Charles Cunningham | |
|---|---|
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| Personal details | |
| Born | (1823-07-01)July 1, 1823 Frederick County,Maryland, U.S. |
| Died | April 21, 1895(1895-04-21) (aged 71) Little Rock,Arkansas, U.S. |
| Party | Democratic(Before 1876) Greenback(1876–1886) Agricultural Wheel(1886–1888) Union Labor(1888–1891) Populist(1891–1895) |
| Spouse | Elizabeth Jones (1849–1883) |
| Children | 8 |
Charles E. Cunningham (July 1, 1823 – April 21, 1895) was an American politician who is best known for being theUnion Labor Party's nominee forVice President of the United States in the1888 election.
Cunningham was born in 1823 inFrederick County, Maryland, to James Cunningham, a retired British military captain, and Catherine Campbell, a native of the state. He had three brothers and a sister. Despite being orphaned in 1834, Cunningham obtained an education and married Elizabeth A. Jones (died 1883) in 1849.[1] They had eight children; Kate, Nannie, Mollie, James, Bessie (married John J. Cockrell, the son ofFrancis Cockrell), George, Nettie, and Charles.[2]
Cunningham moved toCalifornia in 1849 and toJohnson County, Missouri in 1854. He went toSt. Louis, Missouri in 1862 and moved toLittle Rock, Arkansas after the end of theAmerican Civil War. He began operating a sawmill in Little Rock and served on the school board there from 1873 until 1877.[2][3] A formerDemocrat, in 1876 Cunningham joined theGreenback Party, and ran as that party's candidate in the1882 congressional election, coming in second place to DemocratClifton R. Breckinridge. He ran forGovernor of Arkansas as the candidate of theAgricultural Wheel party in 1886, receiving 11.7 percent of the vote.[1][4]
Cunningham joined the newly formedUnion Labor Party in 1888. At that year's Union Labor National Convention in May, Illinois State SenatorAlson Streeter was unanimously nominated as their candidate for president. The vice presidential ballot saw Samuel Evans ofTexas receive 124 votes, T. P. Rynder ofPennsylvania received 44, and Cunningham received 32. After Evans declined the party's nomination, Cunningham became the vice presidential candidate.[5] He waited several weeks before accepting the nomination.[6][7] The ULP ticket received 146,602 votes (1.3%) but did get 11.4% inKansas and 6.8% in Arkansas.[8]
Cunningham was influential in the forming of thePopulist Party in 1891. He was temporary chairman of the May 1891 Populist convention. Cunningham died on April 21, 1895. He is buried in Little Rock at the Oakland-Fraternal Cemetery.[1]
| Party political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| New political party | Union Labor nominee forVice President of the United States 1888 | Party dissolved |