1897 Chicago mayoral election
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Elections in Illinois |
---|
![]() |
In the Chicago mayoral election of 1897, Democratic nominee Carter Harrison Jr. was elected, winning a majority of the vote and defeating independent Republican
Incumbent Republican mayor George Bell Swift declined to seek reelection.[1]
Harrison won the
The election was held on April 6.[2][3][4]
Nominations
The election had held the record for being the Chicago mayoral election to have the most candidates running on the ballot for 122 years, until the 2019 Chicago mayoral election surpassed it.
Democratic
The Democratic nomination went the Carter Harrison Jr., son of the late former mayor Carter Harrison Sr., who was assassinated in 1893 while serving his fifth term as mayor.[1]
Considered to be young and charismatic, and the namesake of his popular father, in 1896 a number of political actors began to court Harrison as a potential mayoral candidate for 1897.[1] In 1896 the Harrison Club, which had been founded by his father at the start of the decade in the hopes of forming the base of a political machine, but which had gone defunct following his fathers' assassination, was revived.[1]
During his pursuit of the nomination, Harrison aligned himself with William Jennings Bryan, 1896 Democratic presidential nominee.[1]
Harrison's potential candidacy began to accrue the backing of political players of the Chicago Democratic Party scene. Chief among these was Robert Emmett "Bobby" Burke, who abandoned his initial support for the candidacy of Superior Court of Cook County judge John Barton Payne in order to back Harrison.[1]
John Barton Payne was broadly-liked, but did not arouse strong enthusiasm, and was criticized by some Democrats for his tepid support of William Jennings Bryan's presidential candidacy.[1] Payne ultimately abandoned his plans to run after being discouraged by the greatly enthusiastic response which Harrison received for his opening speech at the January 8, 1897 Jackson Day Celebration.[1]
Another challenger to Harrison was A. S. Trude.[1] Trude, whose long political service had been admired by John Peter Altgeld, unsuccessfully sought Atgeld's endorsement.[1] He ultimately withdrew as well.[1]
Atgeld backed Harrison after Trude's withdrawal.[1]
At the city's Democratic Party
Republican
The Republican Party nominated Nathaniel C. Sears,[1] a judge on the Superior Court of Cook County.[5] Sears was the first resident of the Edgewater neighborhood to run for mayor.[6] Sears was selected as a compromise candidate in an attempt to avoid a potentially divisive fight between the leading candidates that had sought the nomination (which included William Lorimer).[1]
Prohibition
The Prohibition Party nominated H. L. Parmelee.
Socialist Labor
The Socialist Labor Party nominated John Glambeck. Glambeck was a clerk and the editor of the Arbejderen paper, a mouthpiece of the party.[7][8][9] Glambeck had been involved in the party, including having previously served as a delegate to the party's 1893 national convention.[10]
Independent candidates
Incumbent alderman John Maynard Harlan ran for mayor as an independent Republican. Harlan was the son of then-sitting Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States John Marshall Harlan.
Less notable candidates also running as independents were Frank Howard Collier and J. Irving Pearce, Jr.
General election
The election was contentious, with four major candidates and numerous minor candidates.[1]
The Chicago Traction Wars were a prominent concern in the election.[1]
Throughout the election, Harrison was the apparent frontrunner.
Harrison's campaign was well organized, and benefited from the disunity of Republicans.[1]
Appealing to citizen's concerns regarding the developments of the Chicago Traction Wars (particularly the Humphrey bills, bills backed by Charles Yerkes and introduced to the Illinois Senate by John Humphrey), John Maynard Harlan advocated for regulation of the city's streetcar systems.[1] He supported municipal ownership of streetcars.[12] Harlan received what effectively amounted to an unofficial endorsement from the Muninicipal Voters' League.[1]
Hesing had begun preparing for his campaign in the autumn of 1896. He ran on a markedly liberal platform which proposed a mayoral administration modeled after that of
By the end of the race, it had become apparent that Harrison and Harlan were the frontrunners to win.[1]
The second-place finish by Municipal Voters League reformer John Maynard Halran evidenced the strength of the independent pro-reform vote in Chicago.[13]
Endorsements
- Officeholders
- William Kent, Chicago alderman from the 32nd ward
- Joseph Powell, Illinois state representative[14]
- Charles Rector, Chicago alderman from the 28th ward[14]
- Individuals
- Jane Addams,[12] activist and proprietor of Hull House
- Clarence Darrow,[12] lawyer and activist
- Louis F. Post,[12] Georgism activist
- Donald Richberg,[12] attorney
- Officeholders
- John Peter Altgeld, Governor of Illinois[15]
- Robert Emmett "Bobby" Burke[1]
- Individuals
Results
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Carter Harrison Jr. | 148,850 | 50.23 | |
Independent Republican | John Maynard Harlan | 69,730 | 23.53 | |
Republican | Nathaniel C. Sears | 59,513 | 20.08 | |
Independent Democrat | Washington Hesing | 15,427 | 5.21 | |
Socialist Labor | John Glambeck | 1,230 | 0.42 | |
Prohibition
|
H. L. Parmelee | 910 | 0.31 | |
Independent | J. Irving Pearce, Jr. | 561 | 0.19 | |
Independent | Frank Howard Collier | 110 | 0.04 | |
Turnout | 296,331 |
Harrison received 82.91% of the Polish-American vote.[16]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af Morton, Richard Allen (June 29, 2016). "Roger C. Sullivan and the Making of the Chicago Democratic Machine, 1881-1908". McFarland. pp. 44, 103–106. Retrieved May 11, 2020.
- ^ a b The Chicago Daily News Almanac and Year Book for 1912. Chicago Daily News, Incorporated. 1911. p. 464. Retrieved May 12, 2020.
- ^ Mayor Carter Henry Harrison IV Biography
- ^ Currey, Josiah Seymour (1912). Chicago: Its History and Its Builders, a Century of Marvelous Growth. S. J. Clarke publishing Company. p. 335.
- ^ "Judiciary of Cook County". The Chicago Eagle. May 4, 1895. p. 3.
- ^ "Edgewater Teasers Vol. XVI No. 3 - FALL 2005". Edgewater History. Retrieved February 13, 2019.
- ^ "[Editor of Arbejderen Defeated] (Summary)". flps.newberry.org. Newberry Foreign Language Press Survey. March 27, 1897. Archived from the original on August 21, 2020. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
- ^ "[Arbejderen in Difficulties]". flps.newberry.org. Newberry Foreign Language Press Survey. December 19, 1896. Archived from the original on August 21, 2020. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
- ISBN 978-0-252-01830-5. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
- ^ "The Chicago Convention" (PDF). The People. III (15). New York City. July 9, 1893. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
- ^ “Washington Hesing Stricken Suddenly With Heart Disease.” Los Angeles Herald, 19 Dec. 1897.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-8093-3199-4. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
- ^ Labor and Urban Politics: Class Conflict and the Origins of Modern Liberalism in Chicago, 1864-97 Front Cover Richard Schneirov University of Illinois Press, 1998 (page 347)
- ^ a b "HARLAN FOR MAYOR". Newspapers.com. The Inter Ocean (Chicago). January 26, 1897. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
- JSTOR 40189944.
- JSTOR 20147849.