Massachusetts gubernatorial election, 1839

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Massachusetts gubernatorial election, 1839

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← 1838November 11, 18391840 →
Turnout 16.72% Decrease2.svg 1.33 [1]

  Marcus Morton.jpg Edward Everett, 1794-1865, three-quarter length portrait, standing, facing left.jpg
Nominee Marcus Morton Edward Everett
Party Democratic Whig
Popular vote51,034 50,725
Percentage50.0% 49.7%
Governor before election

Edward Everett
Whig

Elected Governor

Marcus Morton
Democratic

The 1839 Massachusetts gubernatorial election was won by Marcus Morton. Under Massachusetts law at the time, a majority of the votes cast was required to win. Despite the presence of some irregularities, incumbent Whig Governor Edward Everett refused to contest the results once a legislative committee dominated by his party accepted a report giving Morton 51,034 votes out of 102,066 cast.

Marcus Morton American judge

Marcus Morton was an American lawyer, jurist, and politician from Taunton, Massachusetts. He served two terms as Governor of Massachusetts and several months as Acting Governor following the death in 1825 of William Eustis. He served for 15 years as an Associate Justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, all the while running unsuccessfully as a Democrat for governor. He finally won the 1839 election, acquiring exactly the number of votes required for a majority win over Edward Everett. After losing the 1840 and 1841 elections, he was elected in a narrow victory in 1842.

Massachusetts State of the United States of America

Massachusetts, officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It borders on the Atlantic Ocean to the east, the states of Connecticut and Rhode Island to the south, New Hampshire and Vermont to the north, and New York to the west. The state is named after the Massachusett tribe, which once inhabited the east side of the area, and is one of the original thirteen states. The capital of Massachusetts is Boston, which is also the most populous city in New England. Over 80% of Massachusetts's population lives in the Greater Boston metropolitan area, a region influential upon American history, academia, and industry. Originally dependent on agriculture, fishing and trade, Massachusetts was transformed into a manufacturing center during the Industrial Revolution. During the 20th century, Massachusetts's economy shifted from manufacturing to services. Modern Massachusetts is a global leader in biotechnology, engineering, higher education, finance, and maritime trade.

Majority rule is a decision rule that selects alternatives which have a majority, that is, more than half the votes. It is the binary decision rule used most often in influential decision-making bodies, including all the legislatures of democratic nations.

Contents

Background

In the 19th century Massachusetts held annual elections for its statewide elective offices. From 1825 to 1838 a succession of National Republican and then Whig politicians won the governor's seat, at first by wide margins, and only later in the 1830s by narrower margins. The principal opponent of the Whigs was Democratic candidate Marcus Morton, who ran for governor each year from 1828 to 1843. The Democratic Party in the state was not particularly powerful, and third parties such as the Anti-Masonic Party and the Liberty Party generally took more votes from Democratic candidates than they did from Whigs.

The National Republican Party, also known as the Anti-Jacksonian Party and sometimes the Adams Party, was a political party in the United States that evolved from a faction of the Democratic-Republican Party that supported John Quincy Adams in the 1824 presidential election.

Whig Party (United States) Political party in the USA in the 19th century

The Whig Party was a political party active in the middle of the 19th century in the United States. Four presidents belonged to the party while in office. It emerged in the 1830s as the leading opponent of Jacksonian democracy, pulling together former members of the National Republican and the Anti-Masonic Party. It had some links to the upscale traditions of the long-defunct Federalist Party. Along with the rival Democratic Party, it was central to the Second Party System from the early 1840s to the mid-1860s. It originally formed in opposition to the policies of President Andrew Jackson and his Democratic Party. It became a formal party within his second term, and slowly receded influence after 1854. In particular terms, the Whigs supported the supremacy of Congress over the presidency and favored a program of modernization, banking and economic protectionism to stimulate manufacturing. It appealed to entrepreneurs, planters, reformers and the emerging urban middle class, but had little appeal to farmers or unskilled workers. It included many active Protestants and voiced a moralistic opposition to the Jacksonian Indian removal. Party founders chose the "Whig" name to echo the American Whigs of the 18th century who fought for independence. The political philosophy of the American Whig Party was not related to the British Whig party. Historian Frank Towers has specified a deep ideological divide:

Democratic Party (United States) political party in the United States

The Democratic Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. Tracing its heritage back to Thomas Jefferson and James Madison's Democratic-Republican Party, the modern-day Democratic Party was founded around 1828 by supporters of Andrew Jackson, making it the world's oldest active political party.

The Whigs were seen as representatives of the monied interests in the state: merchants, bankers, and industrialists. They were derided by their opponents as "aristocratic" and condescending to the common folk. The Democratic support base consisted of rural voters, laborers, and wealthier interests that were supportive of the policies of President Andrew Jackson.

Andrew Jackson 7th president of the United States

Andrew Jackson was an American soldier and statesman who served as the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before being elected to the presidency, Jackson gained fame as a general in the United States Army and served in both houses of Congress. As president, Jackson sought to advance the rights of the "common man" against a "corrupt aristocracy" and to preserve the Union.

Abolitionism became a significant political force in the mid-1830s in Massachusetts, even though both Whig and Democratic politicians sought to avoid the issue in pursuit of other political objectives. [2] Abolitionist activists attempted to force attention on the issue, demanding that candidates for office answer questionnaires on the subject. Marcus Morton was known to be personally opposed to slavery, but he did not often let the matter affect his politics, and expressed concern over abolitionist tactics. [3] His Whig opponent since 1835 was Edward Everett, who once gave a speech expressing sympathy for the property rights of slaveholders and was not seen as sympathetic to the abolitionist cause. [4] In the elections of 1837 and 1838 abolitionist support increased Morton's vote counts, but he was never able to achieve the majority of votes needed to win election in the state. [2]

Edward Everett American politician, orator, statesman

Edward Everett was an American politician, pastor, educator, diplomat, and orator from Massachusetts. Everett, a Whig, served as U.S. Representative, U.S. Senator, the 15th Governor of Massachusetts, Minister to Great Britain, and United States Secretary of State. He also taught at Harvard University and served as its president.

Contest

In 1839, an issue unrelated to slavery came up that finally gave Morton a victory. The Whig legislature had passed a bill promoted by temperance activists that banned the sale of liquor in quantities less than 15 US gallons (57 l); this effectively outlawed service over a bar.

Temperance movement in the United States

The Temperance movement in the United States is a movement to curb the consumption of alcohol. It had a large influence on American politics and society in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Today, there are organizations that continue to promote the cause of temperance.

The election was held on Monday, November 11, 1839. Early returns gave Everett the lead, although his showing in Boston, a Whig stronghold, was particularly weak. On November 14, the accumulated returns indicated that Everett led by 100 votes, with 250 communities still to report. The next day, Morton was reported to lead by just two votes. [5] A number of Whig officials (notably including Secretary of State H. A. S. Dearborn), failed to vote, prompting Everett to observe, despite their protestations that they supported his candidacy, "a better mode of showing [their support] would have been to vote". [6] A number of irregularities were identified during the initial count. The ballots from Easton had not been properly sealed by the town clerk, and the Winchendon return was dated 1809 instead of 1839. These votes were counted. [5]

Boston Capital city of Massachusetts, United States

Boston is the capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city proper covers 48 square miles (124 km2) with an estimated population of 685,094 in 2017, making it also the most populous city in New England. Boston is the seat of Suffolk County as well, although the county government was disbanded on July 1, 1999. The city is the economic and cultural anchor of a substantially larger metropolitan area known as Greater Boston, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) home to a census-estimated 4.8 million people in 2016 and ranking as the tenth-largest such area in the country. As a combined statistical area (CSA), this wider commuting region is home to some 8.2 million people, making it the sixth-largest in the United States.

Henry Alexander Scammell Dearborn American politician

Henry Alexander Scammell Dearborn was an American soldier, lawyer, author, and statesman. Dearborn was the first President of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, a member of the Society of the Cincinnati, and the author of many books.

Easton, Massachusetts Town in Massachusetts, United States

Easton is a town in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 23,112 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Greater Boston area, but is also part of the 6-county definition of the Providence MSA.

The vote was so close that no result was certified until the legislature met. On January 1, 1840, the new Whig-dominated legislature met, and sent the election issue to a joint committee. [7] One ballot for Morton contained the scrawl "Maccus Mattoon"; despite efforts by Whig partisans to deny the writer intended to vote for Morton, no person with that name was found anywhere in the state. A more serious issue was raise with respect to the returns from Westfield: the town clerk there had not properly sworn to the accuracy of the result, and Everett was of the opinion that these results should be rejected. [8]

The legislative joint committee issued its report on January 13, 1840. It stated that a total of 102,066 votes had been cast (including all of the votes affected by the irregularities, which were accepted), and that therefore 51,034 votes were required to win. Morton was found to have received exactly that number, while Everett received 50,725, and a scattering of candidates received votes on the remaining 307 ballots cast. [8]

Despite pressure from partisans to contest this result, Everett refused. He recorded in his journal, "Principle is no longer sufficiently powerful even in Massachusetts to warrant an adherence to the strict provisions of the Constitution on a question of this kind." [8] Everett also refused his friend and Whig colleague Robert Charles Winthrop to publish a partisan tribute to him, noting "I am willing to let the election go." [9] Morton was sworn in as governor on January 18, 1840. [8]

Results

Massachusetts gubernatorial election of 1839
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Democratic Marcus Morton 51,034 50 +5.51%
Whig Edward Everett 50,725 49.7 −5.3%
  Scattered votes 307 0.3
Democratic gain from Whig Swing +10.78%

Aftermath

Although the Democrat won the governor's seat, the legislature remained firmly Whig, and refused to enact Morton's reformist agenda (in particular, it did not vote to repeal the fifteen-gallon law). The Whigs regrouped, and in 1840 Morton was defeated by John Davis. Morton won another single term in 1842, in a hotly contested election that was decided by the state legislature.

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References

  1. ↑ "Massachusetts gubernatorial election, 1839".
  2. 1 2 Earle, p. 72
  3. ↑ Earle, p. 71
  4. ↑ Earle, p. 70
  5. 1 2 Frothingham, p. 151
  6. ↑ Frothingham, pp. 151-152
  7. ↑ Frothingham, p. 152
  8. 1 2 3 4 Frothingham, p. 153
  9. ↑ Frothingham, p. 154

Sources

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