1844 New York City mayoral election
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An election for Mayor of New York City was held on Tuesday, April 9, 1844.
April 9, 1844
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Incumbent mayor Robert H. Morris was not a candidate for re-election to a fourth term in office. In a three-way race to succeed him, publisher James Harper won his first and only term in office over Democratic nominee Jonathan I. Coddington, and Whig candidate Morris Franklin. Harper's win was the first major electoral victory for the emerging nativist and anti-Catholic movement that would soon coalesce around the Native American Party.
Background
By 1844, the increase in Irish and German immigration to the United States, especially in cities like New York and Philadelphia, had sparked a reaction among nativists, particularly those suspicious of the Roman Catholic Church. The Democratic Party—especially its powerful Tammany Hall political machine in Manhattan—welcomed both immigrants and Catholics into its ranks, and was accused of expediting naturalization and dispensing government jobs to "aliens" in exchange for their support at election time.
In 1844, New York Democrats held both U.S. Senate seats, 24 of New York's 34 seats in the House of Representatives, the Governor's office, and supermajorities in both chambers of the State Legislature. The Whigs, on the other hand, had lost the past five NYC mayoral elections, and the split with President John Tyler had cost the party invaluable opportunities for patronage by shutting it out of the federal spoils system.
The emergence of an organized nativist party in July 1843 further weakened the appeal of New York Whiggery. The American Republican Party provided disaffected voters with the opportunity to register their opposition to the two-party status quo while also supporting an energetic new movement untainted by past scandals, unaffiliated with unpopular politicians, and uninterested in polarizing topics such as the annexation of Texas, the Oregon Question, or slavery.
Candidates
- Jonathan I. Coddington, former Postmaster of New York City 1836-1842 (Democratic)
- Morris Franklin, lawyer and former New York State Senator (Whig)
- James Harper, publisher and co-founder of J. & J. Harper (American Republican)
Campaign
Results
On April 9, Harper was elected mayor of New York City with only 48.6% of the vote. The Democratic nominee Jonathan I. Coddington received 40.8%, while Whig candidate Morris received a mere 10.5%. Due to the massive defection of voters to the Nativist ticket, the American Republican Party carried 12 of the city's 17 wards; the Whigs won none.[1]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| American Republican Party (1843) | James Harper | 24,500 | 48.64% | |
| Democratic | Jonathan I. Coddington | 20,558 | 40.81% | |
| Whig | Franklin Morris | 5,297 | 10.52% | |
| Total votes | 50,373 | 99.7% | ||
Results by wards
| Results by ward[2] | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ward | Harper American | Coddington Democratic | Franklin Whig | Independent | Total | ||||||
| Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | Votes | % | |||
| 1 | 912 | 44.46% | 872 | 42.51% | 267 | 13.01% | 0 | 2,051 | 4.07% | ||
| 2 | 703 | 51.16% | 447 | 32.53% | 223 | 16.22% | 1 | 1,374 | 2.72% | ||
| 3 | 1,298 | 56.87% | 589 | 25.81% | 393 | 17.22% | 2 | 2,282 | 4.53% | ||
| 4 | 1,007 | 36.38% | 1,608 | 58.09% | 152 | 5.49% | 1 | 2,768 | 5.49% | ||
| 5 | 1,367 | 49.04% | 1,014 | 36.38% | 406 | 14.56% | 0 | 2,787 | 5.53% | ||
| 6 | 722 | 28.92% | 1,594 | 63.86% | 180 | 7.21% | 0 | 2,496 | 4.95% | ||
| 7 | 2,045 | 52.78% | 1,377 | 35.54% | 449 | 11.59% | 3 | 3,874 | 7.69% | ||
| 8 | 2,222 | 50.95% | 1,590 | 36.45% | 548 | 12.56% | 1 | 4,361 | 8.65% | ||
| 9 | 2,485 | 56.32% | 1,516 | 34.36% | 406 | 9.20% | 0 | 4,412 | 8.75% | ||
| 10 | 1,747 | 51.06% | 1,275 | 28.89% | 399 | 11.66% | 0 | 3,421 | 6.79% | ||
| 11 | 1,556 | 50.71% | 1,314 | 42.82% | 186 | 6.06% | 2 | 3,068 | 6.09% | ||
| 12 | 558 | 45.36% | 633 | 51.46% | 44 | 3.57% | 0 | 1,230 | 2.44% | ||
| 13 | 1,610 | 51.29% | 1,269 | 40.42% | 260 | 8.28% | 0 | 3,139 | 6.23% | ||
| 14 | 1,076 | 37.76% | 1,519 | 53.31% | 253 | 8.88% | 1 | 2,849 | 5.65% | ||
| 15 | 1,633 | 61.00% | 643 | 24.01% | 397 | 14.83% | 1 | 2,677 | 5.31% | ||
| 16 | 1,615 | 40.55% | 1,928 | 48.41% | 458 | 11.50% | 5 | 3,982 | 7.90% | ||
| 17 | 1,944 | 54.21% | 1,365 | 38.06% | 276 | 7.69% | 1 | 3,586 | 7.69% | ||
| Totals | 24,500 | 48.64% | 20,558 | 40.81% | 5,297 | 10.52% | 18 | 50,373 | 100% | ||