THE CINCINNATI
MUNICIPAL ELECTION OF 1828.
MARY BAKER FURNESS, CINCINNATI.
Cincinnati began its existence as a city
under its first charter.
March 1, 1819. By an act of
the General Assembly passed
January 26, 1827, a new charter was
granted, which superseded
the old one, and did away with all the
legislation which had
been enacted under it. According to this
second charter, the
city boundaries began with the
"Ohio River, at the east corner
of partial section No. 12, running west
with the township line
of Cincinnati to Mill Creek, then down
Mill Creek with its
meanders to the Ohio River, then
eastwardly up said river-with
the southern boundary of the State of
Ohio, to the place of be-
ginning." The city area was
coterminous with that of the town-
ship of Cincinnati. The northern
boundary, as nearly as I can
determine, was the line of Liberty
Street extended to the Ohio
on the east. The chief municipal
officers under the second
charter were, the mayor, elected
biennially, and three trustees
from each ward, who formed the council.
The city was divided
into four wards by two lines crossing at
right angles, Third
Street running east and west, Main
Street running north and
south. The First Ward was in the
northeast, the Second in the
northwest, the Third in the southeast
and the Fourth in the
southwest. March 2, 1827, by virtue of powers vested in them
by the charter the council divided the
Second Ward by an east
and west line from Main Street along
Sixth to the corporation
line. That portion north of Sixth and
west of Main was the
Fifth Ward. On March 21, 1827, the boundaries of the Third
and First Ward were changed, by an east
and west line, which
"began on Main at the intersection
of Third, and ran eastward
ly along the center of Third to Ludlow,
thence eastwardly along
the center of Symmes to High, and along
the center of High
to a point on the street bearing north
16c from the center of the
cupola of David Kilgour's house near the
reservoir, and by the
(255)
256 Ohio Arch. and
Hist. Society Publications.
same line north 19 east0 east
to the north boundary of the city."
The First Ward received the part lying
south of Symmes Street
and of the range of hills east of Deer
Creek Bridge. Symmes
and High Streets are now both parts of
Third Street east of
Broadway. With Mr. Greve we wonder what
would have hap-
pened if any accident had befallen Mr.
Kilgour's cupola.1
The mayor, Isaac G. Burnet, had been
elected in 1827, so the
municipal election of 1828 concerned
itself with the three
trustees from each ward, and with three
township trustees.
These latter were elected at the same
time as the city officers,
but separately from them, though their
jurisdiction was over
practically the same territory. March 26, Mayor Burnet pub-
lished the first proclamation for the
election in the Cincinnati
Gazette, and in the National Republican, rival
newspapers.
"PROCLAMATION.
"Notice is hereby given that an
election will be held on Monday,
the 7th day of April next, in each of
the wards in this city, for trustees
to represent each ward in the City
Council for the ensuing year, to-wit:
in the first ward, at the mayor's office
on Third street; in the second
ward, at the brick house, corner of Walnut
and Fifth streets; in the
third ward, at Hazen Swazey's house on
Sycamore street; in the fourth
ward, at the office of Richard Mulford,
esq., on Water street; and in
the fifth ward, at the house of Edward
Dodson on the corner of Walnut
and Sixth streets. Given under my hand
at the City of Cincinnati this
22nd day of March, eighteen hundred and
twenty-eight.
"ISAAC G. BURNET, Mayor."
This notice was repeated at intervals
during the weeks
which elapsed before the election.2 The list of polling places is
interesting. Aside from the mayor's
office, and that of Mr.
Mulford they seem to have been private
dwelling houses, which
would indicate that the northern and
eastern portions of the city
were largely residential. Unfortunately
there is no directory for
1828. That for 1825, and the one for
1829, do not mention
Hazen Swazey at all. Mr. Mulford in 1825
is listed as con-
stable and collector, in 1829 as
magistrate. Edward Dodson is
described as "grocer and hay
weigher" in 1825, and his only ad-
dress is the corner of Walnut and Sixth,
so we may infer that
his home and his business were on the
same premises. In the
The Cincinnati Municipal Election of
1828. 257
directory of 1829 no business at all is
given for him. Whether
the voting was
carried on in his shop, or in his house we have
no means of knowing, nor what sort of
people lived in the brick
house on the corner of Walnut and Fifth
Streets. Even so,
voting should have been a very
respectable business in the days
when it was done at Hazen Swazey's
house, or Edward Dod-
son's grocery, instead of in a barber
shop.
Before 1828 there had been no regular
party lists of can-
didates nominated for state or county or
city offices. But late
in 1827, the Jackson and Anti-Jackson
feeling, which had filled
the newspapers constantly from the time
of Jackson's defeat by
John Quincy Adams in 1824, took visible shape
in Ohio in the
call to two conventions, which were held
in Columbus Dec.
28, 1827, and Jan. 9, 1828. The purpose
of the first one was
to form an electoral ticket for the
coming presidential election,
Oct. 31, 1828, which should support John Quincy Adams.3 The
second was designed to perform the same
office for Andrew
Jackson.4 The convention idea
found immediate favor, as it al-
ways has done in American political
life, and when the time for
the state elections for governor and
representatives, together
with the other state and county offices
drew near Hamilton
County held a nominating convention of
the friends of the Ad-
ministration, in August, a thing which
the Jackson men had al-
ready done a month before.5 This election was not held till
October, however, and meanwhile, the
same plan in embryo,
had been tried out in the April election
for trustees. Hereto-
fore, candidates had been presented in
somewhat straggling
fashion. The name of some popular or
worthy citizen was sug-
gested in a communication to the papers
by a friend or by a
number of citizens, as a fit candidate
for the suffrages of his
peers. Sometimes a line or two announced
his candidacy im-
personally, sometimes he announced it
himself. There does not
seem to have been any especially
concerted action of the con-
vention type, certainly there was little
or no party line drawn.
A study of the files of the old papers
makes this point evident
with regard to local elections. At this
time, however, with party
feeling already running high, the
Jackson men forestalled their
Vol. XX-17.
258 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications.
opponents by a tentative city
convention. On the 26th of Feb-
ruary they held meetings in every ward
in the city, to consider
the subject of the approaching election,
and they named a ward
ticket for each one. The notice in the Republican
reads as fol-
lows:
"REPUBLICAN JACKSON MEETING.
"The friends of Jackson and
Republicans will hold an adjourned
meeting at Rial's Tavern, sign of the
Cross Keys, near the Western
Market, on next Thursday evening, Feb.
28. An address will be de-
livered by a friend to the cause.
"By order
"CHAS. KRAMER, Sec'y.: JONATHAN
PANCRAST, Ch'man.
"The Jacksonians of the first ward
will meet on This Evening at
the Council Chamber; of the second, at
Talbott's school rooms; of the
third, at Kautz's Tavern; of the fourth,
at Gilbreath's Tavern; of the
fifth, at Hulse's Tavern, to appoint
delegates to a convention to nominate
candidates for the ensuing Spring and Summer
elections.
"Feb. 26."
There is no report of this convention,
however, and the
ticket was not made public at the time.
The real facts in this
case were not found out till March 6,
when Charles Hammond,
editor of the Gazette, and
implacable foe of all Jacksonians, an-
nounced his discovery of them in that
issue of the Gazette, and
declaring that the gauntlet had been
thrown down, challenged
the enemy to publish the list,
"that it might not be said here-
after, that the election was not made a
test of the strength of
the two parties." Later, the editor of the Advertizer admitted
the truth of Mr. Hammond's statement,
but declined to give the
names of the candidates. He accused the
Administration party
of beginning the controversy, alleging
that a party circular of
John C. Wright's, which had been of
little real importance, had
opened the way.7
The official ticket, by the way, never
was printed in the
Gazette until the report of the election when both tickets were
given in full, with the returns.8 The
Republican gave an un-
official list, March 21, and repeated
it in its advertising columns
several times afterward until the day of
the election. The com-
plete Administration list was given a
week earlier, on April 2.
The Cincinnati Municipal Election of
1828. 259
Some of the names are interesting today.
Bellamy Storer, for
instance, was an Administration
candidate from the Third Ward,
(south of Third and east of Main). Nathan Guilford repre-
sented the Second Ward, (north of Third,
and west of Main).
Benjamin Hopkins was township trustee,
and Dennis Kelley
stood on the Jackson ticket for the
Fifth Ward in the extreme
northwest corner of the city, the newest
of them all. The names
of the constables were not on the
tickets, for their election was
not made a party matter. The names of
two of the candidates
for that office are presented after the
old fashion.
"We are personally acquainted with
Mr. Joseph White, who lives
on Walnut street opposite the college,
and are desirous that he should
be brought out as a candidate for the
office of Constable for the town-
ship of Cincinnati at the approaching
election for township offices. We
consider him as capable, honest,
perseveringly industrious, and in every
respect qualified to discharge the
duties required of a constable, and
believe he will perform them if elected,
and we recommend him to the
consideration of the electors.
"MANY VOTERS."
"Cin., March 12, 1828.
"We are authorized to state that
Samuel W. Forsha is a candidate
for constable at the ensuing
election."10
This same notice appears in the Republican
of March 8. I
am sorry to have to state that neither
one of these gentlemen was
elected.
After the concerted action of the
Jackson party had come to
light, the friends of the Administration
in each ward, held meet-
ings in various places, at which their
tickets were nominated.
The Fourth Ward was something of a storm
center apparently,
like our historic Eighth, and the party
managers had led off
there with a notice for an
Administration meeting to be held
at the tavern of Thomas J. Matthews,
Saturday evening, Feb. 2.
It is dated Jan. 31, and published Feb.
1 and 2, but there is no
report of the result.11 As the purpose
of the meeting is not
stated, we cannot be sure whether it
concerned the city, or the
state, or the presidential elections.
The Second Ward followed
on March 10, and their ticket was duly
reported in the Gazette
for March 12. The First Ward held its meeting at the Council
260 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
Chamber the 14th, reported on the 18th.
The Fifth Ward is
reported March 22. The Third Ward
met, on public notice, at
the Woolen Factory--Deer Creek Bridge,
April 4. There is
no description given of these meetings,
nothing but the bare
announcement of the results. The
candidates are all "unanimous-
ly agreed upon." The First Ward meeting is reported as a
"Numerous Meeting of
Citizens," and the Third, as a "Meet-
ing of General Electors." But there
was no general notice pub-
lished for their call, and each ward
seems to have had its in-
dividual assembly. Except that the
candidates themselves were
nominated by the whole body of electors
in person,-not simply
delegates who should nominate them,
these meetings resemble
the modern primary elections. They were
not held at any one
fixed time, but at irregular intervals
for a period of every three
weeks. In this respect, the Jackson
forces had the work sys-
tematized to a greater degree, for their
meetings were all held on
the one evening, at the call of a single
chairman, showing a
much better sense of party organization.
The Gazette made the statement
that some of the Jackson
men nominated, declined to serve upon
that ticket. There is no
evidence of it, however. One of the men
nominated for trustee
in Mill Creek Township, James C. Ludlow,
did address a com-
munication to the Gazette, in
which he said, First, that he was
not willing to aid in a party election.
Second, that he was not
willing to serve at all. Third, that he
was not willing to support
Jackson, and therefore, he was not a
candidate.12 There may
have been some other Jacksonians as
courageous in Cincinnati,
but they did not make themselves known in
the public prints.
With the tickets formed, and the
election only two weeks
off, the campaign had to be carried on
with some rapidity. Each
ward held Administration meetings up to
April 4, three days
before the election. These meetings
were, in a sense, a part of
the long series which had begun in
January after the Columbus
convention and which lasted until after
the presidential elec-
tion in October. The first notice of one
was given January 2113
and others appeared at intervals
throughout the entire year.
The First Ward meetings were held at the
City Council Chamber
on Third Street, as were also three of
the Third Ward. The
The Cincinnati Municipal Election of
1828. 261
Second met at Talbert's (Talbott's)
School Rooms on Fifth
Street between Vine and Race. The Fourth convened at Thomas
J. Matthews's Tavern, or Green Tree
Hotel, on Fourth Street.
The Fifth met at the Cross Keys Tavern
on Sixth Street. All
these were strictly Administration
meetings. Two other groups,
"The Young Men Friendly to the
Administration," and the
"Friends of the
Administration" met, the one at the College
Chapel, or the Council Chamber, the
other at the Council
Chamber. Their notices were usually headed "Measures not
Men." The hours of meeting varied
from "6:30" on March 22,
in the Third Ward, to "7:30."
Occasionally it was "early candle-
light," that delightfully indeterminate
hour, but usually it was at
"7 o'clock," a very convenient
time for the men who got home
to tea at six, and were ready to settle
themselves for the even-
ing by seven.
On the part of the Jacksonians, the same
sense of order
and system which had characterized their
first move, was evident
in their second. March 25, this notice
appeared in the Repub-
lican :
"MEASURES AND MEN.
"At an adjourned meeting of the
friends of General Jackson, it
was recommended by resolution that the Jacksonians
of this city be
requested to meet in their respective
wards once in each week until the
ensuing election. In the 2nd ward, on
Monday evening, at David Sar-
geant's; 4th ward, on Tuesday evening,
at John Sherlock's; 5th ward,
on Wednesday evening, at Keals' (sic)
Tavern, sign of Cross Keys; 1st
ward, on Thursday evening, at the
Council Chamber; 3rd ward, on
Friday evening, at Marine Hotel. A
general meeting will be held on
Saturday evening, 29th inst, at Council
Chamber. Punctual attendance
is requested.
"By order
"JONATHAN PANCRAST, Ch'mn.
"CHAS. KRAMER, Sec'y.
"Cin., March 21st, 1828."
There is no denying the advantage of
regularity in time and
place of holding meetings. The fixed
schedule of the Jacksonians
was more business like than the
Administration plan of calling
each meeting by special public notice,
at irregular intervals. It
is interesting to notice that the
Administration meetings were
262 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications.
all held in public places. The Jackson
men also chose the same
kind of rooms, except in the Second and
Fourth Wards. Ac-
cording to the directory of 1825, David
Sargeant was a brick
maker, and John Sherlock a distiller.
Neither man is found in
the directory of 1829.
There are no detailed accounts of what
was done at any
of these meetings. The one issue was the
all-absorbing political
topic of the time, "Is a candidate
a Jackson or an Anti-Jack-
son man?" Local issues are never
even touched on by either
newspaper. The personal fitness of the
candidates is never
hinted at. The columns of the Gazette
are full of invective
against Jackson and his supporters, and
indications of the Ad
ministration and its friends, together
with the most virulent abuse
of the editors of the rival papers. The Republican
devotes
column after column to the misdemeanors
of Clay and Adams,
and finds no language vile enough to
characterize Mr. Ham-
mond of the Gazette. Every
question which might in any way
pertain to the welfare or the advantage
of the city is utterly
ignored. It is only a stray illusion
here and there, or an adver
tisement of a ward meeting which gives
any clew whatever, to
the fact that a municipal election is
close at hand. The Second
Ward does announce that its meetings
(Administration) March
3 and 10, are for such measures as may
be necessary for the
approaching city and township
elections.l4
At the second one, March 10, a list of
trustees was nomi-
nated. Ten days later the Second Ward
again advertised a
meeting to make arrangements for the
spring election.15 But
there is no report of the proceedings.
Ten days or so before the
election the Fifth Ward at a "well
attended" meeting ap-
pointed a Vigilance Committee at the
polls, consisting of twenty-
five men.16 But the Jacksonians of the
First Ward in a meet-
ing on March 27, also appointed a
Vigilance Committee of
twenty-five members. This report with
the list of names, dated
March 29, is published in the Republican
of April 1. Aside from
these few facts, there is little to be
gathered concerning the
proceedings of a political ward meeting
of 1828.
The truth of the matter is, that all
other issues were com-
pletely destroyed in the fierce heat of
the presidential struggle.
The Cincinnati Municipal Election of 1828. 263
The story of that four years' battle is
perfectly familiar to
every student of history, yet it is
difficult to realize how far-
reaching was the bitterness, how
wide-spread the influence, into
what unexpected channels the political
venom flowed. It was
not the first time that party spirit had
run high, but it seems
to have been the first time that it
entered into the field of a
local election in this little city,
which cast the largest vote
in its history, 3500,17 Oct. 31, 1828.
It makes no difference
which party began it, though its
superior organization would
seem to indicate that the Jacksonians
had made their plans and
perfected them before their opponents
guessed what they were
about. It is most important that in thus
drawing the line in
the election for councilmen, the party
question entered for all
times into the local politics of the
city. The fact that there is
nothing said of local questions, that
the emphasis is placed on
those of the national campaign, which,
by the way, is one of the
most disgraceful in the matter of vile
personalities in all our
history as a republic, shows of how
little value these questions of
local interests were considered, in
comparison with that of elect-
ing Jackson or Adams to the presidency.
Occasionally there
was a newspaper article, as, for
instance, one contributed by
"B" on fraudulent voting,
calling attention to the fact that
many men were accustomed to cast the
ballot who were not en-
titled to vote.18 We have
seen history repeat itself in a later
day. Such articles, however, are rare.
Communications were
more apt to be scandalous in tone, as
when a rumor is reported
that the Jackson Committee has
appropriated the unexpended
balance of $100 in the treasury of the
old Tammany Society of
Cincinnati.19 Such pleasant
little remarks as these neither harm
the subject of them nor benefit the
author, as a general rule. Mr.
Hammond of the Gazette had a
brutally keen wit himself, and his
weapon was the more dangerous because he
had no scruples in
using it. He had a deadly skill in
comment, and one of his de-
lights was to quote his adversary in
full, and then flay him with
a few words, or if the occasion
warranted, in a column editorial.
In one paper he quotes certain phrases
from the Republican:
"Subsidized Persons, Foul
Calumnies, Base Forgeries, Infamous
Handbill, Flagitious Villainy, Daring
Falsehood, and so on,"
264 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
and remarks at the end of the long list,
"How comfortable a
gentleman must feel when applying such
terms to those with
whom he partakes every day of the
various enjoyments of social
intercourse."20 In
giving an account of the Jackson Day banquet
in Columbia Township, he repeats one of
the toasts, "The Con-
stitution of the United States-perfectly
secure with Jackson at
the Helm, and a life guard composed of
such men as Branch,
Eaton, Randolph, Benton, and
MacDuffie." Each one of this
life guard receives in time his little
tribute in Mr. Hammond's
customary style. "Branch," he
says, "made the famous speech
against Clay; Eaton is the enemy of the
tariff; Randolph at-
tempted to pull down every administration
formed; Benton was
distinguished for his violent quarrel
with Jackson; MacDuffie
was distinguished principally for
lutestring and cologne water.
All were opposed to the American System,
and would
prove an excellent and appropriate
lifeguard for the Hero."21
His pet expression for his editorial
friend on the Jackson side
is "The Old Gentleman of the Advertizer." He scarcely ever
speaks of him or to him in any other
than a slurring and sneer-
ing way. Outside the editorial office,
they were said to be very
good friends. Beside him, the editor of
the Republican cuts a
sorry figure, for he was no match for
Mr. Hammond in nimble-
ness of wit. His only weapon was the
bludgeon of personal
abuse, a very poor one indeed, with
which to oppose the cutting
blows of his adversary, who with an
equally scurrilous tongue,
possessed, in addition, a surpassingly
brilliant mind.
Perhaps the most popular method of
conducting a political
campaign in the earlier days was by
means of handbills. They
figure largely in all elections from the
very first ones mentioned,
and even into the last quarter of the
nineteenth century. In
using this method of keeping their
candidates and principles con-
stantly before the electoral eye,
neither party proved itself sloth-
ful nor stupid. The Jacksonians issued
one bulletin exhorting
their fellows to union, activity and
subordination. "Vote the
Jackson ticket, the whole Jackson
ticket, and nothing but the
Jackson ticket." Which the Gazette, somewhat
unreasonably,
took exception to, the day after the
election.22 They also took
The Cincinnati Municipal Election of
1828. 265
the precaution to distribute handbills,
the morning of the elec-
tion, to this effect:
"ATTENTION, ELECTORS.
"The Poll for Township officers
opens at 6 o'clock a. m. and closes
at 6 o'clock p. m.
"The Poll for City officers opens
at 9 o'clock a. m. and closes at
4 o'clock p. m.
"Remember the test announced by C.
Hammond and Co., and lose
not your vote by inattention to the
hours of election."
Which Mr. Hammond also took very ill,
and denounced
as a vile Jacksonian Advertiser trick.23 The gem of all the
handbills, however, was the so-called
"Coffin Handbill,"-the
"Infamous Handbill," the
Jacksonians always termed it. There
is a remarkably full and definite
description of it in the Gazette
of March 28. The complete explanation of
each of its various
points was given at intervals all
through the earlier issues of the
paper, with frantic denials in the Republican
of every point as it
was presented.
Across the top there were six coffins,
for the six militia
men who had been shot by Jackson's
orders for desertion during
the war of 1812. The name of
each victim was on the coffins
with a brief account of their sufferings
and the accusation against
them. Next below were seven coffins, for
the seven regulars
who had been shot at Nashville. They
were killed one and even
two at a time, because of the lack of
soldiers to execute them.
Next below there were four coffins for
the Indians, decoyed by
false signals during the Seminole War,
and put to death by Jack-
son without the form of a trial. Below
them was one coffin for
John Wood, a "friendless boy,"
shot for alleged mutiny in Ten-
nessee in 1814. Under all this is the meeting of Jackson
and Samuel Jackson with the general
stabbing Samuel as he
falls after the duel, followed by
Benton's account of the af-
fray at Nashville, 1815, between General
Jackson and two or
three of his followers, and the two
Bentons. With the coarse
printing and such wood cuts of the day,
it is not to be wondered
at, that the Jacksonians regarded these
handbills with rabid hatred
266 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications.
and poured out the vials of their wrath
upon the author. Un-
fortunately he was not known, but he had
certainly brought out
some good campaign material,-very
effective for the times, and
disseminated east and west, north and
south, regardless of sec-
tion. It was scored by Jackson and his
followers as the work
of Clay,-a document issuing from the
hand of Adams, Clay
and Webster, and it was openly alleged
that it came from presses
controlled by Clay, if not owned by him.24
Had the campaign
been less vitriolic and unrestrained in
its expressions of abuse,
probably the coffin handbills might
never have produced any ef-
fect. Even as it was, they were only one
instance among many
of equally uncontrolled violence.
When the election returns came in, it
was found that four
out of the five wards were carried for
the Administration. The
recalcitrant Fourth Ward had brought in
the Jackson candidates.
Consequently twelve out of the fifteen
members of the council
were Administration men. The Gazette claimed
it as complete
victory for the Administration. The
majorities ran about equal,
averaging 180 for the ticket. The
majorities in the Fourth Ward
were about the same as for their
opponents. The three con-
stables had been elected without
opposition. The two old ones
were Jacksonians, but had been generally
supported by the Ad-
ministration party, as tried and
efficient officers.25 The votes, on
the whole, were given because of
confidence in local men, and
personal attachment to them. There was
some scratching done,
probably in consequence of this.
"There was not a single Jack-
son man, indeed," said the Gazette,
"who voted his whole Ad-
ministration ticket. In the First Ward,
Jonathan Pancrast elec-
tioneered all day for Mr. Hopkins, an
Administration man,
but associated with him, two Jackson
candidates." These were
for township trustees. Administration
men, on the other hand,
voted for Benjamin Mason for township
trustee, but added
two Administration candidates. This is
the only action of the
kind, reported from any of the five
wards.26 Evidently these
gentlemen were not very particular as to
the secrecy of their
ballot, if there was a secret ballot at
the time, of which fact
we are uncertain, but which was most
probably not the case.
"The test in regard to Council and
Township Trustees,"
The Cincinnati Municipal Election of
1828. 267
said Mr. Hammond, "was fully made.
It was announced in
newspapers friendly to the interests,
and reiterated in handbills
and public meetings."27 "Operations
commenced in the winter,
meeting after meeting was held. Leading
men perambulated the
city, stirring up their forces, and
proclaiming the 'test.' "28 "In
spite of all their work, the electoral
vote is safe for Adams,"29 he
confidently asserts after the returns
are all in. Yet there was
hardly breathing time before the summons
came to the next
fray, the state and congressional
elections, whose results proved
that Mr. Hammond was better as a
political warrior, than as a
political prophet.
"The real facts are," said the
Republican editor, making the
usual accusation of grossest
misrepresentation and falsehood,
"that a majority of both parties
was in favor of making this
election a test of the strength of
Jackson and Adams in this
city: * * * a small minority of both was
against it. Meet-
ings were held by both, with a view to
produce unanimity, but it
was not effective with the Jackson
supporters. They did not
attend the polls, and many who did voted
for the Administration
ticket either in whole or in part."
He considers that the leaders
of the "Aristocracy" were
unusually active, and had obtained
control of the city government for the
current year. "The manner
in which they have misrepresented the
cause, and their false-
hood, will rouse the friends and
supporters of General Jackson
who are the real Democrats of the city
to more spirited and
united exertions."30 Which
statement goes to show that even in
the bitterness and chagrin of defeat, he
was cool enough to see
what would be the result of the earlier
check, upon the greater
struggle six months later.
The special significance of the
municipal election of 1828
lies in the fact that it marks the
change from the old loose
method of nominating candidates for city
offices to the close con-
vention plan; that it introduces
national party politics into city
affairs; and that for the first time,
business methods of organiza-
tion appear in municipal politics. These
are all permanent con-
tributions to our system of American
city elections. As a part
of the national struggle of 1828 the
superior organization of
the Jacksonians, aided by the sting of
sure defeat in the city
268 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
election, did in truth rouse them to
greater efforts in the autumn.
Whereas in city politics they were still
guided by a sense of
fitness and of recognition of the
intrinsic worth of their fellow-
citizens, when it became a question of
national politics, they
voted with their party, bringing in
Jackson by a majority of 150
in the city alone.31
REFERENCES.
1. Centen. History of Cin., C. T. Greve,
Vol. I, p. 509-10.
2. Cincinnati Gazette, March 26,
1828.
National Republican, March 26, 1828.
3. Cincinnati Gazette, January 5,
1828.
4. National Republican, January
17, 1828.
5. Cincinnati Gazette, August 5,
1828.
Cincinnati Gazette, July 7, 1828.
6. National Republican, February
26, 1828.
7. Cincinnati Gazette, March 10,
1828.
8. Cincinnati Gazette, April 8,
1828.
9. Cincinnati Gazette, March 13, 1828.
10. Cincinnati Gazette, March 26,
1828.
11. Cincinnati Gazette, February
1, 1828.
12. Cincinnati Gazette, April 2,
1828.
13. Cincinnati Gazette, January
21, 1828.
14. Cincinnati Gazette, March 3
and 10, 1828.
15. Cincinnati Gazette, March 20,
1828.
16. Cincinnati Gazette, March 27,
1828.
17. Cincinnati Gazette, November
1, 1828.
18. Cincinnati Gazette, April 4,
1828.
19. Cincinnati Gazette, March 20,
1828.
20. Cincinnati Gazette, March 26,
1828.
21. Cincinnati Gazette, January
30, 1828.
22. Cincinnati Gazette, April 5,
1828.
23. Cincinnati Gazette, April 5,
1828.
24. Cincinnati Gazette, April 9,
1828.
25. Cincinnati Gazette, April 8,
1828.
26. Cincinnati Gazette, April 12,
1828.
27. Cincinnati Gazette, April 8,
1828.
28. Cincinnati Gazette, April 12,
1828.
29. Cincinnati Gazette, April 12,
1828.
30. National Republican, April
11, 1828.
31. Gazette, November 1, 1828.