1837 Massachusetts gubernatorial election

none January 2025 September 2023 1837 Massachusetts gubernatorial election Massachusetts presidential No 1836 Massachusetts gubernatorial election 1836 1838 Massachusetts gubernatorial election 1838 1837 11 13 x150px File:Unknown (American) - Edward Everett - 29.193 - Detroit Institute of Arts.jpg Edward Everett Whig Party (United States) 50,565 60.31% File:Marcus Morton (MHS).jpg Marcus Morton Democratic Party (United States) 32,987 39.35% 1837 Massachusetts gubernatorial election results map by county.svg 300px County resultsEverett: #FED463 50–60% #FE9929 60–70% #EC7014 70–80% Governor Edward Everett Whig Party (United States) Edward Everett Whig Party (United States) The 1837 Massachusetts gubernatorial election was held on November 13. Whig incumbent Edward Everett was re-elected to a third term in office, defeating perennial Democratic nominee Marcus Morton. The campaign was dominated by reaction to the ongoing financial crisis and the proposed system of a system of independent treasuries to manage the American money supply, which was highly unpopular in Massachusetts. The national issue of slavery also played a major political role in the campaign for the first time in Massachusetts history. In response to the 1836 declaration of an independent Texas and proposals for American annexation, Unitarian minister William Ellery Channing and Democratic campaigners criticized Everett, a pro-business Whig, for his support of the plantation economy. General election Candidates Edward Everett, incumbent governor since 1836 (Whig) Marcus Morton, associate justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, former acting governor and nominee since 1828 (Democratic) Campaign The campaign was dominated by the Panic of 1837, which was blamed on Martin Van Buren. Van Buren's call for a system of independent treasuries to manage the American money supply was unpopular in the state and rapidly erased political gains made by the Democratic Party in Massachusetts during the presidency of Andrew Jackson.Darling 1925 210, 214 Francis Baylies and Richard Fletcher also took active part in the Whig campaign, attacking Jackson and Van Buren for causing the panic through their political struggle against national banking.Darling 1925 212 Morton declined to take any active role in the campaign. Nonetheless, the Boston Atlas, the primary Whig newspaper and campaign vehicle, assailed him as a "political" judge and called for his impeachment and removal from the bench.Darling 1925 210 Democrats countered the Whig campaign by linking Boston banking interests and Everett to Freemasonry, which had been a major political issue during the Jackson presidency.Darling 1925 212 On November 11, Whigs held a rally at Faneuil Hall with national leaders including Daniel Webster, John Bell, William J. Graves, Joseph R. Underwood and Ogden Hoffman.Darling 1925 212 For the first time in Massachusetts history, the state's connection to the plantation economy and slavery were a major issue. Late in the campaign, William Ellery Channing joined the anti-slavery cause with an epistle against Texan independence, arguing that it was a theft of Mexican territory, an extension of the slave system, and risked angering Great Britain by threatening its position in the Caribbean. Channing appealed to Henry Clay and Everett to abandon the Whigs' pro-business orientation and toleration of the plantation system. Morton, by contrast, was among the most anti-slavery members of the Democratic Party.Darling 1925 245–46 Benjamin F. Hallett of the Advocate soon thereafter published a review contrasting Everett's 1826 declaration in favor of the slave system and to Morton's 1827 declaration in opposition to slavery.Darling 1925 245–46Darling 1925 213 Results 1837 Massachusetts gubernatorial electionMA Governor, 1837 https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=233011 OurCampaigns 17 May 2021 Whig Party (United States) Edward Everett (incumbent) 50,565 60.31% 6.53 Democratic Party (United States) Marcus Morton 32,987 39.35% 6.57 286 0.34% 0.04 83,838 100.00% See also 1837 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/ Governor 1837 Massachusetts Category:November 1837