maclaren said everyone is fighting a battle you know nothing about.
maclaren said everyone is fighting a battle you know nothing about.
who said everyone is fighting a battle you know nothing about?
maclaren
Na
Na
in 1855 the national know nothing convention split on the subject of slavery. prominent antislavery know nothing supporters in massachusetts, including henry wilson, began another attempt (after having failed in 1854) to form a party with abolition as a major focus. this effort resulted in the formation of the republican party, which sought to negotiate with the know nothings for a fusion of the two parties. however, massachusetts know nothing leadership refused fusion and republican leadership refused coalition, with many republicans skeptical of gardner's fidelity to the antislavery cause despite his support for fusion. the parties ended up fielding separate slates of candidates, and many know nothing politicians and supporters switched allegiance. in the fall election gardner, running on a strictly nativist platform, garnered 38% of the vote, to the 27% of republican julius rockwell. with the new plurality voting rule in effect, gardner won the election, but the split (and disaffection in some circles with the know nothing agenda) cost him support from former free soilers and democrats. in the 1856 election gardner benefited from a deal with the republicans, who refused to run a candidate for governor in exchange for know nothing support for their presidential candidate, john c. frémont. he easily won reelection, although many republicans voted for a protest candidate instead of supporting him. he attempted to parlay the republican support into an election to the united states senate (a matter then decided by the state senate early in its session) replacing charles sumner. however, republican operatives maneuvered the senate into voting before gardner's speech opening the 1857 session, and sumner was easily reelected.
henry gardner