The 1879 United States Senate election in New York was held on January 21, 1879, by the

New York State Legislature The New York State Legislature consists of the two houses that act as the state legislature of the U.S. state of New York: The New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly. The Constitution of New York does not designate an officia ...

to elect a

U.S. Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

(Class 3) to represent the State of

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 * '' ...

in the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and ...

Background

Republican

Roscoe Conkling Roscoe Conkling (October 30, 1829April 18, 1888) was an American lawyer and Republican politician who represented New York in the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate. He is remembered today as the leader of the Re ...

had been re-elected in January 1873 to this seat, and his term would expire on March 3, 1879. At the State election in November 1877, 19 Republicans and 13 Democrats were elected for a two-year term (1878-1879) in the State Senate. At the State election in November 1878, 97 Republicans, 28 Democrats and 3 Greenbackers were elected for the session of 1879 to the Assembly, and Republican Thomas Murphy was elected to fill the vacancy in the State Senate caused by the death of Democrat John Morrissey. The

102nd New York State Legislature The 102nd New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 7 to May 22, 1879, during the third year of Lucius Robinson's governorship, in Albany. Background Under the provi ...

met from January 7 to May 22, 1879, at

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of New York, also the seat and largest city of Albany County. Albany is on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River, and about north of New York Ci ...

Candidates

Republican caucus

The caucus of Republican State legislators met on January 20, Temporary President of the State Senate

William H. Robertson William Henry Robertson (October 10, 1823 Bedford, Westchester County, New York – December 6, 1898 Katonah, Westchester Co., NY), also known as W. H. Robertson, was an American lawyer and politician from New York. Robertson was known to hav ...

presided. Present were all Republican legislators except State Senator Louis S. GoebelState Senator Goebel refused to caucus with any of the parties, but voted for Conkling at the election. (6th D.) and Assemblyman James W. Wadsworth. They re-nominated the incumbent U.S. Senator Conkling unanimously.

Democratic caucus

The caucus of the

Democratic Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

State legislators met also on January 20. State Senator

Thomas C. E. Ecclesine Thomas Charles Edward Ecclesine (October 19, 1846 in Dublin, Ireland – December 12, 1895 in New York City, USA) was an American lawyer and politician from New York. Life The family emigrated to the United States when Thomas was ten years old ...

(8th D.) offered to adopt a prostest against the senatorial election proceedings, claiming that the senatorial and assembly districts were incorrectly apportioned and thus the State Legislature did not represent the wish of the people of the State. The protest was substituted by a resolution to appoint a committee which would elaborate an address on the apportionment at a later date. Ecclesine then marched out, and the remaining legislators nominated Lieutenant Governor

William Dorsheimer William Dorsheimer (February 5, 1832 in Lyons, Wayne County, New York – March 26, 1888 in Savannah, Chatham County, Georgia) was an American lawyer, journalist, newspaper publisher, and politician. Early life Dorsheimer was born on Februar ...

for the U.S. Senate.

Greenback

The two Greenback assemblymen John Banfield (Chemung Co.) and George E. Williams ( Oswego Co.) voted for 87-year-old

Peter Cooper Peter Cooper (February 12, 1791April 4, 1883) was an American industrialist, inventor, philanthropist, and politician. He designed and built the first American steam locomotive, the ''Tom Thumb'', founded the Cooper Union for the Advancement of ...

, a

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

inventor, industrialist and philanthropist who had run for U.S. President in 1876 on the Greenback ticket.

Result

Roscoe Conkling was the choice of both the Assembly and the State Senate, and was declared elected. Note: The votes were cast on January 21, but both Houses met in a joint session on January 22 to compare nominations, and declare the result.

Aftermath

Conkling remained in office until May 17, 1881, when he resigned in protest against the distribution of federal patronage in New York by President James A. Garfield without being consulted. The crisis between the

Stalwart Stalwart is an adjective synonymous with ''"strong"''. It may also refer to: Relating to people: * Stalwart (politics), member of the most patronage-oriented faction of the United States Republican Party in the late 19th century In ships and mil ...

and the Half-Breed factions of the Republican party arose when the leader of the New Yorker Half-Breeds

was appointed

Collector of the Port of New York The Collector of Customs at the Port of New York, most often referred to as Collector of the Port of New York, was a federal officer who was in charge of the collection of import duties on foreign goods that entered the United States by ship at ...

, a position Conkling wanted to give to one of his Stalwart friends.

Notes

Sources

''VICTORIOUS REPUBLICANS''
in NYT on November 6, 1878 ives 1 Greenbacker elected, but Williams of Oswego is not in the list; this seems to have been a preliminary result which was later amendedbr>''NEW-YORK'S NEXT SENATOR; ROSCOE CONKLING RENOMINATED''
in NYT on January 21, 1879
''THE DEMOCRATIC CAUCUS.; A REMARKABLE PROTEST OFFERED AND TABLED; LIEUT.-GOV. DORSHEIMER TENDERED THE EMPTY HONOR OF A NOMINATION''
in NYT on January 21, 1879
''CONKLING WINS THE SENATORSHIP''
in NYT on January 22, 1879
''CHOOSING THEIR SENATORS.; ...LIEUT.-GOV. DORSHEIMER FORMALLY ANNOUNCES THE ELECTION''
in NYT on January 23, 1879 {{New York elections

1879 Events January–March * January 1 – The Specie Resumption Act takes effect. The United States Note is valued the same as gold, for the first time since the American Civil War. * January 11 – The Anglo-Zulu War begins. * Janu ...

1879 New York (state) elections