South Carolina gubernatorial election, 1880
Encyclopedia
Governor of South Carolina
The Governor of the State of South Carolina is the head of state for the State of South Carolina. Under the South Carolina Constitution, the Governor is also the head of government, serving as the chief executive of the South Carolina executive branch. The Governor is the ex officio...
of the state of South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
. Johnson Hagood
Johnson Hagood (governor)
Johnson Hagood was a brigadier general in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War and the 80th Governor of South Carolina from 1880 to 1882.-Early years:...
was nominated by the Democrats
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...
and ran against L.W.R. Blair, a Greenback-Labor
United States Greenback Party
The Greenback Party was an American political party with an anti-monopoly ideology that was active between 1874 and 1884. Its name referred to paper money, or "greenbacks," that had been issued during the American Civil War and afterward...
candidate. Hagood easily won the general election and became the 80th governor of South Carolina.
Democratic Convention
In 1880, the state Democratic PartySouth Carolina Democratic Party
The South Carolina Democratic Party is the South Carolina affiliate of the United States Democratic Party. The Democratic party thrived during the Second Party System between 1832 and the mid-1850s and was one of the causes of the collapse of the Whig Party....
was split between the supporters of Wade Hampton
Wade Hampton III
Wade Hampton III was a Confederate cavalry leader during the American Civil War and afterward a politician from South Carolina, serving as its 77th Governor and as a U.S...
and Martin Witherspoon Gary
Martin Witherspoon Gary
Martin Witherspoon Gary was a brigadier general in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War and a Democratic politician in postbellum South Carolina.-Early life and career:...
, although Hampton clearly commanded the respect and admiration of the party faithful. Therefore, to thwart a bid by Gary for the governorship, the state executive committee on March 10 announced that the state nominating convention would be held on June 1, a couple months before the anticipated date in August. Gary was viewed negatively during the spring because of his tirades against Hampton and the state Democrats hoped that an early convention would eliminate any possibility of Gary recovering his support.
At the convention in Columbia
Columbia, South Carolina
Columbia is the state capital and largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The population was 129,272 according to the 2010 census. Columbia is the county seat of Richland County, but a portion of the city extends into neighboring Lexington County. The city is the center of a metropolitan...
, a motion to proceed with nominations was immediately brought to a vote and it passed by a margin of 84 to 63. Unable to stop the nominating process and with little support, Gary refused to let his name be nominated for governor so as to avoid the embarrassment of an overwhelming defeat. Johnson Hagood
Johnson Hagood (governor)
Johnson Hagood was a brigadier general in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War and the 80th Governor of South Carolina from 1880 to 1882.-Early years:...
, a conservative Democrat, was nominated for governor by acclamation
Acclamation
An acclamation, in its most common sense, is a form of election that does not use a ballot. "Acclamation" or "acclamatio" can also signify a kind of ritual greeting and expression of approval in certain social contexts in ancient Rome.-Voting:...
.
Republican Convention
The state RepublicansSouth Carolina Republican Party
The South Carolina Republican Party and the South Carolina Democratic Party are the two major political parties within the U.S. state of South Carolina...
held their convention in early September and the sentiment of the delegates heading into the convention was to mount an all-out attempt on the state offices. Led by Thomas E. Miller
Thomas E. Miller
Thomas Ezekiel Miller was an American politician, educator, and lawyer. An African-American from South Carolina, he was a prominent leader in the struggle for civil rights in the American South during and after Reconstruction. He was a school commissioner, state legislator, U.S...
and other notable black leaders, they reasoned that although they might not win, it would maintain the cohesion and organization of the state party. However, as in the previous gubernatorial election
South Carolina gubernatorial election, 1878
The 1878 South Carolina gubernatorial election was held on November 5, 1878 to select the governor of the state of South Carolina. Wade Hampton III was renominated by the Democrats and ran against no organized opposition in the general election to win reelection for a second two-year...
, the party leaders stressed the futility of launching a statewide campaign. Nevertheless, a special committee was created to discuss the issue.
The committee not only reported that nominations for statewide offices should be made but also formulated a state ticket. On the ticket for governor was John Winsmith, an elderly white native South Carolinian from Spartanburg
Spartanburg, South Carolina
thgSpartanburg is the largest city in and the county seat of Spartanburg County, South Carolina, United States. It is the second-largest city of the three primary cities in the Upstate region of South Carolina, and is located northwest of Columbia, west of Charlotte, and about northeast of...
, and Thomas E. Miller for Lieutenant Governor. Other men of vague character made up the rest of the ticket and objections were made as to the lack of quality men on the ticket. The chairman of the committee responded that it was the best that they could do and more respectable Republicans refused to be nominated.
Robert B. Elliott
Robert B. Elliott
Robert Brown Elliott was an African-American member of the United States House of Representatives from South Carolina, serving from 1871-1874.-Early life and education:...
, chairman of the state Republican party, then took the floor and reiterated the same arguments against nominations that he made in 1878. He stated that nominating a statewide ticket would only serve to incite the Democrats to wage an aggressive campaign which would ruin the chances of the Republican presidential candidate in the state. Furthermore, if the Republicans simply waited in the shadows, the Democrats would eventually be wreaked by internal dissension because the primary reason for Democratic unity was Republican opposition.
Elliott compared the situation of the Democrats to that of the Republicans during Reconstruction, how the splintering campaigns by the Independent Republicans
Independent Republican Party of South Carolina
The Independent Republican Party of South Carolina was a political party of South Carolina during Reconstruction. It was founded in 1872 to oppose the election of Franklin J. Moses Jr. for Governor of South Carolina after he had been nominated by the Republicans on August 21, 1872...
in 1872
South Carolina gubernatorial election, 1872
The 1872 South Carolina gubernatorial election was held on October 16, 1872 to select the governor of the state of South Carolina. Franklin J. Moses, Jr...
and 1874
South Carolina gubernatorial election, 1874
The 1874 South Carolina gubernatorial election was held on November 3, 1874 to select the governor and lieutenant governor of the state of South Carolina...
caused the eventual downfall of the regular Republicans in 1876
South Carolina gubernatorial election, 1876
The 1876 South Carolina gubernatorial election was held on November 7, 1876 to select the governor of the state of South Carolina. The election campaign was a referendum on the Radical Republican-led state government and their Reconstruction policies...
. He pointed out the rise of agrarian dissatisfaction in the state by the organization of a Greenback party as the beginning of the breakup of the Democratic party.
Proponents of the state ticket wavered in their support upon hearing Elliott, and the issue was left with the executive committee of the party. With Elliott as the leader of the party, the matter was buried and no state ticket was formed.
Greenback-Labor Convention
During September, the Greenback-Labor partyUnited States Greenback Party
The Greenback Party was an American political party with an anti-monopoly ideology that was active between 1874 and 1884. Its name referred to paper money, or "greenbacks," that had been issued during the American Civil War and afterward...
held their first convention in the state at Chester
Chester, South Carolina
Chester is a small city in Chester County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 6,476 at the 2000 census and a center urban cluster population of 11,140...
. There were only 45 delegates from 8 counties, but they still nominated a statewide ticket for the general election. Despite being newly formed, they fused
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...
with the Republicans
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
only in a few isolated places and were considerably ill-equipped to take on a united and formidable Democratic party.
General election
The general election was held on November 2, 1880 and Johnson Hagood was elected as governor of South CarolinaGovernor of South Carolina
The Governor of the State of South Carolina is the head of state for the State of South Carolina. Under the South Carolina Constitution, the Governor is also the head of government, serving as the chief executive of the South Carolina executive branch. The Governor is the ex officio...
with nominal opposition. Turnout
Voter turnout
Voter turnout is the percentage of eligible voters who cast a ballot in an election . After increasing for many decades, there has been a trend of decreasing voter turnout in most established democracies since the 1960s...
was slightly more than the previous gubernatorial election
South Carolina gubernatorial election, 1878
The 1878 South Carolina gubernatorial election was held on November 5, 1878 to select the governor of the state of South Carolina. Wade Hampton III was renominated by the Democrats and ran against no organized opposition in the general election to win reelection for a second two-year...
because there was a somewhat organized opposition candidate.
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| Greenback-Labor
United States Greenback Party
The Greenback Party was an American political party with an anti-monopoly ideology that was active between 1874 and 1884. Its name referred to paper money, or "greenbacks," that had been issued during the American Civil War and afterward...
| L.W.R. Blair
| align="right" | 4,277
| align="right" | 3.5
| align="right" | +3.5
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| colspan=5 |Democratic
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...
hold
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See also
- Governor of South CarolinaGovernor of South CarolinaThe Governor of the State of South Carolina is the head of state for the State of South Carolina. Under the South Carolina Constitution, the Governor is also the head of government, serving as the chief executive of the South Carolina executive branch. The Governor is the ex officio...
- List of Governors of South Carolina
- South Carolina gubernatorial elections