1833–34 Massachusetts gubernatorial election

none January 2025 September 2023 1833–34 Massachusetts gubernatorial election Massachusetts presidential No 1832 Massachusetts gubernatorial election 1832 1834 Massachusetts gubernatorial election 1834 1833 11 11 (popular vote)1834 01 9 (House votes)1834 01 10 (Senate vote) x150px House vote 1 House vote 2 Senate vote John Davis 1849 (cropped).jpg John Davis National Republican Party 25,149 40.26% 327 (59.78%) Moved on 30 (81.08%) Marcus Morton (MHS).jpg Marcus Morton Democratic Party (United States) 15,493 24.80% 199 (36.38%) 267 (74.79%) 4 (10.81%) Portrait of John Quincy Adams (DRR) (Cropped).jpg John Quincy Adams Anti-Masonic Party 18,274 29.25% 18 (3.29%) 26 (7.28%) Eliminated 3x4.svg Samuel C. Allen Working Men's Party (Massachusetts) 3,459 5.54% 3 (0.55%) 64 (17.93%) Eliminated 1833 Massachusetts gubernatorial election results map by county.svg County results Davis: #FFC8CD 30–40% #FFB2B2 40–50% #E27F7F 50–60%Adams: #FEE5D5 30–40% #FFCCAA 40–50% #FFB380 50–60%Morton: #A5B0FF 40–50% Governor Levi Lincoln Jr. National Republican Party John Davis National Republican Party The 1833–34 Massachusetts gubernatorial election consisted of a popular election (direct election) held on November 11, 1833, and a legislative vote held in January 1834. The task of electing the governor fell to the Massachusetts General Court because no candidate received the constitutionally required majority of the popular vote. National Republican Governor Levi Lincoln Jr. did not run for a tenth term in office. Elected to succeed him was John Davis, a National Republican. Davis defeated former United States president John Quincy Adams, Democrat Marcus Morton, and Working Men's candidate Samuel Allen. Nominations Anti-Masonic In March, Representative Edward Everett approached John Quincy Adams to inform him that Governor Levi Lincoln Jr. would not seek a tenth term in office and that a union of the National Republican Party and Anti-Masonic Party could be effected to ensure Adams's election.Darling 1925 106 A group of Anti-Masons traveled to Washington to appeal to Adams in July but found him reluctant to accept their nomination without guarantee of a National Republican alliance. They gave him the assurance that National Republicans would unite with them in his nomination as they had in support of Senator Daniel Webster. He remained skeptical, aware that many conservatives and Masons within the state National Republican Party were opposed to his candidacy.Darling 1925 106 Because of his reluctance, Adams suggested Edward Everett himself seek the endorsement, but when he attempted to gain Anti-Masonic support with a speech denouncing Masonic influence, he was informed he could no longer secure the National Republican endorsement and declined to seek either party's nomination.Darling 1925 107 Given Everett's withdrawal and Samuel Lathrop's refusal to run as the party's nominee for a third time, Adams resolved to accept, expecting that he would also receive the National Republican endorsement.Darling 1925 108 He was formally endorsed at the Anti-Masonic convention in September. National Republican However, the Everett brothers approached Adams once more to ask him to withdraw in favor of John Davis at the behest of George Bancroft, Davis's brother-in-law. Adams faced an uphill battle for the National Republican nomination; 35 of the 63 delegates from Boston were influential Masons.Darling 1925 108–09 Davis, a moderate critic of Masonry, was nonetheless reluctant to accept the National Republican nomination. He did so only at the urging of Governor Lincoln, and was nominated at the National Republican convention in October.Darling 1925 110–11 Democratic The Democrats largely avoided the conflict over Masonry and perennial nominee Marcus Morton publicly declared that he would not join the Anti-Masonic movement nor publicly discuss Freemasonry.Darling 1925 110 In June, the party was buoyed by the personal presence of President Andrew Jackson in the state, which he toured with Josiah Quincy as his aide-de-camp en route to Harvard to accept an honorary doctorate of letters. Jackson's tour drew large crowds of supporters and caused at least one National Republican publication, the Boston Courier, to remark that as president, Jackson deserved the honor.Darling 1925 111 At the party convention in September, Morton was nominated again without opposition, though the convention's resolutions against John C. Calhoun and nullification may have caused a stir and the beginnings of a rift between the conservative urban faction led by David Henshaw, who was friendly with Calhoun, and the liberal rural faction led by Morton.Darling 1925 113 Working Men's The Working Men's Party was formed in a separate convention held in Boston on October 2. Samuel Allen, a graduate of Dartmouth and Congregationalist minister, was selected as the new party's nominee. He declared that the party was on the side of "producers" against "accumulators" and those who controlled "associated wealth."Darling 1925 113 General election Candidates John Quincy Adams, U.S. representative from Quincy and former President of the United States (Anti-Masonic) Samuel Allen, Congregationalist minister from Northfield (Working Men's) John Davis, U.S. representative from Worcester, Massachusetts (National Republican) Marcus Morton, associate justice of the Supreme Judicial Court, former acting governor and nominee since 1828 (Democratic) Campaign A major issue in the campaign was President Jackson's cancellation of government deposits in the U.S. Bank in September, outraging conservative supporters of the Bank.Darling 1925 112 Democrats continued to remain silent on Masonry throughout the election, and focused on absorbing the Allen's supporters by declaring his principles as identical to those of Jackson.Darling 1925 113 The last days of the campaign were particularly intense as National Republicans bitterly attacked Adams and Morton. The Morning Post published a report on the eve of the election claiming that Morton was the preferred candidate of National Republican leaders, suggesting that both Davis and Adams lacked support from the party leadership. With the Democrats focused on the Working Men and Adams appeal to individual National Republicans, the Anti-Mason's felt their chances of winning were strong.Darling 1925 114–15 Results Though Davis won a plurality of the vote, he did not secure a majority necessary to secure his election. Adams made large gains for the Anti-Masons in the eastern part of the state, chiefly at the expense of the National Republicans. The conservative National Republicans had lost more than a quarter of their votes to the three liberal parties.Darling 1925 116 Allen drew support from Democrats and rural National Republicans; his support was preponderantly rural.Darling 1925 116 Morton carried Dukes and Essex counties because Adams took enough National Republican votes to leave Democratic pluralities, but did increase his vote overall despite Allen's presence in the race.Darling 1925 116–17 1833 Massachusetts gubernatorial electionDarling 1925 115 National Republican Party John Davis 25,149 40.26% 12.75 Anti-Masonic Party John Quincy Adams 18,274 29.25% 6.17 Democratic Party (United States) Marcus Morton 15,493 24.80% 1.05 Working Men's Party (Massachusetts) Samuel Allen 3,459 5.54% N/A 99 0.16% 0.01 62,474 100.00% Legislative vote Because no candidate secured a majority, the election was decided by the General Court. The newly formed 1834 Massachusetts House of Representatives would choose two candidates and the Senate would select one as governor.Darling 1925 118 Negotiations ensued between the Anti-Masons and Democrats in the House to present Morton and Adams; Morton would then be elected by the Senate on the ground that he was more friendly to the Anti-Masons than Davis.Darling 1925 168 On November 26, Edward Everett visited Adams to prevail upon him to withdraw and endorse Davis. Despite some private resistance, Adams eventually did so, possibly out of fear that Morton's election would be seen as a victory for President Jackson or possibly from reluctance to leave his district without a Representative in Congress.Darling 1925 118Darling 1925 169 Davis was elected by an alliance of National Republicans and Anti-Masons, who went on to form the bulk of the new Whig Party, though not without shedding some dissenters.Darling 1925 118 Adams endorsed an amendment to the state constitution which would abandon the majority requirement; this amendment would not come until May 1855.Darling 1925 169 House Ballot 1Greene Charles Gorden 9 January 1834 Massachusetts Legislature https://newspaperarchive.com/boston-morning-post-jan-09-1834-p-2/ Boston Morning Post 2PartyCandidateVotes%National RepublicanDavis32759.78DemocraticMorton19936.38Anti-MasonicAdams183.29Working Men'sAllen30.55Valid votes54798.38Blank votes91.62Total556100 House Ballot 2PartyCandidateVotes%DemocraticMorton26774.79Working Men'sAllen6417.93Anti-MasonicAdams267.28Valid votes357100Total357100 Senate BallotGreene Charles Gorden 10 January 1834 Massachusetts Legislature https://newspaperarchive.com/boston-morning-post-jan-10-1834-p-2/ Boston Morning Post 2PartyCandidateVotes%National RepublicanDavis3081.08DemocraticMorton410.81Blank38.11Valid votes37100Total37100 See also 1833 Massachusetts legislature References Bibliography Darling Arthur B. 1925 Political Changes in Massachusetts, 1824–1848 New Haven, Conn Yale University Press https://archive.org/details/politicalchanges00darl/ Gubernatorial election Gubernatorial election Category:1833 United States gubernatorial elections Category:1834 United States gubernatorial elections Category:November 1833 Category:January 1834 1833–34 Category:John Quincy Adams