1873 Chicago mayoral election

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1873 Chicago mayoral election
←  1871 November 4, 1873 1876  →
  Haveycolin (1).jpeg Lester Legrand Bond (1).jpg
Nominee Harvey Doolittle Colvin Lester Legrant Bond
Party People's Party Citizen's Union
Popular vote28,79118,540
Percentage60.83%39.17%
Mayor before election

Joseph Medill/Lester L. Bond
Fireproof /Citizen's Union

Contents

Elected mayor

Harvey Doolittle Colvin
People's Party

The Chicago mayoral election of 1873 saw People's Party (campaigning under the label "Democratic People's Union") candidate Harvey Doolittle Colvin defeated Citizen's Union (campaigning under the label "Law and Order") candidate Lester Legrant Bond by a landslide nearly 34-point margin. [1] [2] Bond was the incumbent acting mayor, having taken office due to the extended absence of Joseph Medill.

The election took place on November 7. [1]

Campaign

A key issue in the election was the "beer question", regarding whether Chicago should enforce blue laws banning the sale of alcohol on sundays. The People's Party opposed the enforcement of blue laws, a stance which the Chicago Tribune would opine led to the People Party's victory in the city's elections. [3] The People's Party was effectively the stand-in in the elections for the national Republican Party. However, thousands of the city's Republicans instead voted for the People's Party because they too opposed blue laws. [3]

In the election, Bond was endorsed by all of the city's major newspapers, with the exception of the Chicago Times . [4]

The defeat of Bond led to the dissolution of the Chicago-based Citizen's Union Party. [2]

Results

1873 Chicago mayoral election [5]
PartyCandidateVotes%
People's Party Harvey Doolittle Colvin 28,791 60.83
Citizen's Union Party Lester Legrant Bond (incumbent)18,54039.17
Turnout 47,331

References

  1. 1 2 The Chicago Daily News Almanac and Year Book. Chicago: Chicago Daily News. 1911. p. 538.
  2. 1 2 Pierce, Bessie Louise (2007). History of Chicago, Volume III: The Rise of a Modern City, 1871-1893. University of Chicago Press. p. 344. ISBN   978-0-226-66842-0 . Retrieved May 17, 2020.
  3. 1 2 "Second Congressional. It's Political Status" . Chicago Tribune. August 5, 1876. Retrieved February 4, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
  4. ↑ Pierce, Bessie Louise (2007) [1957]. A History of Chicago: Volume III: The Rise of a Modern City, 1871-1893. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. pp. 343–344. ISBN   978-0-226-66842-0.
  5. ↑ The Chicago Daily News Almanac and Year Book for 1912. Chicago Daily News, Incorporated. 1911. p. 464. Retrieved May 12, 2020.
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