1881 United States Senate special elections in New York explained

Election Name:1881 United States Senate elections in New York
Country:New York
Type:presidential
Ongoing:no
Election Date:May 31—July 22, 1881
Image1:File:Warner Miller.jpg
Nominee1:Warner Miller
Class I
Party1:Republican Party (United States)
Nominee2:Elbridge Lapham
Class III
Party2:Republican Party (United States)
U.S. Senators
Before Election:Thomas C. Platt (Class I)
Roscoe Conkling (Class III)
Before Party:Republican Party (United States)
After Election:Warner Miller (Class I)
Elbridge Lapham (Class III)
After Party:Republican Party (United States)

The 1881 United States Senate special elections in New York was held from May 31 to July 22 by the New York State Legislature to elect two U.S. senators (Class 1 and Class 3) to represent New York in the United States Senate, following the joint resignations of Roscoe Conkling and Thomas C. Platt.

Conkling and Platt resigned during an ongoing dispute over federal patronage privileges in the state with President James A. Garfield, particularly the lucrative office of Collector of the Port of New York. Their resignations were intended to trigger the re-election of each Senator to affirm their support in the New York Legislature as a show of either popularity or political force. Instead, the legislature demurred for 52 days before electing Warner Miller and Elbridge Lapham. During the election, Garfield was shot by Charles Guiteau, a Conkling supporter and office-seeker angered over his failure to receive a federal appointment; Garfield died two months after balloting concluded.

On July 1, Platt withdrew after 41 inconclusive joint ballots. On July 2, Garfield was shot by Guiteau, who declared his support for Conkling's Stalwart faction immediately after the shooting. With no consensus candidate emerging for either seat, a Republican caucus met on July 8 to nominate replacement candidates and settled on Warner Miller and Elbridge Lapham after Depew withdrew. Two weeks later, Warner Miller was elected to Platt's seat. Conkling's supporters held out for another week before acquiescing to the unanimous nomination of Lapham on July 22, ending the election.

President Garfield died on September 19. With the Stalwart faction effectively eliminated by Conkling's removal from office, Congress passed the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act, which was signed into law by Chester A. Arthur, a former Conkling protégé.

Background

The Republican boss, and leader of the Stalwart faction, Roscoe Conkling had been elected to a third term (Class 3) in January 1879. Thomas C. Platt had been elected on Conkling's advice in January 1881 and had just taken his seat (Class 1) on March 4.

Conkling and Platt resignations

On May 16, 1881, both U.S. senators from New York resigned in protest against the distribution of federal patronage in New York by President James A. Garfield without being consulted. The confrontation arose when the leader of the New Yorker Half-Breeds, President pro tempore of the State Senate William H. Robertson, was appointed Collector of the Port of New York, the highest paying federal office in New York. Conkling preferred that Collector Edwin Merritt continue on the post until his term would expire in 1882, and then give it to one of his Stalwart friends, but Garfield was set on showing his gratitude to Robertson who had been instrumental in Garfield's nomination at the 1880 Republican National Convention. On March 28, Conkling, Platt, Vice President Chester A. Arthur and Postmaster General Thomas L. James sent a letter to Garfield urging him to withdraw the nomination. Garfield resented this intrusion and did not budge. Conkling and Platt took exception to the fact that Robertson and the New York delegates to the National Convention had been pledged by the State Convention to vote for the nomination of former President Ulysses S. Grant, but had broken his pledge and orchestrated the nomination of another candidate.

Conkling and Platt then stood for re-election thus trying to rebuke the President and be vindicated by the State Legislature.

Legislative composition

See main article: 104th New York State Legislature.

See also: 1879 New York state election and 1880 New York state election. At the 1879 state election, 25 Republicans and 7 Democrats were elected for a two-year term (1880–1881) in the State Senate.

At the 1880 state election, 81 Republicans and 47 Democrats were elected for the session of 1881 to the Assembly.

The 104th New York State Legislature met from January 4 to July 23, 1881, at Albany, New York.

Nominations

Republican caucus

When the first surprise about the resignations subsided, a majority of the Republican State legislators were determined to be rid of Conkling. Intense canvassing followed, many names were speculated about as candidates, but it proved difficult to call a caucus, since no majority of legislators or of the caucus committee agreed.

A caucus of Republican State legislators was finally called by Speaker of the Assembly George H. Sharpe for May 30. Assemblyman Andrew S. Draper presided, and secretaries were appointed. Only 8 State senators and 27 assemblymen were present, and the caucus adjourned for lack of quorum until the next day, but nobody was nominated.

Democratic caucus

The caucus of the Democratic State legislators met on May 30, Assemblyman Michael C. Murphy, of New York City, presided. They nominated Ex-U.S. Senator Francis Kernan and State Senator John C. Jacobs, both on the first ballot.

May 1881 Democratic caucus for United States Senator result
OfficeCandidateFirst ballotOfficeCandidateFirst ballot
U.S. Senator (Class 1)Francis Kernan34U.S. Senator (Class 3)John C. Jacobs39
Clarkson N. Potter7Abram S. Hewitt8
Rufus W. Peckham5Horatio Seymour4
Erastus Corning[1] 3Clarkson N. Potter1
Horatio Seymour1

Elections

On May 31, the legally prescribed day for the election, the Assembly and the State Senate took a ballot, but no candidate received a majority. On June 1, both Houses met in joint session, compared the result of the ballot, and finding that nobody had received a majority in either House, proceeded to a joint ballot[2] in which nobody received a majority either. Afterwards, Stalwarts and Administration men met in separate conferences. The Stalwarts hung on to Conkling and Platt. At the Administration men's conference 61 State legislators were present and Chauncey M. Depew was the frontrunner for the long term (Class 1), but the anti-Conkling men were split into a handful of factions, unable to compromise. From June 2 on, joint ballots were taken every day, Monday through Saturday at noon.

After almost three weeks of deadlock, it was believed that Governor Cornell would consider the votes cast for State Senator Jacobs as void,[3] and to accept as elected any Republican candidate who would receive a simple majority of a quorum, meaning that if at least 81 votes were cast for all candidates except Jacobs, the frontrunner would be elected with 42. On this day, 155 legislators present, and 52 voting for Jacobs, somebody could claim to be elected with a vote of 52, and get his credentials issued by the governor. Thus, when Ex-Vice President Wheeler had received 50 votes in the 23rd ballot, State Senator Charles A. Fowler (Dem., 14th D.) withdrew Jacobs's name before the end of the roll call, and the Democratic members who had voted already (the roll was called in alphabetical order of surnames, first Senate, then Assembly) asked to change their votes, which was granted by Lt. Gov. George G. Hoskins.

After Jacobs's withdrawal during the 23rd ballot, a Democratic caucus was held in the afternoon of June 22, Assemblyman Michael C. Murphy presided. Ex-Congressman Clarkson N. Potter was nominated after an informal ballot, in which votes were scattered about 11 candidates, and a formal ballot in which Potter received a majority.

After a month of deadlock and 31 ballots, Thomas C. Platt withdrew from the contest on July 1, and most of the Platt men then switched to Richard Crowley. On the morning of the next day, President Garfield was shot and the news arrived in Albany just before the State Legislature met for the 33rd ballot.

On July 6, after the 37th ballot, the Anti-Conkling men met in conference. 59 legislators attended, and State Senator Dennis McCarthy presided. No agreement was reached, and a call was issued for a new conference to be held the next day. On July 7, after the 39th ballot, the Anti-Conkling conference was attended by 65 legislators, and a call for a regular Republican caucus was signed by 59 of them. On July 8, after the 41st ballot, a regular Republican caucus finally met. 64 legislators answered to the first roll call, and Thomas G. Alvord was chosen chairman. Since the Stalwarts were not attending, it was agreed that nominations were to be made with a minimum vote of 54, a majority of the total 106 Republican legislators. The frontrunner to succeed Platt (Class 1 seat), Chauncey M. Depew, withdrew from the contest for the sake of party unity, and the caucus instead nominated Congressman Warner Miller on the fifth ballot (First ballot: Miller 27, William A. Wheeler 22, Sherman S. Rogers 9, Noah Davis 2, Alonzo B. Cornell 2, William M. Evarts 2, Richard Crowley 1, Roscoe Conkling 1, Henry E. Temain 1; Second ballot: Miller 28, Wheeler 28, Rogers 10; Third ballot: similar to second; Fourth ballot: Miller 32 then withdrawal of Rogers, then many changes, then withdrawal of Wheeler; Fifth ballot: Miller unanimously). Then they nominated on the second ballot Congressman Elbridge G. Lapham to succeed Conkling (First ballot: Lapham 38, Cornell 12, Tremain 10, Crowley 5, James W. Wadsworth 1; Second ballot: Most votes for Lapham, then some changes, then a re-call of the roll, and finally unanimously). The Conkling men however refused to accept the caucus nominations and continued to vote for Conkling, and now for Wheeler instead of Crowley to succeed Platt. On July 11, after the 43rd ballot, the Stalwarts demanded a new caucus but the Chairman of the State Senate Caucus Committee Dennis McCarthy refused to issue a call.

On July 16, after seven weeks of deadlock, Warner Miller was elected on the 48th ballot to succeed Platt. Conkling held out for another week. On July 22, after the 55th ballot, the Republican legislators met in conference. 76 legislators attended, State Senator Dennis McCarthy presided, and this conference issued the call for a caucus to meet at 3 p.m. The caucus was attended by Stalwarts and Administration men, all Republican legislators who had voted on the previous ballot being present. They nominated Elbridge G. Lapham on the first ballot (vote: Lapham 61, Conkling 28, Stewart L. Woodford 1, William M. Evarts 1), and the nomination was then "made unanimous." At 5 p.m. another ballot, the 56th and last, was taken by the State Legislature, and Lapham was elected to succeed Conkling.

Class 1 summary

1881 United States Senator (Class 1) special election result
CandidateSAJ123456789101112131415161718J92021222324252627282930313233343536373839404142434445464748
Miller23881108968617071737476
Platt8212928283026232829292828222126272723172127272625272727202127282821111
Kernan747535353513126465150484829275150524834255151535353534531324952534831244747535152505050485251545347
Depew7142528303023214251535454383655545453443752505250535245343550505148353248485351495151
Cornell121111131389141089976101012105611988877549911151011151518181720191
Lapham26889224443322221111134433213221211111111
Crowley344433344544234355336578865456772091019191918181818
Folger65343334443333332111
Wheeler1111121343211112222211191821231274
Evarts531111111111121
Davis22
Wadsworth2222
Tremain[4] 211332111111511111111111111
Morton21
Rogers11111143
Choate11
Sharpe1
Francis1
Pomeroy1
Ward3342
Dutcher22222
Van Cott111111
Rumsey11
Sloan1
Wilber1
Fenton111
Tracy111
Bliss[5] 1111
Hoskins543111111
Chapman4133444442222222
North[6] 1111111111
Adams113221221
Daniels1111111132331
Talcott[7] 211
Fish1111111112227119
Starin1111122
Tenney11

Class 3 summary

1881 United States Senator (Class 3) special election result
CandidateSAJ1234567891011121314151617181920212223242526272829303132333435363738394041424344454647484950515253545556
Lapham117438998117681012161316252526161717131081718171376991111111212676068697070685454687272676392
Conkling92635343334302634343433332324313132272023333232323232302224313232282016313132313032323128323232322927272828282828
Jacobs6475252524930254550494747292650495147342450505212
Potter7535344343149525348312747475351525050504852525453473434454949454042
Wheeler41522191717131422212320211916232538362924383540505050453232424143382622363642434338421
Cornell36102123191816151916151288910118533122111233265688653851
Rogers5815141414131315151418161412211811114413345566
Crowley53223211131212346664432
Folger2221111111222122233112211111111111111
Pomeroy2131
Tremain23321423444433331
Evarts2211111
Alvord22
Wadsworth21
White21
Fenton13242
Edick1112
Bradley1111111111111111111113
Fish1111111
Chapman11111
Dutcher11111
Ward1
Miller1
Beecher1
1
Harris1111
Marvin2
Crowley124121
Peckham4
Hewitt3
Kelly3
Seymour3
Parker2
Bliss2
Cox2
Corning2
Daniels1
Tilden1
Hoffman1
Slocum1
Grace1
Westbrook1
Scoville1
Beach1
Thompson1
Kingsley1
Babcock1
Hoskins1222111
Roach1111
Stoughton1
Woodford111111111

Aftermath

Lapham and Miller took their seats on October 11, 1881, and served single terms. Lapham remained in office until March 3, 1885; Miller until March 3, 1887.

Conkling's political career effectively ended after this episode, the longest deadlock in New York State legislative history until 1911.[8]

Platt returned to the U.S. Senate in 1897, and served two terms until 1909.

Notes

  1. Erastus Corning (1827-1897), of Albany, son of Erastus Corning (1794-1872)
  2. The U.S. Constitution, referring to the Senate elections, had been amended since the last time when no candidate had a majority in either House, in United States Senate election in New York, 1839/1839; previously in case of no choice by either House no joint ballot could be taken.
  3. The eligibility of members of the State Legislature was still controversial, although State Senator Nathaniel P. Tallmadge was elected in 1833, and Lt. Gov. Henry R. Selden had ruled in 1857 that the ineligibility clause of the New York State Constitution was not in accordance with the dispositions of the United States Constitution when votes were cast for State Senator Daniel E. Sickles.
  4. Gen. Henry Edwin Tremain (1840-1910), lawyer, Columbia Law School graduate 1867
  5. William B. Bliss, of Rome, Oneida County judge 1875-80, Oneida County Surrogate 1884-1889
  6. Charles North, Mayor of Oswego 1868, assemblyman 1878
  7. James Talcott (1835-1916), of New York City, merchant and philanthropist, Obit in NYT on August 22, 1916
  8. The deadlock lasted 53 days (Lapham) and 47 days (Miller). In 1911 it took 74 days and 63 joint ballots to elect a U.S. Senator.

Sources