Jump to content

John C. Chase: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Content deleted Content added
m Disambiguating links to Initiative (disambiguation) (link changed to Popular initiative) using DisamAssist.
 
(35 intermediate revisions by 21 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
{{Short description|American activist and politician (1870–1937)}}
[[File:Chase-john-c-1903.jpg|thumb|right|240px|John C. Chase as he appeared in 1903.]]
{{Infobox officeholder
'''John Calvin Chase''' (1870–1937) was an [[United States|American]] [[trade union]] activist and [[politician]]. In 1898 Chase was elected mayor of [[Haverhill, Massachusetts|Haverhill]], [[Massachusetts]], becoming the first [[socialist]] to be elected mayor of an America city. Although re-elected in 1899, Chase was defeated in the 1900 campaign. He later ran without success as a Socialist candidate for governors of [[Massachusetts]] and [[New York]] and as a Congressional candidate in Ohio.
| name = John C. Chase
| image = File:Chase-john-c-1903.jpg
| image_size = 240px
| caption = Chase in 1903
| office = Mayor of [[Haverhill, Massachusetts]]
| term_start = 1898
| term_end = 1900
| birth_place = [[Gilmanton, New Hampshire]]
| birth_date = May 27, 1870
| death_place = [[New Brighton, Pennsylvania]]
| death_date = January 27, 1937 (age 66)
| party = [[People's Party (U.S.)|Populist]] (1890s)<br>[[Social Democratic Party (United States)|Social Democratic]] (1894–1901)<br>[[Socialist Party of America|Socialist]] (1901–37)
}}


'''John Calvin Chase''' (1870–1937) was an American [[trade union]] activist and [[politician]].
==Biography==


Chase was elected to two terms as mayor of [[Haverhill, Massachusetts|Haverhill]], [[Massachusetts]], on the Social Democratic ticket. He is considered the first [[socialist]] to elected mayor of an American city.<ref>Frederic C. Heath, ''Social Democracy Red Book.'' Terre Haute, IN: Debs Publishing Co., 1900; p. 108.</ref> He later ran without success as a Socialist candidate for Governor of Massachusetts and New York, and as a Congressional candidate in Ohio and West Virginia.
===Early years===


==Early life==
John Calvin Chase was born in [[Gilmanton, New Hampshire]] on May 27, 1870 to a [[working class]] family. When John was just 1 year old the family moved to the small town of [[Ossipee, New Hampshire|Ossipee]], where his father Levi M. Chase met with an accident that caused his death.<ref name=RedBook>Frederic C. Heath, ''Social Democracy Red Book.'' Terre Haute, IN: Debs Publishing Co., 1900; pg. 108.</ref> John and his four siblings were left in the care of his mother Lynthia, who relocated to yet another small New Hampshire town, this time [[Milton Mills, New Hampshire|Milton Mills]] to work in the [[woolen mill]]s there.<ref name=RedBook />
John Calvin Chase was born in [[Gilmanton, New Hampshire]], on May 27, 1870, to a [[working class]] family. When John was just 1 year old the family moved to the small town of [[Ossipee, New Hampshire|Ossipee]], where his father Levi M. Chase met with an accident that caused his death.<ref name=RedBook>Frederic C. Heath, ''Social Democracy Red Book.'' Terre Haute, IN: Debs Publishing Co., 1900; pg. 108.</ref> John and his four siblings were left in the care of his mother Lynthia, who relocated to yet another small New Hampshire town, this time [[Milton Mills, New Hampshire|Milton Mills]] to work in the [[woolen mill]]s there.<ref name=RedBook />


John followed him mother into the mills, going to work for the first time at the age of just 9 years old.<ref name=RedBook /> The family relocated frequently in search of steady work, living also in [[Sanford, Maine|Sanford]], [[Maine]] and [[Barnstead, New Hampshire]].<ref name=RedBook />
John followed his mother into the mills, going to work for the first time at the age of just 9 years old.<ref name=RedBook /> The family relocated frequently in search of steady work, living also in [[Sanford, Maine|Sanford]], [[Maine]], and [[Barnstead, New Hampshire]].<ref name=RedBook />


At the age of 13 he went to work in a [[shoe]] factory for the first time.<ref name=Bliss>William D.P. Bliss (ed.), "John C. Chase," in ''The New Encyclopedia of Social Reform, Including All Social-Reform Movements and Activities, and the Economic, Industrial, and Sociological Facts and Statistics of All Countries and All Social Subjects.'' New Edition. New York: Funk and Wagnalls Co., 1908; pg. 161.</ref> He joined the [[Boot and Shoe Workers' Union]] in 1888 and was subsequently elected as a delegate to that organization's annual convention.<ref name=Bliss />
At the age of 13 he went to work in a [[shoe]] factory for the first time.<ref name=Bliss>William D.P. Bliss (ed.), "John C. Chase," in ''The New Encyclopedia of Social Reform, Including All Social-Reform Movements and Activities, and the Economic, Industrial, and Sociological Facts and Statistics of All Countries and All Social Subjects.'' New Edition. New York: Funk and Wagnalls Co., 1908; pg. 161.</ref> He joined the [[Boot and Shoe Workers' Union]] in 1888 and was subsequently elected as a delegate to that organization's annual convention.<ref name=Bliss />
Line 14: Line 28:
Chase moved to the town of Haverhill, Massachusetts in 1890 to work in a shoe factory there.<ref name=Bliss /> Chase's trade union activities soon lead to his [[blacklist|being made unemployable]] in the shoe industry, so he instead helped to establish a [[cooperative]] grocery store in Haverhill, which provided him a source of work.<ref name=RedBook />
Chase moved to the town of Haverhill, Massachusetts in 1890 to work in a shoe factory there.<ref name=Bliss /> Chase's trade union activities soon lead to his [[blacklist|being made unemployable]] in the shoe industry, so he instead helped to establish a [[cooperative]] grocery store in Haverhill, which provided him a source of work.<ref name=RedBook />


===Political career===
==Political career==
Chase was a member of the [[People's Party (U.S.)|People's Party]] (the so-called "Populists") during the first half of the 1890s.<ref name=Bedford27>Henry F. Bedford, ''Socialism and the Workers in Massachusetts, 1886-1912.'' Amherst, MA: [[University of Massachusetts Press]], 1966; pg. 27.</ref> In 1894, Haverhill's Populists joined a broad reform coalition with the [[Socialist Labor Party of America]], the [[Prohibition Party]], and other unaffiliated progressives, running a slate of candidates for city office.<ref name=Bedford27 /> John Chase was one of the nominees of this coalition for city office.<ref name=Bedford27 />

Chase was a member of the [[People's Party (U.S.)|People's Party]] (the so-called "Populists") during the first half of the 1890s.<ref name=Bedford27>Henry F. Bedford, ''Socialism and the Workers in Massachusetts, 1886-1912.'' Amherst, MA: [[University of Massachusetts Press]], 1966; pg. 27.</ref> In 1894 Haverhill's Populists joined a broad reform coalition with the [[Socialist Labor Party of America]], the [[Prohibition Party]], and other unaffiliated progressives, running a slate of candidates for city office.<ref name=Bedford27 /> John Chase was one of the nominees of this coalition for city office.<ref name=Bedford27 />


In the aftermath of the 1894 campaign Chase himself joined the Socialist Labor Party, joining a new Haverhill local established by the organization.<ref>Bedford, ''Socialism and the Workers in Massachusetts, 1886-1912,'' pg. 31.</ref> Chase was soon a committed member of that [[Marxist]] party, running for [[Massachusetts Attorney General]] on the SLP ticket in the election of 1896.<ref>Bedford, ''Socialism and the Workers in Massachusetts, 1886-1912,'' pg. 58.</ref>
In the aftermath of the 1894 campaign Chase himself joined the Socialist Labor Party, joining a new Haverhill local established by the organization.<ref>Bedford, ''Socialism and the Workers in Massachusetts, 1886-1912,'' pg. 31.</ref> Chase was soon a committed member of that [[Marxist]] party, running for [[Massachusetts Attorney General]] on the SLP ticket in the election of 1896.<ref>Bedford, ''Socialism and the Workers in Massachusetts, 1886-1912,'' pg. 58.</ref>
Line 22: Line 35:
Local Haverhill SLP had objections to the national organization's policy of [[dual union]]ism towards the established unions of the [[American Federation of Labor]]. In February 1898 Chase returned Section Haverhill's SLP charter to the national office in [[New York City]], thereby ending its connection with the party.<ref>Bedford, ''Socialism and the Workers in Massachusetts, 1886-1912,'' pg. 73.</ref> The following month Chase was acting as organizer of a new Haverhill local of the [[Social Democratic Party of America]], an organization headed by [[Victor L. Berger]] and [[Eugene V. Debs]].<ref>Bedford, ''Socialism and the Workers in Massachusetts, 1886-1912,'' pp. 76-77.</ref> Chase quickly accumulated 60 membership applications for the new organization, thereby transforming the former Section Haverhill SLP into Local Haverhill SDP.<ref>Bedford, ''Socialism and the Workers in Massachusetts, 1886-1912,'' pg. 77.</ref>
Local Haverhill SLP had objections to the national organization's policy of [[dual union]]ism towards the established unions of the [[American Federation of Labor]]. In February 1898 Chase returned Section Haverhill's SLP charter to the national office in [[New York City]], thereby ending its connection with the party.<ref>Bedford, ''Socialism and the Workers in Massachusetts, 1886-1912,'' pg. 73.</ref> The following month Chase was acting as organizer of a new Haverhill local of the [[Social Democratic Party of America]], an organization headed by [[Victor L. Berger]] and [[Eugene V. Debs]].<ref>Bedford, ''Socialism and the Workers in Massachusetts, 1886-1912,'' pp. 76-77.</ref> Chase quickly accumulated 60 membership applications for the new organization, thereby transforming the former Section Haverhill SLP into Local Haverhill SDP.<ref>Bedford, ''Socialism and the Workers in Massachusetts, 1886-1912,'' pg. 77.</ref>


===Mayor of Haverhill===
In 1898 Chase headed the SDP ticket as the party's candidate for mayor of Haverhill, winning election.<ref name=Bliss /> Chase thus became the first socialist elected mayor of an American city.<ref name=Bliss /> Chase was joined in elected office by three newly elected Socialist aldermen as members of the Haverhill Common Council.<ref>Patricia Trainor O'Malley, "James Francis Carey," in Mark C. Carnes (ed.), ''American National Biography: Supplement 2.'' New York: Oxford University Press, 2005; pg. 76.</ref> This success was tempered by the fact that the Haverhill Common Council had 21 members at the time, relegating the socialists to a minority position in the civic government.<ref name=Kipnis76>Ira Kipnis, ''The American Socialist Movement, 1897-1912.'' New York: Columbia University Press, 1952; pg. 76.</ref>
Following a defeat in the November 1898 campaign for the Massachusetts State Senate, in which he finished second in a field of four candidates,<ref>"Vote at Haverhill," ''Social Democratic Herald'' [Belleville, IL], vol. 1, no. 22 (Dec. 3, 1898), pg. 4.</ref> the next month Chase headed the SDP ticket as the party's candidate for mayor of Haverhill, emerging victorious by a plurality of 356 votes.<ref>"One Victory Followed by Another," ''Social Democratic Herald,'' vol. 1, no. 23 (Dec. 10, 1898), pg. 1.</ref> Chase thus became the first socialist elected mayor of an American city.<ref name=Bliss /> Chase was joined in elected office by three newly elected Socialist aldermen as members of the Haverhill Common Council.<ref>Patricia Trainor O'Malley, "James Francis Carey," in Mark C. Carnes (ed.), ''American National Biography: Supplement 2.'' New York: Oxford University Press, 2005; pg. 76.</ref> This success was tempered by the fact that the Haverhill Common Council had 21 members at the time, relegating the socialists to a minority position in the civic government.<ref name=Kipnis76>Ira Kipnis, ''The American Socialist Movement, 1897-1912.'' New York: Columbia University Press, 1952; pg. 76.</ref>


[[File:Chase-ad-010511.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Although formerly a shoe factory worker, by the early 1900s Chase was the proprietor of a newsstand in Haverhill. <small>(1901 ad.)</small>]]
The 1898 SDP program for Haverhill called for establishment of the [[initiative]] and [[referendum]], municipal ownership of public utilities, public works jobs for unemployed workers, elimination of unguarded railway crossings, and free clothing for poor children so that they would be able to attend school.<ref>Bedford, ''Socialism and the Workers in Massachusetts, 1886-1912,'' pg. 68.</ref>
The 1898 SDP program for Haverhill called for establishment of the [[Popular initiative|initiative]] and [[referendum]], municipal ownership of public utilities, public works jobs for unemployed workers, elimination of unguarded railway crossings, and free clothing for poor children so that they would be able to attend school.<ref>Bedford, ''Socialism and the Workers in Massachusetts, 1886-1912,'' pg. 68.</ref>


Chase's mayoral victory as the first socialist mayor in America captured the imagination of the left wing press. [[Julius Wayland]], editor of the weekly ''[[Appeal to Reason (newspaper)|Appeal to Reason]]'' declared that "the mere casting of these 2500 votes has done more to direct attention to Socialism than could have been done with any other means."<ref>Quoted in Howard H. Quint, ''The Forging of American Socialism: Origins of the Modern Movement: The Impact of Socialism on American Thought and Action, 1886-1901.'' Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina Press, 1953; pp. 324-325.</ref> [[Paul Tyner]] of the news magazine ''[[The Arena (periodical)|The Arena]]'' offered the hope that Chase's victory would usher in a series of local victories for the socialist movement in the country.<ref>Quint, ''The Forging of American Socialism,'' pg. 324.</ref>
Chase's mayoral victory as the first socialist mayor in America captured the imagination of the left wing press. [[Julius Wayland]], editor of the weekly ''[[Appeal to Reason (newspaper)|Appeal to Reason]]'' declared that "the mere casting of these 2500 votes has done more to direct attention to Socialism than could have been done with any other means."<ref>Quoted in Howard H. Quint, ''The Forging of American Socialism: Origins of the Modern Movement: The Impact of Socialism on American Thought and Action, 1886-1901.'' Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina Press, 1953; pp. 324-325.</ref> [[Paul Tyner]] of the news magazine ''[[The Arena (periodical)|The Arena]]'' offered the hope that Chase's victory would usher in a series of local victories for the socialist movement in the country.<ref>Quint, ''The Forging of American Socialism,'' pg. 324.</ref>
Line 30: Line 45:
Chase was re-elected as mayor of Haverhill in 1899, defeating a so-called "fusion" candidate jointly nominated by the [[Democratic Party (U.S.)|Democratic]] and [[Republican Party (U.S.)|Republican]] Parties.<ref name=Kipnis76 /> He was defeated in another bid for reelection in the 1900 election, however.<ref name=Bliss />
Chase was re-elected as mayor of Haverhill in 1899, defeating a so-called "fusion" candidate jointly nominated by the [[Democratic Party (U.S.)|Democratic]] and [[Republican Party (U.S.)|Republican]] Parties.<ref name=Kipnis76 /> He was defeated in another bid for reelection in the 1900 election, however.<ref name=Bliss />


===Socialist Party===
In the summer of 1901 the Social Democratic Party merged with another organization of the same name and smaller groups to form the [[Socialist Party of America]] (SPA). Chase was elected the first Secretary of Local Haverhill SPA at the time of its formation.<ref>"A Remarkable Growth," ''Appeal to Reason'' [Girard, KS], whole no. 311 (Nov. 16, 1901), pg. 3.</ref> Not long after, Chase was named a national organizer and lecturer for this organization, traveling the country and speaking on the new party's behalf.<ref name=Bliss />
In the summer of 1901 the Social Democratic Party merged with another organization of the same name and smaller groups to form the [[Socialist Party of America]] (SPA). Chase was elected the first Secretary of Local Haverhill SPA at the time of its formation.<ref>"A Remarkable Growth," ''Appeal to Reason'' [Girard, KS], whole no. 311 (Nov. 16, 1901), pg. 3.</ref> Not long after, Chase was named a national organizer and lecturer for this organization, traveling the country and speaking on the new party's behalf.<ref name=Bliss />


In 1902 and 1903 Chase was named the Socialist Party's candidate for [[governor of Massachusetts]].<ref name=PG>Lawrence Kestenbaum, [http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/chase.html "Index to Politicians: Chase,"] The Political Graveyard, www.politicalgraveyard.com/</ref> Chase captured more than 8.4% of the votes cast during the first of these campaigns and almost 6.4% in the second effort.<ref>[http://www.ourcampaigns.com/CandidateDetail.html?CandidateID=52102 "John C. Chase,"] Our Campaigns, www.ourcampaigns.com/</ref>
In 1902 and 1903 Chase was named the Socialist Party's candidate for [[governor of Massachusetts]].<ref name=PG>Lawrence Kestenbaum, [http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/chase.html "Index to Politicians: Chase,"] The Political Graveyard, www.politicalgraveyard.com/</ref> Chase captured more than 8.4% of the votes cast during the first of these campaigns and almost 6.4% in the second effort.<ref>[http://www.ourcampaigns.com/CandidateDetail.html?CandidateID=52102 "John C. Chase,"] Our Campaigns, www.ourcampaigns.com/</ref>


===Later political activity===
Chase was later elected State Secretary of the [[Socialist Party of New York]], the [[New York]] state affiliate of the SPA.<ref name=Bliss />
Chase was later elected State Secretary of the [[Socialist Party of New York]], the [[New York (state)|New York]] state affiliate of the SPA.<ref name=Bliss />


In 1906 Chase was selected to head the Socialist Party ticket as its candidate for [[governor of New York]]. He received 21,751 votes in this effort, nearly 1.5% of the total ballots cast.
In 1906 Chase was selected to head the Socialist Party ticket as its candidate for [[governor of New York]]. He received 21,751 votes in this effort, nearly 1.5% of the total ballots cast.


Chase ran for [[U.S. Congress]] three times as a Socialist, running in the 14th District of [[Ohio]] in 1920.
Chase ran for [[U.S. Congress]] three times as a Socialist, running in the 14th District of [[Ohio]] in 1920, and the 2nd District of [[West Virginia]] in 1922 and 1924.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Our Campaigns - Candidate - John C. Chase|url=https://www.ourcampaigns.com/CandidateDetail.html?CandidateID=52102|access-date=2021-03-19|website=www.ourcampaigns.com}}</ref>
===Death and legacy===


==Death and legacy==
John C. Chase died January 27, 1937 at New Brighton, Pennsylvania.<ref>Pennsylvania Death Records, Ancestry.com</ref>
John C. Chase died January 27, 1937, at New Brighton, Pennsylvania.<ref>Pennsylvania Death Records, Ancestry.com</ref>


Some of Chase's papers reside in the Socialist Party of New York records located at the [[Tamiment Library and Robert F. Warner Labor Archives]] at [[Bobst Library]] on the campus of [[New York University]].<ref>[http://dlib.nyu.edu/findingaids/html/tamwag/sp_nys.html "Guide to the Socialist Party of New York State Records,"] Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives, Elmer Holmes Bobst Library, New York University, New York City.</ref>
Some of Chase's papers reside in the Socialist Party of New York records located at the [[Tamiment Library and Robert F. Warner Labor Archives]] at [[Bobst Library]] on the campus of [[New York University]].<ref>[http://dlib.nyu.edu/findingaids/html/tamwag/sp_nys.html "Guide to the Socialist Party of New York State Records,"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110702115009/http://dlib.nyu.edu/findingaids/html/tamwag/sp_nys.html |date=2011-07-02 }} Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives, Elmer Holmes Bobst Library, New York University, New York City.</ref>


==See also==
==See also==
Line 63: Line 80:
* Leonard D. Abbott, "The Socialist Movement in Massachusetts," ''The Outlook,'' February 17, 1900, pg. 411.
* Leonard D. Abbott, "The Socialist Movement in Massachusetts," ''The Outlook,'' February 17, 1900, pg. 411.
* Harry F. Bedford, ''Socialism and Workers in Massachusetts, 1886-1912.'' Amherst, MA: [[University of Massachusetts Press]], 1966.
* Harry F. Bedford, ''Socialism and Workers in Massachusetts, 1886-1912.'' Amherst, MA: [[University of Massachusetts Press]], 1966.
* Calvin M. Clark, "A Socialist Mayor in Haverhill, Massachusetts," ''The Outlook,'' December 29, 1898, pp.&nbsp;1926–1927.
* Calvin M. Clark, "A Socialist Mayor in Haverhill, Massachusetts," ''The Independent,'' December 29, 1898, pp.&nbsp;1926–1927.
* John H.M. Laslett, ''Labor and the Left: A Study of Socialist and Radical Influence in the American Labor Movement, 1881-1924.'' New York: Basic Books, 1970. <small>—See Chapter 3.</small>
* John H.M. Laslett, ''Labor and the Left: A Study of Socialist and Radical Influence in the American Labor Movement, 1881-1924.'' New York: Basic Books, 1970. <small>—See Chapter 3.</small>


{{Persondata
| NAME = Chase, John C.
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
| SHORT DESCRIPTION = American politician
| DATE OF BIRTH = 1870
| PLACE OF BIRTH =
| DATE OF DEATH = 1937
| PLACE OF DEATH =
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chase, John C.}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chase, John C.}}
[[Category:1870 births]]
[[Category:1870 births]]
[[Category:1939 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Belknap County, New Hampshire]]
[[Category:Mayors of places in Massachusetts]]
[[Category:American socialists]]
[[Category:American socialists]]
[[Category:American Marxists]]
[[Category:American Marxists]]
[[Category:Members of the Socialist Labor Party of America]]
[[Category:Mayors of places in Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Members of the Social Democratic Party of America]]
[[Category:People from Barnstead, New Hampshire]]
[[Category:People from Gilmanton, New Hampshire]]
[[Category:Politicians from Haverhill, Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Socialist Labor Party of America politicians from Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Socialist Party of America politicians from Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Socialist Party of America politicians from Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Socialist Party of America politicians from New York (state)]]
[[Category:Socialist Party of America politicians from Ohio]]
[[Category:Social Democratic Party of America politicians]]
[[Category:Writers from Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Writers from Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Writers from New Hampshire]]
[[Category:Writers from New Hampshire]]
[[Category:People from Haverhill, Massachusetts]]
[[Category:People from Ossipee, New Hampshire]]
[[Category:People from Milton, New Hampshire]]
[[Category:Trade unionists from Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Boot and Shoe Workers' Union people]]
[[Category:1937 deaths]]

Latest revision as of 14:01, 18 March 2024

John C. Chase
Chase in 1903
Mayor of Haverhill, Massachusetts
In office
1898–1900
Personal details
BornMay 27, 1870
Gilmanton, New Hampshire
DiedJanuary 27, 1937 (age 66)
New Brighton, Pennsylvania
Political partyPopulist (1890s)
Social Democratic (1894–1901)
Socialist (1901–37)

John Calvin Chase (1870–1937) was an American trade union activist and politician.

Chase was elected to two terms as mayor of Haverhill, Massachusetts, on the Social Democratic ticket. He is considered the first socialist to elected mayor of an American city.[1] He later ran without success as a Socialist candidate for Governor of Massachusetts and New York, and as a Congressional candidate in Ohio and West Virginia.

Early life

[edit]

John Calvin Chase was born in Gilmanton, New Hampshire, on May 27, 1870, to a working class family. When John was just 1 year old the family moved to the small town of Ossipee, where his father Levi M. Chase met with an accident that caused his death.[2] John and his four siblings were left in the care of his mother Lynthia, who relocated to yet another small New Hampshire town, this time Milton Mills to work in the woolen mills there.[2]

John followed his mother into the mills, going to work for the first time at the age of just 9 years old.[2] The family relocated frequently in search of steady work, living also in Sanford, Maine, and Barnstead, New Hampshire.[2]

At the age of 13 he went to work in a shoe factory for the first time.[3] He joined the Boot and Shoe Workers' Union in 1888 and was subsequently elected as a delegate to that organization's annual convention.[3]

Chase moved to the town of Haverhill, Massachusetts in 1890 to work in a shoe factory there.[3] Chase's trade union activities soon lead to his being made unemployable in the shoe industry, so he instead helped to establish a cooperative grocery store in Haverhill, which provided him a source of work.[2]

Political career

[edit]

Chase was a member of the People's Party (the so-called "Populists") during the first half of the 1890s.[4] In 1894, Haverhill's Populists joined a broad reform coalition with the Socialist Labor Party of America, the Prohibition Party, and other unaffiliated progressives, running a slate of candidates for city office.[4] John Chase was one of the nominees of this coalition for city office.[4]

In the aftermath of the 1894 campaign Chase himself joined the Socialist Labor Party, joining a new Haverhill local established by the organization.[5] Chase was soon a committed member of that Marxist party, running for Massachusetts Attorney General on the SLP ticket in the election of 1896.[6]

Local Haverhill SLP had objections to the national organization's policy of dual unionism towards the established unions of the American Federation of Labor. In February 1898 Chase returned Section Haverhill's SLP charter to the national office in New York City, thereby ending its connection with the party.[7] The following month Chase was acting as organizer of a new Haverhill local of the Social Democratic Party of America, an organization headed by Victor L. Berger and Eugene V. Debs.[8] Chase quickly accumulated 60 membership applications for the new organization, thereby transforming the former Section Haverhill SLP into Local Haverhill SDP.[9]

Mayor of Haverhill

[edit]

Following a defeat in the November 1898 campaign for the Massachusetts State Senate, in which he finished second in a field of four candidates,[10] the next month Chase headed the SDP ticket as the party's candidate for mayor of Haverhill, emerging victorious by a plurality of 356 votes.[11] Chase thus became the first socialist elected mayor of an American city.[3] Chase was joined in elected office by three newly elected Socialist aldermen as members of the Haverhill Common Council.[12] This success was tempered by the fact that the Haverhill Common Council had 21 members at the time, relegating the socialists to a minority position in the civic government.[13]

Although formerly a shoe factory worker, by the early 1900s Chase was the proprietor of a newsstand in Haverhill. (1901 ad.)

The 1898 SDP program for Haverhill called for establishment of the initiative and referendum, municipal ownership of public utilities, public works jobs for unemployed workers, elimination of unguarded railway crossings, and free clothing for poor children so that they would be able to attend school.[14]

Chase's mayoral victory as the first socialist mayor in America captured the imagination of the left wing press. Julius Wayland, editor of the weekly Appeal to Reason declared that "the mere casting of these 2500 votes has done more to direct attention to Socialism than could have been done with any other means."[15] Paul Tyner of the news magazine The Arena offered the hope that Chase's victory would usher in a series of local victories for the socialist movement in the country.[16]

Chase was re-elected as mayor of Haverhill in 1899, defeating a so-called "fusion" candidate jointly nominated by the Democratic and Republican Parties.[13] He was defeated in another bid for reelection in the 1900 election, however.[3]

Socialist Party

[edit]

In the summer of 1901 the Social Democratic Party merged with another organization of the same name and smaller groups to form the Socialist Party of America (SPA). Chase was elected the first Secretary of Local Haverhill SPA at the time of its formation.[17] Not long after, Chase was named a national organizer and lecturer for this organization, traveling the country and speaking on the new party's behalf.[3]

In 1902 and 1903 Chase was named the Socialist Party's candidate for governor of Massachusetts.[18] Chase captured more than 8.4% of the votes cast during the first of these campaigns and almost 6.4% in the second effort.[19]

Later political activity

[edit]

Chase was later elected State Secretary of the Socialist Party of New York, the New York state affiliate of the SPA.[3]

In 1906 Chase was selected to head the Socialist Party ticket as its candidate for governor of New York. He received 21,751 votes in this effort, nearly 1.5% of the total ballots cast.

Chase ran for U.S. Congress three times as a Socialist, running in the 14th District of Ohio in 1920, and the 2nd District of West Virginia in 1922 and 1924.[20]

Death and legacy

[edit]

John C. Chase died January 27, 1937, at New Brighton, Pennsylvania.[21]

Some of Chase's papers reside in the Socialist Party of New York records located at the Tamiment Library and Robert F. Warner Labor Archives at Bobst Library on the campus of New York University.[22]

See also

[edit]

Footnotes

[edit]
  1. ^ Frederic C. Heath, Social Democracy Red Book. Terre Haute, IN: Debs Publishing Co., 1900; p. 108.
  2. ^ a b c d e Frederic C. Heath, Social Democracy Red Book. Terre Haute, IN: Debs Publishing Co., 1900; pg. 108.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g William D.P. Bliss (ed.), "John C. Chase," in The New Encyclopedia of Social Reform, Including All Social-Reform Movements and Activities, and the Economic, Industrial, and Sociological Facts and Statistics of All Countries and All Social Subjects. New Edition. New York: Funk and Wagnalls Co., 1908; pg. 161.
  4. ^ a b c Henry F. Bedford, Socialism and the Workers in Massachusetts, 1886-1912. Amherst, MA: University of Massachusetts Press, 1966; pg. 27.
  5. ^ Bedford, Socialism and the Workers in Massachusetts, 1886-1912, pg. 31.
  6. ^ Bedford, Socialism and the Workers in Massachusetts, 1886-1912, pg. 58.
  7. ^ Bedford, Socialism and the Workers in Massachusetts, 1886-1912, pg. 73.
  8. ^ Bedford, Socialism and the Workers in Massachusetts, 1886-1912, pp. 76-77.
  9. ^ Bedford, Socialism and the Workers in Massachusetts, 1886-1912, pg. 77.
  10. ^ "Vote at Haverhill," Social Democratic Herald [Belleville, IL], vol. 1, no. 22 (Dec. 3, 1898), pg. 4.
  11. ^ "One Victory Followed by Another," Social Democratic Herald, vol. 1, no. 23 (Dec. 10, 1898), pg. 1.
  12. ^ Patricia Trainor O'Malley, "James Francis Carey," in Mark C. Carnes (ed.), American National Biography: Supplement 2. New York: Oxford University Press, 2005; pg. 76.
  13. ^ a b Ira Kipnis, The American Socialist Movement, 1897-1912. New York: Columbia University Press, 1952; pg. 76.
  14. ^ Bedford, Socialism and the Workers in Massachusetts, 1886-1912, pg. 68.
  15. ^ Quoted in Howard H. Quint, The Forging of American Socialism: Origins of the Modern Movement: The Impact of Socialism on American Thought and Action, 1886-1901. Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina Press, 1953; pp. 324-325.
  16. ^ Quint, The Forging of American Socialism, pg. 324.
  17. ^ "A Remarkable Growth," Appeal to Reason [Girard, KS], whole no. 311 (Nov. 16, 1901), pg. 3.
  18. ^ Lawrence Kestenbaum, "Index to Politicians: Chase," The Political Graveyard, www.politicalgraveyard.com/
  19. ^ "John C. Chase," Our Campaigns, www.ourcampaigns.com/
  20. ^ "Our Campaigns - Candidate - John C. Chase". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved 2021-03-19.
  21. ^ Pennsylvania Death Records, Ancestry.com
  22. ^ "Guide to the Socialist Party of New York State Records," Archived 2011-07-02 at the Wayback Machine Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives, Elmer Holmes Bobst Library, New York University, New York City.

Works

[edit]
  • "Municipal Socialism in America," The Outlook, January 24, 1900, pp. 249–257.
  • "Millennium Dawn in Massachusetts," Wilshire's Magazine, January 1903, pp. 61–63.
  • "How I Became a Socialist," The Comrade [New York], 1903, pg. 109.

Further reading

[edit]
  • Leonard D. Abbott, "The Socialist Movement in Massachusetts," The Outlook, February 17, 1900, pg. 411.
  • Harry F. Bedford, Socialism and Workers in Massachusetts, 1886-1912. Amherst, MA: University of Massachusetts Press, 1966.
  • Calvin M. Clark, "A Socialist Mayor in Haverhill, Massachusetts," The Independent, December 29, 1898, pp. 1926–1927.
  • John H.M. Laslett, Labor and the Left: A Study of Socialist and Radical Influence in the American Labor Movement, 1881-1924. New York: Basic Books, 1970. —See Chapter 3.