In 1995, the Bancroft Public Library in Hopedale held The Mill Town : A Photography Exhibit. Recently, the Bancroft Library gave the Simon Fairfield Public Library the program and photographs that were displayed in the exhibit that related to Douglas. One of the photographs was of the Harrison Campaign Banner and included a write-up in the program.
This write-up was quite enlightening to this archivist/historian as well as her boss. We always believed that the banner was not about our Douglas here in Massachusetts, but instead referenced a town called Douglass in Texas. Please note the spelling of Douglas(s) is different, which became part of the basis for our misconception. Also, in Douglas history books, both published and unpublished, there is no mention of a Douglass Whig Association.
I feel the need to defend myself. First, there was no information regarding the banner in any of the archive items found in the library. Second, it is not unusual for people when going through a family member’s belongings to find something old and donate the item without knowing the history of the item. Oftentimes, archives find themselves with items that do not fall into the purview of their collection policy. Did this banner fall into that category?
- Short Answer : NO!
- Long Answer : This banner is a part of Douglas history, although we aren’t 100% sure of its origins.
The banner was originally found in the home of Edwin Moore (Oct. 1820 – Oct 22. 1904), a prominent citizen of the town. He brought the Douglas Herald Newspaper to town in 1868, and served as an agent of the Douglas Axe Manufacturing Company, a member of the East Douglas Musical Society, the East Douglas Reform Club and the Union Temperance Society. He was also the President of the Day during a 4th of July Celebration, President of the Old Home Week Committee in 1904, and an asset to William Emerson while he wrote History of the town of Douglas, (Massachusetts,) from the earliest period to the close of 1878. Moore was stated to be the primary reason the entire Prohibition Ticket was elected in Douglas during the early 1870s.
The banner (which will be explained in detail in the next Bits & Pieces) was for the 1840 presidential election. It was believed that the Whig candidate, William Henry Harrison, would ride through Douglas during his presidential campaign and see the banner hanging in the road. Alas, Harrison chose another route and never saw the banner.
Unfortunately, we know little to none about Edwin Moore in the 1830s & 1840s. He was only 20 years old during the Election of 1840. Based on a cursory check on voting rights, Moore would not have been eligible to vote due to his age since the voting age was 21. Another factor would have been the property owning qualification for voting. However, by 1840, most states had abolished that qualification. But, Massachusetts was one of a few states that still required a poll tax in order to vote.
I feel the need to defend myself once more. Researching the history of voting, especially federal elections, should have been a relatively easy assignment. It wasn’t. Granted, the majority of my research was done online although I did check our catalog to see if there were any books strictly about the history of voting. There’s not. When looking at voting rights history, most history begins in 1870 with the ratification of the 15th Amendment, which doesn’t really help when looking for information from 1840. Honestly, the cleanest/simplest history I found was on the children’s website Ben’s Guide to the U.S. Government bensguide.gpo.gov.
“When the United States first won its independence, there were restrictions on who could vote. In some states, only white male landowners that were at least 21 years old could vote. Beginning in 1870, a series of Constitutional Amendments and other laws have extended voting privileges to more and more citizens.”
So based on Edwin Moore’s age and what one can assume were Massachusetts Voting Rights in the 1840s, Moore would not have voted in the Presidential Election of 1840. Even though he would not have been able to vote, was he still involved in politics and the one to display the sign? Was it a family members? We most likely will never know.
While there are still many unanswered questions about the banner, this archvisit/historian and her boss can now definitively say that it is related to Douglas(s) history.