Alton B. Parker
Encyclopedia
Alton Brooks Parker was an American
lawyer
, judge
and the Democratic nominee for U.S. president
in the 1904 elections.
. He graduated LL.B. from Albany Law School
and practiced law in Kingston, New York
. He was a justice of the New York Supreme Court
from 1885 to 1897, and Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals
from 1898 to 1904. Parker was a protege of conservative Democratic politician David B. Hill
. He married Mary L. Schoonmaker on October 16, 1872.
Parker resigned from the bench after receiving the 1904 Democratic Party
nomination for the U.S. presidency. He chose former U.S. Senator from West Virginia, Henry G. Davis
to be his running mate for the office of Vice President of the United States. Parker was supported by conservative Bourbon Democrats, like former President Grover Cleveland
, who had been alienated from the party in 1896 and 1900 due to the radicalism of the party's nominee William Jennings Bryan
on economic issues. It was hoped that Parker could be acceptable to both factions since he was "sound" on economic issues, but had supported Bryan in 1896 as a good party man. These hopes were frustrated, however, as Parker had little appeal to Bryanites and carried only the Solid South
. Division within his party over currency
issues and the popularity of incumbent Theodore Roosevelt
led to Parker's landslide defeat, the electoral vote being 336 for Roosevelt to 140 for Parker, the popular vote 7,623,486 for Roosevelt to 5,077,971 for Parker. Afterwards he resumed his practice of law.
Parker later served as a temporary chairman and keynote speaker at the 1912 Democratic National Convention
, which nominated Woodrow Wilson
for President. In 1913, he was counsel for the managers of the trial leading to the impeachment of Governor William Sulzer
of New York.
He died from a heart attack while riding in his car through Central Park
in New York City
. He was buried in Wiltwyck Cemetery, Kingston, NY.
's 1943 book They Also Ran
about defeated presidential candidates, the author stated that Parker was the only defeated presidential candidate in history never to have a biography written about him. Stone theorized that Parker would have been an effective president and the 1904 election was one of a few in American history in which voters had two first-rate candidates to choose from. Stone professed that Americans liked Roosevelt more because of his colorful style.
Parker's birthplace, Cortland, New York
, has a public elementary school named for him.
The New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation has a portrait of Judge Parker by the Swiss-born American artist Adolfo Muller-Ury
(1862–1947) painted in 1904 and donated by Parker's wife in 1926 hanging at the Senate House State Historic Site at Kingston, New York. This was a reduced version of a three-quarter length portrait painted in Esopus at Parker's House and sent, as soon as it was completed, to the Hoffman House at Broadway and 25 Street in Manhattan, which was at that time the informal headquarters for the Democratic party (this is today unlocated).
1904 Democratic National Convention
:
United States presidential election, 1904
:
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
lawyer
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
, judge
Judge
A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as part of a panel of judges. The powers, functions, method of appointment, discipline, and training of judges vary widely across different jurisdictions. The judge is supposed to conduct the trial impartially and in an open...
and the Democratic nominee for U.S. president
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
in the 1904 elections.
Life
Parker was born in Cortland, New YorkCortland, New York
Cortland is a city in Cortland County, New York, USA. As of the 2000 census, the city had a population of 18,740. It is the county seat of Cortland County.The City of Cortland, near the west border of the county, is surrounded by the Town of Cortlandville....
. He graduated LL.B. from Albany Law School
Albany Law School
Albany Law School is an ABA accredited law school based in Albany, New York. It was founded in 1851 by Amos Dean , Amasa Parker, Ira Harris and others....
and practiced law in Kingston, New York
Kingston, New York
Kingston is a city in and the county seat of Ulster County, New York, USA. It is north of New York City and south of Albany. It became New York's first capital in 1777, and was burned by the British Oct. 16, 1777, after the Battles of Saratoga...
. He was a justice of the New York Supreme Court
New York Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the State of New York is the trial-level court of general jurisdiction in thestate court system of New York, United States. There is a supreme court in each of New York State's 62 counties, although some smaller counties share judges with neighboring counties...
from 1885 to 1897, and Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals
New York Court of Appeals
The New York Court of Appeals is the highest court in the U.S. state of New York. The Court of Appeals consists of seven judges: the Chief Judge and six associate judges who are appointed by the Governor to 14-year terms...
from 1898 to 1904. Parker was a protege of conservative Democratic politician David B. Hill
David B. Hill
David Bennett Hill was an American politician from New York who was the 29th Governor of New York from 1885 to 1891.-Life:...
. He married Mary L. Schoonmaker on October 16, 1872.
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
nomination for the U.S. presidency. He chose former U.S. Senator from West Virginia, Henry G. Davis
Henry G. Davis
Henry Gassaway Davis was a self-made millionaire and U.S. Senator from West Virginia. He was the Democratic Party's nominee for Vice President of the United States in 1904. His brother was U.S...
to be his running mate for the office of Vice President of the United States. Parker was supported by conservative Bourbon Democrats, like former President Grover Cleveland
Grover Cleveland
Stephen Grover Cleveland was the 22nd and 24th president of the United States. Cleveland is the only president to serve two non-consecutive terms and therefore is the only individual to be counted twice in the numbering of the presidents...
, who had been alienated from the party in 1896 and 1900 due to the radicalism of the party's nominee William Jennings Bryan
William Jennings Bryan
William Jennings Bryan was an American politician in the late-19th and early-20th centuries. He was a dominant force in the liberal wing of the Democratic Party, standing three times as its candidate for President of the United States...
on economic issues. It was hoped that Parker could be acceptable to both factions since he was "sound" on economic issues, but had supported Bryan in 1896 as a good party man. These hopes were frustrated, however, as Parker had little appeal to Bryanites and carried only the Solid South
Solid South
Solid South is the electoral support of the Southern United States for the Democratic Party candidates for nearly a century from 1877, the end of Reconstruction, to 1964, during the middle of the Civil Rights era....
. Division within his party over currency
Currency
In economics, currency refers to a generally accepted medium of exchange. These are usually the coins and banknotes of a particular government, which comprise the physical aspects of a nation's money supply...
issues and the popularity of incumbent Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...
led to Parker's landslide defeat, the electoral vote being 336 for Roosevelt to 140 for Parker, the popular vote 7,623,486 for Roosevelt to 5,077,971 for Parker. Afterwards he resumed his practice of law.
Parker later served as a temporary chairman and keynote speaker at the 1912 Democratic National Convention
1912 Democratic National Convention
The 1912 Democratic National Convention was held at the Fifth Regiment Armory in Baltimore from June 25 to July 2, 1912. It proved to be one of the more memorable United States presidential conventions of the twentieth century. The main candidates were House Speaker Champ Clark of Missouri and...
, which nominated Woodrow Wilson
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States, from 1913 to 1921. A leader of the Progressive Movement, he served as President of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910, and then as the Governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913...
for President. In 1913, he was counsel for the managers of the trial leading to the impeachment of Governor William Sulzer
William Sulzer
William Sulzer was an American lawyer and politician, nicknamed Plain Bill Sulzer. He was the 39th Governor of New York and a long-serving congressman from the same state. He was the first and so far only New York Governor to be impeached...
of New York.
He died from a heart attack while riding in his car through Central Park
Central Park
Central Park is a public park in the center of Manhattan in New York City, United States. The park initially opened in 1857, on of city-owned land. In 1858, Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux won a design competition to improve and expand the park with a plan they entitled the Greensward Plan...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. He was buried in Wiltwyck Cemetery, Kingston, NY.
Legacy
In Irving StoneIrving Stone
Irving Stone was an American writer known for his biographical novels of famous historical personalities, including Lust for Life, a biographical novel about the life of Vincent van Gogh, and The Agony and the Ecstasy, a biographical novel about Michelangelo.-Biography:In...
's 1943 book They Also Ran
They Also Ran
They Also Ran is the title of a 1943 book by Irving Stone. Stone, a historian, evaluates several unsuccessful candidates for President of the United States in light of their places in history , and attempts to assess whether or not the American people made the "right" choice in rejecting them for...
about defeated presidential candidates, the author stated that Parker was the only defeated presidential candidate in history never to have a biography written about him. Stone theorized that Parker would have been an effective president and the 1904 election was one of a few in American history in which voters had two first-rate candidates to choose from. Stone professed that Americans liked Roosevelt more because of his colorful style.
Parker's birthplace, Cortland, New York
Cortland, New York
Cortland is a city in Cortland County, New York, USA. As of the 2000 census, the city had a population of 18,740. It is the county seat of Cortland County.The City of Cortland, near the west border of the county, is surrounded by the Town of Cortlandville....
, has a public elementary school named for him.
The New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation has a portrait of Judge Parker by the Swiss-born American artist Adolfo Muller-Ury
Adolfo Müller-Ury
Adolfo Muller-Ury was a Swiss-born American portrait painter and impressionistic painter of roses and still life.-Heritage and early life in Switzerland:...
(1862–1947) painted in 1904 and donated by Parker's wife in 1926 hanging at the Senate House State Historic Site at Kingston, New York. This was a reduced version of a three-quarter length portrait painted in Esopus at Parker's House and sent, as soon as it was completed, to the Hoffman House at Broadway and 25 Street in Manhattan, which was at that time the informal headquarters for the Democratic party (this is today unlocated).
New York state election, 1897
Chief Judge of the New York Court of AppealsChief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals
Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals refers to the position of chief judge on the New York Court of Appeals.The chief judge supervises the seven-judge Court of Appeals...
- Alton B. Parker (D) - 554,680 (50.94%)
- William J. Wallace (R) - 493,791 (45.34%)
- Theodore F. Cuno (Socialist Labor) - 20,854 (1.92%)
- Francis E. Baldwin (Prohibition) - 19,653 (1.81%)
1904 Democratic National Convention
1904 Democratic National Convention
The 1904 Democratic National Convention was a United States presidential nominating convention that took place during the 1904 World's Fair and the 1904 Summer Olympics in the Coliseum of the St. Louis Exposition and Music Hall in St. Louis, Missouri. The convention nominated Alton B. Parker of...
:
- Alton B. Parker - 679 (66.50%)
- William Randolph HearstWilliam Randolph HearstWilliam Randolph Hearst was an American business magnate and leading newspaper publisher. Hearst entered the publishing business in 1887, after taking control of The San Francisco Examiner from his father...
- 200 (19.59%) - Francis M. Cookrell - 42 (4.11%)
- Richard Onley - 38 (3.72%)
- Edward C. Wall - 27 (2.64%)
- George GrayGeorge GrayGeorge Gray may refer to:* George Gray, founder of the Hawkhurst Gang* George Gray , member of the Australian House of Representatives...
- 12 (1.18%) - John Sharp WilliamsJohn Sharp WilliamsJohn Sharp Williams was a prominent American politician in the Democratic Party from the 1890s through the 1920s, and served as the Minority Leader of the United States House of Representatives from 1903 to 1908....
- 8 (0.78%) - Robert E. PattisonRobert E. PattisonRobert Emory Pattison was the 19th Governor of Pennsylvania from 1883 to 1887 and 1891 to 1895. Born at Quantico in Somerset County, Maryland, Pattison's family moved to Philadelphia when he was five. He practiced law from 1872 to 1877 and was elected Controller of the city of Philadelphia in 1880...
- 4 (0.39%) - George B. McClellan, Jr.George B. McClellan, Jr.George Brinton McClellan, Jr., was an American politician, statesman, and educator. The son of American Civil War general and presidential candidate George B...
- 3 (0.29%) - Nelson Appleton Miles - 3 (0.29%)
- Arthur Pue GormanArthur Pue GormanArthur Pue Gorman was a United States Senator from Maryland, serving from 1881 to 1899 and from 1903 to 1906. He also served in the Maryland House of Delegates from 1869 to 1875...
- 2 (0.20%) - Charles Arnette Towne - 2 (0.20%)
- Bird Sim ColerBird Sim ColerBird Sim Coler was an American politician. He established himself as a stockbroker in New York City, became prominent in municipal and State politics, and served as first Comptroller of Greater New York in 1897-1901. In 1902, he was the Democratic nominee for Governor of New York, but lost to...
- 1 (0.10%)
United States presidential election, 1904
United States presidential election, 1904
The United States presidential election of 1904 held on November 8, 1904, resulted in the election to a full term for President Theodore Roosevelt. Roosevelt had succeeded to the presidency upon the assassination of William McKinley. The Republican Party unanimously nominated him for president at...
:
- Theodore RooseveltTheodore RooseveltTheodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...
/Charles W. FairbanksCharles W. FairbanksCharles Warren Fairbanks was a Senator from Indiana and the 26th Vice President of the United States ....
(R) - 7,630,457 (56.4%) and 336 electoral votes (29 states carried) - Alton B. Parker/Henry G. DavisHenry G. DavisHenry Gassaway Davis was a self-made millionaire and U.S. Senator from West Virginia. He was the Democratic Party's nominee for Vice President of the United States in 1904. His brother was U.S...
(D) - 5,083,880 (37.6%) and 140 electoral votes (17 states carried) - Eugene V. DebsEugene V. DebsEugene Victor Debs was an American union leader, one of the founding members of the International Labor Union and the Industrial Workers of the World , and several times the candidate of the Socialist Party of America for President of the United States...
/Benjamin HanfordBenjamin HanfordBenjamin Hanford was an American politician during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He made two unsuccessful runs for the post of Vice President of the United States, as Eugene Debs' running mate as a candidate of the Social Democratic Party, in 1904 and 1908.-Early life:Benjamin Hanford...
(Socialist) - 402,810 (3.0%) - Silas C. SwallowSilas C. SwallowSilas Comfort Swallow was a United States Methodist preacher and prohibitionist politician.-Namesake:He was presumably named after Methodist preacher Silas Comfort , a courageous anti-slavery member of the Genesee, Oneida and Missouri Conferences. While serving in St...
/George W. Carroll (Prohibition) - 259,102 (1.9%) - Thomas E. WatsonThomas E. WatsonThomas Edward "Tom" Watson was an American politician, newspaper editor, and writer from Georgia. In the 1890s Watson championed poor farmers as a leader of the Populist Party, articulating an agrarian political viewpoint while attacking business, bankers, railroads, Democratic President Grover...
/Thomas TibblesThomas TibblesThomas Henry Tibbles was a journalist and author from Omaha, Nebraska who became an activist for Native American rights in the United States during the late nineteenth century.- Life :Born in Ohio, he moved to Illinois with his parents...
(Populist) - 114,070 (0.8%)