American politician
This article is about the Kansas Governor. For other people of that name, see
John St. John
.
John St. John
John Pierce St. John
(February 25, 1833 - August 31, 1916) was an American politician who served as the
eighth
Governor of Kansas
and later served as the Prohibition presidential nominee in 1884. Under his tenure as governor Kansas became the third state to enact a statewide
prohibition of alcohol
which would last until 1948 and remain in some form until 1987.
[1]
After leaving elected office he maintained his position in the Prohibition party and remained active in the party's presidential politics and was a major figure in the party schism during the
1896 presidential election
.
Early life
[
edit
]
On February 25, 1833, John Pierce St. John was born in Brookville, Indiana, to Samuel St. John and Sophia Snell. In 1852, he became the conductor of an ox team which he led to California. During his time in California he fought against the
Modoc
Native Americans in California and Oregon.
[2]
John was a
congregationalist
until the 1870s when he converted and became a
Christian Scientist
. From 1852 to 1859, he was married to Mary Jane Brewer and had one son until their divorce. On March 28, 1860, he married Susan J. Parker and later had two children with her.
[3]
Career
[
edit
]
During the
American Civil War
he served as lieutenant colonel of the
143rd Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment
in the
Union Army
from 1861 to 1864. At the end of the war he lived in Independence, Missouri until 1869 when he moved to Olathe, Kansas. From 1873 to 1874 he served in the
Kansas Senate
and was the
Republican
Governor of Kansas from 1879 to 1883.
[4]
He was the first governor of Kansas to have a formal inauguration ceremony. He was active in the
temperance movement
and successfully promoted a prohibition
amendment
to the state's
constitution
in 1881. St. John also helped create the Kansas Freedmen's Relief Association during the
Great Exodus
of African-Americans to Kansas in 1879. In 1879, the religious colony of Zion Valley was renamed to
St. John
in his honor to gain favor in winning the county seat of
Stafford County
. In 1882, he ran for reelection to a third term, but was defeated by
George Washington Glick
with 83,232 votes to 75,158 votes.
Presidential
[
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]
He was the
Prohibition Party
candidate for President of the United States in the
1884 election
. On October 2, 1884, he was nearly shot, with the bullet hitting the window next to him.
[5]
He received 147,482 votes for 1.5% of the popular vote on a ticket with
William Daniel
which was an increase of 137,118 votes from
Neal Dow
's results in 1880 due to support from
Frances Willard
and the
Woman's Christian Temperance Union
. He was
blamed for
James G. Blaine's defeat and on November 27, 1884, an effigy of him was burned in Topeka, Kansas in front of a crowd of three thousand people.
[6]
He was made chairman of the
1888 Prohibition national convention
and oversaw the writing of the party's platform.
[7]
He declined to seek the Prohibition Party's presidential nomination for the
1892 presidential election
and instead nominated
John Bidwell
who went on to win the nomination and was named as the temporary chairman of the convention.
[8]
[9]
[10]
At the
1896 Prohibition convention
he supported the broad gauger faction that wanted to add women's suffrage and free silver to the party's platform, but after the narrow gauger faction successfully defeated those attempts John,
Charles Eugene Bentley
, and
Helen M. Gougar
led a walkout of the broad gaugers and created the breakaway National Party and nominated a rival ticket with Bentley as president and
James H. Southgate
as vice president.
[11]
Following the 1896 election he became disillusioned with party and joined the
People's Party
although he would later return to the Prohibition party.
[12]
Later life
[
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]
On December 3, 1887, he, with a group of followers, bought 10,000 acres of land in
Newhall, California
, to create a dry community.
[13]
In 1912, he toured Kansas in support of
women's suffrage
. On June 20, 1916, he suffered from heat exhaustion, but was able to recover enough to attend the 1916 Prohibition national convention in July.
[14]
St. John died after suffering heat exhaustion on August 31, 1916, in
Olathe, Kansas
. His funeral was attended by Governor
Arthur Capper
, former Governor
George H. Hodges
, and
Herman P. Faris
who served as the Prohibition Party's representative.
[15]
Electoral history
[
edit
]
John St. John electoral history
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"Prohibition In Kansas"
.
The Leavenworth Times
. August 21, 1881. p. 3.
Archived
from the original on December 19, 2019 – via
Newspapers.com
.
- ^
"The Death of St. John"
.
The Olathe Register
. September 7, 1916. p. 1.
Archived
from the original on December 16, 2019 – via
Newspapers.com
.
- ^
"John P. St. John Kansas Historical Society"
. August 2019.
- ^
"Kansas Legislators Past & Present - Saa through Scott, State Library of Kansas"
. Archived from
the original
on November 25, 2010
. Retrieved
October 6,
2010
.
- ^
"Editorial Notes".
Rome, NY Roman Citizen
. October 3, 1884. 1 (col 1).
- ^
"John P. St. John Is Gone"
.
The Garnett Review
. September 7, 1916. p. 2.
Archived
from the original on December 16, 2019 – via
Newspapers.com
.
- ^
"John P. St. John Chosen as Permanent Chairman of the Convention"
.
Weekly Atchison Champion
. May 31, 1888. p. 2.
Archived
from the original on December 18, 2019 – via
Newspapers.com
.
- ^
"Gen. Bidwell Gets It"
.
The De Kalb Chronicle
. July 9, 1892. p. 6.
Archived
from the original on December 19, 2019 – via
Newspapers.com
.
- ^
"Two More Parties"
.
The Wichita Daily Eagle
. June 29, 1892. p. 7.
Archived
from the original on December 18, 2019 – via
Newspapers.com
.
- ^
"Temporary Chairman of the National Prohibition Convention"
.
Independent-Journal
. June 30, 1892. p. 4.
Archived
from the original on December 18, 2019 – via
Newspapers.com
.
- ^
"St. John Bolts"
.
The Topeka State Journal
. May 29, 1896. p. 1.
Archived
from the original on December 18, 2019 – via
Newspapers.com
.
- ^
"Gov. John Pierce St. John"
.
- ^
"John Pierce St. John Papers, 1859-1917"
.
- ^
"John P. St. John is Dead"
.
The Citizen
. September 6, 1916. p. 4.
Archived
from the original on December 16, 2019 – via
Newspapers.com
.
- ^
"Eulogized Ex-Gov. St. John"
.
The Soldier Clipper
. September 13, 1916. p. 7.
Archived
from the original on December 16, 2019 – via
Newspapers.com
.
- ^
"Election Results"
.
The Daily Commonwealth
. January 4, 1873. p. 3.
Archived
from the original on December 19, 2019 – via
Newspapers.com
.
External links
[
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]
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