John St. John | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 8thGovernor of Kansas | |
| In office January 13, 1879 – January 8, 1883 | |
| Lieutenant | Lyman U. Humphrey David Wesley Finney |
| Preceded by | George T. Anthony |
| Succeeded by | George Glick |
| Member of theKansas Senate from the 9th District | |
| In office 1873–1874 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | John Pierce St. John (1833-02-25)February 25, 1833 Brookville, Indiana, U.S. |
| Died | August 31, 1916(1916-08-31) (aged 83) Olathe, Kansas, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Other political affiliations | Prohibition(1884) |
| Spouse(s) | Mary Jane Brewer Susan Parker |
| Children | 3 |
| Parents |
|
| Signature | .png) |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Branch/service | Union Army |
| Years of service | 1853-1854 1861-1864 |
| Rank | Lieutenant colonel |
| Unit | 143rd Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment |
| Battles/wars | American Indian Wars American Civil War |
John Pierce St. John (February 25, 1833 – August 31, 1916) was an American politician who served as the eighthgovernor 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 statewideprohibition 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 the1896 presidential election.
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 theModoc Native Americans in California and Oregon.[2] John was acongregationalist until the 1870s when he converted and became aChristian 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]
During theAmerican Civil War he served as lieutenant colonel of the143rd Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment in theUnion 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 theKansas Senate and was theRepublican 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 thetemperance movement and successfully promoted a prohibitionamendment to the state'sconstitution in 1881. St. John also helped create the Kansas Freedmen's Relief Association during theGreat Exodus of African-Americans to Kansas in 1879. In 1879, the religious colony of Zion Valley was renamed toSt. John in his honor to gain favor in winning the county seat ofStafford County. In 1882, he ran for reelection to a third term, but was defeated byGeorge Washington Glick with 83,232 votes to 75,158 votes.
He was theProhibition Party candidate for President of the United States in the1884 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 withWilliam Daniel which was an increase of 137,118 votes fromNeal Dow's results in 1880 due to support fromFrances Willard and theWoman's Christian Temperance Union. He wasblamed 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 the1888 Prohibition national convention and oversaw the writing of the party's platform.[7] He declined to seek the Prohibition Party's presidential nomination for the1892 presidential election and instead nominatedJohn Bidwell who went on to win the nomination and was named as the temporary chairman of the convention.[8][9][10] At the1896 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 defeated those attempts John,Charles Eugene Bentley, andHelen M. Gougar led a walkout of the broad gaugers and created the breakaway National Party and nominated a rival ticket with Bentley as president andJames H. Southgate as vice president.[11] Following the 1896 election he became disillusioned with party and joined thePeople's Party although he would later return to the Prohibition party.[12]
On December 3, 1887, he, with a group of followers, bought 10,000 acres of land inNewhall, California, to create a dry community.[13] In 1912, he toured Kansas in support ofwomen'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, inOlathe, Kansas. His funeral was attended by GovernorArthur Capper, former governorGeorge H. Hodges, andHerman P. Faris who served as the Prohibition Party's representative.[15]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | John St. John | 1,772 | 58.73% | |
| Democratic | L. F. Green | 1,245 | 41.27% | |
| Total votes | 3,017 | 100.00% | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | John St. John | 74,020 | 53.52% | −3.26% | |
| Democratic | John R. Goodin | 37,208 | 26.91% | −11.01% | |
| Greenback | David P. Mitchell | 27,057 | 19.57% | +19.57% | |
| N/A | Other | 11 | 0.01% | −0.34% | |
| Total votes | 138,296 | 100.00% | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | John St. John | 115,144 | 57.90% | +4.38% | |
| Democratic | Edmund G. Ross | 63,557 | 31.96% | +5.05% | |
| Greenback | H. P. Vrooman | 19,481 | 9.80% | −9.77% | |
| Prohibition | J. P. Culver | 435 | 0.22% | +0.22% | |
| Independent | F. M. Stringfield | 210 | 0.11% | +0.11% | |
| N/A | Other | 57 | 0.03% | +0.02% | |
| Total votes | 198,884 | 100.00% | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | George Washington Glick | 83,232 | 46.40% | +14.44% | |
| Republican | John St. John | 75,158 | 41.90% | −16.00% | |
| Greenback | Charles L. Robinson | 20,933 | 11.67% | +1.87% | |
| N/A | Other | 56 | 0.03% | ±0.00% | |
| Total votes | 179,379 | 100.00% | |||
Media related toJohn St. John (American politician) at Wikimedia Commons| Party political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Republican nominee forGovernor of Kansas 1878,1880,1882 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Prohibition nominee forPresident of the United States 1884 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Governor of Kansas 1879–1883 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
