Archibald M. Howe
Encyclopedia
Archibald Murray Howe was a lawyer and historian from Massachusetts. In 1900, he was named as the Vice Presidential candidate of the short-lived "National Party," set up to fight the alleged imperialist policies of President William McKinley
.
Born in Northampton, Massachusetts, in 1848, Howe was of Pilgrim ancestry. He grew up in the Boston suburb of Brookline, where he attended a local academy. He graduated from Harvard University in 1869, and, three years later, graduated from the Harvard University School of Law. He served as the private secretary to Republican Henry Lillie Pierce (1825-1896) when the latter was elected to the US House of Representatives in 1872, remaining so until 1877, when Pierce left Congress. Later, Howe served as a member of the School Committee and the Common Council in Cambridge, where he had moved after returning to Massachusetts.
A Republican in politics, who had broken from the party in 1884 to support Democrat Grover Cleveland, Howe argued against the foreign policies of Republican President William McKinley
, which Howe and others saw as “imperialist.” To this end, in 1900 a group of like-minded people met at Carnegie Hall in New York City on 5 September 1900 and formed the National Party as a protest against McKinley. They nominated Donelson Caffery
of Louisiana, a US Senator and Democrat, for President and Howe for Vice President. Caffery had not asked to be nominated by a party other than his own, and he quickly withdrew; Howe followed, and the party merely asked its followers nationwide to vote for the party’s electors as a protest vote. The number of votes for the National Party were few and far between.
Howe spent much of his life doing historical research and reading and writing papers on history. He was a member of the Massachusetts Reform Club, and there in 1900 read a paper which denounced imperialism and the “spirit of empire.” His obituary in The Boston Globe stated that he was “a brilliant, forceful speaker.”
In his final years, Howe was in declining health. On the morning of 6 January 1916, Howe was found in the street in Cambridge by two policemen, stumbling around. Barefoot and in his night-clothes, he was covered in blood, and police found a stab wound to his neck and a large bruise on his head. Taken to the hospital, Howe died later that morning. A search of his home showed that the wounds were self-inflicted, probably done to end his suffering which had made his life difficult. Howe was survived by his wife, Ania Sargeant Divwell, whom he married in 1881.
William McKinley
William McKinley, Jr. was the 25th President of the United States . He is best known for winning fiercely fought elections, while supporting the gold standard and high tariffs; he succeeded in forging a Republican coalition that for the most part dominated national politics until the 1930s...
.
Born in Northampton, Massachusetts, in 1848, Howe was of Pilgrim ancestry. He grew up in the Boston suburb of Brookline, where he attended a local academy. He graduated from Harvard University in 1869, and, three years later, graduated from the Harvard University School of Law. He served as the private secretary to Republican Henry Lillie Pierce (1825-1896) when the latter was elected to the US House of Representatives in 1872, remaining so until 1877, when Pierce left Congress. Later, Howe served as a member of the School Committee and the Common Council in Cambridge, where he had moved after returning to Massachusetts.
A Republican in politics, who had broken from the party in 1884 to support Democrat Grover Cleveland, Howe argued against the foreign policies of Republican President William McKinley
William McKinley
William McKinley, Jr. was the 25th President of the United States . He is best known for winning fiercely fought elections, while supporting the gold standard and high tariffs; he succeeded in forging a Republican coalition that for the most part dominated national politics until the 1930s...
, which Howe and others saw as “imperialist.” To this end, in 1900 a group of like-minded people met at Carnegie Hall in New York City on 5 September 1900 and formed the National Party as a protest against McKinley. They nominated Donelson Caffery
Donelson Caffery
Donelson Caffery was an American politician from the state of Louisiana, a distinguished soldier in the American Civil War, and a sugar plantation owner.- Biography :...
of Louisiana, a US Senator and Democrat, for President and Howe for Vice President. Caffery had not asked to be nominated by a party other than his own, and he quickly withdrew; Howe followed, and the party merely asked its followers nationwide to vote for the party’s electors as a protest vote. The number of votes for the National Party were few and far between.
Howe spent much of his life doing historical research and reading and writing papers on history. He was a member of the Massachusetts Reform Club, and there in 1900 read a paper which denounced imperialism and the “spirit of empire.” His obituary in The Boston Globe stated that he was “a brilliant, forceful speaker.”
In his final years, Howe was in declining health. On the morning of 6 January 1916, Howe was found in the street in Cambridge by two policemen, stumbling around. Barefoot and in his night-clothes, he was covered in blood, and police found a stab wound to his neck and a large bruise on his head. Taken to the hospital, Howe died later that morning. A search of his home showed that the wounds were self-inflicted, probably done to end his suffering which had made his life difficult. Howe was survived by his wife, Ania Sargeant Divwell, whom he married in 1881.