A Twentieth Century History and Biographical Record of Laporte County Indiana, Part 59

Author: Rev. E. D. Daniels
Publication date: 1904
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 1273

USA > Indiana > LaPorte County > A Twentieth Century History and Biographical Record of Laporte County Indiana > Part 59

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At the annual election in 1835 the Whig can- didates for county officers were elected, but the county went Democratic on candidates for Con- gress, state senator, and representative to the state legislature. For Congress E. A. Hanne- gan, Democratic, received six hundred and twelve votes; and James Gregory, Whig, one hundred and sixty-three; for state senator D. H. Colerick, Democrat, received two hundred and ninety-three votes, and William G. Ewing, Whig, two hundred and seventy-seven ; for rep- resentative to the state legislature, Charles W. Cathcart received four hundred and thirty-three votes, Samuel Miller two hundred and twelve, and J. A. Liston, one hundred and thirty-four. Why should the county which was naturally Whig go Democratic for state and national of- ficers? Because of local issues, the chief of

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which concerned the settlers' possession of their homes. Many of the settlers had settled on and improved government lands in 1834, but, not hav- ing secured any pre-emption right, their lands were about to be bought at the approaching sales by those who would bid higher than the govern- ment prices, thus securing the lands already set- tled upon and compelling the settlers either to vacate and give up their improvements, or else pay more than the sum at which the lands were held by the government. Not only so but there were many Indian "floats" which were in the nature of land warrants issued to half-bred 'In- dians and which, being negotiable, found their way for the most part into the hands of specula- tors who were thus enabled to "oust" the set- tlers from their lands notwithstanding the im- provements they had made upon them. The set- tlers must be dispossessed or else pay an ex- horbitant price to the speculators who held the "floats." Take heed, ye who look back to for- mer days and say that they were better than these. We are apt to forget the bad of those days and remember only the good, and this argues well for human nature.

In this contention of the settlers against their oppressors, Charles W. Cathcart was the cham- pion of the settlers' rights, and he was a power ; it was his nature to be on the side of the wronged. It was he who went to Washington to advocate their case before President Jackson. Mr. Han- negan was already the representative to Con- gress, and his nomination in 1835 was for a sec- ond term. The Democratic nominees were strongly and avowedly on the side of the set- tlers in their contention for their homes. On the other hand the Whig candidates were the nomi- nees of the active business men, lawyers, poli- ticians, etc., into whose hands had fallen the Indian claims, and of the speculators who wished to bid against the settlers in the land sales, and of course these candidates were on the side of their constituents. It was this which, though the county was Whig, elected the state and national nominees. Political feeling ran high. By ridiculing the movement as a new and un- precedented thing, the Whigs sought to dissuade the settlers from holding meetings in different parts of the county to agitate the sub- ject. The Democrats also had an advantage in

possessing as an organ, the only paper then pub- lished in the county-the recently established Michigan City Gasette. Though the presiden- tial election was not to occur until the following year, that paper displayed at the head of its columns the names of Martin Van Buren for president, and Richard M. Johnson for vice pres- ident, and ably championed the settlers in their practice of holding meetings and contending for their rights.

But in the following year, 1836, at the annual election on the first day of August, the Whig candidates were generally successful. Gustavus A. Everts received four hundred and sixty-eight votes for state senator, and David Evans four hundred and sixty-seven. There were six candi- dates for sheriff, and Sutton Van Pelt received three hundred and twenty-four votes, and Dud- ley Avery three hundred and one, while the vote for the others was small. But in the presidential election in November, the Martin Van Buren electors received four hundred and ninety votes. and the Harrison electors four hundred and fifty- two. Captain A. P. Andrew, Jr., was one of the electors on the Whig ticket. There was also an election this year for associate judge, at which Elisha Newhall received one hundred and sixty- two votes, and Gustavus A. Rose two hundred and eight votes. Thus it appears that the coun- ty was Whig again; Whig locally, but Demo- cratic nationally. The LaPorte Herald, the sec- ond paper published in the county, said editorial- ly that there was no need of a one-sided politi- cal paper in the county, and therefore it took an independent stand. It said also that probably many qualified voters would remain at home and not attend the polls.

In the August election of 1837 the Whigs were successful. David Wallace was elected governor by a large majority over John Du- mont, Albert S. White was elected to Congress by about as large a majority over Nathan Jack- son, John H. Bradley was elected state senator by a small majority over Charles W. Cathcart, and for county officers all the Whig candidates but two were elected.

In the August election of 1838 the Whigs were successful with the exception that C. Mc- Clure, the Democratic candidate for state rep- resentative, was elected by a majority of four

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hundred and seventy-two, and M. W. Ruton, the Independent candidate for coroner, was elected by a majority of one hundred and five.

In the August election of 1839 all the Whig candidates were successful. J. M. Stuart had taken charge of the Michigan City Gazette and had changed its politics from Democratic to Whig, and the LaPorte County Whig had been established in LaPorte. The Democrats, how- ever, were not without an organ, for the second Herald had been established in LaPorte. The campaign was one of intense vituperation and personal abuse. The campaign slogan of the Democrats was, that the Whigs were "the aris- tocratic party." Upon this the changes were continually rung. On almost every editorial page of the LaPorte Herald, then published by Joseph Lomax and edited by W. F. Storey, may be found the most offensive expressions. That paper made sport of the editor of the Whig for being pious, sanctimonious, hypocritical, and used the most biting sarcasm against the gen- tlemen of the opposing party. The Michigan City Gazette and the LaPorte County Whig were conducted with a little more dignity, but even in their columns there appeared such expres- sions as "whining brawlers," etc. Some think that the conduct of political campaigns has not improved ; but if such articles and expressions should be published as were used then, they would not be tolerated by the public. In 1839 the Whigs lost in the state.

As the campaign of 1840 drew near, politics were at fever heat. On December 28, 1839, at the call of the Whig central committee, a con- vention was held at the court house in LaPorte. John C. Reid was appointed president, J. M. Barclay and J. Bigelow vice presidents, and J. M. Stuart secretary. Mr. John B. Niles stated the object of the meeting, and a committee was appointed to formulate a preamble and resolu- tions. That committee consisted of J. H. Brad- ley, J. M. Stuart, O. A. Barker, Garland Rose, A. P. Andrew, Jr., D. Closser, and Charles W. Henry. The committee retired for a few moments and then returned and reported a long preamble and resolutions which were unanimous- ly adopted. The document had evidently been prepared beforehand, was in dignified terms, and showed much ability. It referred to the wide-

spread depression of business, the prostration of trade, the derangement of finance, extravagant national expenditures, the destruction of the tariff, etc., by the administration of President Van Buren; it glorified General Harrison, the hero of Tippecanoe, and highly commended the nomination of Harrison and Tyler, which had recently been made. In the next issue of the LaPorte Herald, Saturday, January 4, 1840, that paper editorially and repeatedly called the Whig convention one of aristocrats, referred to their boasted patriotism in courting the abolition fac- tion declared that the preamble and resolutions "hypocritically and ignorantly" attributed the depression of the times to the administration, blamed the Branch Bank at Michigan City as the cause of it, and called the leaders of the convention "black-hearted falsifiers," "ignorant brawlers," "long-faced hypocrites," and "foul- mouthed slanderers."

The next issue of the LaPorte County Whig was taken up with the president's message: but in the issue of January 18, Captain A. P. Andrew, editor, replied to the Herald as follows :-

We would ask in all candor if it is looked upon as a necessary qualification that an editor of a party newspaper should indiscriminately abuse all who do not agree with him or his party in politics ; and if so we will sell out and start an anti-political society. We never will so far forget the respect due ourself, and the respect due from us to others, as to bandy epithets or attempt to arouse the baser passions of man's nature against his neighbor because they happen to differ in poli- tics. That we do differ, and with a large majority it is an honest difference, all must accede. That being the case, is it not mean, is it not contempt- ible, to try to enlarge the breach by bandying epi- thets? We say, therefore, to all who are seeking to recover their neighbor to the right faith, whether in religion or politics, it is poor policy to commence by calling them hard names, such as "black hearted falsifier," "ignorant brawler," "liar," "long-faced hypocrite," "foul mouthed slanderer," etc.

The campaign of 1840 was a hot one. It is familiarly known as the "log cabin and hard cider campaign." The township conventions of the Whig party were called by "vigilance com- mittees." The LaPorte County I'hig secured a

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wood-cut of a log cabin, made by Dr. John S. Fosdick, who is referred to elsewhere and who was a very ingenious man. Every issue of the Whig throughout the campaign had that wood- cut at the head of its columns. It was the pic- ture of a typical log cabin surmounted by a staff on which was what was designed to repre- sent the American flag ; the length of the cut was nearly the width of one of these columns, and the height of it, atmosphere and all, was two inches and a half.

The Whig candidates were, for president, Gen- eral William H. Harrison; vice-president, John Tyler ; Congress, Henry S. Lane; senatorial elec- tors, Jonathan McCarty and Joseph G. Marshall; district electors, first district, John W. Paine; second district, Richard W. Thompson; third district, Joseph L. White; fourth district, James H. Cravens; fifth district, Caleb B. Smith ; sixth district, William Herod; seventh district, Henry S. Lane. The candidates for the August elec- tion were, for governor, Samuel Bigger, lieu- tenant governor, Samuel Hall; senator ; Sylvanus Everts; representative, Daniel Brown; sheriff, William Allen ; county commissioner, Henly Cly- burn ; school commissioner, Abel Lomax.

The Democratic candidates were, for presi- dent, Martin Van Buren ; vice president, Richard M. Johnson; senatorial electors, William Hen- dricks and George W. Ewing; for the seven dis- tricts respectively, Robert Dale Owen, George Boon, T. J. Henly, John L. Robinson, Andrew Kennedy, W. J. Peaslee, John M. Lemon. For the August election the candidates were, for governor, Tilghman A. Howard ; lieutenant gov- ernor, Benjamin S. Tuley ; Congress, Edward A. Hannegan; state senator, Charles W. Cathcart; representative, Willard A. Place; sheriff, Wil- liam M. Patterson; school commissoner, Abram Fravel ; county commissoner, Dr. DeWitt Strong.

The two great parties were the Whig or Federalist party, and the Democratic or Demo- cratic Republican party. There were also a few avowed abolitionists. There were those in both the other parties, especially the Whig party, who secretly sympathized with them; but as yet the abolitionist movement was in its infancy. The name abolitionist was odious, it was a term of great reproach and few had the courage to take it upon themselves. In this county there were

only a few who did so, not a sufficient number to induce either political party to court their favor. If they had been of sufficient strength, one party or the other would have made a bid for their votes; but instead of this each party fought shy of having anything to do with them. An aboli- tionist was a moral leper whom it was dangerous to touch. One week in March, 1840, the LaPorte Herald declared that the Whig newspaper had said not one thing condemnatory of abolition ; and the Whig, not relishing the implication, re- plied, "Nor one commendatory of abolition." The Democratic party was an open and avowed enemy, the Whig party refused to be a friend.

On Saturday, April 11th, the Whig county convention was held at the court house, and after the nominations were made a committee of six was appointed to address an invitation to Gen- eral Harrison to meet the young men of Indiana on the 29th day of the following April on the old Tippecanoe battle ground.

On the following Monday the Democratic county convention was held, at which it was resolved that the Whig or Federal party of 1840 was identically the same with the Federal party of 1798, and parallels were drawn to prove it. The Whig party was unsparingly condemned, and its principles repudiated. Martin Van Buren was commended. The resolutions dealing with the issues before the people were numerous, and some of them were very long; they fully set forth the platform principles of the Democratic party, in opposition to those set forth by the Whig convention on the 28th of the preceding December. The Democratic resolutions were fol- lowed by counter resolutions passed by the Whig young men of Center township, in a convention held on the 16th of April.

On Tuesday, April 21, 1840, the first gun of the campaign in LaPorte county was fired in Michigan City at the charter election. The battle cry was "Harrison and Reform." At an early hour, before the opening of the polls, the "Brig Constitution" passed through the streets, ap- propriately decorated with banners and mottoes and manned by a crew representing Whig tars under the command of Mr. James P. Pendill. From the foremast streamed the broad banner of W. H. Harrison. From the main mast floated a flag bearing the motto "Harrison and Tyler."

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At the stern of the brig was a flag bearing the words, "United we stand, divided we fall;" "Go the straight ticket." The stars and stripes waved over all. As the brig passed through the streets, the people cheered. A brass band was in the brig followed a long procession of Harrison a sailor crying, "Land ho." In the rear of the brig followed a long procession of Harrison voters. The brig led the procession to the polls, where the voters marched in and deposited their votes and marched out again in their order. The entire Whig city ticket was elected by great majorities. John Francis, mayor; William H. Goodhue, recorder ; Chauncey B. Blair, James Macadoo, George R. Selkirk, Daniel E. Garnsey, and Reynolds Cowden, aldermen; Fisher Ames, treasurer ; Horace Burr, Willis Peck, and Henry R. Carter, assessors ; Joshua S. McDowell, col- lector and constable.

The Whig papers of the county now began to advertise the Whig convention to be held on the 29th of May on the old Tippecanoe battle ground. The LaPorte County Whig devoted a whole page to it. At the top of the page there was a large wood-cut, nine inches long and six inches high, of a side-wheel steamer plunging over the waters with flags flying, whose name was "Tippecanoe." The page was further illus- trated with the usual log cabin wood-cut, and an American flag with a Harrison and Tyler streamer, and the cut of a four-horse emigrant wagon as a hint for the people to come by that means to the rally. The whole page was spread over with large display type glorifying the com- ing meeting and urging the people to attend it.

Several LaPorte citizens did attend it as dele- gates. and in the LaPorte Herald of June 6, Mr. W. F. Storey editorially says that according to report the attendance was between twenty and forty thousand, and then he says, "The conduct of the people was indecent, disgusting, black- guard-like, ruffian, and wholly unbecoming an' enlightened and civilized community." He says further that when the LaPorte and other dele- gates were on the way to the battle ground, they asked men, women and children their politics ; and if they found them to be Democrats "they braved at them like jacks." The next issue of the Herald was reduced to a half sheet, as the editor says for want of money, and his enemies

made much sport of his misfortune. In that issue Mr. Storey said that a victory over those enemies "was like a victory over a skunk-a de- feat to the victor." He refers again to "the vile wickedness of delegates to the Tippecanoe cele- bration," and even accuses the LaPorte delega- tion of braying and crowing at ladies while on the way to Tippecanoe, of seeking disorderly houses in Logansport, of using indecent lan- guage to a lady there, and while passing down the canal below Logansport of indecently black- guarding a lady who was sitting in her house.

. In the next issue of the LaPorte County Whig Mr. John H. Bradley, one of the dele- gates, published a dignified denial of these accu- sations. Other citizens also took up the cudgel against the Herald in articles and items some of which were sarcastic and severe.

The writer has no motive whatever in writ- ing thus save to state the facts as they occurred. Mr. Storey became a historic character of very wide interest; he became the editor and pro- prietor of the Chicago Times. But he laid the foundation of his career in LaPorte. The edi- torials which he published in the Herald, as Mr. T. H. Ball says in his "History of North- western Indiana," "indicated full well the spirit of the man whose utterances in the Chicago Times, in the opening years of the Civil war, needed to be suppressed by the strong arm of power at Washington." In thus referring to the LaPorte Herald we have not selected and grouped isolated and exceptional instances. The Whig was not free from severe and injudi- cious expressions, but they were the general tone of the Herald. The campaign of 1840 ended in a complete victory for the Whigs. It was a part of the wave which swept over the country. The fact was that the people were weary of business depression and many other objectionable things, and the time had come for a change of administration at Washington.

Political affairs went along without unusual interest until 1848. The county was generally Whig unless local interests changed the natural complexion of things. Sometimes the Whig majority was large, sometimes small; and some- times the Democrats were successful, either in electing a certain candidate or by certain town- ships going Democratic. Meanwhile the troubles

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in Kansas were preparing for the formation of a new party. On Saturday, July 29, pursu- ant to call, the Free Soil citizens of LaPorte county met on the public square. The meeting was composed of quite a number of men from the other political parties. Samuel Treat was chosen president,, Jonathan Burr and Charles W. Pomeroy vice presidents, and Dwight Dem- ing secretary. The convention was addressed by E. B. Crocker, of South Bend, John J. Dem- ing, of Mishawaka, and Henry T. Niles, of La- Porte. Resolutions were passed declaring that Congress had the power to prohibit the exten- sion of slavery, that this question was para- mount to all others, that the nominees of the Whig and Democratic parties were opposed to Free Soil views, and delegates were chosen to attend the Free Soil convention to be held in Buffalo on the following Wednesday. The del- egates were Jonathan Burr, Willis Peck, Henry T. Niles, and Benjamin Butterworth. 'ine con- vention was held at Buffalo, at the appointed time and was known as the "Barnburners' con- vention," which adopted a Free Soil platform and nominated Martin Van Buren and Charles Francis Adams as their presidential candidates. The candidates of the Whig party were Zach- ary Taylor and Millard Fillmore. Those of the Democratic party were Lewis Cass and Benja- min F. Butler. Thus there were three parties in the field. There was great political excite- ment. Evidently a change, a redistribution of forces was going on. The August elections were bad for the Whigs. Many of them split their tickets and voted for the Democratic can- didates. In the next issue after the election the Michigan City News said :-

LaPorte county, the banner Whig county in the state in 1840, has at last surrendered to the Democracy. It met its Waterloo on Monday last, suffering a defeat from which it will never re- cover. The fruits of this victory on our part are a representative, auditor, county commissioner, probate judge and prosecuting attorney, by ma- jorities ranging from one hundred to one hun- dred and six. The Whigs have the poor consola- tion of knowing that they have a Whig represen- tative, sheriff, and assessor elected by Demo- cratic votes.

The LaPorte County Il'hig acknowledged

the defeat and made the best of it. At the national election in November the Whig electors received one thousand and thirty-three votes, the Democratic electors eight hundred and seventy- four, and the Free Soil electors two hundred and twenty-six.

The Whig electors won the day by a major- ity of only one hundred and fifty-nine, which should have been much greater but the Free Soil party naturally drew from the Whigs many more votes than from the Democrats. In the Free Soil party thus formed we see the first nucleus of those forces which eight years later were to crystalize into the Republican party. The great question whether the United States are a loose confederation like a bundle of sticks, or a unit like an animal endowed with a com- mon life, was about to be decided, and the occa- sion was to be slavery and secession.

In 1849 the county went Whig by a small majority. In 1850 some of the candidates of each of the two parties were elected, and also delegates to the constitutional convention. In the election of 1851 the Whigs carried the coun- ty again by small majorities. Both district con- ventions had been held at Plymouth. The Democrats had nominated again Graham N. Fitch for Congress, and reaffirmed the princi- ples of the old Democracy pledging themselves to stand by the compromises, even to the de- livering up of fugitive slaves. The Whigs had nominated Schuyler Colfax for Congress, and declared against the extension of slavery into the free states, accepting the compromises of the preceding Congress and commending the administration of President Fillmore. This was the first nomination of Mr. Colfax for Con- gress. He was elected by the narrow majority of seven votes; indeed the Whigs carried the county only by a small majority, averaging less than a hundred votes.

During the campaign of 1851 much interest was taken in politics. Messrs. Colfax and Fitch held a joint discussion at the court house in LaPorte on Saturday, July 19, in which each argued the principles and deeds of his party in an able manner, and the newspapers of each party made their champion get the better of the argument, and the other appear disconcerted.

At this election the new state constitution

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was voted upon. LaPorte county gave one thousand seven hundred and sixty-nine votes for its adoption, to one hundred and thirty-two votes against it. The section of this constitution which provided for the exclusion of negroes and mulat- toes from the state, was submitted to a separate LaPorte county gave one thousand three hundred and thirty-eight votes in favor of it, and only six hundred and thirty-five against it. And vet this vote against it was larger in proportion to the whole vote cast than in many other parts of the state, and shows that the principle of freedom and equal rights was taking root and would spread. Under the new constitution the general county election was to be held in October in- stead of in August as heretofore.

vote.

The year 1852 was an important one politi- cally. General Winfield Scott was the Whig candidate for president, Franklin Pierce the Democratic candidate, and John P. Hale the Free Soil candidate. The Democratic electors received a majority of one hundred and eleven votes. The Free Soil electors received one hundred and thirty-six votes. If these had been given to the Scott electors the Whigs. would still have had a majority in the county. But this was not to be. A Democratic tidal wave swept the country. This sounded the knell of the Whig party. It was broken up, and never again rallied. New departures were taken. Out of the disorganized material of the Whig party, and accessions from the anti-slavery senti- ment of the Democrats, the Free Soilers, and the Abolitionists, the Republican party was at length formed, and parties became divided squarely upon the issues which were occasioned by slavery. In the local election of 1852 the only candidates which the Whigs elected were Thomas S. Stanfield as circuit judge, Mulford K. Farrand as common pleas judge, William Allen as sheriff, Volney W. Bailey as county clerk, and Edmund S. Organ as county treasurer. The Democrats elected their candidates for gov- ernor, congress, state senator, representative, county commissioner, surveyor, and coroner.

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A Twentieth Century History and Biographical Record of Laporte County Indiana, Part 59

Author: Rev. E. D. Daniels Publication date: 1904 Publisher: Number of Pages: 1273

Author: Rev. E. D. Daniels
Publication date: 1904
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 1273