The 1863 New York state election was held on November 3, 1863, to elect the
Secretary of State, the
State Comptroller, the
Attorney General, the
State Treasurer, the
State Engineer, a Judge of the
New York Court of Appeals, a
Canal Commissioner
The Commission to Explore a Route for a Canal to Lake Erie and Report, known as the Erie Canal Commission, was a body created by the New York State Legislature in 1810 to plan the Erie Canal. In 1817 a ''Canal Fund'' led by ''Commissioners of the C ...
and an
Inspector of State Prisons, as well as all members of the
New York State Assembly and the
New York State Senate.
History
The Union state convention - Republicans and
War Democrats
War Democrats in American politics of the 1860s were members of the Democratic Party who supported the Union and rejected the policies of the Copperheads (or Peace Democrats). The War Democrats demanded a more aggressive policy toward the C ...
which supported the Union and
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...
's policy during the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...
- met on September 2 at
Syracuse, New York.
Ward Hunt
Ward Hunt (June 14, 1810 – March 24, 1886) was an American jurist and politician. He was Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals from 1868 to 1869, and an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court from 1872 to 1882.
Early life
Hunt w ...
was Temporary Chairman until the choice of Abraham Wakeman as President.
Peter A. Porter
Peter Augustus Porter (October 10, 1853 – December 15, 1925) was a U.S. Representative from New York, and grandson of Peter Buell Porter. Porter was the son of Colonel Peter A. Porter, the Civil War hero who bravely died in the bloody ...
was nominated for Secretary of State on the first ballot (vote: Porter 213, Chauncey Depew 140,
Theophilus C. Callicot 15). Thomas W. Olcott for Comptroller, John Cochrane for Attorney General, George W. Schuyler for Treasurer, and Henry R. Selden
ncumbentfor Judge of the Court of Appeals, were nominated by acclamation. Benjamin F. Bruce was nominated for Canal Commissioner on the first ballot (vote: Bruce 220,
Stephen T. Hayt 131). The incumbent William B. Taylor was re-nominated for State Engineer on the first ballot (vote: Taylor 234,
J. Platt Goodsell 67, F. A. Utter 26, Charles W. Wentz 10). The incumbent James K. Bates was re-nominated for Prison Inspector by acclamation. When informed of his nomination, Colonel Porter, who was commanding his troops at
Baltimore
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
, declined to run because he "wanted to serve his country in the field."
''Obituary: COL. PETER A. PORTER''
in NYT on June 5, 1864 Olcott also declined to run, and the State Committee substituted Depew and the incumbent Lucius Robinson on the Union ticket.
The Constitutional Union state convention met on September 9 but did not nominate a ticket.
The Democratic state convention met on September 10 at Albany, New York
Albany ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of New York, also the seat and largest city of Albany County. Albany is on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River, and about north of New York C ...
.
Results
The whole Union ticket was elected.
The incumbents Robinson, Taylor, Selden and Bates were re-elected. The incumbents Lewis and Wright were defeated.
21 Unionists and 11 Democrats were elected to a two-year term (1864–65) in the New York State Senate.
82 Unionists and 46 Democrats were elected for the session of 1864 to the New York State Assembly.
Sources
*Result i
''The Tribune Almanac''
compiled by Horace Greeley of the '' New York Tribune''
*Resul
''The State Election''
in NYT on December 5, 1863
Notes
See also
*New York state elections
The results of elections in the state of New York have tended to be more Democratic-leaning than in most of the United States, with in recent decades a solid majority of Democratic voters, concentrated in New York City and some of its suburbs, i ...
{{New York state elections
1863
Events
January–March
* January 1 – Abraham Lincoln signs the Emancipation Proclamation during the third year of the American Civil War, making the abolition of slavery in the Confederate states an official war goal. It proclaim ...
New York
November 1863 events