Pennsylvania

Once upon a time professed Democrats were almost as scarce in Pennsylvania as white Republicans in Georgia. The Union League of Philadelphia and the Duquesne Club in Pittsburgh were a social infinity above the Legislature at Harrisburg, but sound Republicanism was a minimum qualification for recognition in any of the three. From the Civil War to the Roosevelt Revolution, membership in the Republican Party was a mark of caste, civic responsibility and enlightened self-interest. It was the party of wealth and aristocracy, but it was sustained by a vigorous, uninhibited proletariat that served the bosses and sometimes vetoed its betters.

In the four score and eleven years since the death of Abraham Lincoln, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has cast its electoral vote for only two Democrats—Woodrow Wilson and Franklin D. Roosevelt. Wilson was rejected for a second term by the Pennsylvania electorate, but Roosevelt carried the state in ‘36, ‘40 and ‘44. Three Democratic governors were chosen in the same period; one served twice in the closing decade of the nineteenth century and two others, George H. Earle and George M. Leader, were elected in 1932 and 1954 respectively.

SJ

About the Author

Sam M. Jones

Featured Tags

Presidential Election

Senate Election

Once upon a time professed Democrats were almost as scarce in Pennsylvania as white Republicans in Georgia. The Union League of Philadelphia and the Duquesne Club in Pittsburgh were a social infinity above the Legislature at Harrisburg, but sound Republicanism was a minimum qualification for recognition in any of the three. From the Civil War to the Roosevelt Revolution, membership in the Republican Party was a mark of caste, civic responsibility and enlightened self-interest. It was the party of wealth and aristocracy, but it was sustained by a vigorous, uninhibited proletariat that served the bosses and sometimes vetoed its betters.

In the four score and eleven years since the death of Abraham Lincoln, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has cast its electoral vote for only two Democrats—Woodrow Wilson and Franklin D. Roosevelt. Wilson was rejected for a second term by the Pennsylvania electorate, but Roosevelt carried the state in ‘36, ‘40 and ‘44. Three Democratic governors were chosen in the same period; one served twice in the closing decade of the nineteenth century and two others, George H. Earle and George M. Leader, were elected in 1932 and 1954 respectively.