1872 South Carolina gubernatorial election

Last updated

1872 South Carolina gubernatorial election
Flag of South Carolina.svg
  1870 October 16, 1872 1874  
  Franklin J. Moses, Jr.jpg 3x4.svg
Nominee Franklin J. Moses, Jr. Reuben Tomlinson
Party Republican Independent Republican
Alliance - Democratic
Popular vote69,83836,533
Percentage65.44%34.23%

1872SCGovResults.png
County results

Moses:     50%-54%     55%-59%     >65%

Tomlinson:     50%-54%     55%-59%     >65%

Governor before election

Robert Kingston Scott
Republican

Elected Governor

Franklin J. Moses, Jr.
Republican

The 1872 South Carolina gubernatorial election was held on October 16, 1872 to select the governor of the state of South Carolina. Franklin J. Moses, Jr. won the election as a Radical Republican against the more moderate faction of the Republican Party and became the 75th governor of South Carolina.

Contents

Campaign

Republican nomination for Governor
CandidateVotes%
Franklin J. Moses, Jr. 69 58.5
Samuel W. Melton 18 15.2
Daniel Henry Chamberlain 16 13.6
Reuben Tomlinson 15 12.7

The state Republicans met in Columbia for their nominating convention on August 21 through August 24. There were 115 black and 33 white delegates to the convention, many of them calling for reform in state government. The nomination for Governor proceeded after the organization of the convention and five men were mentioned, but Franklin J. Moses, Jr. was seen as the clear favorite.

Immediately, accusations of bribery were pegged against each candidate. Former Governor Orr accused Moses of offering a delegate from Barnwell $2,000 for his vote. Tomlinson was alleged by Judge Thomas Mackey to have been giving bribes to ensure the passage of the phosphate bill in 1870.

A vote was taken for the nomination of Governor during the commotion over the accusations of bribery and Moses emerged as the clear winner from the other contenders. Orr denounced the selection and led a walkout by some of the delegates from the convention. The Republican platform adopted at the convention called for a reduction in expenditures and financial reform.

Assembling at the Richland courthouse on August 22, Orr directed the formation of an Independent Republican ticket for the general election in October. Reuben Tomlinson was nominated for Governor and half of the Independent Republican slate for statewide office were black men. The platform consisted entirely of opposing Moses and advocating for reform in state government.

General election

The general election was held on October 16, 1872 and Franklin J. Moses, Jr. was elected as governor of South Carolina by a wide margin. Turnout was lower than the previous election because it was mainly a contest between Republicans; it was estimated that approximately 40,000 white voters did not cast a ballot in the election.

South Carolina Gubernatorial Election, 1872
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Republican Franklin J. Moses, Jr. 69,838 65.4 +3.1
Independent Republican Reuben Tomlinson 36,53334.3+34.3
No party Write-Ins 3510.3+0.3
Majority33,28531.1+6.5
Turnout 106,742
Republican hold
1872 South Carolina gubernatorial election map, by percentile by county.
.mw-parser-output .legend{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .legend-color{display:inline-block;min-width:1.25em;height:1.25em;line-height:1.25;margin:1px 0;text-align:center;border:1px solid black;background-color:transparent;color:black}.mw-parser-output .legend-text{}
65+% won by Moses
55%-59% won by Moses
50%-54% won by Moses
50%-54% won by Tomlinson
55%-59% won by Tomlinson
65+% won by Tomlinson 1872SCGovResults.png
1872 South Carolina gubernatorial election map, by percentile by county.
  65+% won by Moses
  55%-59% won by Moses
  50%-54% won by Moses
  50%-54% won by Tomlinson
  55%-59% won by Tomlinson
  65+% won by Tomlinson

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1832 United States presidential election</span> 12th quadrennial U.S. presidential election

The 1832 United States presidential election was the 12th quadrennial presidential election, held from Friday, November 2 to Wednesday, December 5, 1832. Incumbent president Andrew Jackson, candidate of the Democratic Party, defeated Henry Clay, candidate of the National Republican Party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Republican National Convention</span> Nominating meetings of the US Republican Party

The Republican National Convention (RNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1856 by the Republican Party in the United States. They are administered by the Republican National Committee. The goal of the Republican National Convention is to officially nominate and confirm a candidate for president and vice president, adopt a comprehensive party platform and unify the party, as well as publicize and launch the fall campaign.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daniel Henry Chamberlain</span> American politician

Daniel Henry Chamberlain was an American planter, lawyer, author and the 76th Governor of South Carolina from 1874 until 1876 or 1877. The federal government withdrew troops from the state and ended Reconstruction that year. Chamberlain was the last Republican governor of South Carolina until James B. Edwards was elected in 1974.

The Independent Republican Party of South Carolina was a political party of South Carolina during Reconstruction. It was founded in 1872 to oppose the election of Franklin J. Moses Jr. for Governor of South Carolina after he had been nominated by the Republicans on August 21, 1872. Former governor James Lawrence Orr denounced the selection of Moses and led the formation of a new party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1876 South Carolina gubernatorial election</span> American gubernatorial election

The 1876 South Carolina gubernatorial election was held on November 7, 1876, to select the governor of the state of South Carolina. The election campaign was a referendum on the Radical Republican-led state government and their Reconstruction policies. Opponents disputed the challenger Wade Hampton III's victory, gained by a margin of little more than 1100 votes statewide. But he took office in April 1877, after President Hayes withdrew federal troops as a result of a national Democratic compromise, and the incumbent Daniel Henry Chamberlain left the state.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1868 South Carolina gubernatorial election</span> Election

The 1868 South Carolina gubernatorial election was held for two days from June 2 to June 3, 1868, to elect the governor of South Carolina; elections for statewide offices were held following the ratification of the South Carolina Constitution of 1868 on April 16. Republican Robert Kingston Scott won the election largely with the support of the newly enfranchised black vote and became the state's 74th governor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1870 South Carolina gubernatorial election</span> Election

The 1870 South Carolina gubernatorial election was held on October 19, 1870 to select the governor of the state of South Carolina. Governor Robert Kingston Scott easily won reelection based entirely on the strength of the black vote in the state. The election was significant because white conservatives of the state claimed it showed that political harmony between the white and black races was impossible and only through a straightout Democratic attempt would they be able to regain control of state government.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1874 South Carolina gubernatorial election</span> Election

The 1874 South Carolina gubernatorial election was held on November 3, 1874, to select the governor and lieutenant governor of the state of South Carolina. Daniel Henry Chamberlain won the election and became the 76th governor of South Carolina.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1880 South Carolina gubernatorial election</span> Election

The 1880 South Carolina gubernatorial election was held on November 2, 1880 to s elect the governor of South Carolina. Johnson Hagood was nominated by the Democrats and ran against L. W. R. Blair, a Greenback-Labor candidate. Hagood easily won the general election and became the 80th governor of South Carolina.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1882 South Carolina gubernatorial election</span> Election

The 1882 South Carolina gubernatorial election was held on November 7, 1882 to select the governor of the state of South Carolina. Hugh Smith Thompson was nominated by the Democrats and ran against J. Hendrix McLane, a Greenback-Labor candidate. Thompson easily won the general election and became the 81st governor of South Carolina.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1886 South Carolina gubernatorial election</span> Election

The 1886 South Carolina gubernatorial election was held on November 2, 1886 to select the governor of the state of South Carolina. John Peter Richardson III was nominated by the Democrats and became the 83rd governor of South Carolina.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1888 South Carolina gubernatorial election</span> Election

The 1888 South Carolina gubernatorial election was held on November 6, 1888 to select the governor of the state of South Carolina. John Peter Richardson III was renominated by the Democrats and was reelected for a second two-year term.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1890 South Carolina gubernatorial election</span> Election

The 1890 South Carolina gubernatorial election was held on Tuesday November 4, to elect the governor of South Carolina. Ben Tillman was nominated by the Democrats and easily won the general election against A.C. Haskell to become the 84th governor of South Carolina.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1892 South Carolina gubernatorial election</span> Election

The 1892 South Carolina gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 1892 to select the governor of the state of South Carolina. Governor Ben Tillman was renominated by the Democrats and was elected in the general election to a second two-year term.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Franklin J. Moses Sr.</span> American judge

Franklin J. Moses Sr. was an attorney, planter, politician and judge in South Carolina. He served as a state senator from 1841 to 1866, when he was elected to the circuit court. He was elected as Chief Justice of the State Supreme Court in 1868 during the Reconstruction era. In 1876 he was asked to rule on a challenge to election returns in the hotly disputed gubernatorial campaign, eventually won by Democrat Wade Hampton and ending Republican domination in the state.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1902 New York state election</span> Election

The 1902 New York state election was held on November 4, 1902, to elect the governor, the lieutenant governor, the Secretary of State, the state comptroller, the attorney general, the state treasurer, the state engineer and a judge of the New York Court of Appeals, as well as all members of the New York State Assembly and the New York State Senate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1872 Democratic National Convention</span> U.S. political event held in Baltimore, Maryland

The 1872 Democratic National Convention was a presidential nominating convention held at Ford's Grand Opera House on East Fayette Street, between North Howard and North Eutaw Streets, in Baltimore, Maryland on July 9 and 10, 1872. It resulted in the nomination of newspaper publisher Horace Greeley of New York and Governor Benjamin Gratz Brown of Missouri for president and vice president, a ticket previously nominated by the rump Liberal Republican faction convention meeting, also held in Baltimore's newly built premier Opera House of nationally well-known theatre owner/operator John T. Ford of the major Republican Party, which had already re-nominated incumbent President Ulysses S. Grant of the regular Republicans for another term.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1890 South Dakota gubernatorial election</span> Election for the governorship of the U.S. state of South Dakota

The 1890 South Dakota gubernatorial election was held on November 4, 1890. Incumbent Republican Governor Arthur C. Mellette ran for re-election to a second term. He was challenged in the general election by State Surveyor General Maris Taylor, the Democratic nominee, and Henry A. Loucks, the President of the South Dakota Farmers' Alliance and the Independent Party nominee. In part because the left-leaning vote was split, Mellette won re-election, but by a significantly reduced margin, winning a weak plurality with just 44% of the vote. Loucks beat out Maris for second place, receiving 32% of the vote to Taylor's 24%.

"Straight-Out Democratic Party" is the name used by three minor American political parties between 1872 and 1890.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1901 Chicago mayoral election</span>

In the Chicago mayoral election of 1901, Democrat Carter Harrison Jr. was reelected to a third term, defeating Republican nominee Elbridge Hanecy by a 9.5% margin of victory.

References

Preceded by
1870
South Carolina gubernatorial elections Succeeded by
1874