John Hunn (governor)
Encyclopedia
John Hunn was an American businessman and politician from Camden, in Kent County, Delaware. He was a member of the Republican Party who served as Governor of Delaware.
and Mary Jenkins Swallow Hunn. He married Sarah Cowgill Emerson in 1874 and they had one child, Alice. They lived at 3 South Main Street in Camden and were members of the Camden Friends Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends or Quakers.
Hunn's father, also John Hunn, was a noted abolitionist and chief engineer of the Underground Railroad in Delaware. Shortly after the younger John's birth, the family lost their New Castle County farm, "Happy Valley," in a sheriff's sales because of fines assessed for helping runaway slaves. They then went to live with family at Magnolia
, Delaware.
, South Carolina, where his father was working with the Freedmen's Bureau. In 1876 he returned to Delaware, permanently settled at Camden, Delaware and began operating a merchandized fruit, lumber, and lime business in nearby Wyoming
. He maintained this business throughout his life.
At the turn of the twentieth century Delaware was going through a political transformation. Most obvious to the public was the unprecedented division in the Republican Party caused, in part, by the ambitions of J. Edward "Gas" Addicks
for a seat in the U.S. Senate. A gas company industrialist, he spent vast amounts of his own fortune to build a Republican Party, primarily for that purpose. Largely successful in heavily Democratic Kent County and Sussex County, he financed the organization of a faction that came to be known as the "Union Republicans." Meanwhile he was making bitter enemies of the New Castle County "Regular Republicans," who considered him nothing more than a carpetbagger from Philadelphia.
Behind the headlines, however, all the effort was making obvious the archaic and corrupt practices that characterized elections and the resultant state government. This caused a consensus to develop that major reform was needed in all areas of state government, but especially in voting procedures, apportionment, and the assignment of various responsibilities to the governor, legislature, and judiciary. The result of the all this was the Constitution of 1897
and the return of two-party politics to Delaware. It also created a state-wide, moderately progressive, Republican Party, which become a state-wide majority, particularly after the 1905 end of the highly personal Addicks controversy.
Hunn also benefited from being the first Governor elected under Delaware's new Constitution of 1897. As such he enjoyed an authority unknown to Governors since the colonial times. He was thus the first Governor of Delaware to be eligible to serve for two terms and most importantly was the first to be able to veto General Assembly bills; a veto power which included the ability to veto particular items on appropriations bills. He was also the first Governor to serve with an elected Lieutenant Governor.
Along with changes to the Governor's authority, the new Constitution modified the duties of the General Assembly so that it too became more effective. Finally, the responsibility for granting divorces was moved to the courts. Along with the requirement for creating a general incorporation law, the General Assembly eventually produced an incorporation law that laid the basis for the state becoming the preferred national incorporation location and all its associated revenues. And it was during this time that the General Assembly finally ratified the Thirteenth Amendment
, Fourteenth Amendment
, and Fifteenth Amendment
to the U.S. Constitution, thirty-one years after they became law. In spite of all this progress, the General Assembly was unable to resolve the Addicks issue until 1903, with the nationally embarrassing result that Delaware spent two years with no representation at all in the U.S. Senate.
Hunn was the first Governor to seek the admission of women to the Delaware College, now the University of Delaware
, and to recommend that a paved highway be constructed the entire length of the state.
{|class=wikitable style="width: 94%" style="text-align: center;" align="center"
|-bgcolor=#cccccc
!colspan=12 style="background: #ccccff;" |Delaware General Assembly
(sessions while Governor)
|-
!Year
!Assembly
!
!Senate Majority
!President
pro tempore
!
!House Majority
!Speaker
|-
|1901–1902
|91st
|
| |Republican
| |Henry C. Ellison
|
| |Republican
| |James V. McCommons
|-
|1903–1904
|92nd
|
| |Republican
| |Henry C. Ellison
|
| |Republican
| |Henry S. Anthony
|-
{|class=wikitable style="width: 94%" style="text-align: center;" align="center"
|-bgcolor=#cccccc
!colspan=7 style="background: #ccccff;" |Public Offices
|-
! Office
! Type
! Location
! Began office
! Ended office
! notes
|-
|Governor
|Executive
|Dover
|January 15, 1901
|January 17, 1905
|
{|class=wikitable style="width: 94%" style="text-align: center;" align="center"
|-bgcolor=#cccccc
!colspan=12 style="background: #ccccff;" |Election results
|-
!Year
!Office
!
!Subject
!Party
!Votes
!%
!
!Opponent
!Party
!Votes
!%
|-
|1900
|Governor
|
||John Hunn
||Republican
||22,421
||53%
|
||Peter J. Ford
||Democratic
||18,808
||45%
Early life and family
Hunn was born near Odessa, Delaware, son of JohnJohn Hunn (farmer)
John Hunn was an American farmer and abolitionist from Odessa, in New Castle County, Delaware. He was a "station master" of the Underground Railroad in Delaware.-Early life and family:...
and Mary Jenkins Swallow Hunn. He married Sarah Cowgill Emerson in 1874 and they had one child, Alice. They lived at 3 South Main Street in Camden and were members of the Camden Friends Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends or Quakers.
Hunn's father, also John Hunn, was a noted abolitionist and chief engineer of the Underground Railroad in Delaware. Shortly after the younger John's birth, the family lost their New Castle County farm, "Happy Valley," in a sheriff's sales because of fines assessed for helping runaway slaves. They then went to live with family at Magnolia
Magnolia, Delaware
Magnolia is a town in Kent County, Delaware, United States. It is part of the Dover, Delaware Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 225 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Magnolia is located at ....
, Delaware.
Professional and political career
The younger Hunn, known as "Honest John", grew up at Magnolia and Port RoyalPort Royal, South Carolina
Port Royal is a town in Beaufort County, South Carolina, United States. Largely because of annexation of surrounding areas , the population of Port Royal rose from 3,950 in 2000 to 10,678 in 2010, a 170% increase. As defined by the U.S...
, South Carolina, where his father was working with the Freedmen's Bureau. In 1876 he returned to Delaware, permanently settled at Camden, Delaware and began operating a merchandized fruit, lumber, and lime business in nearby Wyoming
Wyoming, Delaware
Wyoming is a town in Kent County, Delaware, United States. It was named after the Wyoming Valley in Pennsylvania. It is part of the Dover, Delaware Metropolitan Statistical Area...
. He maintained this business throughout his life.
At the turn of the twentieth century Delaware was going through a political transformation. Most obvious to the public was the unprecedented division in the Republican Party caused, in part, by the ambitions of J. Edward "Gas" Addicks
J. Edward Addicks
John Edward Charles O'Sullivan Addicks was an industrialist and capitalist who used his wealth from financing and building gas works to wage four unsuccessful campaigns for a United States Senate seat in Delaware. His struggle with Henry A...
for a seat in the U.S. Senate. A gas company industrialist, he spent vast amounts of his own fortune to build a Republican Party, primarily for that purpose. Largely successful in heavily Democratic Kent County and Sussex County, he financed the organization of a faction that came to be known as the "Union Republicans." Meanwhile he was making bitter enemies of the New Castle County "Regular Republicans," who considered him nothing more than a carpetbagger from Philadelphia.
Behind the headlines, however, all the effort was making obvious the archaic and corrupt practices that characterized elections and the resultant state government. This caused a consensus to develop that major reform was needed in all areas of state government, but especially in voting procedures, apportionment, and the assignment of various responsibilities to the governor, legislature, and judiciary. The result of the all this was the Constitution of 1897
Delaware Constitution of 1897
The Constitution of the State of Delaware of 1897 is the fourth and current governing document for Delaware state government and has been in effect since its adoption on June 4 of that year.-Executive:...
and the return of two-party politics to Delaware. It also created a state-wide, moderately progressive, Republican Party, which become a state-wide majority, particularly after the 1905 end of the highly personal Addicks controversy.
Governor of Delaware
Hunn was to be an early beneficiary of these developments. As a political newcomer, Hunn was acceptable as a compromise candidate to all Republicans. Running in opposition to the Roman Catholic Wilmington leather merchant, Peter J. Ford, he was able to take advantage of the conservative Democratics, discomfort with Catholicism, and their dislike of the national Presidential candidate, William Jennings Bryan. He handily won the election in 1900 and began a period of Republican occupancy of the Governor's office that lasted for all but eight of the next 60 years.Hunn also benefited from being the first Governor elected under Delaware's new Constitution of 1897. As such he enjoyed an authority unknown to Governors since the colonial times. He was thus the first Governor of Delaware to be eligible to serve for two terms and most importantly was the first to be able to veto General Assembly bills; a veto power which included the ability to veto particular items on appropriations bills. He was also the first Governor to serve with an elected Lieutenant Governor.
Along with changes to the Governor's authority, the new Constitution modified the duties of the General Assembly so that it too became more effective. Finally, the responsibility for granting divorces was moved to the courts. Along with the requirement for creating a general incorporation law, the General Assembly eventually produced an incorporation law that laid the basis for the state becoming the preferred national incorporation location and all its associated revenues. And it was during this time that the General Assembly finally ratified the Thirteenth Amendment
Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution officially abolished and continues to prohibit slavery and involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime. It was passed by the Senate on April 8, 1864, passed by the House on January 31, 1865, and adopted on December 6, 1865. On...
, Fourteenth Amendment
Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was adopted on July 9, 1868, as one of the Reconstruction Amendments.Its Citizenship Clause provides a broad definition of citizenship that overruled the Dred Scott v...
, and Fifteenth Amendment
Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibits each government in the United States from denying a citizen the right to vote based on that citizen's "race, color, or previous condition of servitude"...
to the U.S. Constitution, thirty-one years after they became law. In spite of all this progress, the General Assembly was unable to resolve the Addicks issue until 1903, with the nationally embarrassing result that Delaware spent two years with no representation at all in the U.S. Senate.
Hunn was the first Governor to seek the admission of women to the Delaware College, now the University of Delaware
University of Delaware
The university is organized into seven colleges:* College of Agriculture and Natural Resources* College of Arts and Sciences* Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics* College of Earth, Ocean and Environment* College of Education and Human Development...
, and to recommend that a paved highway be constructed the entire length of the state.
{|class=wikitable style="width: 94%" style="text-align: center;" align="center"
|-bgcolor=#cccccc
!colspan=12 style="background: #ccccff;" |Delaware General Assembly
Delaware General Assembly
The Delaware General Assembly is the legislature of the U.S. state of Delaware. It is a bicameral legislature composed of the Delaware Senate with 21 Senators and the Delaware House of Representatives with 41 Representatives...
(sessions while Governor)
|-
!Year
!Assembly
!
!Senate Majority
!President
pro tempore
!
!House Majority
!Speaker
|-
|1901–1902
|91st
Delaware General Assembly
The Delaware General Assembly is the legislature of the U.S. state of Delaware. It is a bicameral legislature composed of the Delaware Senate with 21 Senators and the Delaware House of Representatives with 41 Representatives...
|
| |Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
| |Henry C. Ellison
|
| |Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
| |James V. McCommons
|-
|1903–1904
|92nd
Delaware General Assembly
The Delaware General Assembly is the legislature of the U.S. state of Delaware. It is a bicameral legislature composed of the Delaware Senate with 21 Senators and the Delaware House of Representatives with 41 Representatives...
|
| |Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
| |Henry C. Ellison
|
| |Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
| |Henry S. Anthony
|-
Death and legacy
After his term ended, Hunn returned full time to his business. He died at Camden and is buried there in the Friends Meetinghouse Cemetery, along with his wife and parents. There is a road off U.S. Highway 13 and Loockerman Street in Dover named for him, as well as one in the Manor Park development in New Castle.Almanac
Elections are held the first Tuesday after November 1. The Governor takes office the third Tuesday of January and has a four year term.{|class=wikitable style="width: 94%" style="text-align: center;" align="center"
|-bgcolor=#cccccc
!colspan=7 style="background: #ccccff;" |Public Offices
|-
! Office
! Type
! Location
! Began office
! Ended office
! notes
|-
|Governor
|Executive
Executive (government)
Executive branch of Government is the part of government that has sole authority and responsibility for the daily administration of the state bureaucracy. The division of power into separate branches of government is central to the idea of the separation of powers.In many countries, the term...
|Dover
Dover, Delaware
The city of Dover is the capital and second largest city in the U.S. state of Delaware. It is also the county seat of Kent County, and the principal city of the Dover, Delaware Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Kent County. It is located on the St. Jones River in the Delaware...
|January 15, 1901
|January 17, 1905
|
{|class=wikitable style="width: 94%" style="text-align: center;" align="center"
|-bgcolor=#cccccc
!colspan=12 style="background: #ccccff;" |Election results
|-
!Year
!Office
!
!Subject
!Party
!Votes
!%
!
!Opponent
!Party
!Votes
!%
|-
|1900
|Governor
|
||John Hunn
||Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
||22,421
||53%
|
||Peter J. Ford
||Democratic
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
||18,808
||45%
Images
- Hall of Governors Portrait Gallery Portrait courtesy of Historical and Cultural Affairs, Dover.
Places with more information
- Delaware Historical SocietyDelaware Historical SocietyThe Delaware Historical Society began in 1864 as an effort to preserve documents from the Civil War. Since then, it has expanded into a state-wide historical institution with several venues and a major museum in Wilmington and the historic Read House & Gardens in New Castle.The society...
; website; 505 North Market Street, Wilmington, Delaware 19801; (302) 655-7161 - University of DelawareUniversity of DelawareThe university is organized into seven colleges:* College of Agriculture and Natural Resources* College of Arts and Sciences* Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics* College of Earth, Ocean and Environment* College of Education and Human Development...
; Library website; 181 South College Avenue, Newark, Delaware 19717; (302) 831-2965