The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1900-06-04
AMERICAN POLITICAL PARTIES
Ix.-MINoR PARTIES.


Besides the two leading political par
great body of American voters
little groups or coteries of cit
liens DESTROYS Of inaugurating
some political or industrial or
social reform, or factions especially op-
posed to certain measures or tendencies
of the great parties have sometimes as
sumed the name and form Of political
! parties. Occasionally these have be-
come powerful enough permanently 20
| influence for good or i'll, the course of
| political history. More frequently they
have proved Of little lasting conse-
/ quence and have only streWn along the
current a series of grotesque or tenn
/ porarily significant names whose origin
and meaning have been soon forgotten.
! Some of the earlier of these names
crept into national political history
| from the fractional strifes which very
soon became characteristic Of New
/ York politics. The superior wealth
/ and power of three great families in
! that state introduced there as in no
/ other state a tendency among parties
and factions to divide along family and
| personal lines.
"Clintonias" and "Buclztails."
After the close of the war of 1872
/ the Republicans of New York became
divided in respect to the construction
of the Erie canal. This was the form
/ which the policy of internal improve
ments by the government took in New
/ York and to the promotion of that en-
terprise De Witt Clinton devoted a
large part Of his public life. His polit-
ieal followers were called Clinton
IL L.
named "Clintons ditch" Hence those
favOring the general theory Of public
improvements are sometimes referred
to as ClintOnians.
Those in the New York assembly
most strongly opposed to the Erie canal
| were the Tammany members of the
Republican party from New York City.
One of the emblems of the Tammany
society was a bucks tail worn in the
hat, and from that came the name
"bucktails,' by which they were com
monty known. During the canal con-
troversy the term came to be applied
in a general way to all who opposed
the canal system.
The factions in New York parties al
ways tended to play an important part
in what are known as "third-party'
movements in national politics. This
was true in respect to the wide ques-
ton of internal improvements, but
these local names have, strictly speak
ing, no place in national party his
tory.
"Hunkers," Barn Burners" and
''Loco Focos."
These are all factionaI names origina-
ting in New York. The "hunkers" are
sometimes identified with ''bucktahs'
. meaning those opposed to the cana,
Love l.sx4 \ tn ri
the title IS retrospective rather than
exact, for the name did not come into
use until about 1874. It was applied
/ to the conservative Democrats repres-
enting. says Professor Johnston, 1.-The
iutertia of the party" and cp-
. posed to the "barnburners" who
were the radicals. The name is be-
lieved to have come from the Dutch
word "houk," station or home, and sc
stands for the stay-at-home Democrats
/ who opposed changes. Professor
Won Hoist, however, derives it from
banker" as indicating the greedinesS
of the faction for the spells of office
The barn burners were the extrem-
lists who would burn down the building
to get rid of the rats. They followed
Van Buren, as their leader, and with
him most of them went into the Free
soil party in 184S.
=
, &c party was more and more widely
split during the years from 1874 to 1S4S
The division was apparently healed IN
1852, but reaDDeared almost immedi-
5 ately, the hunkers calling themselve:
: the "hards'' or hard Shells while theil
opponents were known as "softs." Th'
line of separation was drawn chiefly
with reference to the slavery question
This factional disintegration of the
Democratic party gave opportunity Il
ithe Wings, who elected their state
ticket IN 1854, and the Democrats o.
! New York did not regain a majority
: until 1852.
AS the Democratic party in New
York was split by the canal question
and by the slavery question, SO alst
D was it split by the bank cOntrovers!
= during 1899 The regular" Demo
Gratis while opposing the United State
bank, favored the cbartering of new
[ state banks. The loco fOcos" called
themselves the 'equal-rights party
= and opposed the giving of special priv
) ileges to any incorporated bodies. Th'
name loco fOco'' seemed to strik
4 the popular fancy, and ere long becam
national in its use as designating tn
$ radical wing of the Democratic part,
and was often used in a general wa,
for the whole party.
The origin of the nickname is asSXnet
to the year 1884, when. at a storm.
= Democratic meeting in Tammany hal
= INeW York City, the regular Tamman.
Democrats turned out the gas AM
withdrew. The other faction were sup
' piled with candles, which they imme
e diately lighted with locofOco Cor fric
A tom matches and went on with thei
bU siness.
The two branches of the party in Ne
! York were brought together in 1887 b
r the skillful management of Presiden
Van Buren,, but for some ten year
longer the national Whig party per
sistently applied the name loco foco
= to their opponents. seeking thus TO i'm
Y ply that the Democrats were oppose
, to the moneyed interests of the coun
try.
The Anti-Masons.
In 1926 a New York man named vii
liam Morgan threatened TO publish
book which he had written eXpOsin
g F the secrets of the order of Freemasoni
Q Shortly after he disappeared and wa
never again heard of. There was wide
spread excitement. The leading Free
masOns Of the region wer
S freely charged with having con
= spired for Morgan's abduction an
murder Nothing was ever proved
but the strong feeling arouse
; took political aspect lafg
e anti Masonic vote was cast a
n local elections against candidates VIII
were MasOns. BY 1880 the anti Mason
1 had absorbed or displaced the nations
n Republican party in New York. Anon
r the prominent anti MasOns were THU
low Weed, William II. Seward and Mi
lard Fillmore. The new party sprea
and gathered considerable force in SON
a of the other states, and in 1881 it too
n the field as a national organization II
!, national convention of that year wa