A Timeline of Democratic Politics in Morgan County, Indiana

1822

Morgan County is organized.

Morgan County was officially formed in 1822.

At the time, modern political parties were still taking shape. The old Democratic-Republican Party dominated national politics, but the presidential election of 1824 began breaking that system apart.

That political fracture helped create the movement around Andrew Jackson that would become the modern Democratic Party.

1828

Jacksonian Democrats emerge in Morgan County

Andrew Jackson won the presidency in 1828, and his political movement became enormously popular across Morgan County.

Local voters began identifying themselves as:

Jackson Democrats.

For much of the next several decades, Democrats were the dominant political force in the county.

1831–1832

John W. Cox serves in the Indiana House

John W. Cox, a Morgan County mill owner and active Democrat, served as a state representative.

He was remembered as a committed Democrat and respected local political figure.

Cox represents one of the earliest clearly documented Democratic officeholders from Morgan County.

1834–1838

Jonathan Williams rises through county government

Jonathan Williams, one of Morgan County’s early settlers, served as sheriff and later represented the county in the Indiana House.

Williams was an admirer of Andrew Jackson and belonged firmly to the Jacksonian Democratic tradition.

He had also served in early county government, making him one of the foundational political figures in Morgan County.

1839

John Eccles elected to the Indiana House

Martinsville attorney John Eccles served as prosecutor before winning election to the Indiana General Assembly.

He was remembered as both a Methodist and a Democrat.

Eccles became one of Martinsville’s earliest politically active attorneys.

1841–1843

Francis A. Matheny becomes a leading Democratic voice

Dr. Francis A. Matheny, a Martinsville physician, served in the Indiana House.

Historical accounts described him as an:

“aggressive Democrat.”

Matheny became particularly known for attacking Whig banking policies and opposing concentrated financial power.

His political opponents reportedly called him a “blatherskite.”

Morgan County voters kept electing him anyway.

1841–1847

Parminter M. Parks serves in the Indiana Senate

Parminter M. Parks became one of the strongest early Democratic leaders in Morgan County.

A businessman, farmer, merchant and pork packer, Parks represented a more conservative wing of the Democratic Party.

He later opposed secession and supported preservation of the Union while remaining a Democrat.

1845

Isaac W. Tackitt elected as a Democrat

Isaac W. Tackitt won election as a Democrat.

His later political career would become a vivid example of the enormous political changes sweeping Indiana.

1848–1850

Alfred M. Delevan serves in the legislature

Alfred M. Delevan, a farmer, carpenter and minister from Morgan County, served first in the Indiana House and later in the Senate as a Democrat.

He was part of the final generation of Morgan County Democratic officeholders before the old party system began collapsing.

1854

The old political system begins to break apart

The Kansas-Nebraska Act reopened the national fight over whether slavery could expand into western territories.

The issue shattered political alliances throughout Indiana.

Whigs collapsed.

Democrats divided.

The new Republican Party emerged.

In Morgan County, the Morgan County Gazette became an influential supporter of the new Republican movement.

1854

Isaac Tackitt breaks with the Democrats

Tackitt, originally elected as a Democrat, became associated with the American or Know-Nothing movement.

He eventually became a Republican.

His career reflected the broader transformation occurring throughout Morgan County.

1855

Democratic dominance nearly disappears

By 1855, the once-reliable Democratic advantage in Morgan County had fallen to:

fewer than 100 votes.

The political ground was shifting rapidly.

1856

Republicans narrowly take Morgan County

Republican gubernatorial candidate Oliver P. Morton carried Morgan County by only:

8 votes.

In the presidential election that year:

John C. Frémont, Republican: 1,570

James Buchanan, Democrat: 1,528

Republican margin:

42 votes.

This appears to mark the first major Republican breakthrough in Morgan County.

1857–1859

Democrats briefly recover

Democrats regained a narrow advantage after 1856.

But their margins continued shrinking.

The county had become politically competitive rather than reliably Democratic.

1860

Abraham Lincoln carries Morgan County

The Democratic Party split nationally.

Morgan County voted:

Abraham Lincoln, Republican: 1,755

Stephen Douglas, Democrat: 1,515

John Breckinridge, Southern Democrat: 62

The county’s political geography was sharply divided.

Some townships remained overwhelmingly Democratic.

Others had become Republican strongholds.

1860

Franklin Landers enters the Indiana Senate

Morgan County-born Franklin Landers was elected to the Indiana Senate.

Landers belonged to the Stephen Douglas wing of the Democratic Party.

During the Civil War, he supported preservation of the Union while remaining a Democrat.

1861–1865

The Civil War transforms Morgan County politics

The Civil War accelerated Morgan County’s shift toward the Republican Party.

Many Union veterans aligned themselves with Republicans.

Democrats became increasingly divided between supporters of the war and antiwar Democrats.

Morgan County Democrats such as Landers and Parks remained loyal to the Union.

1864

Republican dominance expands

Abraham Lincoln carried Morgan County with:

1,793 votes

to Democrat George McClellan’s:

1,283 votes.

Republican margin:

510 votes.

1868

Republicans strengthen their hold

Ulysses S. Grant carried Morgan County with:

2,047 votes

against Democrat Horatio Seymour’s:

1,460.

Republican margin:

587 votes.

The county’s political realignment was becoming deeply entrenched.

1870s

Democrats begin rebuilding

Although Republicans remained dominant, Democratic margins began improving.

By 1876, the Republican presidential advantage had fallen considerably compared with the immediate postwar years.

Democratic organization remained alive.

1874

Franklin Landers elected to Congress

Landers won election to the:

United States House of Representatives.

He served from:

1875 to 1877.

He became one of Indiana’s most prominent agrarian Democrats.

1875–1877

Landers fights the banking system

In Congress, Landers became associated with:

  • farmers
  • debtors
  • currency expansion
  • opposition to the national banking system
  • Greenback-style monetary ideas

His politics reflected growing anger among Midwestern farmers toward tight credit and concentrated financial power.

1876

Landers battles the Democratic establishment

Landers sought the Democratic nomination for governor.

A bitter internal struggle developed between Landers and other powerful Indiana Democrats.

After losing the nomination, Landers publicly attacked party leaders and briefly claimed he was finished with politics.

That retirement was, predictably, extremely temporary.

1880

Franklin Landers nominated for Governor of Indiana

Four years after his fight with party leadership, Indiana Democrats nominated Landers for governor.

He received roughly:

224,000 votes

and nearly:

48% of the statewide vote.

He narrowly lost to Republican Albert G. Porter.

Landers remains one of the most important statewide Democratic candidates ever produced by Morgan County.

1886

James F. Cox elected to the Indiana Senate

Martinsville attorney James F. Cox won election to the Indiana Senate from a district including:

  • Morgan County
  • Johnson County
  • Brown County

His victory demonstrated that Democrats remained electorally competitive in the region well after the Civil War.

Late 1800s

Republican control becomes the norm

By the end of the nineteenth century, Morgan County had become reliably Republican.

But Democrats remained organized and continued contesting elections.

The party had shifted from governing majority to persistent opposition.

1890s

The Martinsville Democrat newspaper emerges

Morgan County Democrats developed their own institutional voice through:

The Martinsville Democrat

The newspaper served the local Democratic community for decades.

Thousands of surviving issues document a substantial Democratic political presence in Morgan County well into the twentieth century.

1913

John R. Walsh is born in Martinsville

Future Congressman and Indiana Secretary of State John Richard Walsh was born in Martinsville.

He would become one of the most successful Democrats ever produced by Morgan County.

1935–1936

Walsh serves as Morgan County Attorney

After graduating from Indiana University Law School, Walsh returned home and served as:

Morgan County Attorney.

His career would later take him into state and federal government.

1948

John R. Walsh elected to Congress

Walsh won election as a Democrat to the:

United States House of Representatives.

He represented Indiana during the Truman administration.

1949–1951

Walsh serves in Washington

Walsh served during the postwar Fair Deal era, when Congress debated issues including:

  • labor rights
  • Social Security
  • housing
  • agriculture
  • civil rights
  • healthcare
  • foreign policy

1958

Walsh elected Indiana Secretary of State

John R. Walsh won statewide office as:

Indiana Secretary of State.

He served from:

1958 to 1960.

This made him one of the most politically successful Democrats in Martinsville and Morgan County history.

1960

Walsh attends the Democratic National Convention

Walsh served as a delegate to the:

1960 Democratic National Convention

which nominated John F. Kennedy for president.

Late 20th Century

Morgan County becomes increasingly Republican

Beginning in the latter half of the twentieth century, Republicans became increasingly dominant throughout rural Indiana.

Morgan County followed that trend.

Democratic presidential candidates routinely lost the county by large margins.

Still, the local Democratic organization continued operating, recruiting candidates and participating in community events.

2008

Barack Obama posts a strong modern Democratic showing

Barack Obama received approximately:

36% of the Morgan County vote.

While he still lost the county decisively, it was one of the strongest modern Democratic presidential performances in Morgan County.

2010s

Democrats remain active despite difficult elections

Local Democrats continued organizing, fundraising, attending festivals and running candidates even as Republican margins grew.

The county became one of the more difficult electoral environments for Democrats in central Indiana.

2021

Tom Wallace runs for Indiana Democratic Party Chair

Longtime Morgan County Democratic leader Tom Wallace sought leadership of the statewide party.

Wallace had spent years advocating around issues including:

  • environmental contamination
  • corporate accountability
  • healthcare
  • property taxes
  • government transparency
  • local economic development

Although he did not win the state chairmanship, his campaign showed Morgan County Democrats continuing to participate in statewide Democratic politics.

2020s

Morgan County Democrats continue organizing

Modern Morgan County Democrats continue a political tradition stretching back almost to the county’s founding.

The party today operates in a dramatically different political environment than the Jackson Democrats of the 1830s.

But the organization remains part of Morgan County civic life.