Wikipedia

Montana capital referendum

In the 1890s, the state of Montana held a referendum to select its capital city. The first round was held in 1892 between several cities, and since none won outright, a second round was held in 1894. After an expensive and negative campaign, Helena was selected as the capital over Anaconda by a margin of around 2,000 votes (3.6 percent).

Montana capital referendum
November 6, 1894
Montana capital referendum, second round (1894)
Results
Choice
 Votes %
Helena 27,024 51.83%
Anaconda 25,118 48.17%
Total votes 52,142 100.00%

Background

edit

In 1891, Montana legislators passed a bill to select a capital city by referendum in the general election of 1892; if no city were to win a majority, then a second referendum would be held in 1894.[1] The cities of Anaconda, Boulder, Bozeman, Butte, Deer Lodge, Great Falls, and Helena (then the temporary capital) entered the 1892 referendum after collecting enough signatures from residents.[1] In the first round, Boulder received 295 votes; Deer Lodge, 983; Great Falls, 5,049; Bozeman, 7,685; Butte, 7,752; Anaconda, 10,183; and Helena, 14,010.[2] As no city won the referendum outright, the two cities with the highest share of the vote—Helena and Anaconda—were entered to compete in the general election of 1894.[3]

Campaign

edit
 
The back cover of Helena's Social Supremacy, showing Helena as an octopus grasping the other cities

Both Helena and Anaconda were problematic cities for voters.[4] Where Helena, as the temporary capital, had been embroiled in political dysfunction,[A] Anaconda was perceived as a working-class, industrial city under the control of Marcus Daly and his corporations.[6]

During the campaign season of September and October 1894, newspaper editorials in favor of a city were printed, and political memorabilia—including campaign buttons and banners—were minted.[7] Organizations to promote cities were formed, and rallies were held to distribute campaign materials.[7] Negative campaigning was prominent, with supporters of Helena decrying Anaconda as a socially inferior city that was beheld to a corporate business class, and with Anaconda supporters condemning Helena as a pretentious city of politics that did not possess a meaningful economy.[7] Butte's Populist Tribune, for instance, framed the referendum as a question of accepting "Helena dictatorship" over the people, and Helena's Colored Citizen[B] warned that Anaconda was ruled by the same interests that "has always crushed out the black man from every factory or workshop".[9]

There were far fewer women in Anaconda than in Helena—supporters of its bid thought the settlement of women was beneficial because it could harbor a permanent population, but opponents believed it produced effeminate men.[11] Helena's Social Supremacy, a satirical pamphlet that sought to debase Helena's image, said that where the city consumed 17,669 Manhattan cocktails daily, Anaconda consumed just 127; where Helena had 774 "ladies with poodle dogs", Anaconda had none; and where Helena possessed 1,343 "skeletons in closets", Anaconda possessed 16.[12]

Results

edit

In November 1894, Helena was chosen over Anaconda by a margin of around 2,000 votes: Helena received 27,024 votes (51.8% of the total), and Anaconda received 25,118 (48.2%).[13] The total cost for the campaigns was between $1 and $2 million,[C] in part because of their elaborate campaign strategies—which included fireworks, memorabilia, and coins.[14] One of the prominent campaigners for Helena's bid, William A. Clark, reportedly celebrated the results by purchasing Helena's residents drinks at a cost of $30,000.[D][14]

 
Montana Capital Referendum First Round results (1892) between Helena, Anaconda, Butte, Bozeman, Great Falls, Deer Lodge, and Boulder.
Map legend
  •   Helena—90–100%
  •   Helena—50–60%
  •   Helena—40–50%
  •   Anaconda—50-60%
  •   Anaconda—30–40%
  •   Butte—50-60%
  •   Bozeman—90–100%
  •   Bozeman—50–60%
  •   Bozeman—40–50%
  •   Great Falls—80–90%
1892 Montana capital referendum (first round)[15]
Candidate Votes %
Helena 14,032 30.5%
Anaconda 10,272 22.3%
Butte 7,767 16.9%
Bozeman 7,636 16.6%
Great Falls 5,036 10.9%
Deer Lodge 983 2.1%
Boulder 295 0.6%
Total votes 46,021 100%
 
Montana Capital Referendum Second Round results (1894) between Helena and Anaconda.
Map legend
  •   Helena-90-100%
  •   Helena-80–90%
  •   Helena-70–80%
  •   Helena-60-70%
  •   Helena-50–60%
  •   Anaconda-80-90%
  •   Anaconda-60-70%
  •   Anaconda-50-60%


1894 Montana capital referendum (second round)[16]
Candidate Votes %
Helena 27,024 51.8%
Anaconda 25,118 48.2%
Total votes 52,142 100%

Results by county

edit

Round One (1892)[15][a]

County Helena % Helena Anaconda % Anaconda Butte % Butte Bozeman % Bozeman Great Falls % Great Falls Deer Lodge % Deer Lodge Boulder % Boulder Total
Beaverhead 26.41% 365 31.77% 439 23.73% 328 14.25% 197 2.82% 39 0.80% 11 0.22% 3 1,382
Cascade 7.31% 215 1.97% 58 0.75% 22 0.68% 20 89.06% 2,621 0.20% 6 0.03% 1 2,943
Chouteau 49.22% 784 4.90% 78 0.56% 9 1.13% 18 43.44% 692 0.75% 12 0.00% 0 1,593
Custer 34.61% 451 1.00% 13 1.23% 16 58.33% 760 3.91% 51 0.38% 5 0.54% 7 1,303
Dawson 41.59% 267 0.47% 3 1.09% 7 34.58% 222 20.56% 132 1.25% 8 0.47% 3 642
Deer Lodge 17.99% 1,018 52.63% 2,979 9.54% 540 4.84% 274 0.77% 44 14.03% 794 0.19% 11 5,660
Fergus 52.59% 740 1.14% 16 0.57% 8 6.47% 91 38.73% 545 0.14% 2 0.36% 5 1,407
Gallatin 4.47% 104 1.25% 29 0.56% 13 92.87% 2,163 0.64% 15 0.00% 0 0.21% 5 2,329
Jefferson 52.49% 1,032 9.92% 195 13.17% 259 13.63% 268 1.58% 31 0.25% 5 8.95% 176 1,966
Lewis and Clark 91.74% 4,974 2.14% 116 1.35% 73 2.07% 112 2.40% 130 0.17% 9 0.15% 8 5,422
Madison 15.77% 250 6.06% 96 33.44% 530 42.65% 676 0.32% 5 1.20% 19 0.57% 9 1,585
Meagher 56.73% 1,104 2.36% 46 4.01% 78 14.23% 277 22.35% 435 0.10% 2 0.21% 4 1,946
Missoula 24.25% 1,351 56.62% 3,155 8.74% 487 4.81% 268 3.86% 215 1.26% 70 0.47% 26 5,572
Park 27.90% 678 10.41% 253 4.44% 108 55.47% 1,348 1.56% 38 0.08% 2 0.21% 5 2,430
Silver Bow 4.36% 385 30.37% 2,682 59.28% 5,234 4.63% 409 0.63% 56 0.41% 36 0.32% 28 8,830
Yellowstone 34.17% 314 1.52% 14 4.90% 45 58.0% 533 0.76% 7 0.22% 2 0.44% 4 919

Round Two (1894)[16][b]

County Helena % Helena Anaconda % Anaconda Total
Beaverhead 49.53% 637 50.47% 649 1,286
Cascade 42.91% 1,576 57.09% 2,097 3,673
Chouteau 77.28% 1,007 22.72% 296 1,303
Custer 67.15% 924 32.85% 452 1,376
Dawson 77.49% 389 22.51% 113 502
Deer Lodge 18.74% 955 81.26% 4,142 5,097
Fergus 80.03% 1,206 19.97% 301 1,507
Flathead 31.89% 633 68.11% 1,352 1,985
Gallatin 44.61% 1,042 55.39% 1,294 2,336
Granite 48.62% 636 51.38% 672 1,308
Jefferson 68.58% 1,772 31.42% 812 2,584
Lewis and Clark 94.95% 5,377 5.05% 286 5,663
Madison 51.52% 969 48.48% 912 1,881
Meagher 76.29% 1,155 23.71% 359 1,514
Missoula 46.75% 1,296 53.25% 1,476 2,772
Park 67.17% 1,543 32.83% 754 2,297
Ravalli 15.45% 291 84.55% 1,593 1,884
Silver Bow 38.07% 4,003 61.93% 6,513 10,516
Teton 63.91% 487 36.09% 275 762
Valley 70.52% 287 29.48% 120 407
Yellowstone 56.22% 831 43.78% 647 1,478

Notes and references

edit

Notes

edit
  1. ^ Early Montana legislatures were chaotic, with deadlock only addressed through precarious political compromises.[5]
  2. ^ A paper for the African American community of Montana, the Colored Citizen was financed heavily by the Republican Party and was established specifically for the election.[8] The paper was anti-immigrant; its editor stated that Anaconda's mining companies preferred "Dagoes and foreigners to native colored Americans".[9] After the election, the paper dissolved.[10]
  3. ^ Equivalent to $35–$70 million in 2023.
  4. ^ Equivalent to $1,056,462 in 2023.
  1. ^ These are the results that appeared in the table published by the Independent Record on November 29th, 1892. These are not official and may not show every vote counted, but more than 99% of votes should be accounted for here.
  2. ^ These are the results that appeared in the table published by the Independent Record on November 21st, 1894. These are not official and may not show every vote counted, but more than 99% of votes should be accounted for here.

Citations

edit
  1. ^ a b Anaconda Standard 1917, p. 2; Lang 1987, p. 38.
  2. ^ Lang 1987, p. 39.
  3. ^ Anaconda Standard 1917, p. 2.
  4. ^ Lang 1987, p. 43.
  5. ^ Lang 1987.
  6. ^ Lang 1987, pp. 43–44.
  7. ^ a b c Lang 1987, p. 44.
  8. ^ Leech 2008, p. 9.
  9. ^ a b Lang 1987, p. 45.
  10. ^ Taylor 1979, p. 346.
  11. ^ Leech 2008, pp. 6–7.
  12. ^ Newby 1987, p. 69.
  13. ^ Leech 2008, p. 12.
  14. ^ a b Malone 1983, p. 10.
  15. ^ a b "The Daily Independent: Helena, Tuesday Morning, November 29, 1892 (p. 1)". Independent Record. Library of Congress. Retrieved June 26, 2023.
  16. ^ a b "The Daily Independent: Helena, Wednesday Morning, November 21, 1894 (p. 5)". Independent Record. Library of Congress. Retrieved June 26, 2023.

Bibliography

edit
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Montana_capital_referendum&oldid=1174364437"