When a Party was a Party: Indiana in the Heyday of Partisanship (By Nicholas von Hoffman)
Indiana has played a sometimes critical role in America's political history. During the 26 elections between 1840, when former Indiana Territory Gov. William Henry Harrison was elected chief executive, and 1940, when Wendell Willkie battled incumbent President Franklin D. Roosevelt, the Hoosier state supplied candidates to the national political parties, especially vice presidential candidates (earning for itself the nickname "Mother of Vice Presidents"). Almost 60 percent of the elections during that century had Hoosiers on the tickets.
Indiana's prominence on the national political scene from the Civil War to World War I was the result of several factors: its large population translated into the state having a large electoral vote, its two major parties were of equal strength, and until 1880 the state voted for state and local officials in October, giving an early indication of voter preference. To attract Hoosier voters, political parties often selected "favorite sons" from Indiana to bolster their chances in November.
In more recent times, Indiana has attracted attention through the election of Vice President Dan Quayle and the failed presidential campaign of GOP Senator Richard Lugar. For information on those who forged Indiana's political heritage, the Society invites you to explore some brief biographies of Hoosier politicians.
For a detailed account of Indiana's political history, see the IHS publication Indiana's Favorite Sons, 1840-1940, by Ralph D. Gray. Some of the biographies on the following Hoosier politicans were taken from this book.
James D. "Blue Jeans" WilliamsWilliam Henry HarrisonAbraham LincolnSchuyler ColfaxThomas A. HendricksBenjamin HarrisonCharles Warren FairbanksJames WatsonDavid WallaceEugene V. DebsThomas R. MarshallWendell WillkieDan QuayleMattie Coney and Citizens Forum
Return to IHS home page or Hoosier Heritage.