1851–52 Massachusetts gubernatorial election

none January 2025 September 2023 1851–52 Massachusetts gubernatorial election Massachusetts presidential No 1850 Massachusetts gubernatorial election 1850 1852 Massachusetts gubernatorial election 1852 1851 11 10 (popular)1852 1 12 (legislative) x150px Popular election Senate vote File:George S. Boutwell c1851 (cropped).png George S. Boutwell Democratic Party (United States) 28 43,732 31.93% File:Robert Charles Winthrop (cropped).jpg Robert C. Winthrop Whig Party (United States) 11 64,279 46.93% File:John Gorham Palfrey.jpg John G. Palfrey Did not qualify 28,560 28.85% Free Soil Party 1851 Massachusetts gubernatorial election results map by county.svg Popular election results by countyWinthrop: #f0e6be 30–40% #d7c477 40–50% #c0a32f 50–60% Governor George S. Boutwell Democratic Party (United States) George S. Boutwell Democratic Party (United States) The 1851–52 Massachusetts gubernatorial election consisted of an initial popular vote held on November 10, 1851, followed by a legislative vote conducted on January 12, 1852. Incumbent Democrat Governor George S. Boutwell was reelected to a second term in office. The ultimate task of electing the governor had been placed before the Massachusetts General Court because no candidate received the majority of the vote required for a candidate to be elected through the popular election. Although Whig nominee Robert C. Winthrop had won a plurality of the popular vote, he did not win the election because he failed to win the outright majority required to be elected through the popular vote and ultimately placed second in the resulting legislative vote after a coalition of Free Soil and Democratic Party legislators partnered to elect Boutwell to a second term. Background 1851 Massachusetts legislature After winning the 1850 elections, the Democratic-Free Soil coalition elected Charles Sumner to the U.S. Senate despite drawn-out resistance from conservative Democrats. In addition to substantive banking and corporate reform, the legislature introduced a secret ballot law. Prior to 1888, ballots were printed and circulated by the campaigns and featured only the sponsoring party's candidates for office; in this way, it was possible for poll watchers to determine how a citizen had voted by observing which party's ticket they handed to the election officials. The 1851 law required that ballots be sealed in an envelope prior to being cast, ensuring the secrecy of the citizen's vote.Brunet Michel The Secret Ballot Issue in Massachusetts Politics from 1851 to 1853 New England Quarterly September 1952 25 3 354-55 https://www.jstor.org/stable/362282 This innovation was a major blow to the Whigs, who relied on the open ballot to pressure factory employees to vote the party line. However, the more conservative faction of the Free Soilers blocked a legislative reapportionment plan which would have increased representation for coalition's base of small towns and a plan to move the capital from Whig-dominated Boston to Worcester.Mulkern 1990 35–36 General election Candidates George S. Boutwell, incumbent governor (Democratic) Francis Cogswell (Independent) John G. Palfrey, former U.S. representative from Cambridge (Free Soil) Robert C. Winthrop, former U.S. senator and speaker of the U.S. House (Whig) Campaign With the state still split in a three-way plurality and following the clear emergence of the Democratic-Free Soil coalition of 1850, both the Whig and Coalition forces focused on securing a majority in the General Court.Mulkern 1990 36 The primary policy issue in the campaign was the coalition effort for a ten-hour workday. Whigs opposed the measure on as a threat to both economic efficiency and social mobility, arguing that labor regulation prevented motivated employees from contracting for more hours, accumulating capital, and reinvesting for themselves. Though some suggested emphasizing national issues instead to divide the coalition forces, the Whigs settled on a campaign led by Senator John W. Davis on state issues.Mulkern 1990 36–37 The ten-hour debate came to a head in Lowell, a city more dependent on factory labor than any other. Despite the city's traditional domination by textile industrialists and the Whig Party, the coalition ticket headed by attorney Benjamin Butler campaigned explicitly in favor of the ten-hour day. With the secret ballot allowing workers to cast votes without their employer's knowledge, the ticket won a surprising upset in the usually-Whig city on election day. However, the Whig city government found irregularities in the returns and declared a new election. With the legislature split evenly between the coalition and Whig forces, the Lowell election would decide control of state government.Mulkern 1990 36–37 As the Lowell run-off election intensified, Whig industrialists like Linus Child returned to old tactics, including threatening any employee who voted the Butler ticket with termination. At a rally in response, Butler told the crowd, "I am here to serve you and to save you from bondage"Pierson 2005 and openly threatened to light the city on fire if a single vote were bribed or coerced:Mulkern 1990 37–38 As God lives and I live, by the living Jehovah! if one man is driven from his employment by these men because of his vote, I will lead you to make Lowell what it was twenty-five years ago,—a sheep pasture and a fishing place; and I will commence by applying the torch to my own house. Let them come on. As we are not the aggressors, we seek not this awful contest.Pierson 2005 The Butler ticket won the late election, securing a General Court majority for the coalition and raising Senator-elect Butler's statewide profile.Mulkern 1990 37–38 Results Popular election 1851 Massachusetts gubernatorial electionDubin Michael J. United States Gubernatorial Elections, 1776-1860: The Official Results by State and County McFarland & Company 2003 9780786414390 Jefferson 117 Whig Party (United States) Robert C. Winthrop 64,279 46.93 0.15 Democratic Party (United States) George S. Boutwell (incumbent) 43,732 31.93 2.25 Free Soil Party John G. Palfrey 28,560 20.85 1.92 Independent (politician) Francis Cogswell 118 0.09 0.48 280 0.20 136,969 100.00 Democratic Party (United States) Whig Party (United States) Legislative vote The Massachusetts House of Representatives certified the popular returns on January 12, 1851. The following day, as a result of the failure for a candidate to secure the needed majority to be elected through the popular vote, the election of the Governor was placed before the two chambers of the state legislature: the Massachusetts General Court. The four candidates that received voted in the popular election all qualified as candidates from which the General Court could choose. The process for the legislature to elect a governor saw the Massachusetts House of Representatives first hold votes to select two candidates from which the Massachusetts State Senate would then select a winner. The General Court held its votes to elect the governor on January 13, 1851. House vote Massachusetts House of Representatives vote to select the first candidate to be placed before the Massachusetts State Senate Democratic Party (United States) George S. Boutwell (incumbent) 200 50.76 Whig Party (United States) Robert C. Winthrop 194 49.24 Free Soil Party John G. Palfrey 0 0.00 Independent (politician) Francis Cogswell 0 0.00 394 100.00 Massachusetts House of Representatives vote to select the second candidate to be placed before the Massachusetts State Senate Whig Party (United States) Robert C. Winthrop 240 83.92 Free Soil Party John G. Palfrey 30 10.49 Independent (politician) Francis Cogswell 10 3.50 286 100.00 Blank votes no candidate 12 N/A Senate vote Massachusetts State Senate Senate vote for governorThe Massachusetts Register for the Year 1852 https://archive.org/details/massachusettsreg1853bost/page/n39/ 1853 34–35 Democratic Party (United States) George S. Boutwell (incumbent) 28 71.79 Whig Party (United States) Robert C. Winthrop 11 28.21 39 100.00 Aftermath In response to Child's threat in the Lowell election, the new legislature passed a law making it a crime to bribe or coerce voters.Mulkern 1990 37–38 See also 1851 Massachusetts legislature References Bibliography The Know-Nothing Party in Massachusetts: The Rise and Fall of a People's Movement Mulkern John R. https://books.google.com/books?id=KyISxp0yfG0C 1990 1-55553-071-0 Northeastern University Press Massachusetts Historical Review 7 2005 https://lhs-social-studies.weebly.com/uploads/8/6/6/7/86675106/mhr7_benjaminbutler_3-15-2018.pdf He Helped the Poor and Snubbed the Rich: Benjamin F. Butler and Class Politics in Lowell and New Orleans Pierson Michael D. Governor Category:Massachusetts gubernatorial elections Massachusetts Massachusetts gubernatorial Massachusetts gubernatorial