1861 Wisconsin gubernatorial election
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 County results Harvey : 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90% Ferguson: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% | |||||||||||||||||
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| Elections in Wisconsin |
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The 1861 Wisconsin gubernatorial election was held on November 5, 1861. Republican Party candidate Louis P. Harvey won the election with 54% of the vote, defeating Democratic candidate Benjamin Ferguson.[1]
This was the first Wisconsin gubernatorial election to take place after the outbreak of the American Civil War, and Wisconsin Republicans reorganized under the Union Party banner during the war. Democrats accused them of using patriotism to paper over the state's economic troubles.[2]
Harvey won Calumet County and Kewaunee County; these counties would not vote for a Republican again until 1916 and 1896, respectively.
Background
[edit]Wisconsin was experiencing economic depression, the results of the Panic of 1857. The secession of the southern states was further damage to the economy, exacerbating problems in the state's banks, which had invested a great deal of capital in southern bonds. The bonds were essentially worthless after secession, and thirty eight banks had failed by June 1861, with another forty on the brink. Riots broke out over invalidated bank notes and soldiers had to be called in to restore order.[3]
The farm economy was also depressed, as prices for agricultural products fell due to the Confederate blockade on the Mississippi River. Railroad companies took advantage of their new monopoly on transportation and raised their freight prices. The combination of low incomes and higher expenses pushed many farms toward foreclosure.[3]
All of these problems weighed heavily on the government, and the Republicans, who held power in the state at the time, took much of the blame for bringing depression and war. It was in this environment that incumbent Republican Governor Alexander Randall chose not to seek re-election to a third term.[3]
Nominations
[edit]Republican (Union) party
[edit]Louis P. Harvey was the incumbent Wisconsin Secretary of State at the time of the 1861 election, having been elected in the 1859 election. He had previously served two terms in the Wisconsin State Senate, representing Rock County. Harvey was a former Whig who had participated in the founding and organization of the Republican Party of Wisconsin.
Democratic party
[edit]Benjamin Ferguson was a member of the Wisconsin State Senate at the time of the election, representing Dodge County. Ferguson was a farmer and had previously been elected Sheriff of Dodge County and served on the County Board of Supervisors.
Results
[edit]| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| National Union | Louis P. Harvey | 53,777 | 54.18% | +0.97% | |
| Democratic | Benjamin Ferguson | 45,456 | 45.80% | −0.80% | |
| Scattering | 25 | 0.03% | |||
| Majority | 8,321 | 8.38% | |||
| Total votes | 99,258 | 100.00% | |||
| National Union hold | Swing | +1.77% | |||
Results by county
[edit]| County[4][5] | Louis P. Harvey National Union |
Benjamin Ferguson Democratic |
Scattering Write-in |
Margin | Total votes cast | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | ||
| Adams | 678 | 79.95% | 170 | 20.05% | 0 | 0.00% | 508 | 59.91% | 848 |
| Ashland | 29 | 43.28% | 38 | 56.72% | 0 | 0.00% | -9 | -13.43% | 67 |
| Bad Ax | 966 | 77.09% | 287 | 22.91% | 0 | 0.00% | 679 | 54.19% | 1,253 |
| Brown | 601 | 45.12% | 731 | 54.88% | 0 | 0.00% | -130 | -9.76% | 1,332 |
| Buffalo | 567 | 70.61% | 236 | 29.39% | 0 | 0.00% | 331 | 41.22% | 803 |
| Calumet | 394 | 54.72% | 326 | 45.28% | 0 | 0.00% | 68 | 9.44% | 720 |
| Chippewa | 155 | 44.80% | 191 | 55.20% | 0 | 0.00% | -36 | -10.40% | 346 |
| Clark | 175 | 87.06% | 26 | 12.94% | 0 | 0.00% | 149 | 74.13% | 201 |
| Columbia | 1,925 | 72.18% | 741 | 27.78% | 1 | 0.04% | 1,184 | 44.39% | 2,667 |
| Crawford | 582 | 46.41% | 672 | 53.59% | 0 | 0.00% | -90 | -7.18% | 1,254 |
| Dane | 3,113 | 53.76% | 2,675 | 46.19% | 3 | 0.05% | 438 | 7.56% | 5,791 |
| Dodge | 2,645 | 40.11% | 3,950 | 59.89% | 0 | 0.00% | -1,305 | -19.79% | 6,595 |
| Door | 196 | 77.47% | 56 | 22.13% | 1 | 0.40% | 140 | 55.34% | 253 |
| Douglas | 51 | 55.43% | 41 | 44.57% | 0 | 0.00% | 10 | 10.87% | 92 |
| Dunn | 490 | 98.59% | 7 | 1.41% | 0 | 0.00% | 483 | 97.18% | 497 |
| Eau Claire | 404 | 67.56% | 194 | 32.44% | 0 | 0.00% | 210 | 35.12% | 598 |
| Fond du Lac | 2,440 | 51.53% | 2,295 | 48.47% | 0 | 0.00% | 145 | 3.06% | 4,735 |
| Grant | 2,009 | 65.76% | 1,046 | 34.24% | 0 | 0.00% | 963 | 31.52% | 3,055 |
| Green | 1,461 | 68.85% | 661 | 31.15% | 0 | 0.00% | 800 | 37.70% | 2,122 |
| Green Lake | 811 | 65.35% | 428 | 34.49% | 2 | 0.16% | 383 | 30.86% | 1,241 |
| Iowa | 988 | 55.01% | 808 | 44.99% | 0 | 0.00% | 180 | 10.02% | 1,796 |
| Jackson | 605 | 85.94% | 99 | 14.06% | 0 | 0.00% | 506 | 71.88% | 704 |
| Jefferson | 1,838 | 46.94% | 2,076 | 53.01% | 2 | 0.05% | -238 | -6.08% | 3,916 |
| Juneau | 669 | 51.03% | 640 | 48.82% | 2 | 0.15% | 29 | 2.21% | 1,311 |
| Kenosha | 1,054 | 68.26% | 490 | 31.74% | 0 | 0.00% | 564 | 36.53% | 1,544 |
| Kewaunee | 307 | 60.08% | 204 | 39.92% | 0 | 0.00% | 103 | 20.16% | 511 |
| La Crosse | 1,166 | 60.01% | 777 | 39.99% | 0 | 0.00% | 389 | 20.02% | 1,943 |
| La Pointe | 57 | 100.00% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | 57 | 100.00% | 57 |
| Lafayette | 1,464 | 44.16% | 1,851 | 55.84% | 0 | 0.00% | -387 | -11.67% | 3,315 |
| Manitowoc | 1,103 | 44.75% | 1,361 | 55.21% | 1 | 0.04% | -258 | -10.47% | 2,465 |
| Marathon | 100 | 19.88% | 403 | 80.12% | 0 | 0.00% | -303 | -60.24% | 503 |
| Marquette | 515 | 45.25% | 623 | 54.75% | 0 | 0.00% | -108 | -9.49% | 1,138 |
| Milwaukee | 1,840 | 25.52% | 5,370 | 74.48% | 0 | 0.00% | -3,530 | -48.96% | 7,210 |
| Monroe | 931 | 69.22% | 414 | 30.78% | 0 | 0.00% | 517 | 38.44% | 1,345 |
| Oconto | 542 | 93.93% | 33 | 5.72% | 2 | 0.35% | 509 | 88.21% | 577 |
| Outagamie | 449 | 33.66% | 884 | 66.27% | 1 | 0.07% | -435 | -32.61% | 1,334 |
| Ozaukee | 345 | 19.60% | 1,415 | 80.40% | 0 | 0.00% | -1,070 | -60.80% | 1,760 |
| Pepin | 467 | 77.32% | 137 | 22.68% | 0 | 0.00% | 330 | 54.64% | 604 |
| Pierce | 756 | 90.87% | 76 | 9.13% | 0 | 0.00% | 680 | 81.73% | 832 |
| Polk | 257 | 95.90% | 11 | 4.10% | 0 | 0.00% | 246 | 91.79% | 268 |
| Portage | 619 | 69.24% | 275 | 30.76% | 0 | 0.00% | 344 | 38.48% | 894 |
| Racine | 1,582 | 55.05% | 1,292 | 44.95% | 0 | 0.00% | 290 | 10.09% | 2,874 |
| Richland | 714 | 58.10% | 515 | 41.90% | 0 | 0.00% | 199 | 16.19% | 1,229 |
| Rock | 2,796 | 74.20% | 969 | 25.72% | 3 | 0.08% | 1,827 | 48.49% | 3,768 |
| Sauk | 1,627 | 73.79% | 578[a] | 26.21% | 0 | 0.00% | 1,049 | 47.57% | 2,205 |
| Shawano | 125 | 60.68% | 81 | 39.32% | 0 | 0.00% | 44 | 21.36% | 206 |
| Sheboygan | 1,258 | 50.71% | 1,223 | 49.29% | 0 | 0.00% | 35 | 1.41% | 2,481 |
| St. Croix | 635 | 66.15% | 325 | 33.85% | 0 | 0.00% | 310 | 32.29% | 960 |
| Trempealeau | 469 | 94.94% | 25 | 5.06% | 0 | 0.00% | 444 | 89.88% | 494 |
| Walworth | 2,133 | 65.27% | 1,135 | 34.73% | 0 | 0.00% | 998 | 30.54% | 3,268 |
| Washington | 383 | 15.13% | 2,146 | 84.79% | 2 | 0.08% | -1,763 | -69.66% | 2,531 |
| Waukesha | 1,950 | 46.84% | 2,212 | 53.13% | 1 | 0.02% | -262 | -6.29% | 4,163 |
| Waupaca | 1,071 | 69.32% | 471 | 30.49% | 3 | 0.19% | 600 | 38.83% | 1,545 |
| Waushara | 996 | 84.05% | 189 | 15.95% | 0 | 0.00% | 807 | 68.10% | 1,185 |
| Winnebago | 2,071 | 60.63% | 1,345 | 39.37% | 0 | 0.00% | 726 | 21.25% | 3,416 |
| Wood | 203 | 46.67% | 232 | 53.33% | 0 | 0.00% | -29 | -6.67% | 435 |
| Total | 53,777 | 54.18% | 45,456 | 45.80% | 25[b] | 0.03% | 8,321 | 8.38% | 99,258 |
Counties that flipped from Democratic to National Union
[edit]Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic
[edit]Notes
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Joint Committee on Legislative Organization, Wisconsin Legislature (2015). Wisconsin Blue Book 2015-2016. Madison, Wisconsin: Wisconsin Department of Administration. pp. 699–701. ISBN 978-0-9752820-7-6.
- ^ Klement, Frank L. (1997). "6. Banks and Bonds, Business and Politics". Wisconsin in the Civil War: The Home Front and the Battle Front, 1861-1865. Wisconsin Historical Society Press. ISBN 9780870206269. Retrieved June 10, 2019.
- ^ a b c Theobald, H. Rupert (ed.). "Wisconsin's military establishment: its organization and operation". The Wisconsin Blue Book, 1962 (Report). State of Wisconsin. pp. 92–96. Retrieved September 14, 2019.
- ^ a b Wisconsin Historical Society, Tabular Statement of the Votes polled for Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Seceretary of State, State Treasurer, Attorney General, State Superintendent, Bank Comptroller and State Prison Commissioner, at a General Election held in the several Counties in the State of Wisconsin on the First Tuesday being the Fifth day of November A.D. 1861
- ^ a b "Vote for Governor in 1861, By Counties". The Legislative Manual of the State of Wisconsin. Madison, Wisconsin: Smith & Cullaton, State Printers. 1862. p. 153.