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Stalwarts (politics)

Stalwarts
Leader• Roscoe Conkling
• Zachariah Chandler
• Oliver P. Morton
• Benjamin Butler
• Thomas C. Platt
• Chester A. Arthur
• Levi P. Morton[1]
• John A. Logan
• Simon Cameron[2]
• J. Warren Keifer[3]
• J. Donald Cameron
• William O'Connell Bradley[4]
• William B. Allison
• Frederick T. Frelinghuysen[5][6][7]
• Leonidas C. Houk[8]
Foundedc. 1872–77
Dissolvedc. 1890
Preceded byRadical faction of the Republican Party
Merged intoRepublican Party
Ideology• Radical Republicanism[9]
• Grantism
• Pro-machine politics
• Pro-spoils system
• Conservatism[10]
• Pro-black suffrage[6]
• Sound money[6]
• Protectionism[6]
• Waving the bloody shirt[6]
Political positionCenter-right[11]
National affiliationRepublican Party
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Senator Roscoe Conkling, leader of the Stalwarts.

The Stalwarts were a faction of the Republican Party that existed briefly in the United States during Reconstruction and the Gilded Age during the 1870s and 1880s. Led by U.S. Senator Roscoe Conkling—also known as "Lord Roscoe"—Stalwarts were sometimes called Conklingites. Other notable Stalwarts included Benjamin Wade,[12] Charles J. Folger,[5] George C. Gorham,[13] Chester A. Arthur, Thomas C. Platt, and Leonidas C. Houk.[8] The faction favored Ulysses S. Grant, the eighteenth President of the United States (1868–1876), running for a third term in the 1880 United States presidential election.

The designation of "Stalwart" to describe the faction was coined by James G. Blaine,[14] who would later lead the rival "Half-Breed" faction during the Garfield administration.[15] Blaine and his political organization formed an informal coalition with the Stalwarts during the presidency of Rutherford B. Hayes,[16][17] supporting patronage and advocating on behalf of Southern blacks. The Maine Senator also frequently joined Stalwarts in voting against nominations of reformers by President Hayes who received the support of Democrats and staunch Half-Breed Republicans.[18][19][20] Blaine applied the term to commend Conkling's faction as devoted loyalists to the Republican Party's principles.[14]

Stalwarts were the traditional "Old Guard" Republicans,[21] who advocated for the civil rights of African-Americans and opposed Rutherford B. Hayes's efforts to enact civil service reform. They were pitted against the "Half-Breeds" (classically liberal moderates) for control of the Republican Party. The most prominent issue between Stalwarts and Half-Breeds was patronage. The Half-Breeds worked to enact moderate civil service reform, and finally helped pass the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act. This was signed by Arthur, who became President after the assassination of James A. Garfield, a Half-Breed.[22] Stalwarts favored traditional machine politics.[23]

  1. ^ About the Vice President | Levi Parsons Morton, 22nd Vice President (1889-1893). United States Senate via Internet Archive. Retrieved February 26, 2022.
  2. ^ Banks, Ronald F. (June 1958). The Senatorial Career of William P. Frye Archived 2023-01-18 at the Wayback Machine, p. 7. The University of Maine. Retrieved February 26, 2022.
  3. ^ O'Brien, Steven; McPherson, James M.; Gerstle, Gary (1991). American Political Leaders: From Colonial Times to the Present Archived 2023-01-18 at the Wayback Machine, pp. 227–28. Google Books. Retrieved March 13, 2022.
  4. ^ Bradley, William O'Connell; Thatcher, M. H. (1916). Stories and Speeches of William O. Bradley Archived 2023-01-18 at the Wayback Machine, p. XV. Google Books. Retrieved March 13, 2022.
  5. ^ a b Ketchersid, William L. (2003). The Gilded Age Presidency Reconsidered Archived 2023-01-18 at the Wayback Machine, p. 56. Google Books. Retrieved March 13, 2022.
  6. ^ a b c d e Weisberger, Bernard A. James A. Garfield and Chester A. Arthur Archived 2023-01-18 at the Wayback Machine. Encyclopedia.com. Retrieved January 2, 2021.
  7. ^ American Political Leaders, p. 145.
  8. ^ a b Schlup, Leonard (October 8, 2017). Leonidas Campbell Houk Archived 2023-01-18 at the Wayback Machine. Tennessee Encyclopedia. Retrieved January 1, 2022.
  9. ^ James G. Blaine: A Political Idol of Other Days, p. 160.
  10. ^ "Stalwarts". Dictionary of American History. Archived from the original on January 18, 2023. Retrieved February 8, 2021. STALWARTS, a term applied to a conservative faction of the Republican Party during the Gilded Age.
  11. ^ Hague Academy of International Law, ed. (1991). Collected courses of the Hague Academy of International Law. Hachette. p. 19.
  12. ^ Riddleberger, Patrick W. (April 1960). The Radicals' Abandonment of the Negro During Reconstruction Archived 2023-01-18 at the Wayback Machine. JSTOR. Retrieved January 1, 2021.
  13. ^ 1889. John N. Edwards: Biography, Memoirs, Reminiscences and Recollections; His Brilliant Career as Soldier, Author, and Journalist; Choice Collection of His Most Notable and Interesting Newspaper Articles, Together with Some Unpublished Poems and Many Private Letters. Also a Reprint of Shelby's Expedition to Mexico, an Unwritten Leaf of the War Archived 2023-01-18 at the Wayback Machine, p. 132. Google Books. Retrieved March 13, 2022.
  14. ^ a b Peskin, Allan (1984–85). "Who Were the Stalwarts? Who Were Their Rivals? Republican Factions in the Gilded Age". Political Science Quarterly. 99 (4): 703–716. doi:10.2307/2150708. JSTOR 2150708.
  15. ^ Muzzey, David Saville (1934). James G. Blaine: A Political Idol of Other Days, p. 133. New York: Dodd, Mead, and Company.
  16. ^ Welch, p. 91.
  17. ^ The Senatorial Career of William P. Frye, pp. 5–6.
  18. ^ TO CONSENT TO THE NOMINATION OF THEODORE ROOSEVELT AS COLLECTOR OF CUSTOMS AT NEW YORK. Archived 2023-01-18 at the Wayback Machine GovTrack.us. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
  19. ^ TO CONSENT TO THE NOMINATION OF EDWIN A. MERRITT AS COLLECTOR OF CUSTOMS FOR THE DISTRICT OF NEW YORK. Archived 2023-01-18 at the Wayback Machine GovTrack.us. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
  20. ^ TO CONSENT TO THE NOMINATION OF SILAS W. BURT AS NAVAL OFFICER IN THE DISTRICT OF NEW YORK. Archived 2023-01-18 at the Wayback Machine GovTrack.us. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
  21. ^ American Party Politics Archived 2023-01-18 at the Wayback Machine. Encyclopedia.com. Retrieved February 26, 2022.
  22. ^ Sauer, Patrick (2000). The Complete Idiot's Guide to the American Presidents. Indianapolis, Indiana: Alpha Books. pp. 290. ISBN 0-02-863821-2.
  23. ^ "Stalwart (American political faction) - Britannica Online Encyclopedia". Britannica.com. Retrieved January 30, 2012.

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