John Temple Graves
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John Temple Graves (November 9, 1856 – August 8, 1925) was an American newspaper editor who is best known for being the vice presidential nominee of the
Independence Party Independence Party may refer to: Active parties Outside United States * Independence Party (Egypt) * Estonian Independence Party * Independence Party (Finland) * Independence Party (Iceland) * Independence Party (Mauritius) * Independence Part ...
in the presidential election of 1908.


Biography

Graves was born in 1856 in
Willington, South Carolina Willington is a census-designated place (CDP) in McCormick County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 177 at the 2000 census. History The Calhoun-Gibert House and Guillebeau House are listed on the National Register of Historic P ...
, to General James Porterfield Graves (1820–1914) and Katherine Floride Townes (1827–1858). He was related to the Calhoun family, a prominent family in 18th and 19th-century American politics, and was the great-grandnephew of John C. Calhoun, who served as
Vice President of the United States The vice president of the United States (VPOTUS) is the second-highest officer in the executive branch of the U.S. federal government, after the president of the United States, and ranks first in the presidential line of succession. The vice ...
from 1825 until 1832. He served as a
presidential elector The United States Electoral College is the group of presidential electors required by the Constitution to form every four years for the sole purpose of appointing the president and vice president. Each state and the District of Columbia appo ...
for
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in
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and for
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in 1888. He was an Atlantan. In a speech in
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, he denounced allowing African-Americans to vote: "This is a white man's government, and it will remain so forever, for God Almighty has stamped his seal and sign of sovereignty upon the Anglo-Saxon tribe." In 1903, Graves made a statement defending
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: "The problem of the hour is not how to prevent lynching in the South, but the larger question: How shall we destroy the crime which always has and always will provoke lynching? The answer which the mob returns to this vital question is already known. The mob answers it with the rope, the bullet, and sometimes, God save us! with the torch. And the mob is practical; its theory is effective to a large degree. The mob is today the sternest, the strongest, and the most effective restraint that the age holds for the control of rape." In
commencement address
to the University of Chicago, Graves advocated colonizing black people to the
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, where they would form their own government. Under his scheme, whites would not be allowed to vote there, and blacks would not be able to vote in the United States. The speech prompted an opposing letter to the editor of the Brooklyn Eagle by black journalist Jack Thorne, who said Graves's claims that white women were not safe to walk the streets of
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were nonsense.


1908 vice presidential candidacy

The newly-formed
Independence Party Independence Party may refer to: Active parties Outside United States * Independence Party (Egypt) * Estonian Independence Party * Independence Party (Finland) * Independence Party (Iceland) * Independence Party (Mauritius) * Independence Part ...
decided to hold a national convention in
Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...
. Graves was nominated as one of the candidates for president on July 27. The first ballot saw a tally of 396 votes for Thomas L. Hisgen, 213 for Graves, 200 for Milford W. Howard, 71 for Reuben R. Lyon, and 49 for
William Randolph Hearst William Randolph Hearst Sr. (; April 29, 1863 – August 14, 1951) was an American businessman, newspaper publisher, and politician known for developing the nation's largest newspaper chain and media company, Hearst Communications. His flamboya ...
. A second ballot brought Hisgen to the doorstep of nomination, gathering 590 votes, compared to 189 for Graves and 109 for Howard. Only in the early morning hours of Wednesday, July 29 would Hisgen go over the top and wim the nomination. Graves was subsequently chosen as the party's nominee for vice president."Hisgen and Graves New Party Ticket: The Independence Convention Makes Its Choice in Early Morning,"
''New York Times,'' July 29, 1908, pp. 1, 3.
In the general election, the Independence Party ticket received 82,574 votes (0.55%), coming in fifth place. It performed best in Massachusetts, where it received 4.2% of the popular vote. Following the general election defeat, the Independence Party quickly faded away into obscurity although it fielded candidates in
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until 1914.


Later career

Graves later rejoined the Democratic Party and spoke at the
1912 Democratic National Convention The 1912 Democratic National Convention was held at the Fifth Regiment Armory off North Howard Street in Baltimore from June 25 to July 2, 1912. The Convention The convention was held at the Fifth Regiment Armory in Baltimore from June 25 t ...
. Graves was the first to suggest that a mammoth statue of Robert E. Lee be sculpted as a Confederate memorial on the side of
Stone Mountain, Georgia Stone Mountain is a city in DeKalb County, Georgia, United States. The population was 6,703 according to the 2020 US Census. Stone Mountain is in the eastern part of DeKalb County and is a suburb of Atlanta that encompasses nearly 1.7 square mil ...
.


Personal life

Graves married Mattie E. Simpson on April 17, 1878, and Anne (Annie) E. Cothran on December 30, 1890. He had two daughters, Mrs. Frederick Tompkins and Anne Graves; and three sons, John Temple Graves Jr., James de Graffenried Graves, and Cothran Calhoun Graves. He died in
Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
, on August 8, 1925, at the age of 68.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Graves, John Temple 1856 births 1925 deaths People from Willington, South Carolina Editors of Georgia (U.S. state) newspapers Politicians from Atlanta 1908 United States vice-presidential candidates Candidates in the 1908 United States presidential election Georgia (U.S. state) Democrats Florida Democrats American white supremacists