James Black (September 23, 1823 – December 16, 1893) was an American

temperance movement The temperance movement is a social movement promoting temperance or complete abstinence from consumption of alcoholic beverages. Participants in the movement typically criticize alcohol intoxication or promote teetotalism, and its leaders emph ...

activist and a founder of the

Prohibition Party The Prohibition Party (PRO) is a political party in the United States known for its historic opposition to the sale or consumption of alcoholic beverages and as an integral part of the temperance movement. It is the oldest existing third party ...

. Black served as the first presidential nominee of the Prohibition Party during the 1872 presidential election.

Biography

Early life

James Black was born September 23, 1823 in

Lewisburg, Pennsylvania Lewisburg is a borough in Union County, Pennsylvania, United States, south by southeast of Williamsport and north of Harrisburg. In the past, it was the commercial center for a fertile grain and general farming region. The population was 5,1 ...

, the son of John Black and Jane Egbert Black. In 1836 the family moved to the city of

Lancaster, Pennsylvania Lancaster, ( ; pdc, Lengeschder) is a city in and the county seat of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. It is one of the oldest inland cities in the United States. With a population at the 2020 census of 58,039, it ranks 11th in population amon ...

, which would remain his hometown for the rest of his life.William D.P. Bliss (ed.), ''The New Cyclopedia of Social Reform.'' New Edition. New York: Funk and Wagnalls, 1908; pg. 119. In addition to his home in the city of Lancaster, Black also had a residence in Fulton Township, Pennsylvania. As a child he worked in a sawmill from 1836 to 1837 and worked on the

Susquehanna and Tidewater Canal The Susquehanna and Tidewater Canal between Wrightsville, Pennsylvania, and Havre de Grace, Maryland, at the head of Chesapeake Bay, provided an interstate shipping alternative to 19th-century arks, rafts, and boats plying the difficult waters o ...

in 1839 before attending the Lewisburg Academy from 1841 to 1843. In 1844, Black began the study of law, passing into the Pennsylvania state bar in 1846 and setting up a legal practice in Lancaster. In 1845, he married Eliza Murray and would later have six children with her.

Political career

Black was initially a member of the Republican Party but was also deeply committed to anti-alcohol activism, having joined the

Washingtonian movement The Washingtonian movement (Washingtonians, Washingtonian Temperance Society or Washingtonian Total Abstinence Society) was a 19th-century temperance fellowship founded on Thursday, April 2, 1840, by six alcoholics (William Mitchell, David Hoss, ...

while still a youth. He first joined 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 ...

, but in 1854 he participated in the creation of the Republican party and later served as a delegate to the 1856 Republican National Convention where he voted to give

John C. Frémont John Charles Frémont or Fremont (January 21, 1813July 13, 1890) was an American explorer, military officer, and politician. He was a U.S. Senator from California and was the first Republican nominee for president of the United States in 1856 ...

the Republican nomination. Black was actively involved in establishing the

Good Templars The International Organisation of Good Templars (IOGT; founded as the Independent Order of Good Templars), whose international body is known as Movendi International, is a fraternal organization which is part of the temperance movement, promotin ...

, a temperance organization. In addition, he co-founded the

National Temperance Society and Publishing House The National Temperance Society and Publishing House was a publishing house which advocated personal alcohol temperance and a governmental ban on the personal consumption of alcohol. It was based in New York City. Foundation It was founded in 186 ...

with

Neal Dow Neal Dow (March 20, 1804 – October 2, 1897) was an American Prohibition advocate and politician. Nicknamed the "Napoleon of Temperance movement, Temperance" and the "Father of Prohibition", Dow was born to a Quaker family in Portland, Maine. ...

, another pioneering temperance leader. In its first 60 years, the publishing house printed over one billion pages. It published three monthly periodicals with a combined circulation of about 600,000. It also published over 2,000 books and pamphlets plus textbooks, flyers, broadsides and other temperance materials. In 1869, Black and some of his friends founded the

in Chicago, Illinois with Black serving as president of the convention. Three years later he was selected to run as the party’s first presidential candidate, but he won no electoral votes and only 5,607 votes. During the 1872 presidential campaign it was incorrectly stated that he had endorsed the Liberal Republican presidential ticket of

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 ...

and

Benjamin Gratz Brown Benjamin Gratz Brown (May 28, 1826December 13, 1885) was an American politician. He was a U.S. Senator, the 20th Governor of Missouri, and the Liberal Republican and Democratic Party vice presidential candidate in the presidential election of ...

. From 1876 to 1880 he served as chairman of the national Prohibition committee.

Death and legacy

On December 16, 1893, Black died of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...

at his home in

at age 70. The Prohibition party would continue to exist to the present day and was successful in achieving

alcohol prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic be ...

in the United States from 1919 to 1933.

References

Works

''Is There a Necessity for a Prohibition Party?''
New York: National Temperance Society and Publication House, 1876. * ''Brief History of Prohibition and of the Prohibition Reform Party.'' New York: National Committee of the Prohibition Reform Party, 1880. * ''Hon. James Black's Cleveland address. Address delivered at the opening of the National Prohibition Reform Party Convention, held in Cleveland, Ohio, Wednesday, June, 17th, 1880.'' New York: Prohibition Reform Party, 1880. * ''History of the National Prohibition Party.'' New York: National Temperance Society and Publication House, 1893.

External links

OurCampaigns biography, www.ourcampaigns.com/ * Lawrence Kestenbaum

The Political Graveyard, www.politicalgraveyard.com/ {{DEFAULTSORT:Black, James 1823 births 1893 deaths American temperance activists Prohibition Party (United States) presidential nominees Candidates in the 1872 United States presidential election Pennsylvania Democrats Pennsylvania Prohibitionists Pennsylvania Republicans Pennsylvania lawyers People from Lewisburg, Pennsylvania Politicians from Lancaster, Pennsylvania Writers from Lancaster, Pennsylvania Deaths from pneumonia in Pennsylvania 19th-century American lawyers 19th-century American politicians