1865 Chicago mayoral election

In the Chicago mayoral election of 1865, Republican John Blake Rice defeated Democratic incumbent Francis Cornwall Sherman by a landslide 33% margin of victory.

1865 Chicago mayoral election

April 18, 1865

Nominee John Blake Rice Francis Cornwall Sherman Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 11,078 5,600 Percentage 66.42% 33.58%

Mayor before election Francis Cornwall Sherman Democratic Elected Mayor John Blake Rice Republican

The election was held on April 18, only four days after the assassination of Abraham Lincoln.[1][2]

Originally, Democrat Leonard Rothgerber had been one of the candidates running.[2] However, in the aftermath of the assassination of the Republican president, the shaken public had come to coalesce in support of Republican mayoral candidate Rice.[2] Sensing this, Democratic candidate Leonard Rothgerber withdrew from the race and declared that there was a need for the nation to stand united.[2][3] As a gesture of gratitude, Rice reimbursed Rothgerber's campaign expenses.[2]

While he remained on the ballot, Sherman also all-but-withdrew from the race as well in the aftermath of Lincoln's assassination.[4]

Rice was a "Reform" Republican.[5]

This was the last of four mayoral elections which Chicago held during the course of the American Civil War.

Results

1865 Chicago mayoral election[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	John Blake Rice	11,078	66.42
	Democratic	Francis Cornwall Sherman (incumbent)	5,600	33.58
Turnout			16,678

References

1. "Mayor John Blake Rice Biography".
2. 10 things you might not know about Chicago mayoral elections Mark Jacob and Stephan Benzkofer March 10, 2015
3. Politics and Politicians of Chicago: Cook County, and Illinois. Memorial Volume, 1787-1887. A Complete Record of Municipal, County, State and National Politics from the Earliest Period to the Present Time. And an Account of the Haymarket Massacre of May 4, 1886, and the Anarchist Trials (Blakely Printing Company, 1886)
4. Rogues, Rebels, And Rubber Stamps: The Politics Of The Chicago City Council, 1863 To The Present by Dick Simpson, Routledge, Mar 8, 2018 (page 30)
5. Platt, Harold L. (2005-05-22). Shock Cities: The Environmental Transformation and Reform of Manchester and Chicago. ISBN 9780226670768.
6. "RaceID=486042". Our Campaigns. Retrieved December 30, 2018.