Charles Horatio Matchett (May 15, 1843 – October 24, 1919) was an American socialist politician. He is best remembered as the first candidate of the

Socialist Labor Party of America The Socialist Labor Party (SLP)"The name of this organization shall be Socialist Labor Party". Art. I, Sec. 1 of thadopted at the Eleventh National Convention (New York, July 1904; amended at the National Conventions 1908, 1912, 1916, 1920, 192 ...

for

Vice President of the United States The vice president of the United States (VPOTUS) is the second-highest ranking office in the Executive branch of the United States government, executive branch of the U.S. federal government, after the president of the United States, and ranks f ...

in the election of 1892 and as the party's candidate for

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

in the election of 1896.

Biography

Early years

Matchett was born May 15, 1843, hailing originally from the Brighton-Allston area of

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

. He was the descendant of New Englanders dating their presence in America to the 1630s. At the age of 16, Matchett went to sea and circumnavigated

Cape Horn Cape Horn (, ) is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile, and is located on the small Hornos Island. Although not the most southerly point of South America (which is Águila Islet), Cape Horn marks the nor ...

aboard a

windjammer A windjammer is a commercial sailing ship with multiple masts, however rigged. The informal term "windjammer" arose during the transition from the Age of Sail to the Age of Steam during the 19th century. The Oxford English Dictionary records t ...

. He worked at various times in his earlier years as a

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

sailor, a clerk, carpenter, and beer bottler. In the middle 1880s, Matchett moved to

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, where he worked as an

electrician An electrician is a tradesman, tradesperson specializing in electrical wiring of buildings, transmission lines, stationary machines, and related equipment. Electricians may be employed in the installation of new electrical components or the ...

.Morris Hillquit, ''History of Socialism in the United States.'' New York: Funk and Wagnalls Co., 1903; pg. 283.

Political career

Matchett served as a charter member of the Brooklyn Nationalist Club and was active in the campaign to elect

Henry George Henry George (September 2, 1839 – October 29, 1897) was an American political economist, Social philosophy, social philosopher and journalist. His writing was immensely popular in 19th-century America and sparked several reform movements of ...

Mayor of New York In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well as ...

. In 1890, Matchett was the organizer of American Branch No. 1 of Section New York of the

(SLP). Matchett was influential in bringing many of the New York Nationalists into the ranks of the party. In 1892, Machett ran on a ticket headed by

camera manufacturer

Simon Wing Simon Wing (August 29, 1826 – December 17, 1910) was a daguerreotypist, camera inventor and socialist politician. He is best remembered as the first candidate of the Socialist Labor Party of America for President of the United States, running fo ...

as the vice presidential nominee of the SLP. It was the first time that the party ran a national ticket. Wing and Machett appeared on the ballot in six states and received a total of 21,512 votes. Of this total, New York City alone provided 6,100 votes. The platform of the party in 1892 committed to abolishing the offices of president and vice president as soon as they came to power. According to one historian of the election, most of the SLP ticket's support in 1892 came not from labor, but from the " Bellamyites", middle-class intellectuals and reformers. In the New York election of 1894, Matchett ran for

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

on the Socialist Labor Party ticket. Charles H

In 1896, Matchett headed the Socialist Labor Party ticket as its candidate for President of the United States. About one half of the 36,359 votes received by Matchett and his running mate Matthew Maguire of New Jersey, came from New York state. When Matchett ran in 1896 he was the foreman for the telephone company in New York making $18 per week. The SLP's platform in 1896 called for government assumption of all means of production and distribution."Bolting From Bryan", ''San Francisco Call'', September 6, 1896, pg. 10. Matchett left the Socialist Labor Party during the organization's bitter 1899 split and joined the organization headed by

Henry Slobodin Henry L. Slobodin was an American attorney, socialist activist and frequent candidate for public office from New York. Slobodin was active in the Socialist Labor Party of America before leaving in 1899 alongside other socialist activists like Mo ...

and

Morris Hillquit Morris Hillquit (August 1, 1869 – October 8, 1933) was a founder and leader of the Socialist Party of America and prominent labor lawyer in New York City's Lower East Side. Together with Eugene V. Debs and Congressman Victor L. Berger, Hillqu ...

which merged with the Chicago-based

Social Democratic Party of America Social organisms, including human(s), live collectively in interacting populations. This interaction is considered social whether they are aware of it or not, and whether the exchange is voluntary or not. Etymology The word "social" derives fro ...

in the summer of 1901 to form the

Socialist Party of America The Socialist Party of America (SPA) was a socialist political party in the United States formed in 1901 by a merger between the three-year-old Social Democratic Party of America and disaffected elements of the Socialist Labor Party of America ...

(SPA). In

1903 Events January * January 1 – Edward VII is proclaimed Emperor of India. * January 10 – The Aceh Sultanate was fully annexed by the Dutch forces, deposing the last sultan, marking the end of the Aceh War that have lasted for al ...

, Matchett ran for the

New York Court of Appeals The New York Court of Appeals is the supreme court, highest court in the Judiciary of New York (state), Unified Court System of the New York (state), State of New York. It consists of seven judges: the Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeal ...

on the ticket of the SPA, receiving 33,339 votes. He was also a candidate for

New York State Assembly The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits. The Ass ...

and

New York City Council The New York City Council is the lawmaking body of New York City in the United States. It has 51 members from 51 council districts throughout the five boroughs. The council serves as a check against the mayor in a mayor-council government mod ...

at various times. Matchett was a pioneer in the United States of the international language

Esperanto Esperanto (, ) is the world's most widely spoken Constructed language, constructed international auxiliary language. Created by L. L. Zamenhof in 1887 to be 'the International Language' (), it is intended to be a universal second language for ...

and a delegate to the first

Universal Congress Universal is the adjective for universe. Universal may also refer to: Companies * NBCUniversal, a media and entertainment company that is a subsidiary of Comcast ** Universal Animation Studios, an American Animation studio, and a subsidiary of N ...

of Esperantists in 1905. There he was elected as an officer of the congress, representing the United States. The same year, the Boston Esperanto Club was founded in Matchett's home town, the first in the US."C. H. Matchett, Socialist Candidate in 1896, Dead,"
''New York Tribune,'' October 26, 1919.

Death and legacy

Charles Matchett died October 24, 1919, in

Allston, Massachusetts Allston is an officially recognized neighborhood in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It was named after the American painter and poet Washington Allston. It comprises the land covered by the zip code 02134. For the most part, Allston is ...

, after a long illness. He was 76 years old at the time of his death.

Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Matchett, Charles Candidates in the 1896 United States presidential election 1892 United States vice-presidential candidates 1843 births 1919 deaths Socialist Labor Party of America presidential nominees Socialist Labor Party of America vice presidential nominees Politicians from New York City American Esperantists Socialist Party of America politicians from New York (state) Politicians from Boston Socialist Labor Party of America politicians from New York (state) Candidates in the 1914 United States House of Representatives elections