en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en pl en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en de en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en
Teddy Roosevelt once said of Mark Hanna that, “The oddest thing about Hanna was that numbers of intelligent people thought him a fool …”
Well, Mark Hanna WAS a very complex man who became to political cartoonists the embodiment of the bloated, corrupt, political boss, representing the rich against the worker.
The Hearst papers characterized him as the Red Boss of Cleveland politics, ruling the city from his office, terrorizing unions and ruining rival street railways … “He sent poor sailors out to sea on his ships on the wintry Lakes, cold and starving, unpaid and mutinous. He had corrupted Gov. William McKinley’s government, etc.”
And yet, according to his biographer, Thomas Beer, when fellow Republican George Pullman brought on a very violent general strike in 1894 by his refusal to negotiate with his workers, Hanna raged against him publicly in the Union Club: “The damned idiot ought to arbitrate! What did he think he was doing? A man who won’t meet his men halfway is a [expletive] fool.” And this was the same man who lent his money to Union veterans so they could attend Ulysses Grant’s funeral in New York.
In 1894, Mark Hanna, president of a bank, director of street railways, partner in three rolling mills, executive in a ship-building company, gave up all these businesses to devote himself full time to getting his friend, Ohio’s Gov. William McKinley, elected president of the United States.
By the time the Republican convention gathered in 1896, Mark Hanna’s organizing ability and drive, and $100,000 spent out of his own pocket, had already sewn up a majority of the delegates for his candidate. Then came the amazing, so-called “Front Porch” presidential campaign. McKinley didn’t want to campaign away from his invalid wife, and he couldn’t match Democratic candidate William Jennings Bryan’s oratory, so Hanna moved the campaign to his front porch in Canton. The governor made dozens of speeches a day to large crowds brough in by the railroads at discount rates. According to Cleveland historian George Condon, Hanna flooded the country with 30 million pieces of McKinley literature a week, had his face on drinking mugs, posters, badges, spoons and lapel buttons. Little boys sang: “McKinley drinks soda water, Bryan drinks rum; McKinley is a gentleman, Bryan is a bum!”
Successful? McKinley won the 1896 election by more than 600,000 votes.
The new president, and his “political prime minister,” as one observer called Hanna, upset the accepted wisdom when the president appointed political moderates to his Cabinet, and paid very little attention to Wall Street. Everybody figured Hanna wanted to be secretary of the Treasury, but he said to a friend, “Me in the Cabinet? All the newspapers would have cartoons of me stealing the White House kitchen stove!”
What he did want was to be U.S. senator from Ohio so he could help his great friend McKinley be a successful president. This was neatly arranged by the appointment of Ohio’s Sen. John Sherman as secretary of state, and having the Republican governor of Ohio appoint Hanna to succeed him for the remaining year of his term.
But that year was soon up, and Hanna at the age of 60 – a man who had never faced a voter – was going to have to face election before the Ohio Assembly – that’s the way it was done then.
The campaign turned out to be just possibly the meanest, nastiest, most bitterly fought senatorial election in American history. Biographer Herbert Croly, says, “He [Hanna] was portrayed as a monster of sordid greed, as the embodiment of all that was worst in American politics and business.”
Hanna campaigned across the state, speaking in large cities and small towns; audiences liked his blunt, plain-spoken ways.
In January of 1898, with the state Assembly ready to vote, this is how Croly saw it: “Columbus came to resemble a medieval city given over to an angry feud between armed partisans. Blows were exchanged in hotels and on the streets. There were threats of assassination. Timid men feared to go out after dark …” The 73 legislators who were committed to Mark Hanna were marched under armed guard to the Statehouse to vote for their man and give him a three-vote margin of victory!
Mark Hanna’s star would never shine brighter!
Teaching Cleveland Digital is a repository of writing, pictures and videos to support the teaching of Cleveland, Northeast Ohio and Ohio @ www.teachingcleveland.org. View all posts by
Author Posted on March 30, 2011Categories Mark Hanna
Previous Previous post: A Strong Will Gave Birth to Cleveland Orchestra
Next Next post: Hanna Was At The Forefront of U.S., City Politics
History of the Cleveland-area’s Hispanic population and where most live now, Sept 27, 2022
Great Lakes Science Center marks 25 years, keeps evolving, educating, entertaining, Cleveland.com, September 27, 2022
Candidates for Cuyahoga County Executive: Chris Ronayne and Lee Weingart debate. The City Club of Cleveland 9.20.22
A bumpy road to regionalism by Jay Miller, Crain’s Cleveland Business 9/19/22
Updating the list of Cleveland’s most influential people: Brent Larkin July 17, 2022
“A Man is Passing” Poem written on the death of CLE Mayor Tom L Johnson 1912 by Edmund Vance Cooke
11 weeks after Jackie Robinson’s debut, Larry Doby arrived By Frederic J. Frommer/Washington Post July 5, 2022
Will Cleveland Ever Develop Its Lakefront? Cleveland Magazine August 2022
The Rise and Fall of the Cleveland Air Races by Vince Guerrieri June, 2022
A look back at 9 previous downtown Cleveland lakefront proposals that didn’t move ahead – Plain Dealer May 30, 2022
Myths surround ‘Untouchable’ lawman Eliot Ness. What’s the truth? Washington Post June 1, 2022
Tour the tunnels below Cleveland’s Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Monument – May 3, 2022
CLEVELAND: AN HISTORICAL OVERVIEW from Encyclopedia of Cleveland History (1987)
Cleveland’s 50 Most Important Moments of the Past 50 Years – Cleveland Magazine, April 2022
Categories Select Category Timeline of Cleveland/NE Ohio The Western Reserve 1796-1820    “Cleveland’s First Neighborhood – The Flats”    Along the Cuyahoga    Connecticut Western Reserve    Explorations Pre 1788    Lorenzo Carter    Moses Cleaveland    Oliver H. Perry/Battle of Lake Erie/War of 1812    Samuel and Hannah Huntington    Speculation, Sales and Real Estate    The Firelands    Women in the Western Reserve Pre Industrial 1820-1865    Building the Railroads    Cleveland Annexation of Ohio City    Columbus Bridge Street War    Leonard Case Sr./Leonard Case Jr.    The Abolition Movement    The Civil War and Cleveland    The Civil War and Ohio    The Erie and Ohio Canals Industrial Revolution 1865-1900    Amasa Stone    Charles F. Brush    Cleveland and the Gilded Age-student documentary    Cleveland in the Gilded Age by Dr. John Grabowski    Cleveland’s Millionaires    Flora Stone Mather    Henry Chisholm and Cleveland Rolling Mill Company    Henry Flagler in Cleveland    James A. Garfield    Jeptha Wade    John D. Rockefeller    John Hay in Cleveland    Mark Hanna    Maternity Homes    Millionaires Row    Municipal Government in Cleveland 1876-1900    Orphanages, 1851-1933    Philanthropy and Charity    Samuel Mather    School Reform in 1892    Settlement Movement    The Flats 1880 to 1920    William McKinley Progressive Era: 1900-1920    “Cleveland in 1912” The Lecture (Video)    1900-1919 A Retrospective Year-by-Year Timeline    Brand Whitlock    Charles E. Ruthenberg and Socialism in Cleveland    Charles Willard “Billy” Stage    Cleveland 1912: Civitas Triumphant    Cleveland Economic History -The First 200 Years    Cleveland Foundation    Collinwood School Fire    Daniel Morgan    Edward W. Bemis    Frederic C. Howe    George Barnsdale Cox    Harris Cooley    Hazen Pingree    Henry George    Henry Thomas Hunt Mayor of Cincinnati    Herbert C. Bigelow    How Cleveland Women Got the Vote    Misc Articles on the Progressive Period in Ohio    Myron Herrick    Newton D. Baker    Ohio Constitutional Convention of 1912    Peter Witt    Photo Gallery    Ralph Hayes    Samuel “Golden Rule” Jones    The City Club    The Group Plan (The Mall)    Theodore E. Burton    Tom L. Johnson    World War 1 in Cleveland City Managers Political Bosses 1920’s    1920-1929 A Retrospective Year-by-Year Timeline    Charles W. Chestnutt    City Manager Government    Cleveland Clinic Origins    Fred Kohler    Garrett A. Morgan    Jane Edna Hunter    Linda Eastman and the Cleveland Public Library    Margaret Bourke-White    Maurice Maschke    Police Actions Against Asians in 1920s Cleveland    Political Bosses    The Cleveland Orchestra    The Metroparks    Walter Burr Gongwer    Warren G. Harding in Ohio    William Hopkins 1930’s    1930-1939 A Retrospective Year-by-Year Timeline    Eliot Ness    Frances Payne Bolton    Great Lakes Exposition    Harold Burton    John O. Holly    Public Housing / Ernest Bohn    Steel Industry    The Depression in Cleveland/Ohio    The New Deal in Ohio    The Van Sweringens    WPA in Cleveland African American Migration    African American History in Cleveland    Black Political Power in Ohio Pre World War 2    Notable Blacks of Cleveland from Cleveland Memory World War 2 – Post War 1940’s    1940-1949 A Retrospective Year-by-Year Timeline    Bill Veeck and the 1948 Cleveland Indians    East Ohio Gas Explosion 1944    Frank Lausche    Karamu House    World War 2 in Cleveland 1950’s Suburbanism    1950-1959 A Retrospective Year-by-Year Timeline    An Overview of the Suburbs    Civil Defense in Cleveland    Cleveland Economic History -The First 200 Years    Cleveland Museum of Art    Cyrus Eaton    Dorothy Fuldheim    Housing    Rock and Roll    The Creation of the Highway System in NE Ohio    Urban Renewal/Erieview    Viktor Schreckengost Carl Stokes – Civil Rights 1960’s    1960-1969 A Retrospective Year-by-Year Timeline    Carl Stokes    Cleveland in the 1960s incl. Mike Roberts Essay    Cleveland’s Muhammad Ali Summit, 45 Years Later    Cuyahoga River Fire    Hough Riots    Lee-Seville Public Housing Controversy    Martin Luther King Jr. in Cleveland    Robert F. Kennedy Speech At Cleveland City Club    School Desegregation Crisis of 1963-64    Stanley Tolliver    The Glenville Riots 1968 Ralph Perk – Dennis Kucinich 1970’s    1970-1979 A Retrospective Year-by-Year Timeline    Cleveland in the 1970s (incl. Mike Roberts essay)    Community Organizing in Cleveland 1975-1985    Dennis Kucinich    James Rhodes    Kent State Shootings May 4, 1970    More than a bus ride: Deseg. of the Cleve Schools    Muny Light vs. Cleveland Electric Illuminating Co.    Ralph Perk    WMMS-FM 1980’s – 1990’s    “The Women Who Would Be Mayor” by Marian Morton    1980-1999 A Retrospective Year-by-Year Timeline    Cleveland in the 1980’s – Mike Roberts    Cleveland in the 1990’s – Mike Roberts    Cleveland in the 2000’s – Mike Roberts    George Forbes    George Voinovich Era as Mayor    Howard Metzenbaum    James Rokakis    John Frederick Seiberling    John Glenn    Louis Stokes    Michael R. White Era as Mayor    Playhouse Square    Richard Celeste    Robert Hughes    Stephanie Tubbs Jones    The Struggle For Stability by Dr. Thomas Campbell 2000s    Frank Jackson    Jane Campbell Books We Suggest    Books We Suggest Cleveland Cleveland History E-Books    Clevelands History E-Books Cleveland History Self Study: Syllabus of Essays    Cleveland History Self Study: A 5 Week Syllabus Cleveland Politician Interview Series    Cleveland Politician Interview Series Columbus Documentaries E-Books Elegant Cleveland Ethnic History of Cleveland    African Americans in Cleveland    Chinese in Cleveland    Cleveland Cultural Gardens    Eastern Orthodox in Cleveland    Ethnic Settlement in Cleveland       Hispanics in Northeast Ohio    Germans in Cleveland    Hungarians in Cleveland    Irish in Cleveland    Jews in Cleveland    Mormons in Cleveland    Polish in Cleveland    Protestants in Cleveland    Religion in Cleveland    Roman Catholics in Cleveland    Russians in Cleveland    Turks in Cleveland    Ukrainians in Cleveland History Day Live Events NE Ohio Neighborhoods and Their History    Asia Town from Fresh Water Cleveland    Beachwood    Bedford and Bedford Heights    Broadway/Slavic Village    Buckeye Neighborhood    Campus District    Central/Kinsman    Chagrin Falls    City of Cleveland/NE Ohio Neighborhoods    Cleveland Heights    Collinwood/Waterloo    Detroit Shoreway    Downtown    East Cleveland    Glenville    Gordon Square    Hough    Hudson    Lakewood    Little Italy    Lyndhurst    Mid Town    Mount Pleasant    Newburgh    North Olmsted    North Ridgeville    Ohio City    Olmsted Falls    Parma    Playhouse Square    Rocky River    Shaker Heights    South Euclid    Tremont    University Circle    Warrensville    West Park/Kamm’s Corners    Westlake Northeast Ohio Public Policy Forums Policies    2014 Cuyahoga County Executive Election    2014 Ohio Governor Election    Adult/College Education    African American Political Power in the 21st Cent    Agriculture    Cincinnati    Cuyahoga County    Energy    Environment    Foster Care in Northeast Ohio    Greater Cleveland    Healthcare Delivery    Healthcare Economic Opportunity    Housing    Immigration    Journalism       Roldo Bartimole    Lake and River Fronts    Manufacturing/Technology    Minority Participation in the New Economy    News Aggregator Archives    Ohio    Ohio Constitution    Overview    Philanthropy in NE Ohio    Planning    Primary and Secondary Education    Professional Sports    Regional Govt vs Home Rule    Regionalism    State of the County/City/State of Downtown    The Arts    Transportation    Voting Rights in Ohio    Water Teaching Cleveland    Introduction Teaching Cleveland Digital Media    About Us The Best Uncategorized    Teaching Cleveland Classes Video Candidate Election Forums Cincinnati Cleveland Photos League of Women Voters Ohio Congressional Redistricting Pittsburgh Women History in Cleveland