A history of Cleveland, Ohio, Volume I, Part 36

Author: Orth, Samuel Peter, 1873-1922; Clarke, S.J., publishing company
Publication date: 1910
Publisher: Chicago-Cleveland : The S.J. Clarke Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 1262

USA > Ohio > Cuyahoga County > Cleveland > A history of Cleveland, Ohio, Volume I > Part 36

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In 1859 the municipal elections were very stubbornly contested. Party feeling was approaching a tension that foretokened the final struggle. An unusually large vote was cast. There were many violent encounters. George B. Senter was elected mayor by 620 majority.

In the autumn Cleveland had another candidate for governor, Rufus P. Ranney, who contested the election with William Dennison, republican. On the afternoon of September 15th these two eminent lawyers met in debate on the

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THE FIRST POLITICAL CARTOON PUBLISHED IN CLEVELAND The Gerrymander of Ohio Congressional District, No. 7. Richland, Marion and Union counties, the "Half Hoss. Half Alligator" district. From the Cleveland Herald. Volume 24, No. 16, 1843.

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281

HISTORY OF CLEVELAND

Public Square. Slavery extension was the theme. It could no longer be re- pressed. The debate was a brilliant encounter, Dennison, blunt and straight- forward, Ranney, logical and adroit, both courteous and able.

Dennison was elected by over 17,000 in the state and 1,719 in the county, thereby becoming our first war governor.

This brings us to the historic year of 1860. On May 18, 1860, Lincoln and Hamlin were named. "Excitement and impatience" were shown before the news was received here. "The customary salutation of 'how do you do' was ex- changed for 'any news from Chicago.' Knots of men gathered upon the sidewalks and in the streets The chances of Seward, Lincoln and Wade were canvassed and bet upon * Then the special dispatch to the Morning 'Leader' came and as the messenger rushed into the office to have it put in type, he was expected to answer a hundred questions at once. He merely shouted 'Lincoln on the third ballot.' The word flew from mouth to mouth with hearty enthusiasm being accompanied by a running fire of compliments for 'Hon- est Old Abe' with a few regrets for those who had been set upon Seward. Many were taken by surprise but we were glad to see every man announce his deter- mination to pitch in and do battle * * * Our extras were circulated to gathering crowds rushing for them rapidly. A photograph of Lincoln for our office was hung at the door and attracted attention from all passers by. It must be confessed that our standard bearer is not remarkable for beauty, as the word goes, but has an air of sturdy independence and manliness which attracts by its very singularity.

"Captain Summers' company of artillery speedily got out their guns and spoke heartily thirty-three times in honor of the nomination of Lincoln for president. This evening Company D will fire one hundred guns in honor of the same event. Everybody was in good humor and hopeful, except the democracy, who were disturbed enough at the prospects of fighting the Chicago nominees." 3

The republicans formally ratified the nomination and in June the Douglas ticket was similarly endorsed by the democrats at a large meeting in the Public Square. October 14th the Lincoln men held their principal meeting. The people began coming in the day before and all the night they were arriving from country precincts. At 10 a. m. there was a mammoth parade and in the evening a torch- light procession. An unusual number of talented men spoke from the stand in the Square, among them William H. Seward, Tom Corwin, Governor Dennison, Ben F. Wade and John Sherman.

The success of the republicans in the October election brought bonfires and illuminations but they were as nothing compared with the impromptu jollifica- tion on election night. There had been great suspense, crowds gathered on the streets and marched in front of the campaign headquarters where the returns were read. When the crowd was certain of the results it built a huge bonfire on Superior street in front of the Lincoln committee rooms, it brought out the artillery and fired one hundred guns, it rang the bells of churches and marched to the homes of the leaders to serenade them. A more formal jubilee was held November 14th, when the city was illuminated in the customary way by putting a light in each window.

" Editorial "Daily Leader," May 19, 1860.

282

HISTORY OF CLEVELAND

Abraham Lincoln visited Cleveland only once. His place in history makes the details of his coming important. A meeting of citizens held in the Gray's ar- mory on February 16, 1861, arranged for his reception. It was entirely nonpar- tisan. On February 15th, at 4 p. m. the president elect arrived at the Euclid Avenue station from Pittsburg. Booming cannon announced his approach. The crowds lined the avenue from the depot to the Public Square. Lincoln rode in an open barouche, drawn by four white horses. The Cleveland Grays, the Cleve- land Light Dragoons, four companies of artillery, and Phoenix engine company No. 4, together with many carriages, formed his escort to the Weddell house, The weather was raw, a drizzling mist filled the air, but the president rode with uncovered head all the way, acknowledging the cheers of the people. On the balcony of the Weddell house he was formally welcomed to the city by I. U. Masters, president of the city council and gracefully introduced to the throng by Judge Sherlock J. Andrews. Lincoln spoke as follows :

"Fellow citizens of Cleveland and Ohio. We have come here upon a very inclement afternoon. We have marched for two miles through the rain and the mud. Your large numbers testify that you are in earnest about something and what is that something? Do I desire that this extreme earnestness is about me? I should be exceedingly sorry to see such devotion if that were the case, but I know it is paid to something worth more than any one man or any thousand, or any ten thousand men. A devotion to the Constitution, to the Union, and to the laws; to the perpetual liberty of the people of this country; it is, fellow citizens, for the whole American people and not for one single man alone, to advance toward the great cause. And in a country like this, where every man bears on his face the marks of intelligence, where every man's clothing, if I may so speak, shows signs of comfort and every dwelling sings of happiness and contentment; where schools and churches abound on every side, the Union can never be in danger. I would if I could instill some degree of patriotism and confidence into the political minds in relation to this matter. I think this present crisis is alto- gether an artificial one. We differ in opinion somewhat. Some of you didn't vote for him who now addresses you, although quite enough of you did for all practical purposes, to be sure [Cheers and laughter]. What they do who seek to destroy the Union, is altogether artificial. What is happening to hurt them? I am asked the question whether there is any change in the feeling and senti- ments of the people? Have they not the same Constitution and laws that they always had, and have they power to change them? Are not fugitives returned as readily as they always have been? So, again, I say, the crisis is artificial. It can't be argued up and it can't be argued down, but before long it will die of itself [Cheers]. I have not strength, fellow citi- zens, to address you at great length, and I pray that you will excuse me; but rest assured that my thanks are as cordial and sincere, for the efficient aid which you gave to the good cause in working for the good of the nation, as for the votes which you gave me last fall. There is one feature that causes me great pleasure and that is to learn that this reception is given not alone by those with whom I chance to agree politically but by all parties. I think I'm not selfish when I say that this is as it should be. If Judge Douglas had been chosen president of the United States and had this evening been passing through your city, the repub-

AMERICA

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FRETINGHUYSEN .

PRESIDENT AND VICE-PRESIDENT.

From a lithograph in the collection of the author

POLITICAL POSTER, 1848

283

HISTORY OF CLEVELAND

licans ought in the same manner to have come out to receive him. If we don't snake common cause to save the good old ship, nobody will, and this should be so. It is a matter of interest to all that it should be so.

"To all of you, then, who have done me the honor to participate in this cor- dial welcome, I return most sincerely my thanks, not for myself but for Liberty, the Constitution and the Union. I bid you an affectionate farewell." *

In the evening a reception was held, General John Crowell and Colonel George Mygatt presenting the people to the president and the Grays acting as a body guard. The following morning Lincoln left for Columbus, the Grays escorting him down Superior street, Union lane and River street to the depot.

The varying vicissitudes of the war had their effect upon politics. In the spring of 1863, during the municipal election, there was much talk of the futility of the war and I. U. Masters, the Union candidate, received only three hundred and sixty-two majority. But this depression was shaken off in the summer, when robust and fearless John Brough of Cleveland was made the Union candidate for governor against the brilliant southern sympathizer Vallandingham. It is inconceivable that two such rivals could conduct a quiet campaign under the most tranquil conditions, but with the fervor of the people aroused as never before, or since, their canvass for office became picturesque, violent and vindictive.

On September 30th the Vallandingham adherents held a meeting on the Square. Jabez W. Fitch presided. A Chicago orator called Lincoln "The misshapen thing at Washington." The meeting was not placid. The papers alluded to it as a "copperhead" meeting.

The big Brough meeting was held October 13th, also on the Square. It was the eve of the state election and feeling ran unchecked, when Brough, with char- acteristic vigor and General Franz Sigel, with his unrestrained, fiery denunciation, roused the great throng.

Brough was elected by an unprecedented majority. He received over twice as many votes in the county as did Vallandingham and in the state the Union sentiment rolled up 101,099 against the man Lincoln sent beyond the lines. This being the home of the triumphant candidate, the crowd on election night was wildly demonstrative. On October 17th a formal celebration was held with the customary bonfires, torches, illuminations, fireworks, followed by speeches from the balcony of the Angier house by Brough, Governor Tod and General Sigel. These in turn were followed by a banquet at the Angier house. One of the transparencies in the parade read : "Honest John Brough, To the Union true, but to the Rebels, Rough."

In 1864 the opposition to Lincoln materialized in several party movements. On May 31, 1864, a convention met in Cleveland, composed of anti-Lincoln men to formulate a platform and name candidates. The convention met at Chapin's hall and was called the "Frémont convention." There were between two and three hundred delegates present representing ten states, comprising all shades of sentiment from rabid abolitionists to mild McClellanites. John Cochrane of New York was elected president. The speeches were largely of abolition senti- ment calling Lincoln "the protector of slavery." A committee was appointed to give the new party a name and it reported "Radical Democracy" as symbolic of

* As reported verbatim "Cleveland Herald," February 16, 1861.

284

HISTORY OF CLEVELAND

the convention that had "resolved not to accept any offices or favors from Lin- coln's administration." It is not known how many disappointed office seekers were in the company. General Fremont was nominated for president by accla- mation. The movement went very little farther and the press made considerable sport of it.

Lincoln and Johnson were named by the republicans in Baltimore, McClellan and Pendleton by the democrats in Chicago, Fremont withdrew in favor of Mc- Clellan. The Lincoln nomination was received here with genuine enthusiasm. There were many mass meetings, rail splitting contests, torchlight parades. Some of the noted speakers of the campaign were General Robert C. Schenck, Gover- nor Brough, Salmon P. Chase. The principal Lincoln rally was on October 5. People poured into town from all the adjoining counties and it was estimated that there were fifty thousand strangers present. There were scores of bands and much noise and fiery enthusiasm. In the afternoon John Sherman, Benjamin Stanton and Governor Tod spoke on the Square. Among the transparencies borne aloft in the torchlight parade that closed the day's doings was this legend : "Sherman wears a hat, but is after a Hood."

On October 8, the McClellan men held their principal rally with many noted speakers present. The October election gave the Union party 1,241 majority, in the city, a forecast of the November results when Lincoln's majority was 1,415 in the city and 3,200 in the county. Election night, however, was not without its tense anxiety on the part of the Union men. There were many hun- dreds of Cleveland boys in the Union army and their friends and rela- tives were down town early to hear the first return. The streets were thronged, the saloons were closed by proclamation of the mayor. The Union club received returns in Brainard hall, which was filled long before dark. The crowd was silent and solemn at first but as telegram after telegram announced the sweeping vic- tories of Lincoln and the friends of the union, cheers and songs and shouts of victory filled the hall. Outside the crowd caught up the cheering and began marching and singing, and making joyous noise until daylight.

After the war there was a realignment of political opinions. On Septem- ber 17, 1866, a convention of Johnson reconstructionists, mostly soldiers and sailors, was held in a tent on the Square. There were delegates present from nine states and the District of Columbia. The principal delegates were General A. McD. McCook, of Ohio, General G. A. Custer, of Michigan, Governor Bram- lette, of Kentucky, General Thomas Ewing, Jr., of Kansas, and General John E. Wood, of Kansas. General Gordon Granger was elected president. The following telegram was read from New York; it clearly indicates the object and spirit of the meeting :

"Chairman, Soldiers and Sailors Convention:

"One hundred thousand merchants and citizens of New York assembled at Union square, send greeting to the soldiers of the Union, now assembled at Cleve- land. May your peaceful meeting at Cleveland accomplish that for which your blood has been poured out, the immediate restoration of the Union under the constitution.

DOUGLAS TAYLER,

JOHN A. DIX."

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Colored lithograph from the author's collection

POLITICAL POSTER, 1848

285

HISTORY OF CLEVELAND

The state campaign of 1867, when Allen G. Thurman, of Columbus opposed Rutherford B. Hayes of Fremont for governor, was earnest and intense. The alliance between the war-democrats and republicans was happily made unnecessary by the restoration of peace and this was the first political contest between the two old parties for a decade. Hayes had many personal friends in Cleveland and a great deal of local interest attached to his campaign. September 28 the repub- licans held their big rally with General John A. Logan as the principal orator. His picturesque eloquence attracted a great crowd from nearby towns and the Square was filled with people to hear and see him. The greenback question was the principal issue but the war was still in every one's mind and the speakers did not fail to use its passions for campaign effect. Over Logan's stand were the legends "We vote as we shot" and "Treason defeated by the bullet shall not rule by the ballot."

The meeting was followed by an immense Thurman rally, at which a great throng was present. The sturdy Thurman made a very favorable impression. Hayes' majority in the county was 2,037.

The Grant-Seymour campaign of 1868, the first presidential election after the war, was colored with war fire. Grant's record as a soldier was extolled and the economic issues entirely forgotten. "Grant Boys in Blue" were organized through- out the country. In Cleveland there was a large brigade. On September 10th a rally was held by the republicans on the Square. It was followed on the 11th by a democratic rally in the rink, addressed by Pendleton. On October 8th the repub- licans held their all day meeting, gathering people from northern Ohio by the trainloads. The streets were decorated profusely. There were processions of soldiers and clubs during the day and a torchlight parade when darkness came. Edwin M. Stanton, Governor Hayes, Senator John Sherman, General Garfield, General I. R. Sherwood and Lieutenant Governor Lee furnished the oratory. Eyes and ears made it hard to realize that the war was over. Early in October Schuyler Colfax, candidate for vice president with Grant, stopped in town a few hours between trains on his way east. He quietly went to the home of James Wade on Euclid avenue but it was noised abroad that he was in town and a crowd gathered at the depot to see him off. He arrived about fifteen minutes before train time and at the request of his impromptu audience, he made a short speech, pro- posing three cheers "For the principle: What loyalty preserved, loyalty shall govern."

October 24th, Governor Seymour, the democratic candidate for president, passed through Cleveland. He was met at Painesville by a committee headed by H. B. Payne and Rufus P. Ranney. At the union depot an immense crowd had gathered, including a company of "White Boys in Blue," the democratic cam- paign antidote for the Grant Boys in Blue. Governor Seymour did not leave the station but talked for some time to the throng upon the theme of "Constitutional Freedom."

While the republicans carried the city in October by only 857 majority, Grant in November received over 2,100 majority and the county gave him 5,158 majority.

Considerable local interest was taken in the gubernatorial election of 1871 when Jacob Mueller, of Cleveland, was candidate for lieutenant governor, with

286

HISTORY OF CLEVELAND

E. F. Noyes, of Cincinnati, for governor. This year was also the first time in the history of the county that an independent legislative and county ticket was placed in nomination. A little campaign paper called "The People's Ticket Advocate" was started. The movement made no perceptible impression. The republicans carried their entire ticket by 5,917 majority in the county. The experiment was tried again in 1873. There were, however, too many other tickets, the democrats, republicans and prohibitionists, all had complete tickets in the field and the in- dependents were smothered. Noyes carried the city by over 1,500 majority but he was defeated in the state by William Allen, democrat, of Ross county. The democrats celebrated their first state victory in many years by a genuinely enthu- siastic jollification on the Square on the night of October 25th.

The Grant-Greeley campaign of 1872 was the most tranquil presidential can- vas held in many years. Greeley had a considerable following in Cleveland and polled 6,142 votes in the city, Grant receiving 9,962.

In 1873 the republicans named Governor Hayes for the third time, the demo- crats naming Governor Allen. Carl Schurz spoke from the pavilion in the Square, on October 2d. Hayes received 13,324 in the city, Allen 8,782.

An important convention was held March II, 1875, when the "greenback" or "independent" party held their convention in Halle's hall on Seneca street, for the purpose of organizing a national party. Delegates were present from many states, E. A. Olleman, of Indiana, was chosen chairman of the executive commit- tee and M. M. Hooten, of Illinois, president of the convention. The delegates were mostly representatives from Granger Lodges, Industrial Brotherhoods and kindred organizations. They had a great variety of political opinions but all of them agreed that national banks were an unmitigated evil. The movement spread throughout the middle west and attained considerable political prominence.

The centennial year, ushered in with the ringing of bells and celebrated by the nation's first national exposition, brought with it one of the gravest crises in our political history. The excitement began with the republican nominating conven- tion in Cincinnati, where Blaine's ardent partisans were determined to name him. But on the seventh ballot Governor Hayes, a compromise candidate, re- ceived 384 votes, Blaine 351. Because of the local interest in Hayes, the pro- ceedings of the convention were eagerly followed by the throngs that gathered in front of the newspaper offices and the result of the seventh ballot was greeted with cheers. The news reached here at six o'clock, p. m. Cannon announced it and flags were immediately run up over business places and displayed on pri- vate residences.

Local zest was added to the contest because Senator Payne, of Cleveland, was one of the national leaders of the democratic party. He had received eighty-nine votes for president on the first ballot in the national nominating convention of his party. So Cleveland had a double interest in the campaign. Both sides held im- mense rallies, the great men of each party spoke here and on the Saturday before election, William McKinley whose subsequent career was so closely identified with the city, spoke for the first time on the Public Square. But the enthusiasm of the campaign paled before the excitement over its outcome. Election returns were received in the old Globe theater and read from the balcony to the crowds in the streets. The first reports had Tilden elected, carrying New York, New

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A history of Cleveland, Ohio, Volume I, Part 36

Author: Orth, Samuel Peter, 1873-1922; Clarke, S.J., publishing company Publication date: 1910 Publisher: Chicago-Cleveland : The S.J. Clarke Publishing Co. Number of Pages: 1262

Author: Orth, Samuel Peter, 1873-1922; Clarke, S.J., publishing company
Publication date: 1910
Publisher: Chicago-Cleveland : The S.J. Clarke Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 1262