1867 Tennessee gubernatorial election
The 1867 Tennessee gubernatorial election was held on August 1, 1867, to elect the governor of Tennessee. Incumbent Republican Governor Parson Brownlow defeated Conservative nominee Emerson Etheridge.
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Background
Tennessee was brought back into the United States in 1866, without having gone through Congressional Reconstruction. Governor Parson Brownlow, a Radical Republican, oversaw the passage of legislation that required loyalty oaths in order to vote. Legislation giving suffrage to black people was passed on February 26, 1867.[1][2]
Campaign
The Tennessee Republican Party held its convention on February 22, 1867, and gave its gubernatorial nomination to Brownlow by acclamation.[3]
Twenty-four members of the state legislature who opposed Brownlow called the Conservative Union State Convention.[3] The Conservative Party voted unanimously to give its gubernatorial nomination to former Whig congressman Emerson Etheridge, who was nominated by Edmund Cooper, on April 16, 1867. The convention was attended by John Baxter, Elias Polk, William B. Campbell, Dorsey B. Thomas, and others.[4][5] Etheridge accepted the nomination on April 19.[6][7]
Brownlow stated that Tennessee was "the only stronghold Republicanism has in the South". The Union League campaigned in the state for Republicans and courted the black vote. The Freedmen's Bureau offered financial assistance to black people whose employment was targeted by Conservatives for registering to vote and supporting Republicans. Brownlow increased the size of the militia to protect black people from intimidation.[8] Brownlow was unable to campaign as he lost his voice and instead had other Republicans, including Secretary of State Andrew J. Fletcher, campaign for him.[9]
Results
Brownlow won the election. The Republicans also won every seat in the concurrent U.S. House of Representatives election and almost every seat in the state legislature.[10] Brownlow left office in 1869, after being appointed to the United States Senate, and was replaced by Dewitt Clinton Senter.[11][12]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Parson Brownlow (incumbent) | 74,484 | 76.85% | ||
| Conservative | Emerson Etheridge | 22,440 | 23.15% | ||
| Total votes | 96,924 | 100.00% | |||
Endorsements
- Federal officials
- Thomas Amos Rogers Nelson, member of the United States House of Representatives from Tennessee's 1st congressional district (1859-1861)[7]
- State legislators
- John Baxter, Speaker of the North Carolina House of Representatives (1852-1854)[7]
- John M. Fleming, member of the Tennessee House of Representatives (1861-1862; 1869-1871)[7]
- John Netherland, member of the Tennessee Senate (1833-1835) and Tennessee House of Representatives (1835-1836; 1851-1853)[7]
References
- Abbott 1986, p. 105.
- Parker 1974, p. 34-35.
- Herbert 1890, pp. 193.
- "Conservative Convention At Nashville". Public Ledger. April 17, 1867. p. 2. Archived from the original on September 2, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- "The Convention". The Tennessean. April 17, 1867. p. 1. Archived from the original on September 2, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- "The Convention". Nashville Union and American. April 25, 1867. p. 2. Archived from the original on September 2, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- Temple 1912, p. 334.
- Abbott 1986, p. 105-106.
- Temple 1912, p. 125.
- Abbott 1986, p. 106.
- Parker 1974, p. 35-36.
- Moore & Preimesberger 1994, pp. 707.
Works cited
- Abbott, Richard (1986). The Republican Party and the South, 1855-1877: The First Southern Strategy. University of North Carolina Press. ISBN 0807816809.
- Herbert, Hilary (1890). Why The Solid South? or, Reconstruction And Its Results. R.H. Woodward & Company.
- Moore, John; Preimesberger, Jon, eds. (1994). Congressional Quarterly's Guide to U.S. Elections (3 ed.). Congressional Quarterly. ISBN 0871879964.
- Parker, James (1974). "Tennessee Gubernatorial Elections, I. 1869--The Victory of the Conservatives". Tennessee Historical Quarterly. Tennessee Historical Society. 33 (1): 34–48. doi:10.2307/42623426. JSTOR 42623426.
- Temple, Oliver (1912). Notable Men of Tennessee From 1833 to 1875: Their Times and Their Contemporaries. Cosmopolitan Press.