The People's Choice
Reflections of the Political Process
In MHS Collections
SO FAR in the political process Minnesota has not contributed one of its own to the United States presidency —
but it has had no lack of capable and willing candidates. In some memorable election years, more than one
candidate from the state has openly aspired to that high
office. But perhaps more important, Minnesota has
produced noteworthy public figures in other offices and
also political movements "whose national influence has
been out of all proportion to the state's age and population," according to Russell W. Fridley. Minnesotans are
typically in the thick of things politically.
The state's traditions of grass roots participation and
generally honest politics have elicited favorable (and
sometimes astonished) comments from national observers. These traditions date from the early incorporation ofthe area. The people xvho founded the Minnesota
Historical Society in 1849 were in the political activist
mold and helped perpetuate that attitude. As public fife
participants they early recognized the importance of preserving the papers and records of the individuals and
groups involved in politics and govemment.
Much of this material, generated by people and the
state machinery, is in the Historical Society's division of
archives and manuscripts. By next fall, afl the records in
the formerly separate manuscripts division and state archives xvill be consolidated under the direction of State
Archivist Lucile M. Kane and under one roof — the
M H S Research Center, f500 Mississippi Street, St.
Paul.
A presidential election year such as this is a good
time to look into at least some ofthe division's holdings.
Among them are some basic '"nuts-and-bolts " kinds of
records like candidates' filing and withdrawal statements, affidavits of nomination, and certificates of election. Then there are those that reflect the will of the
70
Minnesota History
people: abstracts of votes in general and primary elections made by the state canvassing board from f858 to
f9f8 and abstracts made by county canvassing boards
(these include ward and township breakdoxvns) from
1890 to 19.58. And there are records which seem not to
have been properly studied but which might yield a gold
mine of information — candidates' expense statements
from 1898 to 1960. (Later statistics and expense statements are in the secretary of state's office.)
Historical Society researchers found much of this material invaluable recently in compiling a book — a compendium of selected Minnesota voting statistics — to be
published by the Minnesota Historical Society Press. It
will proxdde, for the first time, accurate, county-bycounty statistical returns for president, govemor. United
States senator, and congressman for every election from
1857 through 1974. It xvfll correct mistakes found in other
published works and restore some heretofore neglected
third- and fourth-party candidates to t h e historical
record. The book will not analyze state voting patterns or
elections; it will give the organized, published, raw
statistics from which researchers, historians, and others
can extrapolate their own interpretations. (Acknowledgment is herewith given to Bruce M. White and
Burt Cannon for facts and voting statistics used in this
article. White and Eugene D. Becker took the pictures.)
Various o t h e r collections of the society include
material on elections. Some of it is of a primary source
nature, some consists of published xvorks, and some in
both original and secondary sources will require a fair
amount of digging. The society's library, of course, is
usually an initial stop. It contains biographies, general
histories, and other works bearing on elections. The
newspaper division has the most extensive collection of
Minnesota papers to be found anx'xx'bere — virtually all
Labor party of Minneapolis. A collection of broadsides
also helps give a portrait of past elections. Other holdings are three-dimensional items from the museum —
campaign and convention buttons and badges, a fexv of
which are reproduced here. And the audio-visual library
has a large collection of photographs of politicians, campaigns, rallies, parades, and other political events.
daily and weekly journals published in the state from
1849 to the present.
The Public Affairs Collection in the division of archives and manuscripts includes papers of many prominent public figures in Minnesota, from Alexander Ramsey to H u b e r t H. Humphrey. There are also papers from
organizations which in one way or another affected or
involved elections and campaigns. They range from the
Minnesota League of Women Voters to the Socialist
VIRGINIA L . MARTIN
Anti-jMonopoly
STATE TICKET.
P»r
Governor,
ARA KARTON. \ y
REPUBLICAN
UNION TiCKET.
For
For
Li'fut'-nant
Governor,
EBENEZER AYKES. " >
I'or S''rrc(arii
of
State,
JOHN' H. STEVENvS.
^-
/•,...,^„'.
EepiicaD f l e l
HAYES and WHEELER.
For l*rcsi<lcii(iul Klootors.
C. K. DAVIS,
S T E P H E N MILLER,
A. J. EDGERTON,
A. K. F I N S E T H ,
H A N S MATTSON.
For Congress—Third J^istrict.
WM. W. McNAIR.
For
A-nclre\v
.Tolins*on.
For MitnU' ••/ r
ir--'.-F.'-il
WILLIAM WINHOM.
Ih^lncl,
F'or Elrrl,„-,.,J
f.e^ifhal.
C. B . L I ^ ' l l ^ L E Y . 1 ' . N. MCTtlXICK.
J. a . B F T Z .
1 ,1 '••••'. M t d t F O i i D .
Fur Jiiiljri of III'-. Sii^.ranf C-niri.
Chi«f Jii^Uf. , TliO.'.n^J W l b S u N ,
\ <, ,r. U. M.MfLLE.V,
Aasociate.-,
For Sfufr
Jw!jt:,{.U
I.. ICvitliivii.
Representative,
c. y\ SIMS.
tloimty Ticket.
General,
XVILLIAMP. CLOUGH. '
For County Auditor,
FRED. VOiV liAUMBACH.
For
I.E(;l.>H..VTIVi; T I C K I . T
3rt
Ulitrlct
Treasurer,
H E N K T K . WHITE.
For Register of Deeds,
' "(J. M luatiiv.
rDitlnrt
For
EDWIX W. DIECE. ,For Afforxci/
State Senate—39th District
KNUTE NKLSON.
Treasurer,
DiJ.irt.)
3.
/-'('(• R'^pre^riitdl i.c€,
N. G K A L l . N G . ; ' : .
A, J. AMES.
For Judge of Probate,
W. J. SHELDON.
For County Attorney,
F. J-: - . I I A M H I F W .
C H A l t L E - ; lil!lS\VuI,l>,
F-r /!•'/.-tcr nt L>rct>.
JARl^l• I ; A L • \ W N
For CUHKIIJ
"AniendiDciit to section out, of article four,
of flu; iruistitiiti'i;], .n'oviiliii;.' for bicnuial
Kessiuiis of til',- LiM-isl/cirt:" - YE->,
Ji'dil'T,
?. s. iiuciv.
For Jiid'je oJ J'rubatr,
WARKfclX i ' U W E R ' l .
FT C'lUHt!/ •l/(r,r»r;,,
"\VM. H, Y.W.E.
For OininJi/ Cornmiatinner, alh
E . A COREY.
District,
ABRAHAM L I N C O L N heads the
ticket on this 1864 Republican party
ballot for Winona County. Political
parties p r i n t e d t h e i r own ballots
until the late n i n e t e e n t h century
when Minnesota adopted a uniform,
s t a t e - p r i n t e d ballot. E a c h p a r t y
listed only its own slate of candidates. Voters could mark their selections on a combination of ballots if
they wished or could write their
names on a blank piece of paper.
IGNATIUS DONNELLY helped
found the Anti-Monopoly party in
1873 with support from Grangers
around the state. At its convention in
O w a t o n n a on S e p t e m b e r 2, t h e
party nominated a slate of candidates
for state offices consisting of both
Democrats and Republicans. Barton, S t e v e n s , a n d C l o u g h w e r e
Democrats; Ayers and Dike were
Bepublicans.
A reform group opposed to the
corrupt Grant administration then in
power formed the Liberal Republicans, xvho met later with the Democrats. Both factions simply endorsed
the Anti-Monopoly slate. The regular Republicans nominated Cushman
K. Davis, who heat Barton 40,633
votes to 35,144. Liberal R e p u b licanism was a national movement at
this time: Horace Greeley, the Lilieral Republican candidate in 1872,
was also endorsed by the D e m o crats.
N . B . PTJLMER.
For
Sheriff,
FRANK KETNOLDS.
For Surveyor,
CHARLES T E N G W A L L :
For Coroner,
DR. G. VrVLAN.
For Coun^ CommisGioner
District.
MINNESOTANS' "fierce independence" in voting habits has a long and
respectable, if at times chaotic, history. The Republican party ticket for
f876 lists D e m o c r a t William W.
McNair as t h e party's choice for
third district congressman. Many
Republicans in Hennepin County refused to support the regular candidate, J. H. Stexvart. Some were disappointed
Scandinavians
who
wanted Knute Nelson (he xvas nomin a t e d for state s e n a t o r instead);
others opposed him because be xx'as
from St. Paul — another skirmish in
the rivalry between the Txvin Cities.
There were only three congressional
d i s t r i c t s at this t i m e , a n d Minneapolis and St. Paul xvere in the
same one. Stewart xvon the election
22,823 votes to 20,717, even though
McNair carried both Hennepin and
Ramsey counties.
Summer 1976
71
STATE
BALLOT.
Til iiv/o.w IT M.ir ci/.yi.Kh:''
,
GOTerner—IGNATIUS DONNELLY—PeoplcB Party
Governor—DANIEL W. LA-WLER-Dpmocrat
X
Governor—-WILLIAM J. DEAN—Prohibition
Lieutenant Governor—H. H. HAWKINS—Democrat
X
liiifi- Kiitleil in niiiiiiK-iliiiS '•mil lifrrhy
Ihr :,tfi>-r iif
Pmalduntldl
III he, riilril
0
a . W . BUCKUirS
<l
©
.If ///-• llriii-riil
0
Lieutenant Govemor—DA-TID M. CLOUGH-Republican
©
Lieutenant Governor—
•
T H E AUSTRALIAN ballot was adopted in Minnesota in
the larger cities in 1889 and in the rest of the state in
1891. For the first time, voters had a ballot listing all
candidates. This copy of a ballot was printed and distributed by the Democratic party and marked to show voters where to put their Xs. Instructions at the top were in
Swedish, Norwegian, German, and English. With the
introduction of the Australian ballot, candidates had to
file their candidacy with the secretary of state in order to
be placed on the ballot. For the general election, candidates had to have been nominated by a convention of
delegates representing a political party xvhich had polled
at least 1 per cent of the vote cast in the state or district
in question in the last election. Candidates for the newly
formed political parties could get their names on the
ballot by obtaining petitions signed by 1 per cent of the
voters in the state or district. The petition for G. W.
Bucklin, one of Eugene Debs's presidential electors in
1904, is an example of this.
Ihnl
llifi •iiulec'S"'"'.
'/U'lll/leil
rlfl-iri-
rml-rhiH In
Klr'-llmt
do
iiniuiiuilr
M'niireof'i.
a. W . BLJCKL.ICS1
El«ct'Or
In hr liflfJ in Js'iirttiilir.r . / . li
rrilileB
ui
]!)!)'>.
Iloi
tli^
AuAtIn
,„ n.ri-f ^ti.tr. iiri'l/li'il
III-. IK Nil'itanmif,f of ihf Pull/if. Oirn-rj-nhirf P'lrty. liiiniiiH
hirrii. ilulji
n'lniiK-iilnl liii -ml iiiirty itniler IU nilm ind rrSiil-nliinif.
mil! thrit lie rfprPKfal^ fli'- Public
Oirnrfthip
Piirlii iiil'l lU imlitirjil
/iriliri/ilfji
'tlir •.unif hping fXlireturd III, lllf irnllh "I'lihllr
l)irn.Kri.In/,"l.
mill llinl „r l.rr,h„pfl,n„f,
tn li:vr tl.r n:,i<i^ iif -'i„l
O. W . B U C K L J N
pruiif.l f,ii Ihf •iffifi.i.l iHilUit luSfthn- irilli thf imlili'-'it
ilpniffntiliaii
"llUrtir
Oirnerslii/i. ' •mil tlir
1,1,1.11 " D E B S " III l"il't lll/ir im pmriilj-jl liy l-'iir, tlir li'iiil n-iiae hrin-S fl'" "'niJinir. nf the r.inrli.liili ..f <„i.l llililir
(l-riii-r'lil/i
/'iirti/ fi.r frfK-'lFn-i nf thf I'liilei)
Stiilrji.
H'l- tiiiil r„rh iif •!•. I ml I mil IIIII lit «((//,-- " / nvhiii.nl n niefir tluit I knJiiii tlif cnntmiin ntul iiiir/jimr
nflhli
•'••i-lilii-iUr. nnil /•iHii. Un I'lninif
rity frrr will "
• injIHKSH
a r^rr-f-)
-r:^ O-f z^
Lieutenant Govemor—OLE KUON—Proliibition
i'i hi rfrlifii
^ III Ulf Mull- •'!'
l„r
.
Lieutenant Governoi^-S-W.AN NELSON-Peoples Party
Tlilt
3
n
Qovemoi^KNtJTE NELSON—Republican.
Govemer—
n0 :
gf ,
fl
f-i^r-
^
,
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r•^•
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Vf$^i^7^^,..^S^>~'^
^••t71 ft
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MinntiBin
THIS G U E S T TICKET for the 1896
People's party convention is from
t h e T h o m a s J. M e i g h e n P a p e r s .
M e i g h e n , a son of t h e earliest
settlers in Forestville, was a hanker,
a storekeeper, and active in People's
party politics in Fillmore County, as
was his uncle William J. Meighen.
In 1896 the People's party was allied
xvith the Democratic party but held
its own c o n v e n t i o n at St. Louis
w h e r e the Democratic candidate,
William J. Bryan, was nominated for
president. McKinley carried Minnesota with 193,503 votes to Bryan's
139,736.
72
Minnesota History
S e p t . 1 3 . j-'fir s e u u r a i i i r e , i i s t r a . + . i c i i b e c k s , / < , H . ivtner,f;6.n(*
j i j t . 7 . I ' r a v a i i i i ^ a x p e i i ^ e s , w, a.
Cuiiutn.
iSd.or..
August.
i - ' l i a n ^ 1 eet, , S e c r e t a r y ci S t a f . e ,
S^O.co.
0-' t . i d - 1 4 . . ' ' l l i n i I 6 6 3 ,1 o j r i ; o a : i * i l e s , * o . c c - e n - " i
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i, H r t e i ,
O J t . ^ 4 . I ' r i p t o tJar i t o n , R . H . i a r e
* 1.24.
u c t . 24. O a m a . ^ e to Wtst IJuiath,
S I.2b.
O c t . iitt. S t a i n p e a e n v e i o p t i s . F c a t r i i i«;e,
$ri9,"cJ0.
« 7.60.
O u t kJ9. A d y e r t i s i n t f , i r o n " I ' r a d e J o u r a a l ,
$ 2 . 60 .
U c t . o l K K.H., l a r e & H c t e i
a t Cioquet ,
S 2.00.
O i - ' t . i)U. A Q i / t s r t i - s 111,^" M a . i n t ) n i e t , T h e o Wc.i<1 ,
u U C t . o t t U . K . ^ i ' r a - s s a j e r.i c i r c u i a r s , i - i a r v R i o o a n i s ,
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u o t . o i s t , A d v e r t l s l j i v jiuiufth danner ,
$16.CO.
O c t . i>l,
A a v e r t i s i n ^ , , 7 , K . -A'cnna ,
SI o , o c .
Oct. 01.
A a v e r t i s i f i ^ , D u i u * . n ,Pos!ten ,
SoO.cc.
S «.-Jb.
I j c t . a l . F r i n t i a ^ u a r a s ,.vierr i t t & H e c t o r ,
O c t . 3 1 . To d i s t r i b u t i o n c i persr.n;^ 1 c a r d s ,Ask e , S i .00 .
Oct. 6i.
'i'o | ) o s t a , ' e ,
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Oct. JV.
To u i & t r i u u n i n i o i ca r d s , O d e ^ a r d ,
% a.60.
Oct. 14.
r ' c r c o p y i n i p e l i - l i ; ^ t s ,W . 8 . i-ioer ,
S 2.60.
N o v . o t n , News I T l u a i i e , p r l u t i n g n o t i c e .
Si 6 . 0 0 ,
No/. Vtn. Duiutii SAaudlaav , a d v e r t min^',
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N o v . d t t t . i ^ e a c h e y fc l i o u i i s o u r y , p r i n t i n i i c a r d s ,
* «,7D.
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c i r c u l a r s on a / c
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XXKX&XX
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notices,
«IK.on.
J . L . T . l w i H f i - . p r i n t i n t f c a r d s , i j n p s id ,
EX PEN DI TURES.
TO WHOM
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Cigara
MINNESOTA passed a corrupt practices act in 1895
amidst a national movement to reform campaign practices. Minnesota's law limited the amount of money candidates could spend as well as the kind of expenses engendered. Every candidate for elective office had to file a
statement of expense with the secretary of state, '"setting
forth in detail all sums of money contributed, disbursed,
expended or promised by him." Since 1895 these provisions have been considerably expanded and revised to
take into account changing circumstances and now seek
to define fair campaign practices rather than corrupt
practices only, but candidates must still file a statement
of expenditures. Here are examples of such statements.
One is by John B. Bichards (top), candidate in 1902 for
t!--' e,;s-iy
\
FOB
1 w mflms
GRAND RALLT
eleventh judicial district judge (he lost); one by Lyndon
H. Smith, candidate for lieutenant governor in 1898 (he
won); and one filed by I. Oden Halden, candidate for
state auditor in 1906 (he lost). Cigars were apparently a
major item for some candidates. There was a lot of variation in degree of itemization. A candidate would occasionally claim no receipts or expenditures. An eloquent
statement came from Lionel C. Long, who xvrote in a
letter from Magnolia in 1898 that "my campaign as candidate for Governor on the mid road Populist ticket did
not cost me one cent, either in goods, chattels or nioney;
and I further state that if my friends incured [.sic] any
expense in my behatf during the aforesaid campaign, I
am totally and wholly unaxvare of the fact. " H e lost.
GROVEB CLEVELAND'S f884
victory over the "plumed knight" —
James G. Blaine — was celebrated in
Minneapolis' Bridge Square, even though
Blaine carried Minnesota f II,819 votes
to 70,135. The campaign, according to
Allan Nevins, xx'as "one of the most
vituperative in history. "
L I N C O L N items are among the earliest campaign badges and buttons in
the MHS museum. The xvhite silk
campaign badge with its romanticized portrait of Lincoln looking like
a Italian poet could date from the
1860 campaign.
A.B.IlMCOi.N.
Summer 1976
73
I
THE MAN
;V. K. MKUHIAM
M I N N E A P O L I S was
host to the Republican
national convention in
1892 at xvhich Benjamin
Harrison was nominated
the party's presidential
candidate. Once again
the Bepublican candidate
won the state — 122,766
votes to Cleveland's
101,055 — but failed
to carry the nation.
WHO GETS
THE VOTES
ST. PAUL, MINN.
MAY 14, 1908
MfaMki
MINNESOTANS represented in the campaign items
collection include William B. Merriam, a Republican,
who was elected governor in 1888, and John A. Johnson,
who, although a Democrat in the strongly Republican
state, was elected three times. He died in office in
1909. Many thought the popular politician might have
been the next president.
THIS M O O S E election pin marked its wearer as a supporter of Theodore Roosevelt's Progressive party candidacy in 1912. The name "Bull Moose" was a tribute to
Roosevelt who often used the term to describe his own
strength and vigor. The Progressives had seceded from
the regular-organization Republicans following the renomination of President William H. Taft. Roosevelt lost
the election, but he carried Minnesota, 125,999 votes to
Woodrow Wilson's 106,431, Taft's 64,342, and Eugene
Debs's 27,505. Debs was Public Ownership party candidate. After Charles Evans Hughes was nominated in
1916, most of the Progressives were reunited with the
Republican party. Hughes carried Minnesota in the 1916
election, but just barely — 179,544 votes to Wilson's
179,155.
P E O P L E still r e m e m b e r Alfred M.
Landon's sunflower campaign buttons using the state flower of his
native Kansas. This 4'A-by-5-inch
m e t a l p l a t e f a s t e n e d to t h e
license plate of a car. The cheerful
yellow buttons were about the only
bright spots in the 1936 Republican
campaign. W h e n t h e votes w e r e
counted, the results in Minnesota
w e r e 6 9 8 , 9 0 1 for F r a n k l i n D .
Roosevelt, 350,461 for Landon, and
74,296 for William Lemke, Union
party candidate.
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