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1861 Wisconsin gubernatorial election

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1861 Wisconsin gubernatorial election
← 1859 November 5, 1861 1863 →
 
Nominee Louis P. Harvey Benjamin Ferguson
Party National Union Democratic
Popular vote 53,777 45,456
Percentage 54.18% 45.80%

County results
Harvey :      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90%
Ferguson:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%

Governor before election

Alexander W. Randall
Republican

Elected Governor

Louis P. Harvey
Republican

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

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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

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Republican (Union) party

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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

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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

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1861 Wisconsin gubernatorial election[4][5]
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

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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

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Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

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Notes

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  1. ^ The 1862 Legislative Manual gives this figure as 579 but this is a mistake.
  2. ^ The county figures add up to 24

References

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  1. ^ 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.
  2. ^ 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.
  3. ^ 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.
  4. ^ 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
  5. ^ 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.