Antebellum Jefferson, Texas: Everyday Life in an East Texas Town

29. Politics

403 Parties The Democratic party was the dominant political party in Jefferson, as it was throughout Texas. The only other parties to exercise an influence on Texas politics were the Whig party, the American (or KnowNothing ) party, and the Constitutional Union (or Opposition) party. These were short-lived parties whose membership was constituted primarily by their predecessors. Personalities such as Sam Houston were also independent forces in Texas politics. Before 1848, elections in Texas were conducted without organized parties. Party structure did not become an important element in politics until 1855, when the Democratic convention was heavily attended because of an emerging threat by the Whigs. The Whigs became established in Texas in 1848. Their national candidates , Zachary Taylor and Millard Fillmore, received strong support in northeast Texas and along the coast. Two of the most prominent Whigs were William Ochiltree, who was closely associated with Jefferson , and Benjamin Epperson, who moved to Jefferson after the Civil War. Ochiltree ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Congress from the eastern district in 1851. As a national party, the Whigs became divided over issues connected with slavery. Ochiltree drew a substantial number of votes for governor of Texas in 1853, but the party was essentially dead in Texas by 1855. 29. Politics 404 Antebellum Jefferson, Texas The American party was the political manifestation of the anti-foreign , anti-Catholic secret society known as the Know-Nothing movement , which reached Texas in the mid-1850s. The party drew much of its membership from former Whigs and became strong in the western part of the eastern district, which elected the Clarksville attorney Lemuel Evans to the U.S. Congress in 1855, defeating the Democratic Jeffersonian Matt Ward. Evans and Benjamin Epperson attended the party’s national convention in Philadelphia in 1856. The national party split over issues connected with slavery by 1857, with many former members supporting Houston’s unsuccessful bid for governor during that year. The Constitutional Union party, which included many former Whigs and Know-Nothings, emerged in Texas in 1859 and held its organizational meeting in Marshall. It successfully ran Houston for governor in 1859. In 1860, Evans and Epperson were delegates to the national convention in Baltimore and tried to get Houston nominated for the presidency, but the party nomination went to John Bell. The Democratic party, which stood for the smallest possible federal government consistent with national security, was founded by Thomas Jefferson and was the dominant party nationally from 1800 until 1860, losing only to the Whig candidates William Harrison (over Martin Van Buren) in 1840 and Zachary Taylor (over Lewis Cass) in 1848. The party had northern and southern wings, which split over issues connected with slavery in 1860, with the northern wing supporting Stephen Douglas and the southern wing supporting John Breckinridge. The other two candidates in the 1860 election were the Republican Abraham Lincoln and the Constitutional Unionist John Bell. Breckinridge carried Texas by a heavy margin, and Lincoln was elected with less than half of the popular vote. The Whigs and their successors should not be thought of as opposition parties to the Democrats. All parties in Texas were southern partisans , and Lincoln, who was not a radical, was not even on the ballot in 1860. Everyone venerated the Constitution and cherished the Union, and there was widespread agreement that the movement of the South toward secession was the unfortunate consequence of abolitionism. As a consequence, the issues that divided the parties in Texas were of far 405 Politics less importance than the sectional issues that were leading the national parties and the nation to an impasse; and, in spite of the dominance of the Democratic party, the other parties were able to have newspaper representation, to secure votes, and to occasionally win elections. Context Political activities related to state and national elections were important community activities during antebellum times and included meetings, speeches, debates, parades, singing, flag raisings, parades, balls, dances, and, in Texas, the mandatory barbecues and fish fries. Candidates were expected to confront each other in public at the community level, displaying their oratorical and analytical skills and wit, revealing their personal qualities, sharpening the issues, and fueling the competitive sentiments that are largely devoted to sports today. Speeches were often given outdoors, where it was cooler and a larger crowd could be accommodated, and were excessively long by today’s standards, though filled with jokes and asides. Political...