Henry Gardner
Henry Gardner | |
---|---|
23rd Governor of Massachusetts | |
In office January 4, 1855 – January 7, 1858 | |
Lieutenant |
|
Preceded by | Boston Common Council from Ward 4[1] |
In office 1851–1853 | |
Personal details | |
Born | Henry Joseph Gardner June 14, 1819 Dorchester, Massachusetts |
Died | July 21, 1892 Milton, Massachusetts | (aged 73)
Political party |
|
Profession |
|
Henry Joseph Gardner (June 14, 1819 – July 21, 1892) was the
Born in
The Know Nothing movement began to disintegrate not long after its 1854 victory, dividing over
Early life
Henry Joseph Gardner was born in
Entry into politics
In 1850 Gardner, politically a
The Know Nothing convention in October 1854 chose Gardner as its gubernatorial candidate,[9] in part because his stand on slavery was not as radical as that of Republican candidate Henry Wilson, who was also seeking Know Nothing support. Wilson eventually made a deal with the Know Nothings, withdrawing from the race at the last moment in exchange for Know Nothing support in a United States Senate bid. The campaign was relatively sedate, because both the Whigs and Democrats did not organize large-scale events. The larger parties may have been concerned that rallies would be poorly attended due to defections to the Know Nothings.[7] The aristocratic Whigs fielded incumbent governor Emory Washburn to stand for reelection. They were particularly dismissive of the Know Nothings: one commentator described the Know Nothing ticket as "spavined ministers, lying toothpullers, and buggering priests" who were led by "that rickety vermin of a Henry J. Gardner."[10] Gardner was, however, optimistic, warning one journalist that he would win by a large majority.[10] The election was a landslide: Gardner won 79% of the vote, and the state legislature and Congressional delegation were almost entirely populated by Know Nothings.[2][11]
Governor of Massachusetts
The legislature elected in the Know Nothing sweep was unlike any that preceded it: almost all of its members were new to elected office. The 1855 session was one of the most productive in the state's history, with about 600 bills and resolutions passed. In his inaugural address, Gardner set what he hoped was a tone that would solidify his position has the party leader. The speech focused almost to exclusion on nativist issues, and included hyperbolic claims that the level of immigration was reaching crisis proportions. Gardner notably omitted popular substantive reform issues such as the ten-hour workday, and also avoided the contentious subject of slavery.[12]
Reforms
The 1855 legislature passed a wide variety of reform legislation, most of which Gardner signed. A board of insurance with broad powers of inspection was created; bankruptcy laws were changed to benefit lower-class individuals;
Several amendments to the state constitution were enacted during Gardner's term. All of them originated in the
One reform that was immediately a subject of controversy was a harsh prohibition law, which criminalized the service of a glass of grog with a six-month jail sentence. The bill, signed into law by Gardner, was immediately protested, and legislators who passed it were later criticized for charging bar tabs to the state when they traveled.[17]
Nativist issues
Some legislation and executive action was squarely aimed at addressing nativist concerns. So-called "foreign" militia, composed of Irish immigrants, were disbanded, and foreigners were not allowed in police forces or state government jobs.[18] The state deported more than 1,000 allegedly indigent aliens, inciting protest over abuses. One notable case involved the deportation to Liverpool of a woman with an American-born infant without any means of support. Gardner reported that the state saved $100,000 by this process.[19]
The most scandalous aspect of the nativist agenda was the legislature's investigation of alleged abuses in Roman Catholic boarding houses. Joseph Hiss, one of the principal investigators, was reported to have made lewd remarks to nuns in these establishments, and was later found to engage in drinking and the hiring of prostitutes. The scandal received a great deal of press and badly tarnished the Know Nothings.[20]
Slavery
Before Gardner's election, on May 24, 1854,
The Know-Nothing legislature also passed, over Gardner's veto, one of the most stringent personal liberty laws, designed to make enforcement of the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 as difficult for slave claimants as possible.[23] Gardner said that the law would exacerbate relations between North and South, and called for its repeal.[24] Minority parties in the legislature sought to weaken the bill, but its major provisions, including rights of habeas corpus, jury trial, and state-funded defense, survived.[25]
Later elections
In 1855 the national Know Nothing convention split on the subject of slavery. Prominent antislavery Know Nothing supporters in Massachusetts, including Henry Wilson, began another attempt (after having failed in 1854) to form a party with abolition as a major focus.[26] This effort resulted in the formation of the Republican Party, which sought to negotiate with the Know Nothings for a fusion of the two parties. However, Massachusetts Know Nothing leadership refused fusion and Republican leadership refused coalition,[27] with many Republicans skeptical of Gardner's fidelity to the antislavery cause despite his support for fusion.[28] The parties ended up fielding separate slates of candidates, and many Know Nothing politicians and supporters switched allegiance. In the fall election Gardner, running on a strictly nativist platform, garnered 38% of the vote, to the 27% of Republican Julius Rockwell. With the new plurality voting rule in effect, Gardner won the election,[29] but the split (and disaffection in some circles with the Know Nothing agenda) cost him support from former Free Soilers and Democrats.[30] In the 1856 election Gardner benefited from a deal with the Republicans, who refused to run a candidate for governor in exchange for Know Nothing support for their presidential candidate, John C. Frémont. He easily won reelection, although many Republicans voted for a protest candidate instead of supporting him.[31] He attempted to parlay the Republican support into an election to the United States Senate (a matter then decided by the state senate early in its session) replacing Charles Sumner. However, Republican operatives maneuvered the Senate into voting before Gardner's speech opening the 1857 session, and Sumner was easily reelected.[32]
Although the nation was wracked by the Panic of 1857 and Bleeding Kansas, the election in Massachusetts that year hinged on other factors. Gardner was opposed by Republican (and former Know Nothing) Nathaniel Prentice Banks and Democrat Erasmus Beach. Gardner was accused of having become little more than a tool of the formerly Whig industrial interests, and Banks was adept at bringing many former Know Nothings into his camp, most importantly John Z. Goodrich who attested to Banks' strong antislavery credentials. Gardner sought to focus the contests on local issues, but slavery predominated as an issue,[33] and Banks won a comfortable victory.[34]
In 1858 Gardner sought to bring what remained of the Know Nothings into a coalition with the Democrats, but his attempts to find a suitable candidate were unsuccessful. That year's Know Nothing candidate,
Later life
Gardner continued in his dry goods business until 1876, and became an agent for the Massachusetts Life Insurance Company in 1887.[6] He died in Milton, Massachusetts on July 21, 1892. In the 1850s he was recognized by Harvard University with honorary degrees,[36] and he was made a member of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company in 1855.[3]
Notes
- ^ a b "A Catalogue of the City Councils of Boston, 1822-1908, Roxbury, 1846-1867, Charlestown, 1847-1873 and of the Selectmen of Boston, 1634-1822: Also of Various Other Town and Municipal Officers". City of Boston Printing Department. 1909. p. 89. Retrieved 30 October 2022.
- ^ a b c d Gienapp, p. 136
- ^ a b c Roberts, p. 263
- ^ Palmer, pp. 169–170
- ^ Wright et al, p. 101
- ^ a b Rand, p. 243
- ^ a b Anbinder, p. 91
- ^ Mulkern, p. 96
- ^ Anbinder, p. 90
- ^ a b Mulkern, p. 75
- ^ Anbinder, p. 92
- ^ Mulkern, pp. 95–96, 107
- ^ Formisano, pp. 332–333
- ^ Mulkern, p. 109
- ^ Formisano, p. 340
- ^ Formisano, pp. 334–335
- ^ Mulkern, pp. 101–102
- ^ Formisano, p. 334
- ^ Mulkern, p. 103
- ^ Voss-Hubbard (2002), p. 170
- ^ Von Frank, p. 1
- ^ Voss-Hubbard (1995), pp. 173–174
- ^ Voss-Hubbard (2002), p. 172
- ^ Voss-Hubbard (1995), p. 173
- ^ Voss-Hubbard (1995), pp. 175–177
- ^ Duberman, pp. 364–365
- ^ Duberman, p. 366
- ^ Duberman, p. 367
- ^ Duberman, pp. 368–369
- ^ Baum, pp. 966–967
- ^ Baum, pp. 968–969
- ^ Donald. pp. 320–322
- ^ Stampp, p. 242
- ^ Hollandsworth, p. 35
- ^ Baum, pp. 972–973
- ^ Annual Report of Harvard University, 1854–1855, p. 53
References
- Anbinder, Tyler (1992). Nativism and Slavery: The Northern Know Nothings and the Politics of the 1850s. New York: Oxford University Press. OCLC 55718937.
- Baum, Dale (March 1978). "Know-Nothingism and the Republican Majority in Massachusetts: The Political Realignment of the 1850s". The Journal of American History. 64 (4): 959–986. JSTOR 1890732.
- Donald, David (1960). Charles Sumner and the Coming of the Civil War. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press. OCLC 19357352.
- Duberman, Martin (September 1961). "Some Notes on the Beginnings of the Republican Party in Massachusetts". The New England Quarterly. 34 (3): 364–370. JSTOR 362933.
- Formisano, Ronald (1983). The Transformation of Political Culture: Massachusetts Parties, 1790s–1840s. New York: Oxford University Press. OCLC 18429354.
- Gienapp, William (1988). The Origins of the Republican Party, 1852–1856. New York: Oxford University Press. OCLC 437173404.
- Hollandsworth, James (1998). Pretense of Glory: The Life of General Nathaniel p. Banks. Baton Rouge, LA: Louisiana State University Press. ISBN 0-8071-2293-9.
- Harvard University (1856). Annual Report of Harvard University, 1854–1855. Harvard University. OCLC 8152872.
- Mulkern, John (1990). The Know-Nothing Party in Massachusetts. Boston: Northeastern University Press. OCLC 20594513.
- Palmer, Joseph (1864). Necrology of Alumni of Harvard College, 1851–52 to 1862–63. Boston: John Wilson and Son. p. 170. OCLC 1344448.
- Rand, John Clark, ed. (1890). One of a Thousand: A Series of Biographical Sketches of One Thousand Representative Men Resident in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, A.D. 1888–89. Boston: First National Publishing Co. p. 243. OCLC 1306357.
- Roberts, Oliver (1898). History of the Military Company of the Massachusetts, Volume 3. Boston: A. Mudge & Son. OCLC 1394719.
- Stampp, Kenneth (1990). America in 1857: A Nation on the Brink. New York: Oxford University Press. OCLC 21030400.
- Von Frank, Albert (1998). The Trials of Anthony Burns. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. OCLC 37721476.
- Voss-Hubbard, Mark (August 1995). "The Political Culture of Emancipation: Morality, Politics, and the State in Garrisonian Abolitionism, 1854–1863". Journal of American Studies. 29 (2): 159–184. JSTOR 27555920.
- Voss-Hubbad, Mark (2002). Beyond Party: Cultures of Antipartisanship in Northern Politics Before the Civil War. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press. OCLC 51493536.
- Wright, Frank (1888). Parker, Arthur; Kimball, Frank (eds.). History of the Bowdoin College Alumni Association of Boston and Vicinity, 1868–87. Salem, MA: Salem Press. OCLC 79014812.