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74 [ 4 ] “Advising Moderation in All Things”: The 1883 Legislative Session and Colored Convention Thomas had been away from Chicago for more than a year in Washington yet came back to make a stunning return to political leadership in Chicago’s African American community. The Republicans had a majority in both the House and the Senate and there was a Republican governor. As a second-term member of the House, Thomas could expect a committee chairmanship. If there was a cloud on the horizon, it was personal. His wife, Justine, was five-months pregnant when Thomas left for Springfield in January 1883. Justine had been battling tuberculosis for almost two years. She had been pregnant twice before, with one pregnancy ending before birth and the other resulting in the birth of a child who died within nine months.1 Perhaps Justine’s frail condition was why Thomas was one of the last six legislators to arrive in Springfield for the session, coming in the night before the new session began.2 The 1883 Legislative Session Thomas arrived in time to participate in a House Republican caucus at the Leland Hotel. The purpose of the meeting was to select the Republican candidate for Speaker and the choices for several of the patronage jobs in the House, such as clerk, postmaster, and doorkeeper. The Republicans quickly and easily selected Lorin C. Collins Jr. of Chicago as their choice for Speaker. At least three African Americans sought House patronage positions, with the caucus selecting Archibald Ward, an African American from Peoria, as Second Assistant Doorkeeper.3 The Republicans had a slim 77–75 majority over the Democrats in the House. There was also one independent member of the chamber, the always unpredictable Elijah Haines of Lake County, which meant that the Republican majority was only one. The closeness of the majority meant that the “ADvISING MODErATION IN ALL ThINGS” 75 often fractious party had to keep all its members in line to successfully control the House. Early on, the Republicans were able to do this. On January 3, the first day of session, the party easily elected its choices for the temporary organization of the House. The next day, the members took the oath of office and were sworn in by State Supreme Court Justice John M. Scott. The chamber’s first action was to pass a resolution of sympathy to France on the death of French statesman Leon Gambetta. After that, the House voted for Speaker and Collins won 78–75. In the tradition of the times, he voted for his Democratic opponent, who in turn voted for him. Collins carried the votes of all the other Republicans, including Thomas. The independent Haines also voted for him.4 As in 1877, one of the first votes Thomas cast in the new session was for U.S. senator. With Republicans having a small majority in the House but a large 31 to 20 majority in the Senate, the selection of a Republican for the spot was virtually assured. There were three main Republican candidates seeking the selection. They were Shelby Cullom, the current governor, Richard J. Oglesby, who was both a former governor and former U.S. senator, and Green B. Raum, who had led the Grant forces at the Republican state convention in 1880 and was the federal commissioner of Internal Revenue. Thomas supported Raum, who was a Logan loyalist and who may have helped Thomas get his job in Washington.5 Cullom was the favorite, but he was hindered by a clause in the state constitution that said state constitutional officers were not eligible to serve in any other position during the term of their office.6 While seemingly banning an incumbent officeholder from being elected to another office, it was unclear if the prohibition applied to seeking a federal office, such as U.S. senator. The House and Senate Republicans caucused on the evening of January 11 to select their candidate. Previous to the caucus, Representative James Herrington , a Democrat, introduced a resolution in the House declaring state constitutional officers ineligible for election to the U.S. Senate. The nonbinding resolution was an obvious attempt to foster division in Republican ranks. In response, Thomas offered a substitute resolution that declared that the state constitution did not prohibit state officers from becoming U.S. senators . Thomas’s resolution demonstrates that he put his loyalty to the party above his own preference. Even though he did not support Cullom for the Senate...

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