Difference between revisions of "Roscoe Conkling"
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Stalwarts, who feared a party nomination of Blaine, were determined to prevent the Maine senator from being picked by the party convention.<ref name=levipmorton>[https://www.senate.gov/about/officers-staff/vice-president/morton-levi.htm About the Vice President | Levi Parsons Morton, 22nd Vice President (1889-1893)]. ''United States Senate''. Retrieved November 19, 2021.</ref> Amidst a deadlock between the rivaling factions, the Half-Breeds successfully nominated [[James A. Garfield]] of [[Ohio]]. | Stalwarts, who feared a party nomination of Blaine, were determined to prevent the Maine senator from being picked by the party convention.<ref name=levipmorton>[https://www.senate.gov/about/officers-staff/vice-president/morton-levi.htm About the Vice President | Levi Parsons Morton, 22nd Vice President (1889-1893)]. ''United States Senate''. Retrieved November 19, 2021.</ref> Amidst a deadlock between the rivaling factions, the Half-Breeds successfully nominated [[James A. Garfield]] of [[Ohio]]. | ||
| − | Conkling was asked by fellow | + | Conkling was asked by fellow Stalwart [[Levi P. Morton]] to join Garfield on the party ticket as the vice presidential pick, though declined; the post instead was given to [[Chester A. Arthur]], a close ally of the New York senator.<ref name=levipmorton/> During the race, Garfield made efforts to appease both sides of the GOP by vowing to meet the Conkling Machine's demands, and narrowly won the general election. |
==Death and legacy== | ==Death and legacy== | ||
Revision as of 00:47, November 20, 2021
| Roscoe Conkling | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| |||
| Former U.S. Senator from New York From: March 4, 1867 – May 16, 1881 | |||
| Predecessor | Ira Harris | ||
| Successor | Elbridge Lapham | ||
| Former U.S. Representative from New York's 21st Congressional District From: March 4, 1865 – March 3, 1867 | |||
| Predecessor | Francis Kernan | ||
| Successor | Alexander Bailey | ||
| Former U.S. Representative from New York's 20th Congressional District From: March 4, 1859 – March 3, 1863 | |||
| Predecessor | Orsamus Matteson | ||
| Successor | Ambrose Clark | ||
| Former Mayor of Utica, New York From: 1858–1859 | |||
| Predecessor | Alrick Harris | ||
| Successor | Charles Wilson | ||
| Information | |||
| Party | Whig (before 1854) Republican (1854–1860s) Unionist (1860s) Republican (since 1860s) | ||
| Spouse(s) | Julia Seymour | ||
Roscoe Conkling (October 30, 1829 – April 18, 1888) was a U.S. representative and senator from New York. He served as a bodyguard to Senator Thaddeus Stevens of Pennsylvania (a fierce Radical Republican leader) and helped to organize the Compromise of 1877, which handed Rutherford B. Hayes the presidency.
A member of the Radical Republicans,[1] Conkling led the conservative Stalwart faction of the Republican Party, which firmly supported maintaining the spoils system to secure the constitutional rights of blacks.[2] He opposed the Half-Breeds, the more moderate wing of the GOP which supported demands by some Jim Crow Democrats to install a bureaucratic civil service system.
He boxed and exercised regularly; such healthy physical condition was considered uncommon at the time.
U.S. House of Representatives
Conkling first successfully ran for the United States House of Representatives in the 1858 midterms, defeating Democrat P. Sheldon Root in New York's 22nd congressional district by fifteen percentage points.[3] He was easily re-elected to a second term in the subsequent 1860 elections.[4]
1862 midterm defeat, 1864 comeback
In the 1862 elections, Conkling ran under the banner of the Unionist Party and faced Democrat Francis Kernan, who very narrowly won the general election.[5] However, he successfully re-emerged in 1864, ousting Kernan.[6]
During the American Civil War, Conkling strong supported President Abraham Lincoln.[7] Following the war, he expressed support for confiscating land from the defeated Confederates to distribute among the newly freed slaves.
In his House years, Conkling became bitter political rivals with Rep. James G. Blaine of Maine, who would later lead the Half-Breeds. Blaine once mocked the "turkey-gobbler strut" of Conkling, who vowed to never speak with him again.[8]
U.S. Senate
In the 1867 elections, Conkling ran for United States Senate, and was nominated over two intraparty opponents.[9] He proceeded to be elected by the New York legislature in a landslide over two Democrat opponents.[10]
During Reconstruction, Conkling helped push through major Radical Republican legislation under the presidency of Ulysses S. Grant, including the Civil Rights Act of 1875.[1]
Presidential bid, 1876
In the 1876 presidential election, Conkling sought the party nomination for the general election as an ally of the Grant Administration.[7] He unsuccessful, garnering the votes of only ninety-nine delegates in the Republican National Convention polling only 8.44% of the total vote.[11] The nomination instead went to Rutherford Hayes, who "reformers" bolstered.[7]
Blaine also sought the nomination, finishing second place with the support of 351 delegates.[11]
Leading the Stalwarts
A political boss who effectively utilized patronage, Conkling led the remnants of the Radical Republicans during the late 1870s which opposed civil service reform and supported:[12]
| “ | ...so-called carpetbag and black rule in the South, hard money, and high tariffs. | ” |
—Encyclopedia.com | ||
Intraparty dispute, 1880
In the 1880 presidential election, the Stalwarts pushed former president Grant into seeking a third non-consecutive term.[12] They feuded with the Half-Breeds not over ideology and political positions pertaining to policies, rather control of patronage. Blaine, despite leading the Half-Breeds which pushed for some degree of civil service reform, was himself supportive of the spoils system[12] and only led the more moderate faction out of sheer disdain for Conkling.
Stalwarts, who feared a party nomination of Blaine, were determined to prevent the Maine senator from being picked by the party convention.[13] Amidst a deadlock between the rivaling factions, the Half-Breeds successfully nominated James A. Garfield of Ohio.
Conkling was asked by fellow Stalwart Levi P. Morton to join Garfield on the party ticket as the vice presidential pick, though declined; the post instead was given to Chester A. Arthur, a close ally of the New York senator.[13] During the race, Garfield made efforts to appease both sides of the GOP by vowing to meet the Conkling Machine's demands, and narrowly won the general election.
Death and legacy
He died as a result of the Great Blizzard of 1888.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Roscoe Conkling Letters: An inventory of his letters at Syracuse University. Syracuse University. Retrieved November 19, 2021.
- ↑ Matthews, Dylan (June 20, 2016). Donald Trump and Chris Christie are reportedly planning to purge the civil service. Vox. Retrieved November 19, 2021.
- ↑ NY District 20 Race - Nov 02, 1858. Our Campaigns. Retrieved November 19, 2021.
- ↑ NY District 20 Race - Nov 06, 1860. Our Campaigns. Retrieved November 19, 2021.
- ↑ NY District 21 Race - Nov 04, 1862. Our Campaigns. Retrieved November 19, 2021.
- ↑ NY District 21 Race - Nov 08, 1864. Our Campaigns. Retrieved November 19, 2021.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Roscoe Conkling. U-S-History.com. Retrieved November 19, 2021.
- ↑ Roscoe Conkling: Congressman and Political Boss (1829-1888). UCLA Social Sciences. Retrieved November 19, 2021.
- ↑ NY US Senate - R Caucus Race - Jan 10, 1867. Our Campaigns. Retrieved November 19, 2021.
- ↑ NY Us Senate Race - Jan 15, 1867. Our Campaigns. Retrieved November 19, 2021.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 US President - R Convention Race - Jun 14, 1876. Our Campaigns. Retrieved November 19, 2021.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 Weisberger, Bernard A. James A. Garfield and Chester A. Arthur. Encyclopedia.com. Retrieved November 19, 2021.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 About the Vice President | Levi Parsons Morton, 22nd Vice President (1889-1893). United States Senate. Retrieved November 19, 2021.
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