History Working Men's Party (New York)

1 history

1.1 background
1.2 convention
1.3 election of 1829
1.4 reaction
1.5 factionalism
1.6 elections of 1830 , demise

history
background

in late 1820s, corruption rampant in municipal administration of new york city. public services street lighting, rendered friends of politicians got monopolies no payment city. charter dealers , among them samuel b. romaine, bribed assemblymen in albany large number of banks chartered. these banks issued own currency working men paid not accepted commerce, , devaluated quickly. contractors built houses, did not pay workers after delivering house, without consequences.

a reform movement had emerged, organized agitation of trade unions of new york city leading adoption on citywide basis of 10-hour working day, replacing former 11-hour standard.

in effort avert return longer working day, mass meeting of mechanics , others held on april 23, 1829. mass meeting passed resolution promising not work past current , reasonable 10 hour standard , indicating names of violators of restriction have names published in press enemies of labor. strike fund collected.

an organizational meeting followed on april 28, @ so-called committee of fifty elected coordinate believed forthcoming strike action.

convention

this strike not be, however, city s employers abruptly ended plan impose extension of working day. capitulation did not end committee of fifty, however, erstwhile strike committee instead submitting report late in summer of 1829 calling establishment of political party of workers contest forthcoming fall elections.

this report accepted mass meeting , new york working men s party born, following precedent established previous year organized labor movement of philadelphia.

chief among committee of fifty 39-year old machinist named thomas e. skidmore (1790-1832), authored of group s resolutions electoral campaign. skidmore presided on convention held @ military hall in new york city on october 19, 1829, @ set of resolutions, largely authored skidmore, passed.

the party program of 1829 called grant of 160 acres of land every man , every unmarried woman on age 21, held perpetually until owner s death. land holdings in excess of 160 ages confiscated government redistribution, according skidmore-authored party resolution. party adopted resolutions against hereditary transmission of wealth , against exclusive privileges , monopolies. bankers denounced greatest knaves, impostors , paupers of age. program called program of communal education of children, plank favored 1 of secretaries of working men s party, robert dale owen (1801-1877), son of utopian communalist pioneer robert owen.

the new party named slate of candidates november elections, including representatives of variety of trades seats in new york state assembly. new party engaged in political fusion organizes seeking defeat tammany hall in races new york state senate.

at end of october 1829 weekly newspaper launched in support of new labor political movement, working man s advocate, published english-born george henry evans (1805-1856), self-described mechanic.

election of 1829

the working men s party put forward full slate of candidates new york state assembly in november election of 1829. these included number of working men bench, including 2 machinists, 2 carpenters, cooper, printer, painter, , silversmith, among others.

on short timetable between formation, nomination of candidates, , fall election, candidates of working men s party performed acceptably in three-way race democratic party dominated tammany hall , national republicans. final results showed tammany democrats winning 8 of 11 contested legislative seats, national republicans winning 2, , 1 candidate of working men s party emerging victorious — ebenezer ford, president of journeymen carpenters society.

in simultaneous elections citywide office, working men s party received 6,000 votes tammany hall s 11,000, helping stymie tammany gaining outright majority in common council.

reaction

the emergence of fledgling organized workers movement in electoral process represented threat leaders of established political parties, attempted appropriate of reform measures garnering broad popular support.

in january 1830, bill better security of mechanics , other laborers of new york city introduced in state assembly silas m. stilwell. tammany men took if own, voted it, , secured credit of adoption, when became law. among other things, required, under penalties, owner of building retain contractor amount paid workers.

factionalism

although thomas skidmore had managed push of favored ideas calling redistribution of property 1829 platform of working men s party, ideas regarded primary rival robert dale owen crude , impractical , personal political style reckoned overbearing , dictatorial. minority supported skidmore s radical ideas expropriating , evenly dividing property, minority favored education-based humanitarian appeal of owen, wright, , evans.

as year 1829 drew close, meeting of mechanics , other workingmen held in new york city on december 29 set future policy of party. meeting chaired prominent local politician , skidmore foe henry g. guyon, refused allow skidmore speak. when skidmore attempted address meeting without official sanction, howled down. skidmore s agrarianism-oriented program defeated , communal education policies given primacy in revised working men s party program, class differentiation , denial of political liberty working people directly connected current pedagogical model.

denied access floor @ december 29, 1829, meeting , thereby read out of party, thomas skidmore , co-thinkers called preparatory meeting thereafter, formal organizational meeting new political organization following on february 23, 1830. 40 party adherents in attendance hear long argument between skidmore , working man s advocate publisher evans in skidmore charged official party had come dominated wealthy, while evans accused skidmore of having made himself obnoxious great body of workingmen.

a may 19, 1830, meeting of 70-member general executive committee of working men s party dealt blow both skidmore , owen-evans factions, however, granting party members free enjoyment of own private opinions on subjects while simultaneously asserting never support attempt palm upon man, or set of men, peculiar doctrines of infidelity, agrarianism or sectarian principles, dismissing both equal distribution of property , communal boarding , clothing of children in favor of maintenance of traditional family unit. followed meeting 1 week later, @ majority belong owen-evans group. dissenting communal boarding school educational model expelled. working men s party thereby formally split.

evans editorialized upon situation in pages of working man s advocate, attributing split deliberate plot has been lately unmasked subvert working men s party cause of electing national republican orator henry clay president of united states.

elections of 1830 , demise

the majority of working men s party identified members of clay workingmen, whether through personal admiration banner-bearer, belief in protective tariff fundamental matter of policy, or sheer opportunism in seeking use political movement personal ends. owen-evans working men s party, minority @ time of may 1830 split, attempted persevere party s communal education-oriented program , nominated full ticket local election, including effort return ebenezer ford legislative assembly.

the field joined thomas skidmore s agrarian party, called original working men s party, nominated full ticket state , city office well, including running skidmore united states congress , right hand man, alexander ming, sr., tapped state assembly. party nominated individual orange county governor, decline , no replacement chosen.

the result of 1830 election crushing blow owens-evans working men s party , skidmore agrarian party alike, working men s candidate governor, ezekiel williams, winning 2,332 votes against 250,000 votes split democratic , national republican candidates. tammany democrats routed national republican proxy clay workingmen in legislative races, ebenezer ford garnering 2,329 votes in losing bid re-election, barely more third of 1829 total.

with majority of adherents absorbed mainstream politics , no radicals elected, working men s party movement expired. there anecdotal evidence continue exist part of 1831 traces of existence vanish historical record time of 1831 new york city elections. party progenitor, extent, of locofocos.