"Straight-Out Democratic Party" (or "Straightout Democratic Party") is the name used by three minor American political parties between 1872 and 1890. The first Straight-Out Democratic Party played a minor role in the U.S. presidential election of 1872. An unrelated Straightout Democrat (no hyphen) faction of the South Carolina

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

triumphed in the 1876 South Carolina gubernatorial election, and a revival of the 1876 party played a minor role in the 1890 South Carolina gubernatorial election. The ''Straightout Democrat'' was also a newspaper in

Columbia, South Carolina Columbia is the capital of the U.S. state of South Carolina. With a population of 136,632 at the 2020 census, it is the second-largest city in South Carolina. The city serves as the county seat of Richland County, and a portion of the ci ...

, active between 1878 and 1879.

1872 national party

The Straight-Out Democratic Party was a Southern faction that broke with the

in the

1872 presidential election The 1872 United States presidential election was the 22nd quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 5, 1872. Despite a split in the Republican Party, incumbent President Ulysses S. Grant defeated Democratic-endorsed Liberal R ...

. Dissatisfied with the Democratic nominee

Horace Greeley Horace Greeley (February 3, 1811 – November 29, 1872) was an American newspaper editor and publisher who was the founder and editor of the '' New-York Tribune''. Long active in politics, he served briefly as a congressman from New York, ...

, they held a convention on 16 August in

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana borde ...

; 604 delegates from all states attended. The delegates nominated for President Charles O'Conor (who informed them by telegram that he would not accept their nomination) and for

Vice President A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is o ...

John Quincy Adams II.

Philosophy

In a letter accepting his nomination, Adams provided a lengthy description of the party's philosophy: Despite O'Conor's refusal and lacking time to find a new candidate, the party ran the ticket anyway. They received 23,054 votes (0.36%) and no Electoral College votes.

1876 South Carolina gubernatorial election

In the 1876 gubernatorial election in South Carolina, the Straightout Democrats (no hyphen) were an activist faction that succeeded in taking control of the party. They sometimes wore red shirts to show their support for the paramilitary white supremacist groups known as Red Shirts, who used violence and the threat of violence to prevent blacks from voting. Their candidate,

Wade Hampton III Wade Hampton III (March 28, 1818April 11, 1902) was an American military officer who served the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War and later a politician from South Carolina. He came from a wealthy planter family, and ...

, became governor, although violence made it possible.

1890 South Carolina gubernatorial election

An unsuccessful breakaway group of Democrats in the 1890 South Carolina gubernatorial election called themselves the Straightout Democrats. They wore red shirts in memory of the 1876 party.

Newspaper

The ''

Delaware Straight-Out Truth Teller The ''Delaware Straight-Out Truth Teller'' was an American semi-monthly newspaper based in Wilmington, Delaware. It was founded in 1872 by William Dean and John A. Brown in response to political dissension in relation to the United States presi ...

'' was the name of a newspaper published in

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington (Lenape: ''Paxahakink /'' ''Pakehakink)'' is the largest city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish settlement in North America. It lies at the confluence of the Christin ...

, in 1872. The ''Straight-Out Democrat'' was the name of a newspaper published in

, between 1878 and 1879.

References

External links

"The Democratic Wake"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

''. 9 July 1872. {{Reconstruction era Defunct political parties in the United States Democratic Party (United States) Factions in the Democratic Party (United States) Florida Democratic Party Political parties established in 1872 1872 United States presidential election 1876 South Carolina elections 1890 South Carolina elections