The Honolulu republican. [volume] (Honolulu, T.H.) 1900-1902, 1901-06-02
Old Time Southern Politics



member Of jefferson Davis cabinet:
Hugh L White. John Bell. Emerson
Etheridge, Spencer Jzrnazin- Mere
dith P. Gentry and William G. Brown
low Of Tennessee White was one
OF the Wing candidates for President
in 1885, in the canvass in which that
other Southern aspiranf. Mangum.
figured, and in which Daniel Webster
and William Henry Harrison also re-
ceived electoral votes Bell vas the
presidential nominee OF the Constf-
tu' ionai Union party IN 1850. Geor-
gia also contributed Alexander H.
Stephens. who was afterward Vice
President Of the Southern Confedera-
c.. Louisiana likewise furnished Ia
ehary Taylor. the last President elect
ed by the Wing party.
From the beginning to the end OF
its days the Wing party had a pow
erfui ingredient in the Southern
states. In the canvass of 1886, In
which the Wing party was only two
years old. and in which il did not
unite on any single ticket. but nut
up four candidates. two from the
South lMangum and whitel and two
from the North webster and Harri-
son, It carried six Southern states
Delaware, Maryland, South Carolina.
Georgia. Kentucky and Tennessee
and II was only a few hundred votes
behind the Democracy in Mississippi
and Louisiana. In Missouri. where
the powerful influence of Benton and
Linn was exerted in behalf of Van
Buren,, the Democratic candidate. Van
Buren,. had lead Of but little over
three thousand. In Tennessee, Jack
sons state, where Jackson threw the
whole weight of his prestige in favor
of his protege. Van Buren,, and
against his enemy. White. one of tine
Wing standard-bearers, the Wings
won the state.
The Wing party had not yet been
amalgamated. It was composed Of
many elements. the nucleus being the
National Republican party. the sec
ton which broke away from Jeffer-
sons old Republican party during the
administration of John Quincy Adams.
just before the other and larger els-
ment adopted the Democratic name,
which had been used INTERCHANGEABLE
VIII iOE Ldul YEATS UC-
fore that time. but which Jefferson,
the party's founder. did not like. The
other ingredients of the Wing organ
ization were the anti Masonic party,
which had William Writ for its pres
idential candidate in 1882, and seq
ments of the Democratic party, which
Jackson repealed by his hardness, or
imagined hardness. in dealing with
South Carolina in the notification
controversy of 1882. and by his as
saults on the United States bank,
particularly in his removal OF the
deposits after Congress had declared
that the bank was entirely safe. All
these elements fused in 1884, but
had not vet become organically united
when the canvass of 1886 came on.
A different line of attack was made
on the Democrats by the Wings IN
different states. and this was one of
the reasons why the Wings did not
unite on any ticket in 1886. their in
tention being to weaken the Demo
Gratis sufficient to throw the election
into the House of Representatives
and then trust to coalitions and In
trigues to elect some candidate They
failed however, Tor Van Buren, car
ried the country by large majority,
despite the fact that the Wings car
ried almost half of the Southern
states. or six out of thirteen.
The Wings did still better in the
South in 1910. The Wings united on
Harrison. and the Democrats nomin-
ated President Van Buren, for a sec
ond term. In that year Harrison car
ried Delaware. Maryland. North Caro-
Kentucky and Tennessee, of the slave
states, as compared with Virginia.
South Carolina Alabama, Missouri and
Arkansas, which were saved to Van
Buren, and the Democrats. Benton
did better in Missouri in 1870 than
he did in 1886. for he made the Dem
ocratic majority somewhat larger
Jackson. though, failed worse in his
own state than he had done previous
". for the Wing. Harrison. carried
ii by 1900 majority. In 1910. it will
be seen. the Wings carried eight Of
the slave states. leaving only FIVE to
the Democrats.
But the Wings did not hold all
these Southern states, Clay. the
South's Wing favorite son. who was
that party's real leader. and who was
its candidate in 1874. did not do as
we'll in the South or the North as
Harrison had done four years pre-
viously The fight between Clay and
Tyler in 1S4l, Tyler going to the pres.
idency on the death OF Harrison, cut
on many votes from the Wing party,
but even IL that conflict had not oc-
CURED. the Wings probably would
have fallen far short of their vote
of 1910. for the wave OF emotion
which swept over the country in 1S40
and swept Harrison into on e could
not be repeated again. The reaction
was certain to come even If thare had
been nothing to break the harmony
between the Wing leader de facto,
President Tyler. and that paTty's
| leader de iure. Clay. Clay. however.
won Delaware. Maryland. North Ca
roiina. Kentucky and Tennessee.
The year lS4S though. saw q lager
| whig vote in the South than 1874 fur.
| nished. Taylor, the Wing candidate
OF 1s4S. not only carried more slave
states than did the Democratic no.
minee. Lewis Cass. bat he carried
more Of them than he did free states.
Taylor won Delaware. Maryland
North Carolina. Georgia. Florida
Louisiana. Kentucky and Tennessee
or eight in all. while Cass had six
| Virginia. South Carolina. Alabama
Texas. Arkansas and Missouri Each