1876 Colorado gubernatorial election

In January 1874, Edward M. McCook, who already had been territorial Governor from 1869 to 1873, was appointed for another term by President Ulysses S. Grant after incumbent Governor Samuel Elbert had been removed due to misconduct in the Land Office in Pueblo. Elbert had supporters that claimed he should not have been relieved from his office because he was not involved in any misconduct. McCook, whose first administration was considered tainted by corruption, was also fiercely opposed by Jerome B. Chaffee, an Elbert supporter, who was the Territory's Delegate to the House of Representative at the time. Many in the territory saw McCook's appointment as an affront. The battle for his Senate confirmation turned into a feud between Chaffee and President Grant. Chaffee even threatened to resign if McCook was confirmed in the Senate. After five months of testimony and multiple accusations against McCook, the Senate confirmed his appointment on June 19, 1874 by a one-vote majority.[1]

After he had returned to Colorado, Governor McCook asked President Grant to relieve all political appointees from their duties, which had been recommended by Delegate Chaffee. President Grant complied and appointed replacements that all lived outside the territory. McCook and those other federal officers were considered carpetbaggers by the local population. There was a growing a sentiment in the territory, that the federal offices were used to place unsuccessful and no longer needed politicians from the east of the United States. A growing dissatisfaction with the Republican president, his local appointees and the infighting in the Republican party led to the surprising victory of Democrat Thomas M. Patterson in the election for Delegate to the House of Representatives on November 3, 1874.[1][2]

Edward M. McCook's second term as Governor was not successful and lasted just eight months. His administration was plagued by infighting in the Republican Party and McCook's personal problems. McCook was distraught by the death of his wife Mary and suffered from alcoholism. His lack of moral conduct cost him a lot of support and in February 1875 he resigned at the request of President Grant.[1]

On March 29, 1875, Republican John Long Routt was appointed by President Grant as to replace the unpopular Edward McCook as Governor of the Territory of Colorado. President Grant and John Routt had been close friends since their serving together for the Union in the Civil War.[3]

Routt's first task was to unite the local Republican party after years of infighting. He also needed to solve a growing disconnect between the inhabitants of Denver and the inhabitants of more rural areas in the territory. Many rural Coloradions believed that the gridlock and infighting in the years prior had been caused by a strong concentration of power for Denver politicians. At first, Routt had to deal with scepticism because he had also been appointed to the office without ever living in Colorado before. He assured the public by stating that he planned to move to the territory even if he had not been appointed as Governor.[3][4] His term as territorial Governor was dominated by the crafting of the first State Constitution of Colorado by the 1875 constitutional convention. Routt also succeeded in uniting the factions of the local Republican party.[4]

In the 1860s, the Colorado Territory, which had been created in 1861, was already relatively close to statehood. A Republican-dominated congress had passed an enabling act in 1864, that was signed by President Abraham Lincoln. The first proposed state constitution was voted down by the voters of the territory on October 11, 1864. A second proposal for a state constitution was then ratified by the voters on August 12, 1865. President Andrew Johnson, who had come into office after Lincoln's assassination, opposed statehood for the Colorado Territory fearing a strengthened Republican majority. During his term, President Johnson successfully blocked all further attempts by Congress to force statehood for the territory. After Johnson left office in 1869, Congress failed to pass a statehood bill on three separate occasions in between 1869 and 1873.[1]

The appointment saga around Governor McCook had shown the population of the territory the need for self-government and contributed to a strong effort towards statehood.[1] An act of Congress was again necessary for statehood. After the 1874 United States elections, control of the 44th Congress was divided, with Republicans still firmly in control of the Senate but Democrats with a newly gained majority in the House. National Democrats had long been opposed to statehood for the Colorado Territory fearing that statehood would add a solid Republican state to the Union. Newly elected Delegate Thomas M. Patterson, who was a strong proponent of statehood, worked on convincing Democrats in Congress that Colorado would elect Democratic members to Congress.[2] Patterson pointed to his own election as proof.[5] On the Republican side, former Delegate Jerome B. Chaffee, also a statehood proponent, made sure that Republican member of Congress would remain convinced that Colorado would vote Republican and that they supported the party's line.[5] Republicans pushed statehood through the 43rd Congress in the last days of its term, as the Democrats would take over control of the House of Representatives after the 44th Congress was sworn-in on March 4, 1875.[6]

The United States Congress passed an enabling act on March 3, 1875, specifying the requirements for the Territory of Colorado to become a state.[7][8] On August 1, 1876, U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant signed a proclamation admitting the state of Colorado to the Union as the 38th state and earning it the moniker "Centennial State".[9] The borders of the new state coincided with the borders that had been established for the Colorado Territory.

The enabling act laid out the process for the attempt at the first state constitution for Colorado. The territorial governor was authorized to call an election for 39 delegates within 90 days of September 1, 1875 which had to convene for the convention within 60 days of such elections. The crafted would have to be ratified by a referendum in July 1876. The enabling act had included a section stating that only those eligible to vote in territorial elections could vote in the referendum and in the prior elections for delegates to the constitutional convention.[8] This meant that, due to territorial statue of 1868, only white males over the age of 21 were allowed to vote.[6] The act also included constraints for the future state constitution. It specified that the constitution could make no "civil or political distinction on the account of race or color" and that it had to "tolerate all religious sentiments".[8]

Governor John Routt ordered elections for representatives in a Constitutional Convention, which were held on October 25, 1875.[10] Republicans won 24 seats, while the Democrats won just 15 seats. The convention convened in Denver on December 20, 1875. The most hotly contested issues were the regulation of railroads, mines and other companies, women's suffrage, funding for denominational schools and whether God should be mentioned in the preamble.[6]

The state constitution gave black men over the age of 21 the right to vote in state, while women's suffrage was also proposed but defeated in a 28-4 vote.[11] Delegates were afraid that territory's male electorate was against women's suffrage and that including it would doom the constitutions and thus statehood in the referendum.[6][12] The fear of corruption due to the strong influence of private mining and railroad companies in the state defined many choices of the convention. The term length of Governors was set at just two years to give voters an early opportunity to reject unpopular administration. Article V, Section 25, prohibited the passing of any laws benefiting just one company and Sections 27 and 28 provided ethics standards for legislators. The constitution is also very long due to detailed instructions and restrictions of the legislative abilities of the Colorado General Assembly. The intent here was to curb the ability of business leaders to enact laws through their influence over legislators.[6]

The constitution passed the convention on March 14, 1876 in a unanimous vote of 30-0, with nine delegates absent.[6] Due to provisions in the enabling act, the ratification referendum could not be held until July 1876.[8] The new constitution was finally ratified by a vote of the people on July 1, 1876. The vote margin was 15,443-4,039 (79%-21%) in favor of the constitution. Only four counties, El Paso, Huerfano, Las Animas and Pueblo, voted against the constitution. At the time, the residents of those counties were mostly of Mexican heritage and the results showed their dissatisfaction with the constitution and their mistrust towards the majority Anglo-American population.[6]

• John Long Routt, Governor of the Colorado Territory

• George M. Chilcott, former Delegate to the United States House of Representatives (1867-1869)
• Samuel Hitt Elbert, former Governor of the Colorado Territory (1873-1874)
• Lafayette Head, Member of the Colorado Territorial Council

The Republican convention was held on August 23, 1876 in Pueblo.[4] Jerome B. Chaffee, who was considered the leader of the local Republican party, chaired the convention. When the convention convened in the morning of August 23, it was uncertain who the state party would choose as their first nominee for Governor.[2]

Former Governor Samuel Hitt Elbert still enjoyed significant support among the delegates and the party leaders. Elbert was considered the favorite for the nomination. His removal from office in 1874 had caused widespread solidarity and his candidacy was supported by Chaffee. Incumbent Governor John Long Routt had still to fight against his image as an outsider and "carpetbagger". Although, Routt had gained respect among Republicans for successfully uniting the factions within the party. Lafayette Head was a candidate who had strong support among the delegates from the Hispanic-majority southern part of the new state but a limited appeal outside his geographic base. George M. Chilcott was another candidate who was seen favorably by the party's establishment.[2]

After four rounds of balloting had ended without a candidate receiving a majority of the delegates' votes (see below), John Routt struck a deal with Lafayette Head and Samuel Elbert. Head joined Routt on the Republican ticket as the nominee for Lieutenant Governor, while Elbert accepted a nomination in the elections for the Colorado Supreme Court.[2]

• Bela M. Hughes, Member of the Colorado Territorial Council

In February 1876, Bela Metcalfe Hughes was already rumoured in an article of the Colorado Weekly Chieftain to be the likely Democratic nominee in the first Gubernatorial election in the state of Colorado.[13] On August 29, 1876, the Democratic convention met in Manitou Springs in order to nominate candidates for the first state elections on October 3, 1876.[2] Bela Hughes was nominated for the 1876 Colorado Gubernatorial election per acclamation.[14]

Bela M. Hughes was born in Carlisle, Kentucky in 1817.[15] He had worked as a transportation businessman, developer and attorney in Missouri and Kansas. In Missouri, Hughes had also served in the state's House of Representatives and had been appointed to the office of Receiver of Public Moneys by President John Tyler.[16][17] He moved to Denver in 1862.[15] He practiced as an attorney in the city and was the first president of the Denver Pacific Railway and Telegraph Company.[15][18] Just prior to his candidacy for Governor, he had served one term as a Democrat in the Territorial Council, the upper house of the legislature of the Colorado Territory.[2]

A political cartoon by the Denver Mirror, ridiculing territorial Governor John Routt.

The slightly over one month long campaign began right after the conventions in the end of August 1876. Both nominees had very different styles of campaigning. The Democratic Nominee Bela M. Hughes hold many speeches presenting his platform.[19] In the first three weeks of September 1876 alone, he travelled for campaign events to 15 different Colorado cities, speaking up to six nights per week.[20] The Republican newspaper Golden Weekly Globe, published an extensive report on Hughes's speech in Golden. In their report, the newspaper alleged that Democratic presidential nominee Samuel J. Tilden had committed perjury and criticized Hughes for his defense and support of Tilden. The editorial also criticized Hughes' language, as he used phrases like "damned lie" and "the government is going to hell", despite the fact that there were around twenty women in the audience.[21] On the other hand, Democratic newspapers enthusiastically supported Hughes' candidacy. This was especially the case with the Denver Mirror, a small newspaper which was published by Stanley G. Fowler.[22]

A political cartoon by the Denver Mirror, encouraging its readers to support Bela M. Hughes for Governor. Hughes is the second from the right, his opponent Gov. Routt is on the right between the fences.

The Republican nominee, Territorial Governor John Routt, did not make any public speeches during the campaign.[23] He preferred to meet and greet voters face-to-face. At one Republican event, Routt acknowledged that he was not using rhetorical skills like his opponent. He said: "I cannot soar as high as some of my friends on the other side, but I am short and spry, and when it comes to getting into the political pastures I can get in just as quickly as they by crawling through; perhaps I can beat them in, for they have to soar high to avoid the fences." The Denver Mirror then used the image of Routt crawling through the fences to paint him in multiple cartoons as a carpetbagger, who had not been elected but appointed to the territorial governorship by President Grant after serving in different political roles in Illinois and Washington, DC.[24] The first cartoon was published on September 17, 1876. Fowler was successful with his cartoons, which were received attention across the whole state. Routt was amused by the caricatures and began to distribute copies of them at his campaign events.[24] In its last cartoon concerning the 1876 State Elections on October 1, 1876, the Denver Mirror called its readers to support Hughes and other Democratic candidates, stressing their support for the Silver Dollar and political reforms, while alleging that a Republican state government would be tainted by corruption.[25]

Routt was able to secure another term in office as Republicans managed to sweep all statewide offices and both chambers of the Colorado General Assembly. Routt won the gubernatorial election by 14,154 to 13,316 votes, a 52-48 margin.[2]

Source: 1877 Legislative Manual of the State of Colorado.[4][26]

Many Colorado Democrats questioned the accuracy of the election results. Nevertheless, Bela M. Hughes did not approve the calls for a recount and refused to request one despite the closeness of the results.[15]