The Conservative Party of Virginia was a

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political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...

in the state of

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

during the second half of 19th century. It centered on opposition to

Reconstruction Reconstruction may refer to: Politics, history, and sociology *Reconstruction (law), the transfer of a company's (or several companies') business to a new company *'' Perestroika'' (Russian for "reconstruction"), a late 20th century Soviet Unio ...

. During its history, the party was successful in electing six

congressmen A Member of Congress (MOC) is a person who has been appointed or elected and inducted into an official body called a congress, typically to represent a particular constituency in a legislature. The term member of parliament (MP) is an equivalen ...

to the

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, all during the

41st Congress The 41st United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1869, ...

. The party was related to similar conservative movements in other states, combining Liberal Republicans and repentant Democrats looking to improve their image as "friends of the black people" on a national level. The movement was also closely tied to the "New Departure" movement of

statesman

William Mahone William Mahone (December 1, 1826October 8, 1895) was an American civil engineer, railroad executive, Confederate States Army general, and Virginia politician. As a young man, Mahone was prominent in the building of Virginia's roads and railroa ...

. The Conservative Party's efforts ultimately divided the Republican Party in the state and caused its political power in Virginia to diminish.

History

Foundation

Belles, beaux and brains of the 60's (1909) (14596404537)

From December 11–12, 1867 a group of former Democrats, former Whigs, and moderate Republicans, led by

Alexander Hugh Holmes Stuart Alexander Hugh Holmes Stuart (April 2, 1807 – February 13, 1891) was a prominent Virginia lawyer and American political figure associated with several political parties. Stuart served in both houses of the Virginia General Assembly (1836-1 ...

held a convention in

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

. Raleigh T. Daniel, the party's first chairman and a former Whig, led the organization of the party throughout the state. Alexander H. H. Stuart would later lead the

Committee of Nine The Committee of Nine was a group of conservative political leaders in Virginia, led by Alexander H. H. Stuart, following the American Civil War, when Virginia was required to adopt a new Constitution acknowledging the abolition of slavery before it ...

to negotiate a compromise with President Ulysses S. Grant and leading members of Congress. The compromise called for a separate vote on former Confederate disfranchisement at the time of the referendum.

Rise

The party won majorities in both houses of the

Virginia General Assembly The Virginia General Assembly is the legislative body of the Commonwealth of Virginia, the oldest continuous law-making body in the Western Hemisphere, the first elected legislative assembly in the New World, and was established on July 30, 161 ...

in the 1869 elections and endorsed many moderate Republicans who had run against

Radical Republicans The Radical Republicans (later also known as " Stalwarts") were a faction within the Republican Party, originating from the party's founding in 1854, some 6 years before the Civil War, until the Compromise of 1877, which effectively ended Reco ...

. However, despite their opposition to the radical Republicans the party was divided on the issue of black suffrage although most were in agreement on economic issues. Despite the party's divided opinion on black suffrage thirty blacks were elected to assembly and many of them had their views in line with the Conservatives.

Division

In 1869 the Conservative party used its majorities in the assembly to create a free public school system as required by the new state constitution and the next year would segregate all schools in Virginia. Later the assembly voted to sell most of the state's stock in railroad companies, but the low prices that investors paid created suspicions of corruption, and the state treasury received less money than anticipated and voted to pay the large public debt left over from the pre–Civil War years by issuing new bonds with thirty-four-year maturity and six percent annual interest. The Funding Act of 1871 was widely unpopular and created two factions in the party, the Funders and the

Readjusters The Readjuster Party was a bi-racial state-level political party formed in Virginia across party lines in the late 1870s during the turbulent period following the Reconstruction era that sought to reduce outstanding debt owed by the state. Readj ...

, who would later create their own party, over the debate on whether or not paying the debt was more important than supporting the public schools. A group of conservative members of the Virginia state legislature met in

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

on July 1, 1870 to reorganize the party and submit their recommendations to the Legislatures with respect to

congressional redistricting Redistricting in the United States is the process of drawing electoral district boundaries. For the United States House of Representatives, and state legislatures, redistricting occurs after each decennial census. The U.S. Constitution in Ar ...

Demise

A popular bill that would increase the amount of revenue available to public schools was introduced and passed by the assembly in 1878, but was vetoed by Governor

Frederick W. M. Holliday Frederick William Mackey Holliday (February 22, 1828May 29, 1899) was a member of the Confederate Congress as well as an officer in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. He also became the List of governors of Virginia, 3 ...

. The Readjusters would break away from the Conservative party and formed their own party and the remaining Conservative Funders lost their majorities in both houses in the same year to the Readjusters. The Readjusters would later win the governorship in 1881 causing the few Conservative bills passed by the assembly to be vetoed by

William E. Cameron William Evelyn Cameron (November 29, 1842January 25, 1927) was a Confederate soldier who became a Virginia lawyer, journalist, and politician. He served as the 39th Governor of Virginia from 1882–1886, elected as the candidate of the Rea ...

. In 1883 the party and most of its members merged with the Democratic party.

Criticism

In 1876, former

Virginia Governor The governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia serves as the head of government of Virginia for a four-year term. The incumbent, Glenn Youngkin, was sworn in on January 15, 2022. Oath of office On inauguration day, the Governor-elect takes th ...

Henry A. Wise Henry Alexander Wise (December 3, 1806 – September 12, 1876) was an American attorney, diplomat, politician and slave owner from Virginia. As the 33rd Governor of Virginia, Wise served as a significant figure on the path to the American Civil W ...

denounced the party during testimony before the

Virginia House of Delegates The Virginia House of Delegates is one of the two parts of the Virginia General Assembly, the other being the Senate of Virginia. It has 100 members elected for terms of two years; unlike most states, these elections take place during odd-numbe ...

Committee on Elections, as nothing more than "old-fashioned Democrats, old-fashioned Whigs,

Know Nothing The Know Nothing party was a nativist political party and movement in the United States in the mid-1850s. The party was officially known as the "Native American Party" prior to 1855 and thereafter, it was simply known as the "American Party". ...

locofocos The Locofocos (also Loco Focos or Loco-focos) were a faction of the Democratic Party in American politics that existed from 1835 until the mid-1840s. History The faction, originally named the Equal Rights Party, was created in New York City as a p ...

, sour-crout (sic) Democrats, and Greelyites," the latter a reference to

Horace Greeley Horace Greeley (February 3, 1811 – November 29, 1872) was an American newspaper editor and publisher who was the founder and newspaper editor, editor of the ''New-York Tribune''. Long active in politics, he served briefly as a congressm ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, whose candidacy the Conservative Party endorsed for

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...

in the 1872 presidential election.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Conservative Party Of Virginia

Regional and state political parties in the United States Defunct conservative parties in the United States Political parties in Virginia