The first governor of the newly made state, Ansel Briggs, was a democrat, as was Stephen Hempstead, his successor. James W. Grimes, who had located at Burlington in 1836, was nominated for the office of governor at the whig convention in 1854, and made a memorable canvass. His well known anti-slavery views rendered him acceptable to all who were opposed to the extension of that institution. While many conservative whigs agreed with the democrats on the slavery issue, still all classes who favored free soil united in the support of Grimes, who was favorably known and had been a member of the legislature, and who had made a favorable impression upon the new settlers who had come into the state to find homes. Grimes was elected, and this was the first defeat of the democrats since Iowa was organized as a territory.
In January, 1856, Governor Grimes wrote the call for the convention, which met at Iowa City on February 22d, which founded the republican party. In this convention there sat a number of Linn county persons who later became noted men in the party, and well known in the state.
The first presidential vote in Iowa was in the election in 1848, when Cass, the regular democratic nominee, received 12,083 votes, Taylor, whig, 11,084 votes, and Martin Van Buren, free soil democrat, 1,126 votes. In the election of 1852, which was quite exciting all over the country, and not least in Iowa, the popular votes for president were as follows: Franklin Pierce, democrat, 17,763, Winfield Scott, whig, 15,856, John P. Hale, free democracy, 1,704 votes. This vote would indicate that the democratic party still held the balance of power in the state, but the change in old party lines was apparent.
During the years up to 1856, a large number of pioneers had come into the state from Ohio, Pennsylvania, Illinois, and Michigan, as well as from the New England states, and bitter party feeling ran high. Many of the party leaders took the stump, and speeches were made in nearly all these settlements. Newspapers were established and an active campaign brought about. Politics was the topic of conversation at the country store, at the grist-mill, and at the country postoffices, and everyone felt that a change along party lines would be apparent. The vote in Iowa for president in 1856 was: John C. Fremont, republican, 43,954, James Buchanan, democrat, 36,170, Millard Fillmore, American party, 9,180. James W. Grimes, the candidate for governor on the Fremont ticket, was re-elected.
In this campaign the question of slavery was the main issue, and on this ground the newly organized republican party carried the day in Iowa. Iowa from this time was lost to the democrats, and they were unable to regain the lost ground by attempting to get away from the slavery issue. During the summer and fall of 1860 the campaign surpassed even the excitable campaign of four years previous. At the fall election Lincoln received 70,409 votes, S. A. Douglas, democrat, 55,111 votes, John Bell, 17,763 votes. J. C. Breckenridge, the regular democratic nominee, who aimed to carry slavery into the territory at any cost, received in this state only 1,048. The Douglas wing of the party "aimed to throw the responsibility of the slavery question upon the supreme court or upon the territories, or anywhere else, except upon the democratic party." Douglas had many admirers in this county, and he visited, in this campaign, Marion and Cedar Rapids, where people flocked to hear him, many of whom admired him, but there were few who could support his visionary schemes and many who doubted the outcome of his dubious platform. This year the republican state ticket received on an average a plurality of 13,670 votes. In this election the state had become one of the solid republican states, and has so continued. In the state campaign of 1861 S. J. Kirkwood carried the state in an exciting campaign over William H. Merritt, the regular democratic nominee. Mr. Merritt had become a resident of this county, and hence received a large vote in his old home. Kirkwood had won over A. C. Dodge by a majority of 3,000 two years before, and was a popular candidate, a man of many strong traits of character. The Civil war was on and the people felt that they must sustain the policies of the party in power, and hence, perhaps, the popularity of the prospective candidates cut but little figure.
During one of these campaigns as Perry Oxley and Ambrose Harlan were seated discussing politics at the county seat one day, Harlan in his wrath accused Oxley of being a traitor to the government. This was too much for the irate Kentucky-born democrat, and he knocked Harlan down with a savage blow aimed at the fellow's head. There was a trial for assault and battery, to which Oxley pleaded guilty, and later Harlan brought an action for damages in the district court, which damages were paid pro-rata by the democrats over the county. Col. I. M. Preston defended Oxley and the outcome of the verdict in fact made the issues for the next campaign.
At commencement exercises at Mt. Vernon a general free-for-all fight occurred on account of some girls wearing copperhead pins. This matter also came into the courts, and county politics at least changed conditions, as party feelings ran high, and perhaps the ultimate motives of party politics were lost sight of, in these hand to hand contests waged near at home.
