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An election for Mayor of New York City was held on December 6, 1859.
Incumbent mayor Daniel F. Tiemann was not a candidate for re-election. Former mayor Fernando Wood, running on a "Mozart Hall" Democratic ticket in opposition to his former Tammany Hall allies, won a three-way race to succeed him, defeating William F. Havemeyer and Republican George Opdyke.
Following his defeat in the 1857 election, which saw him defeated by an alliance of Republicans, Know-Nothings, and former Tammany Hall supporters, Fernando Wood was declared politically dead. [1]
In 1857, Wood purchased the New York Daily News for $5,600 and later installed his brother, Benjamin, as editor. [2] He used the paper as his personal bulletin, boosting his own populist platform and haranguing opponents and enemies. [3]
In the April 1857 Tammany elections, Wood campaigned for control of the organization but lost by a margin of two to one; his supporters blamed the enrollment of secret "Black Republicans" and Wood left Tammany Hall. He founded a "Democratic Society of Regulators" with membership open to any New York City Democrat. Wood's organization came to be called the "Mozart Hall Democrats", after the hotel where they met at the corner of Bond Street and Broadway. The society was composed largely of immigrants, workers, and the poor. [4]
Wood spent much of 1858 and 1859 trying to play various presidential candidates off of each other to elevate his friend Henry A. Wise, Governor of Virginia, as a compromise candidate. [4] At the 1858 state convention, Wood's manipulation was revealed, and Daniel Sickles succeeded in having Mozart delegates barred. In return, Wood unsuccessfully opposed Sickles's re-election to Congress. The split between Tammany and Mozart allowed Republicans to pick up several offices in the city in the 1858 election. In December 1858, President Buchanan responded by granting all patronage at the Port of New York to Tammany, further isolating Wood. Tammany offered him re-admittance, but he declined. [4]
At the 1859 city convention, Wood's Mozart delegates enlisted armed force to seize the convention, beginning proceedings without the Tammany delegates (a traditional Tammany strategy) and using violence to prevent any challenge to their proceedings. Wood's tactics at the 1859 convention drew backlash and forever alienated him from respectable politics. [5]
As a result, two Democratic tickets were nominated in the city, with Wood heading the Mozart Hall slate while the Fifth Avenue Democrats, a group of wealthy, conservative men including August Belmont and Samuel J. Tilden, forced the nomination of William Frederick Havemeyer on a Tammany ticket. [5]
Primarily through the Daily News, Wood attacked the Tammany–Fifth Avenue fusion as "kid-glove, scented, silk stocking, poodle-headed, degenerate aristocracy" who were out of touch with real Democrats. Wood also delivered a series of pro-slavery and pro-Southern speeches, decrying John Brown and abolitionism as a threat to the Union. [6] Privately, he advised Governor Wise not to execute Brown in fears of stirring sympathy for abolition. [7]
Both Democrats and Republicans attacked Wood for his past corruption and his "imperial" ambition. [5]
In an election with 88.1% turnout, Wood pulled off a narrow three way victory. He received 38.3% of the vote against 34.6% for Havemeyer and 27.4% for Opdyke. [8]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent Democratic | Fernando Wood | 29,940 | 38.25% | |
| Democratic | William F. Havemeyer | 26,913 | 34.39% | |
| Republican | George Opdyke | 21,417 | 27.36% | |
| Total votes | 78,170 | 100.00% | ||
Tammany Hall, also known as the Society of St. Tammany, the Sons of St. Tammany, or the Columbian Order, was an American political organization founded in 1786 and incorporated on May 12, 1789, as the Tammany Society. It became the main local political machine of the Democratic Party and played a major role in controlling New York City and New York state politics. It helped immigrants, most notably the Irish, rise in American politics from the 1850s into the 1960s. Tammany usually controlled Democratic nominations and political patronage in Manhattan for over 100 years following the mayoral victory of Fernando Wood in 1854, and used its patronage resources to build a loyal, well-rewarded core of district and precinct leaders; after 1850, the vast majority were Irish Catholics due to mass immigration from Ireland during and after the Irish Famine of the late 1840s.
Fernando Wood was an American Democratic Party politician, merchant, and real estate investor who served as the 73rd and 75th Mayor of New York City. He also represented the city for several terms in the United States House of Representatives.
Lucius Robinson was an American lawyer and politician. He was the 26th governor of New York from 1877 to 1879.
George Opdyke was an entrepreneur and the 76th mayor of New York City serving from 1862 to 1864 during the American Civil War. The New York City draft riots occurred during his tenure.
John Kelly of New York City, known as "Honest John", was a boss of Tammany Hall and a U.S. Representative from New York from 1855 to 1858. The title "Honest" was given to him during his years as New York City Sheriff, and was more ironic than truthful.
James M. Smith Jr. was an American lawyer and politician from New York.
William Frederick Havemeyer was an American businessman and politician who served three times as mayor of New York City during the 19th century.
Daniel Fawcett Tiemann was Mayor of New York City from 1858 to 1860. He was a founding trustee of the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art.
John R. Fellows was an American lawyer and politician from Arkansas and New York. He served as New York County District Attorney, and a member of Congress from New York (1891–1893).
The 1856 New York state election was held on November 4, 1856, to elect the governor, the lieutenant governor, a Canal Commissioner, an Inspector of State Prisons and the Clerk of the Court of Appeals, as well as all members of the New York State Assembly.
The 1857 New York state election was held on November 3, 1857, to elect the Secretary of State, the State Comptroller, the Attorney General, the State Treasurer, the State Engineer, a Judge of the New York Court of Appeals, a Canal Commissioner and an Inspector of State Prisons, as well as all members of the New York State Assembly and the New York State Senate.
Nelson Jarvis Waterbury was an American lawyer and politician from New York.
Edward Morse Shepard was an American lawyer and politician from New York.
John Keteltas Hackett was an American lawyer and politician from New York.
The New York City mayoral election of 1961 occurred on Tuesday, November 7, 1961. Incumbent Democratic Mayor Robert F. Wagner, Jr. won a decisive re-election victory for a third term in office. Wagner defeated the Republican nominee, state Attorney General Louis J. Lefkowitz, and the Citizens Party nominee, New York City Comptroller Lawrence E. Gerosa. Wagner received 51.03% of the vote to Lefkowitz's 34.46%, a Democratic victory margin of 16.57%.
Fernando Wood served as the 73rd and 75th mayor of New York City from January 1, 1855 to December 31, 1857 and January 1, 1860 to December 31, 1861.
An election for Mayor of New York City was held on November 5, 1850.
An election for Mayor of New York City was held on November 7, 1854.
An election for Mayor of New York City was held on November 4, 1856.
An election for Mayor of New York City was held on December 1, 1857.
