Post by Beth on Mar 20, 2016 8:10:43 GMT
Granville, Newark tensions marred 1866 presidential visit
Observers of current news are no doubt familiar with the hand-wringing and gnashing of teeth by many over the perceived low tone of the ongoing political campaigns.
Politics however, has been a “rough and tumble” enterprise throughout the country’s history and this has been especially true in Licking County.
This area was the scene of a notorious disruption of a presidential visit 150 years ago, a spirited shouting match between a famous general and locals and to some, another example of the occasional friction between Newark and Granville communities.
On the morning of Sept. 13, 1866 U.S. President Andrew Johnson arrived at Newark via train as part of a “whistle-stop campaign tour” he had undertaken across the country.
Having ascended to power upon Lincoln's murder, he had encountered increasing opposition to his policies from the Republican dominated Congress. This conflict centered on his lenient form of reconstruction for the recently defeated south.
A southerner and former slave holder himself, Johnson did not hold a particularly benevolent view towards the newly freed blacks and resisted most efforts to extend full civil rights to this segment of the population.
This had resulted in the southern states largely reverting to the social system that had predominated before the Civil War and for ex-Confederates to resume political control. In reaction, Congress began to openly challenge and block Johnson’s policies.
With the pending midterm Congressional elections, Johnson undertook the political speaking tour (which at that time was unprecedented for a sitting President) to gain support for his policies and for his preferred candidates (mostly Democrats).
To add luster to the tour, Johnson brought along several heroes of the Civil War to stand next to him while he spoke.
These figures included Admiral David Farragut, General George Custer, and General Ulysses S. Grant, all of whom were much admired by the public. Grant, in particular, felt great unease about participating in such political activity but felt he had little choice but to obey his commander-in-chief.
Initially, the tour met with great success and generated large enthusiastic crowds anxious to see such celebrated military figures.
President Johnson's stop in Cleveland just prior to Newark marked the turning point in the tour.
Because the audience was as large as it had been at previous stops, nothing seemed out of the ordinary; however, the crowd included mobs of hecklers, many of them plants by the Republicans, who loudly goaded and taunted Johnson while he was speaking.
Johnson reacted angrily and responded with a number of ill-considered remarks which in turn provoked a number of violent confrontations within the crowd.
The following day in Indianapolis, the crowd was so hostile and loud that Johnson was unable to speak at all; even after he retreated, violence and gunfire broke out in the streets between Johnson supporters and opponents, resulting in one man's death.
Evidence suggests that the Radical Republicans engaged in a concerted plan for all planned stops to prevent President Johnson from speaking or at least embarrass him in his remarks and make a public showing of disrespect towards him.
It was in this atmosphere that the train bearing President Johnson and his party pulled into the Newark Depot at 9 a.m. on Sept. 13.
A ceremonial cannon boomed a welcome when the train came into sight, followed by patriotic music by a local band.
A large banner with the words “We stand with Andy Johnson. No Indianapolis Here,” hung in welcome over the tracks.
As the train came to a halt, the estimated crowd of six thousand started to press in to see the President and other notables. As they came out onto the rear of the car a local dignitary, Mr. George Smythe clambered aboard and commenced making introductory remarks.
During these remarks, he announced Secretary of State Seward was not present due to sickness and the first sign of unrest occurred when a heckler yelled out that “he hoped that the Secretary would soon die.”
A sizeable group of individuals described by the paper as “Radical soreheads” and a “gang of radicals from Granville,” that “headquarters of abolition” headed by the “Howes of that village” had intermixed with the crowd and throughout the proceedings heckled, jeered and attempted to drown out President Johnson as he attempted to speak.
The Howe referred to was Howard “Howdy” Howe, formerly the Republican postmaster of Granville who had been previously replaced by Johnson with a Democrat appointee.
Johnson gamely tried to give his stump speech, declaring his gratification that the flag once again had thirty-six stars instead of twenty-five.
He went on to speak of the problems facing the nation and the need to replace the Republicans who were in control of Congress. His speech was interrupted on several occasions as the Granville group started a call for Gen. Grant to speak and chanting “Three cheers for Congress!"
Mortified and not wanting any part of it, Grant retreated back into the train car. With that, Gen. George Armstrong Custer, another Buckeye Civil War hero, took a place next to President Johnson and commenced rebuking the protesters.
With temper flaring, Custer shouted back to the protesters “You can’t insult the President through General Grant.” The back and forth continued a short while before Custer called on the crowd to give three cheers for the Union of thirty-six states.
Most of the crowd responded heartily but tensions were still high and the threat of violence hung in the air.
At that juncture, the tall and distinguished Admiral David Farragut stepped forward and defused the situation by making a number of humorous remarks about the uniqueness of a Navy officer being seen in these parts.
That seems to have settled things down, but President Johnson appears not to have been able to finish his speech as the train then began to pull away to its next stop in Zanesville.
This sudden departure was satirized in a political cartoon featured in Harper’s Weekly which illustrated bowing Johnson stating “How do you do and at the same time Good-bye.”
Thus ended one of the few presidential visits to the Licking County area.
As a historical postscript, Johnson’s whistle-stop tour was considered a political disaster.
The mid-term elections returned an overwhelming Republican majority in Congress and emboldened them to initiate impeachment action.
In Licking County however, it achieved the desired result for the voters and replaced the sitting Republican congressman with a Democrat.
Observers of current news are no doubt familiar with the hand-wringing and gnashing of teeth by many over the perceived low tone of the ongoing political campaigns.
Politics however, has been a “rough and tumble” enterprise throughout the country’s history and this has been especially true in Licking County.
This area was the scene of a notorious disruption of a presidential visit 150 years ago, a spirited shouting match between a famous general and locals and to some, another example of the occasional friction between Newark and Granville communities.
On the morning of Sept. 13, 1866 U.S. President Andrew Johnson arrived at Newark via train as part of a “whistle-stop campaign tour” he had undertaken across the country.
Having ascended to power upon Lincoln's murder, he had encountered increasing opposition to his policies from the Republican dominated Congress. This conflict centered on his lenient form of reconstruction for the recently defeated south.
A southerner and former slave holder himself, Johnson did not hold a particularly benevolent view towards the newly freed blacks and resisted most efforts to extend full civil rights to this segment of the population.
This had resulted in the southern states largely reverting to the social system that had predominated before the Civil War and for ex-Confederates to resume political control. In reaction, Congress began to openly challenge and block Johnson’s policies.
With the pending midterm Congressional elections, Johnson undertook the political speaking tour (which at that time was unprecedented for a sitting President) to gain support for his policies and for his preferred candidates (mostly Democrats).
To add luster to the tour, Johnson brought along several heroes of the Civil War to stand next to him while he spoke.
These figures included Admiral David Farragut, General George Custer, and General Ulysses S. Grant, all of whom were much admired by the public. Grant, in particular, felt great unease about participating in such political activity but felt he had little choice but to obey his commander-in-chief.
Initially, the tour met with great success and generated large enthusiastic crowds anxious to see such celebrated military figures.
President Johnson's stop in Cleveland just prior to Newark marked the turning point in the tour.
Because the audience was as large as it had been at previous stops, nothing seemed out of the ordinary; however, the crowd included mobs of hecklers, many of them plants by the Republicans, who loudly goaded and taunted Johnson while he was speaking.
Johnson reacted angrily and responded with a number of ill-considered remarks which in turn provoked a number of violent confrontations within the crowd.
The following day in Indianapolis, the crowd was so hostile and loud that Johnson was unable to speak at all; even after he retreated, violence and gunfire broke out in the streets between Johnson supporters and opponents, resulting in one man's death.
Evidence suggests that the Radical Republicans engaged in a concerted plan for all planned stops to prevent President Johnson from speaking or at least embarrass him in his remarks and make a public showing of disrespect towards him.
It was in this atmosphere that the train bearing President Johnson and his party pulled into the Newark Depot at 9 a.m. on Sept. 13.
A ceremonial cannon boomed a welcome when the train came into sight, followed by patriotic music by a local band.
A large banner with the words “We stand with Andy Johnson. No Indianapolis Here,” hung in welcome over the tracks.
As the train came to a halt, the estimated crowd of six thousand started to press in to see the President and other notables. As they came out onto the rear of the car a local dignitary, Mr. George Smythe clambered aboard and commenced making introductory remarks.
During these remarks, he announced Secretary of State Seward was not present due to sickness and the first sign of unrest occurred when a heckler yelled out that “he hoped that the Secretary would soon die.”
A sizeable group of individuals described by the paper as “Radical soreheads” and a “gang of radicals from Granville,” that “headquarters of abolition” headed by the “Howes of that village” had intermixed with the crowd and throughout the proceedings heckled, jeered and attempted to drown out President Johnson as he attempted to speak.
The Howe referred to was Howard “Howdy” Howe, formerly the Republican postmaster of Granville who had been previously replaced by Johnson with a Democrat appointee.
Johnson gamely tried to give his stump speech, declaring his gratification that the flag once again had thirty-six stars instead of twenty-five.
He went on to speak of the problems facing the nation and the need to replace the Republicans who were in control of Congress. His speech was interrupted on several occasions as the Granville group started a call for Gen. Grant to speak and chanting “Three cheers for Congress!"
Mortified and not wanting any part of it, Grant retreated back into the train car. With that, Gen. George Armstrong Custer, another Buckeye Civil War hero, took a place next to President Johnson and commenced rebuking the protesters.
With temper flaring, Custer shouted back to the protesters “You can’t insult the President through General Grant.” The back and forth continued a short while before Custer called on the crowd to give three cheers for the Union of thirty-six states.
Most of the crowd responded heartily but tensions were still high and the threat of violence hung in the air.
At that juncture, the tall and distinguished Admiral David Farragut stepped forward and defused the situation by making a number of humorous remarks about the uniqueness of a Navy officer being seen in these parts.
That seems to have settled things down, but President Johnson appears not to have been able to finish his speech as the train then began to pull away to its next stop in Zanesville.
This sudden departure was satirized in a political cartoon featured in Harper’s Weekly which illustrated bowing Johnson stating “How do you do and at the same time Good-bye.”
Thus ended one of the few presidential visits to the Licking County area.
As a historical postscript, Johnson’s whistle-stop tour was considered a political disaster.
The mid-term elections returned an overwhelming Republican majority in Congress and emboldened them to initiate impeachment action.
In Licking County however, it achieved the desired result for the voters and replaced the sitting Republican congressman with a Democrat.
, not that you would know it.