In the
Chicago mayoral election of 1901, Democrat
Carter Harrison Jr.
Carter Henry Harrison IV (April 23, 1860 – December 25, 1953) was an American newspaper publisher and Democratic politician who served a total of five terms as mayor of Chicago (1897–1905 and 1911–1915) but failed in his attempt to becom ...
was reelected to a third term, defeating Republican nominee
Elbridge Hanecy
Elbridge Hanecy (March 15, 1852 – 1925) was an American lawyer and politician who served as a judge of both the Illinois Circuit Court for Cook County and the Superior Court of Cook County. He was the Republican Party (United States), Republic ...
by a 9.5% margin of victory.
The election took place on April 2.
[ Until 2019, no subsequent election had more candidates running on its ballot.
Ahead of the election, there were competitive races to receive the two major party's nominations at their municipal nominating conventions. Mayor Harrison was challenged for the ]Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to:
*Democratic Party (United States)
Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to:
Active parties Africa
*Botswana Democratic Party
*Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea
*Gabonese Democratic Party
*Demo ...
nomination by former governor John Peter Altgeld
John Peter Altgeld (December 30, 1847 – March 12, 1902) was an American politician and the 20th Governor of Illinois, serving from 1893 until 1897. He was the first Democrat to govern that state since the 1850s. A leading figure of the Progr ...
. However, Altgeld was politically weaker than he once had been, and Harrison easily fended him off. In the March indirect primary to elect the delegate's to the city's nominating convention
A United States presidential nominating convention is a political convention held every four years in the United States by most of the political parties who will be fielding nominees in the upcoming U.S. presidential election. The formal purpo ...
, delegates supporting Harrison won a broad majority, and Harrison won the party's nomination by acclamation
An acclamation is a form of election that does not use a ballot. It derives from the ancient Roman word ''acclamatio'', a kind of ritual greeting and expression of approval towards imperial officials in certain social contexts.
Voting Voice vot ...
at its nominating convention. The Republican Party had a large field of candidates seeking its nomination. Along with Elbridge Hanecy (who was a judge on the Circuit Court of Cook County
The Circuit Court of Cook County is the largest of the 24 judicial circuits in Illinois as well as one of the largest unified court systems in the United States — second only in size to the Superior Court of Los Angeles County since that court ...
, the two other front-running contenders for the Republican nomination were William Boldenweck and former alderman John Maynard Harlan
John Maynard Harlan was an American lawyer and politician who served as a member of the Chicago City Council. Harlan, multiple times, ran for the mayoralty of Chicago.
He was the son and father of United States Supreme Court associate justices ...
. Other contenders that Henry beat were Judge Marcus Kavanaugh, Aldermen William Mavor, Frank T. Fowler, and former alderman Walter J. Raymer.
Nominations
Democratic
Incumbent mayor Carter Harrison Jr. was renominated by the Democratic Party.
Harrison's opponent for the nomination was former governor John Peter Altgeld
John Peter Altgeld (December 30, 1847 – March 12, 1902) was an American politician and the 20th Governor of Illinois, serving from 1893 until 1897. He was the first Democrat to govern that state since the 1850s. A leading figure of the Progr ...
, who had been a third-party challenger in the previous election. However, his 1901 candidacy for the nomination was not a serious threat to Harrison, as Altgeld had lost much of his influence over the last two years.[
There had been rumors that, additionally, ]Roger Charles Sullivan
Roger Charles Sullivan (February 3, 1861 – April 14, 1920), was a member of the Cook County Democratic Organization during the early twentieth century.'A Biographical History, With Portraits, of Prominent Men of the Great West,' John A Campb ...
and John Patrick Hopkins might recruit a candidate of their own to challenge Harrison, but this never materialized.[
In the March primary to elect delegates to the city ]nominating convention
A United States presidential nominating convention is a political convention held every four years in the United States by most of the political parties who will be fielding nominees in the upcoming U.S. presidential election. The formal purpo ...
, Harrison-supporting delegate candidates won a large majority.[ At the convention, Harrison was renominated by ]acclamation
An acclamation is a form of election that does not use a ballot. It derives from the ancient Roman word ''acclamatio'', a kind of ritual greeting and expression of approval towards imperial officials in certain social contexts.
Voting Voice vot ...
.[
]
Republican
The Republican Party nominated Cook County Circuit Court
The Circuit Court of Cook County is the largest of the 24 judicial circuits in Illinois as well as one of the largest unified court systems in the United States — second only in size to the Superior Court of Los Angeles County since that court ...
judge Elbridge Hanecy
Elbridge Hanecy (March 15, 1852 – 1925) was an American lawyer and politician who served as a judge of both the Illinois Circuit Court for Cook County and the Superior Court of Cook County. He was the Republican Party (United States), Republic ...
at its city convention on March 2. He captured the nomination on the eighth round of balloting.[ Hancey had previously been an unsuccessful candidate for the Republican Illinois gubernatorial nomination in 1900.
Other candidates who sought the nomination were ]John Maynard Harlan
John Maynard Harlan was an American lawyer and politician who served as a member of the Chicago City Council. Harlan, multiple times, ran for the mayoralty of Chicago.
He was the son and father of United States Supreme Court associate justices ...
, Judge Marcus Kavanaugh, Aldermen William Mavor, Frank T. Fowler, William Boldenweck, W. J. Raymer.[
The top three contenders for the nomination were Hanecy, Harlan, and Boldenweck.] Machine
A machine is a physical system using Power (physics), power to apply Force, forces and control Motion, movement to perform an action. The term is commonly applied to artificial devices, such as those employing engines or motors, but also to na ...
Republicans largely backed Hanecy. Independent Republicans largely backed Harlan. German Republicans largely backed Boldenweck.[
Hanecy had been a judge on the Cook County Circuit Court for a number of years.][ The previous year, Hanecy had sought the gubernatorial nomination, being defeated by Richard Yates Jr. at the state convention by a thin margin.][ Hanecy was politically allied with William Lorimer, being Lorimer's candidate both in this mayoral election and in the previous year's gubernatorial election.][
Despite speculation, Harlan denied any intentions of running as an independent if he lost the nomination.]
Prohibition
The Prohibition Party nominated Avery E. Hoyt.
Single Tax
The Single Tax Party nominated Thomas Rhodes.
The Single Tax Party was a national organization. It championed Georgism
Georgism, also called in modern times Geoism, and known historically as the single tax movement, is an economic ideology holding that, although people should own the value they produce themselves, the economic rent derived from land—including ...
.
Social Democratic
The Social Democratic Party nominated Guy Hoyt.
Socialist
The Socialist Party nominated John Collins.
Socialist Labor
The Socialist Labor Party nominated John R. Peptin.
General election
Henacy campaigned actively, delivering many speeches. Henacy aimed to present himself as a positive alternative to Harrison. He advocated changing the fee system practiced by some city officials and also proposed stronger measures to regulate the streetcar companies.[ However, his attempts to adopt reformist policies were weakened in their effectiveness by his association with William Lorimer.][ Reform-minded Republicans were upset that the seedy Lorimer managed to get his preferred candidate nominated by the Republican Party over reformist favorite John Maynard Harlan.][ Some Republicans unsuccessfully sought to persuade Harlan to run as an independent.][
The Republican Party's platform criticized the Harrison administration as "inefficient", "notorious", "scandalous", "dishonest", and cowardly negligent in its,
The traction issue surfaced in this election. The Democratic platform advocated for ]municipal ownership
A state-owned enterprise (SOE) is a government entity which is established or nationalised by the ''national government'' or ''provincial government'' by an executive order or an act of legislation in order to earn profit for the government ...
of street railways.[ The Democratic platform did not advocate for ''immediate'' public ownership, however, making provisions in its platform for the extension of franchises.][ The Democratic platform advocated for, Not only did Henacy propose stronger measures to regulate streetcar companies,][ but the Republican convention had declared that,
The Democratic platform also advocated municipal ownership of other public utilities, including gas, electricity, and water.][
Harrison took his Republican challenger serious, and campaigned vigorously against him.][
]
Results
By the standards of the era in Chicago politics, Harrison's margin of victory was viewed as a decisive one.[
Harrison carried 26 wards while Hanecy carried the remaining nine.]
In some of the most Republican parts of the city, Hanecy only managed to win a plurality of the vote, and in others he lost the vote to Harrison. However, Harrison, likewise, suffered in some of the city's Democratic strongholds.
Harrison received 72.96% of the Polish-American vote
Polish-Americans in the United States comprise a voting bloc sought after by both the Democratic and Republican parties as they have a bellwether status. Polish Americans comprise 3.2% of the United States population, but were estimated at nearly ...
, while Hanecy received 23.54% and Collins received 2.74%.[Kantowicz, Edward. “The Emergence of the Polish-Democratic Vote in Chicago.” Polish American Studies, vol. 29, no. 1/2, 1972, pp. 67–80. JSTOR, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/20147849.]
References
{{Illinois elections
Mayoral elections in Chicago
Chicago
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Chicago
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1900s in Chicago