Law Preservation Party
Encyclopedia
The Law Preservation Party was a New York State regional political party of the 1930s, which supported the continuance of Prohibition in the United States
.
The party was established in 1930 and ran a candidate for governor, Robert P Carroll, who received 190,666 votes, 6.0% of the total and sufficient to get the party certified as an official party. In 1932 the party ran candidates for House election, 1932 congressional and state elections. At its 1932 convention in Syracuse
, the party cross-endorsed
nine Republicans from the western part of the state. Five congressional candidates did appear on the ballot as the sole nominee of the party. Of these, Ernest R Clark achieved a respectable 20,209 votes, running against incumbent Republican James Wolcott Wadsworth Jr.
(50,855) and Democrat David A. White (35,367) in the 39th congressional district
. Senatorial candidate D. Leigh Colvin
earned 74,610 votes from a total vote of over 3.5 million. Its candidate for governor, John F. Vichert, received 102,959 votes 2.2% of the 4.7 million votes cast. This kept the party certified and on the ballot.
Following the passage of the 21st Amendment
, party activity declined. By the elections of 1934
, when Senatorial nominee William Shaefe Chase earned only 16,769 votes. Four Republican congressional candidates were cross endorsed, including the successful candidacies of Hamilton Fish, Jr
. (also endorsed by the Socialist Party of America
), Frances D. Culkin and Robert L. Bacon
. Five congressional candidates again appeared solely on the Law Preservation line, with Neil D. Cranmer achieving by far the best result with 2,231 out of the more than 80,000 cast in the 37th congressional district
.The candidate for Governor, William Varney received only 20,449 votes, 0.5% of the total and the party was decertified.
The Law Preservation Party did not contest the 1936
or subsequent congressional elections.
The strength of the party was upstate New York. In 1930, when its candidate for governor received 6.0% of the statewide vote, its regional split was 0.6% in New York City, but 14.0% in upstate New York.
Prohibition in the United States
Prohibition in the United States was a national ban on the sale, manufacture, and transportation of alcohol, in place from 1920 to 1933. The ban was mandated by the Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution, and the Volstead Act set down the rules for enforcing the ban, as well as defining which...
.
The party was established in 1930 and ran a candidate for governor, Robert P Carroll, who received 190,666 votes, 6.0% of the total and sufficient to get the party certified as an official party. In 1932 the party ran candidates for House election, 1932 congressional and state elections. At its 1932 convention in Syracuse
Syracuse, New York
Syracuse is a city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States, the largest U.S. city with the name "Syracuse", and the fifth most populous city in the state. At the 2010 census, the city population was 145,170, and its metropolitan area had a population of 742,603...
, the party cross-endorsed
Electoral fusion
Electoral fusion is an arrangement where two or more political parties on a ballot list the same candidate, pooling the votes for that candidate...
nine Republicans from the western part of the state. Five congressional candidates did appear on the ballot as the sole nominee of the party. Of these, Ernest R Clark achieved a respectable 20,209 votes, running against incumbent Republican James Wolcott Wadsworth Jr.
James Wolcott Wadsworth Jr.
James Wolcott Wadsworth Jr. was a U.S. Republican politician from New York. He was the son of New York State Comptroller James Wolcott Wadsworth, Sr., and the grandson of Union General James Samuel Wadsworth, Sr.-Biography:...
(50,855) and Democrat David A. White (35,367) in the 39th congressional district
New York's 39th congressional district
The 39th Congressional District of New York was a congressional district for the United States House of Representatives in New York. It was created in 1913 as a result of the 1910 Census. It was eliminated in 1983 as a result of the 1980 Census. It was last represented by Stanley N...
. Senatorial candidate D. Leigh Colvin
D. Leigh Colvin
David Leigh Colvin was an American politician and member of the Prohibition Party and the Law Preservation Party....
earned 74,610 votes from a total vote of over 3.5 million. Its candidate for governor, John F. Vichert, received 102,959 votes 2.2% of the 4.7 million votes cast. This kept the party certified and on the ballot.
Following the passage of the 21st Amendment
Twenty-first Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Twenty-first Amendment to the United States Constitution repealed the Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which had mandated nationwide Prohibition...
, party activity declined. By the elections of 1934
United States House election, 1934
The United States House of Representatives elections of 1934 occurred in the middle of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's first term. The Democratic Party continued its progress, gaining another 9 net seats from the opposition Republican Party, who also lost seats to the Progressive Party...
, when Senatorial nominee William Shaefe Chase earned only 16,769 votes. Four Republican congressional candidates were cross endorsed, including the successful candidacies of Hamilton Fish, Jr
Hamilton Fish III
Hamilton Fish III was a soldier and politician from New York State...
. (also endorsed by the Socialist Party of America
Socialist Party of America
The Socialist Party of America was a multi-tendency democratic-socialist political party in the United States, formed in 1901 by a merger between the three-year-old Social Democratic Party of America and disaffected elements of the Socialist Labor Party which had split from the main organization...
), Frances D. Culkin and Robert L. Bacon
Robert L. Bacon
Robert Low Bacon was a banker, Lieutenant Colonel, and congressman from New York.-Biography:Born in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts, the son of Martha Waldron Cowdin and future Secretary of State Robert Bacon, he received a common school education as a child...
. Five congressional candidates again appeared solely on the Law Preservation line, with Neil D. Cranmer achieving by far the best result with 2,231 out of the more than 80,000 cast in the 37th congressional district
New York's 37th congressional district
The 37th Congressional District of New York was a congressional district for the United States House of Representatives in New York. It was created in 1903 as a result of the 1900 Census. It was eliminated as a result of the 1980 Census. It was last represented by Henry J...
.The candidate for Governor, William Varney received only 20,449 votes, 0.5% of the total and the party was decertified.
The Law Preservation Party did not contest the 1936
United States House election, 1936
The U.S. House election, 1936 was an election for the United States House of Representatives in 1936 which coincided with President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's landslide re-election. Roosevelt's Democratic Party gained twelve more net seats from the Republican Party, bringing them above a...
or subsequent congressional elections.
The strength of the party was upstate New York. In 1930, when its candidate for governor received 6.0% of the statewide vote, its regional split was 0.6% in New York City, but 14.0% in upstate New York.