1903 Chicago mayoral election

none January 2025 September 2023 1903 Chicago mayoral election presidential no 1901 1905 April 7, 1903 File:Carter-henry-harrison-iv (3x4a).jpg Carter Harrison IV Democratic Party (United States) 146,208 47.22% File:Graeme Stewart (14787989243).jpg Graeme Stewart Republican Party (United States) 138.648 44.78% Mayor Carter Harrison IV Democratic Party (United States) Carter Harrison IV Democratic Party (United States) 84% 10 pp In the Chicago mayoral election of 1903, Democrat Carter Harrison IV was reelected to a fourth term, defeating Republican nominee Graeme Stewart. The election took place on April 7.Mayor Carter Henry Harrison IV Biographyhttps://archive.org/details/chicagohistory03curr 335 Chicago: Its History and Its Builders, a Century of Marvelous Growth S. J. Clarke publishing Company Currey Josiah Seymour 1912 Before the election, both Harrison and Stewart had received their party's nominations by acclamation at each party's municipal nominating convention. Background 1903 was shaping up to be a challenging reelection for incumbent Democrat Carter Harrison IVMorton Richard Allen Roger C. Sullivan and the Making of the Chicago Democratic Machine, 1881-1908 https://books.google.com/books?id=xA7MDAAAQBAJ McFarland 11 May 2020 140–142 en 9781476623788 29 June 2016 By 1903, the municipal reform movement in Chicago, which had been on the rise since the 1890s, had become a strong force in Chicago politics. By 1903, an anti-Harrison coalition had begun to arise in Chicago, consisting of members of union ( including in the Chicago Federation of Labor), former Harrison ally Robert "Bobby" Burke's followers, and remnants of what had been the once-strong Altgeld wing of the Democratic party. In 1903, the traction issue was a popular concern, particularly the issue of municipal ownership of streetcars. Nominations Democratic Incumbent mayor Carter Harrison IV was renominated by the Democratic Party. Few others seemed interested in seeking the nomination. While there had been factional disputes within the party, most of the Democratic Party united behind Harrison as a nominee. A key exception to this was Harrison's once-ally Robert "Bobby" Burke, who remained opposed to Harrison. Harrison easily won the primaries to select delegates for the city's nominating convention, with his supporters being heavily selected as delegates. A pro-Harrison delegate nominee even beat former Cook County Democratic Party Chairman Thomas Gahan, who had been seeking to run as a delegate aligned with then-Harrison rival Robert "Bobby" Burke. Without an opponent, Harrison was renominated at the convention by acclamation. The convention, however, was noted as having been a rather unenthusiastic affair, appearing to signal more tepid or reluctant support of Harrison by his party. Republican Businessman Greame Stewart won the Republican nomination.https://newspaperarchive.com/chicago-eagle-apr-04-1903-p-1/ Chicago Eagle Newspaper Archives, Apr 4, 1903 4 April 1903 He had previously served as a member of the executive committee of the 1900 Republican National Convention.https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/cgi-bin/colorado?a=d&d=THD19050628-01.2.19&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN--------0- Herald Democrat June 28, 1905 — Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection From 1882 through 1890 he was a member of the Chicago Board of Education, serving as the board's president from 1889 through 1890.Graeme Stewart Public School Building 4524 North Kenmore Avenue Final Landmark Recommendation adopted by the Commission on Chicago Landmarks, September 1, 2016 https://www.chicago.gov/content/dam/city/depts/zlup/Historic_Preservation/Publications/Graeme_Stewart_Public_School_Bldg.pdf City of Chicago 16 May 2020 1 September 2016 With an exceptional reputation for honesty and public service, Stewart had long been considered a potential candidate for mayor of Chicago. Stewart was appealing to reform-minded voters dissatisfied with the Democratic political machine.To Fight Harrison https://www.newspapers.com/image/50365008 Newspapers.com Brooklyn Eagle subscription 20 December 2024 en Dec 24, 1900 Also seeking the mayoral nomination was former alderman John Maynard Harlan, who had previously run for mayor as an independent Republican in 1897 and had unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination in 1901.https://www.nytimes.com/1901/03/03/archives/chicago-mayoralty-contest-judge-elbridge-hanecy-nominated-by-the.html Chicago Mayoralty Contest.; Judge Elbridge Hanecy Nominated by the Republicans The New York Times 1901-03-03 In February, delegates favoring Stewart won the a 2–1 margin of victory in the Republican primaries over delegates supporting Harlan. At the city's Republican convention on March 7, Stewart was nominated in a single round of balloting. Afterwards, resolutions were adopted to affirm Stewart's nomination by acclamation. Republican convention nominating roll callBallots For The Candidates https://www.newspapers.com/image/350279028 Chicago Tribune Newspapers.com subscription 19 December 2024 en March 8, 1903 Candidate Votes % Greame Stewart 598 63.62John Maynard Harlan 342 36.38Total 940 100 + Convention vote by ward Ward Stewart Harlan Total # % # % # 1st 28 100 0 0.0 28 2nd 37 100 0 0.0 37 3rd 21 58.3 15 41.7 36 4th 17 100 0 0.0 17 5th 17 100 0 0.0 17 6th 22 43.1 29 56.7 51 7th 5 11.1 40 88.9 45 8th 0 0.0 23 100 23 9th 19 100 0 0.0 19 10th 14 100 0 0.0 14 11th 14 100 0 0.0 14 12th 24 100 0 0.0 24 13th 33 97.1 1 2.9 34 14th 24 74.2 7 22.6 31 15th 22 84.6 4 15.4 26 16th 9 60.0 6 40.0 15 17th 30 100 0 0.0 30 18th 20 100 0 0.0 20 19th 19 100 0 0 19 20th 38 92.7 3 7.3 41 21st 36 100 0 0 36 23rd 16 72.7 6 13.6 22 24th 17 85 3 15 20 25th 40 88.9 5 11.1 45 26th 25 100 0 0 25 27th 12 50.0 12 50.0 24 28th 28 100 0 0 28 29th 4 33.3 8 66.6 12 30th 8 36.4 14 63.6 22 31st 32 100 0 0 32 32nd 33 94.3 2 5.7 35 33rd 22 73.3 8 26.7 30 34th 15 100 0 0 15 35th 8 40.0 12 60.0 20 United Labor The United Labor Party first nominated Clarence Darrow, who thereafter declined the nomination.https://books.google.com/books?id=GNgaAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA6 The Public Post Louis Freeland Post Alice Thatcher 1903 While the party had been formed in hopes of nominating Darrow, after he declined it moved on and nominated Daniel L. Cruise. Beginning at the start of 1903, there had been a strong push among members of the Chicago Federation of Labor and others to draft Darrow as an independent candidate for mayor. After an active and organized effort to draft him, which even included a nominating convention-style pro-Darrow mass meeting held at the Auditorium Theatre on February 16, and active consideration of a prospective run on his part, it appeared in late February that Darrow might be preparing to enter the race. However, on February 24, he made the surprise announcement that he would not be running. Prohibition The Prohibition Party nominated Thomas L. Haines. Socialist The Socialist Party nominated Charles L. Breckon. Socialist Labor The Socialist Labor Party nominated Henry Sale. General election Both major parties were unified behind their candidates. The major party candidates not both only resided in the city's twenty-first ward, but each also resided in the exact same voting precinct.CHICAGO RE-ELECTS HARRISON ITS MAYOR; His Plurality Over Graeme Stewart, Republican, 6,948. Republicans Get Some City Offices -- Victory for Municipal Ownership, Says Mr. Harrison. https://www.nytimes.com/1903/04/08/archives/chicago-reelects-harrison-its-mayor-his-plurality-over-graeme.html The New York Times 16 May 2020 8 April 1903 The traction issue became the primary issue of the election. Both candidates supported ultimately supported ultimately having municipal ownership for the streetcar services. Stewart advocated making immediate improvements to its conditions by accepting the best terms the streetcar companies were willing to offer. Harrison advocated holding off on an agreement until the city received the terms it desired. Harrison worked to paint Stewart as a puppet of corporations and special interests, particularly the streetcar companies. Republicans worked to paint Harrison as an enabler of corruption. They also worked to paint him as having made few substantive accomplishments in his tenure as mayor, and utilized the slogan "six years, nothing doing" against Harrison. Stewart's own platform promised reform. In an attempt to make it appear that he was not a product of the political machine, Stewart attempted to convince the electorate that businessmen and not politicians had been the ones who had urged him to run. Late into the race, Clarence Darrow came forward as a campaign surrogate in support of Harrison, swaying a lot of labor voters in Harrison's favor. Results The result was considered to be a close one. While they lost the mayoralty, in the coinciding elections, Republicans were able to win the races for City Attorney and City Clerk (having won the latter race by a mere several hundred vote margin). In the coinciding Chicago City Council election, Republicans won a weakened majority. The City Council went from having 39 Republicans, 30 Democrats, and one independent before the 1903 election, to having 35 Republicans, 33 Democrats, and one independent afterwards. Democrat Ernest Hummel also won the coinciding election for City Treasurer. Stewart had overwhelmingly won the vote in first precinct of the twenty-first ward, where both he and Harrison resided. Harrison had won this precinct in the previous election. 1903 Chicago mayoral electionElection Results Shows Accuracy of Tribune Poll https://www.newspapers.com/image/355257322 Newspapers.com Oscar Hewitt October 23, 2022 en subscription Hewitt Oscar March 28, 1923The Chicago Daily News Almanac and Year Book for 1912 1911 Chicago Daily News, Incorporated 465 https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=ERgfAQAAMAAJ 12 May 2020 en Democratic Party (United States) Carter Harrison IV 146,208 47.22 Republican Party (United States) Graeme Stewart 138.648 44.78 Socialist Party of America Charles L. Breckon 11,124 3.59 United Labor Daniel L. Cruice 9,947 3.21 Prohibition Party (United States) Thomas L. Haines 2,674 0.86 Socialist Labor Party of America Henry Sale 1,014 0.33 309,615 84 Harrison received 64.38% of the Polish-American vote, while Stewart received 31.51%.Kantowicz, Edward. “The Emergence of the Polish-Democratic Vote in Chicago.” Polish American Studies, vol. 29, no. 1/2, 1972, pp. 67–80. JSTOR, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/20147849. References collapsed Category:Mayoral elections in Chicago Chicago Chicago Category:1900s in Chicago Category:April 1903 in the United States