1837 Chicago mayoral election

Chicago mayoral election, 1837
	May 2, 1837
	May 2, 1837
Mayor before election; John H. Kinzie (as Town President); Whig	Elected Mayor ; William B. Ogden; Democratic

The 1837 Chicago mayoral election was held on May 2, 1837. It was the inaugural Chicago mayoral election, taking place the same year as Chicago's incorporation as a city. Democratic candidate William B. Ogden defeated Whig incumbent Town President John H. Kinzie by a landslide 38.5 point margin.

Shortly after the election Ogden was sworn in as Chicago's first mayor. This set the precedent of scheduling Chicago's mayoral inauguration for the month of May, a practice which has continued for most of the city's history into the present.[1]

The election coincided with elections to the Common Council. In addition to winning the mayor's office, Democrats took all 10 seats of the Common Council.[2]

Campaign

Prominent Chicagoan W. B. Egan had been considered a potential candidate, however he refused to run.[3]

Kinzie was backed by individuals such as Gurdon Saltonstall Hubbard.[4]

Chicago had quickly been becoming a stronghold for the Whig Party.[5] To overcome this trend, Democrats Francis Sherman, John Wentworth, and Peter Pruyne convinced William B. Ogden to run on their party's ticket.[5] Wentworth, being editor of the city's Chicago Democrat newspaper, used the paper to support Ogden's candidacy.[4]

Kinzie campaigned on a platform advocating the extension of Chicago's plank roads into the countryside.[5] Ogden ran a more railroad-centric candidacy, believing that the railroads were the lifeline for the city's future.[5]

Making use of his roots in the city, as the son of early settlers, Kinzie's supporters used the slogan "First born of Chicago" to promote him.[4][5] Kinzie had the backing of old settlers, such as Gurdon Saltonstall Hubbard.[5] Detractors of Ogden accused him of being a "transient speculator" whose only aim was to make money off of Chicago before returning to New York.[4][6] However, this line of attack was rendered ineffective by the fact that, eby this time, eastern newcomers made up a majority of the city's populace.[4]

Kinzie, being popular figure, initially seemed to have an advantage in the election.[5]

Voting procedure

Voting was done viva voce. Individuals would walk up to a table and orally announce their vote, for all to eavesdrop upon.[5] Each ward had a single polling place.[5]

The polling places for each ward were:[2]

First: The "Eagle", No. 10 Dearborn Avenue
Second: Lincoln Coffee House
Third: Charles Taylor's House, Canal Street
Fourth: Chicago Hotel, northeast corner of Canal and Lake Streets
Fifth: Canal office, North Water Street
Sixth: Franklin House, North Water Street

Results

**1839 Chicago mayoral election**[7]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	William B. Ogden	470	66.86
	Whig	John H. Kinzie	233	33.14
Total votes			703	100.00

Results by ward

Ogden won in every ward, even defeating Kinzie in his own ward by a single vote.[5][7]

Ward	Ogden		Kinzie		Total Votes
Ward	Votes	%	Votes	%	Total Votes
1st	102	61.1%	65	38.9%	167
2nd	182	74.9%	61	25.1%	243
3rd	21	60.0%	14	40.0%	35
4th	34	64.2%	19	35.9%	53
5th	58	96.7%	2	3.3%	60
6th	73	50.4%	72	49.7%	145

References

John, Derek (18 February 2015). "No Conspiracy Required: The True Origins Of Chicago's February Elections". WBEZ. Retrieved 4 December 2018.
Origin, Growth, and Usefulness of the Chicago Board of Trade: Its Leading Members, and Representative Business Men in other branches of Trade. New York: Historical Publishing Company. 1885–1886. p. 37. Retrieved December 4, 2018.
Goodspeed, Weston A. (Feb 6, 2017). The History of Cook County, Illinois. Jazzybee Verlag.
Miller, Donald L. (2014). City of the Century: The Epic of Chicago and the Making of America. Rosetta Books. p. 98, 103. ISBN 978-0-7953-3985-1. Retrieved 17 May 2020.
Harpster, Jack (December 3, 2018). Railroad Tycoon Who Built Chicago.
Pierce, Bessie Louise. A History of Chicago, Volume I: The Beginning of a City 1673-1848. p. 376.
Goodspeed, Weston A. (Feb 6, 2017). History of Cook County, Illinois--, Being a General Survey of Cook County History, Including a Condensed History of Chicago and Special Account of Districts Outside the City Limits; from the Earliest Settlement to the Present Time Volume I. Jazzybee Verlag. p. 132.

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.

[1] John, Derek (18 February 2015). "No Conspiracy Required: The True Origins Of Chicago's February Elections". WBEZ. Retrieved 4 December 2018.

[CBOT_book-2] Origin, Growth, and Usefulness of the Chicago Board of Trade: Its Leading Members, and Representative Business Men in other branches of Trade. New York: Historical Publishing Company. 1885–1886. p. 37. Retrieved December 4, 2018.

[3] Goodspeed, Weston A. (Feb 6, 2017). The History of Cook County, Illinois. Jazzybee Verlag.

[cotc-4] Miller, Donald L. (2014). City of the Century: The Epic of Chicago and the Making of America. Rosetta Books. p. 98, 103. ISBN 978-0-7953-3985-1. Retrieved 17 May 2020.

[tycoonwhobuilt-5] Harpster, Jack (December 3, 2018). Railroad Tycoon Who Built Chicago.

[6] Pierce, Bessie Louise. A History of Chicago, Volume I: The Beginning of a City 1673-1848. p. 376.

[cookhist-7] Goodspeed, Weston A. (Feb 6, 2017). History of Cook County, Illinois--, Being a General Survey of Cook County History, Including a Condensed History of Chicago and Special Account of Districts Outside the City Limits; from the Earliest Settlement to the Present Time Volume I. Jazzybee Verlag. p. 132.

Elections in Illinois
By year	1936 1938 1940 1942 1944 1946 1948 1950 1952 1954 1956 1958 1960 1962 1964 1966 1968 1969 1970 1972 1974 1976 1978 1980 1982 1984 1986 1998 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022
Presidential	1820 1824 1828 1832 1836 1840 1844 1848 1852 1856 1860 1864 1868 1872 1876 1880 1884 1888 1892 1896 1900 1904 1908 1912 1916 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1940 1944 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 (Dem primary, Rep primary) 2012 2016 (Dem primary) 2020 (Dem primary)
U.S. Senate	1885 1913 1914 1918 1920 1924 1926 1928 1930 1932 1936 1938 1940 1942 1944 1948 1950 1954 1956 1960 1962 1966 1968 1970 1972 1974 1978 1980 1984 1986 1990 1992 1996 1998 2002 2004 2008 2010 2014 2016 2020
U.S. House	2000 (1st) 2006 2008 2010 (17th) 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020
Special	2nd Congressional, 1995 14th Congressional, 2008 5th Congressional, 2009 2nd Congressional, 2013 18th Congressional, 2015 Comptroller, 2016
Gubernatorial	1818 1822 1826 1830 1834 1838 1842 1846 1848 1852 1856 1860 1864 1868 1904 1908 1912 1916 1936 1940 1944 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018
State Senate	2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020
State House	2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020
State judicial	1936 1938 1940 1942 1948 1960 1962 2014 2016 2018 2020
Statewide ballot referendums	Cutback Amendment (1980) Illinois Governor Recall Amendment (2010) Illinois Public Pension Amendment (2012) Marsy's Law (2014) Illinois Right to Vote Amendment (2014) Illinois Fair Tax (2020)
Chicago mayoral	1837 1838 1839 1840 1841 1842 1843 1844 (Mar) 1844 (Apr) 1845 1846 1847 1848 1849 1850 1851 1852 1853 1854 1855 1856 1857 1858 1859 1860 1861 1862 1863 1865 1867 1869 1871 1873 1876 (Apr) 1876 (Jul) 1877 1879 1881 1883 1885 1887 1889 1891 1893 (Apr) 1893 (Dec) 1895 1897 1899 1901 1903 1905 1907 1911 1915 1919 1923 1927 1931 1935 1939 1943 1947 1951 1955 1959 1963 1967 1971 1975 1977 1979 1983 1987 1989 1991 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 2015 2019 2023
Chicago City Council	1923 1925 1927 1929 1931 1933 1935 1939 1943 1947 1951 1955 1959 1963 1967 1971 1975 1979 1983 1987 1991 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 2015 2019
Cicero municipal	1924
Cook County	1946 1980 (State's Attorney) 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022