck
- ^ Hansen, Stephen, and Paul Nygard. โStephen A. Douglas, the Know-Nothings, and the Democratic Party in Illinois, 1854-1858.โ Illinois Historical Journal, vol. 87, no. 2, 1994, pp. 109โ130. JSTOR, JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/40192832.
- ^ ISSN 0002-7790. Retrieved February 21, 2023.
- ^ "Bridgeport: Politics". UIC.edu. Retrieved December 4, 2018.
- ISBN 9780786488124.
- ISBN 9781599260280.