John Pierce St. John
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“Boy as I was, I hated the demon, Drink, that had made such a change in my father, had broken my mother’s heart, and darkened my boyhood’s home.” "I shall neither withdraw from the canvass nor assume a neutral position." “Could we but dry up this one great evil that consumes annually so much wealth, and destroys the physical, moral and mental usefulness of its victims, we would hardly need prisons, poorhouses, or police.” |
The influence of third parties on election results had been underestimated until 1884. The votes St. John, the Prohibition candidate, received would determine the election outcome. St. John, a life long Republican, left the party in 1884 when they refused to adopt Prohibition as part of their platform. He accepted the Prohibition Party’s nomination for President. The Prohibition platform denounced the government’s discriminatory policies towards Chinese immigrants, endorsed women’s Suffrage and the banning of alcohol.
During the campaign, Republicans vilified St. John as a traitor and burned him in effigy. He was shot at twice proving switching party affiliation could be deadly. Allegedly, Democrats provided financial support to his campaign hoping to take votes away from Blaine. If true, it worked.
St. John focused his campaign efforts on New York the state with the most electoral votes. New Yorker’s determined the election outcome. St. John received 150,000 votes nationwide; 25,016 from New York. If Blaine had received 1,150 of those votes; he, not Cleveland, would have been the 22nd president.
Raised on a farm, St. John received a very limited education. His mother encouraged reading and the knowledge gained from books. His father’s drinking and inability to provide for his family plus his mother’s inability to control her destiny in life had a lasting impact on him. St. John’s support of Women’s Rights and Prohibition most likely was influenced by his parent’s relationship.
St. John’s intense work ethic was a combination of survival, escapism, and thirst for adventure. In 1852, at nineteen, he headed to California. During his seven years out west, he worked as a clerk, miner, lumberjack, Indian fighter, and steamboat hand. What he lacked in proper schooling was gained from travel and life experiences. Considering it was 1850’s, he certainly got around traveling to Oregon, Hawaiian Sandwich Islands, South America, Mexico and Central America.
In 1859, St. John returned to Illinois where he interned at a law office and was admitted to the bar a year later. When the Civil War broke out, he enlisted as a private. He departed as a lieutenant colonel in 1864. In 1869 he moved to Olathe, Kansas where he practiced law and became involved in politics. In 1872 he was elected to the State Senate and served one term.
In 1878 St. John was elected Governor of Kansas and served two terms. As Governor he oversaw the building of the west wing of the state House, the passage of Prohibition legislation and coordinated the Relief Program that dealt with the “Exodus.” African-Americans starting in the mid 1870’s had been relocating to Kansas since it offered a convenient travel route, it was the home of activist John Brown, and promoters offered a utopian picture of a better life. However, in 1879 it accelerated to more then 6,000 African-Americans wanting to escape from the oppressive Black Code laws. Many settled in Nicodemus located in Graham County.
During the campaign, Republicans vilified St. John as a traitor and burned him in effigy. He was shot at twice proving switching party affiliation could be deadly. Allegedly, Democrats provided financial support to his campaign hoping to take votes away from Blaine. If true, it worked.
St. John focused his campaign efforts on New York the state with the most electoral votes. New Yorker’s determined the election outcome. St. John received 150,000 votes nationwide; 25,016 from New York. If Blaine had received 1,150 of those votes; he, not Cleveland, would have been the 22nd president.
Raised on a farm, St. John received a very limited education. His mother encouraged reading and the knowledge gained from books. His father’s drinking and inability to provide for his family plus his mother’s inability to control her destiny in life had a lasting impact on him. St. John’s support of Women’s Rights and Prohibition most likely was influenced by his parent’s relationship.
St. John’s intense work ethic was a combination of survival, escapism, and thirst for adventure. In 1852, at nineteen, he headed to California. During his seven years out west, he worked as a clerk, miner, lumberjack, Indian fighter, and steamboat hand. What he lacked in proper schooling was gained from travel and life experiences. Considering it was 1850’s, he certainly got around traveling to Oregon, Hawaiian Sandwich Islands, South America, Mexico and Central America.
In 1859, St. John returned to Illinois where he interned at a law office and was admitted to the bar a year later. When the Civil War broke out, he enlisted as a private. He departed as a lieutenant colonel in 1864. In 1869 he moved to Olathe, Kansas where he practiced law and became involved in politics. In 1872 he was elected to the State Senate and served one term.
In 1878 St. John was elected Governor of Kansas and served two terms. As Governor he oversaw the building of the west wing of the state House, the passage of Prohibition legislation and coordinated the Relief Program that dealt with the “Exodus.” African-Americans starting in the mid 1870’s had been relocating to Kansas since it offered a convenient travel route, it was the home of activist John Brown, and promoters offered a utopian picture of a better life. However, in 1879 it accelerated to more then 6,000 African-Americans wanting to escape from the oppressive Black Code laws. Many settled in Nicodemus located in Graham County.