1863 Rhode Island gubernatorial election
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April 2, 1863
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 County results Smith: 50–60% 60–70% | ||||||||||||||||||||
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| Elections in Rhode Island |
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A gubernatorial election was held in Rhode Island on April 2, 1863. The Republican former mayor of Providence James Y. Smith defeated the Democratic incumbent governor William C. Cozzens.[1]
William Sprague IV won the 1860 Rhode Island gubernatorial election leading a coalition of Conservative Republicans, former Whigs, and Democrats.[2] Following the election, Sprague's supporters coalesced in the Constitutional Union Party.[3] Sprague underwent a political transformation during his tenure as governor, which coincided with the American Civil War. He attempted to build a new political party composed of Republicans, War Democrats, and his old conservative allies. When this effort failed, Sprague threw his support behind the Republicans.[4] Following his election to the United States Senate, he used his influence to encourage conservatives to back Smith, whom Sprague had defeated in his 1861 re-election bid.[2] Cozzens ran jointly as the Democratic and Constitutional Union candidate on a platform that endorsed the war effort and condemned emancipation.[5][6]
General election
[edit]| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | James Y. Smith | 10,749 | 58.35 | |
| Democratic | William C. Cozzens (incumbent) | 7,672 | 41.65 | |
| Total votes | 18,421 | 100.00 | ||
| Republican gain from Democratic | ||||
Notes
[edit]- ^ a b Dubin 2014, p. 2.
- ^ a b Smith 2006, p. 90.
- ^ Smith 2017, p. 184.
- ^ Dell 1975, p. 237.
- ^ Dell 1975, p. 237; DeSimone & Schofield 2015, Figs. 1-289, 1-290.
- ^ "Gov. Hoppin of Rhode Island [...]". Portland Daily Press. March 24, 1863.
Bibliography
[edit]- Dell, Christopher (1975). Lincoln and the War Democrats: The Grand Erosion of Conservative Tradition. Rutherford, NJ: Farleigh Dickenson University Press.
- DeSimone, Russel J.; Schofield, Daniel C. (October 2015), Rhode Island Election Tickets: A Survey (PDF), Kingston, RI: University of Rhode Island
- Dubin, Michael J. (2014). United States Gubernatorial Elections, 1861–1911: The Official Results by State and County. Jefferson, NC: McFarland and Company. ISBN 978-0-7864-5646-8.
- Smith, Adam I. P. (2006). No Party Now: Politics in the Civil War North. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-534596-4.
- Smith, Adam I. P. (2017). The Stormy Present: Conservatism and the Problem of Slavery in Northern Politics, 1846–1865. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press. ISBN 978-1-4696-3389-3.