Sheila Hickman: Governor’s race in 1886 more personal with Taylor brothers' tour

Tennesseans chose Bill Lee as our governor on Tuesday. Most of the voters in this election had not seen the candidates except on television or on an electronic sign.

In 1886 campaigning was more personal. The candidates for the governor’s race were Robert L. Taylor and Alfred A. Taylor. They traveled by train across the state and thousands of Tennesseans had seen and heard them.

The Taylor brothers were born in Happy Valley in northeastern Carter County in the 1850s. They were part of a political family since their father, Nathaniel Taylor had been a Whig in Congress before the Civil War. The boys’ mother was Emaline Haynes who came from a prominent Democratic family.  Both parents influenced the Taylor brothers’ thinking, and one became a Republican and the other a Democrat. The brothers were affectionate but held differing views in politics.

In 1886 the Republicans, formerly Whigs, nominated Alfred A. Taylor for governor.  They hoped that nominating Al, as he was known, would encourage the Democrats not to nominate his brother Robert.  Al was admitted to the bar and practiced law in Jonesborough, Tennessee. He served one term in the state House of Representatives in 1874, and he had served as a state elector for Rutherford B. Hayes in 1876.

In the late 1800s Tennessee was still recovering from the Civil War. Tennessee farmers found themselves in a serious financial dilemma.  Most of them were in debt for land and were forced to borrow money at high interest rates.  Sending their goods by rail or by steamboat was very costly.  Even if the year’s crops were good, the farmers might lose money because freight rates were so expensive.  For all their hard work farmers were classified as part of the debtor class.

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The Democrats agreed that Robert L. Taylor, whom they called Bob, would be their nominee for governor.

Farmers were mostly Democrats, and they were incensed by the repeal of a state law regulating railroads.  They believed Bob was a great friend to the common man and a wonderful speaker and humorist. The party thought that Bob would unite the Democrats, and he might be able to counter his brother’s appeal.  Bob and had served in the state legislature from 1879 until 1881.

The Taylors’ unusual campaign took place in a time of serious problems for Tennessee.  Tennessee had a large public debt, and there was the question of regulating railroads. Prisons and public education were issues to be addressed. The Taylors’ debates and banter with fiddle music gave Tennesseans a welcome respite from their most pressing problems. The state’s previous gubernatorial campaigns had been vitriolic and involved personal attacks, so the Taylors were a welcome change.

The brothers campaigned together canvassing the state in what was called The War of the Roses.  In a speech Al said, “The red rose and the white rose bloom together and share their odors upon the same atmosphere…”  The next day Bob and his supporters wore white roses, and Al and his supporters wore red roses.  One could tell a person’s political preference by the rose in his lapel.

The Taylors understood that political rallies could be both entertaining and informative. The brothers had forty-one debates across Tennessee. They rode the same trains and stayed together. Their rallies always attracted large crowds.  At Memphis there were 15,000 people; in Nashville, 10,000. The brothers could talk about the issues and leave their listeners feeling better. Even though the brothers were competing for the governorship, neither lost his temper or acted rudely.

The brothers often played good natured tricks on each other. Bob was to give the first speech at one stop. Al listened as he always did, and suddenly he realized that Bob had stolen the speech that he had written especially for that day. The brothers played the fiddle but not very well. They played jokes on each other accompanied by Alf’s Yankee Doodle and Bob’s Dixie. When Barnum’s Circus came to Memphis and the Taylors were to come at the same time, the brothers changed their schedule lest their appearance would affect attendance at the circus.

Bob won the election by a majority of 13,000 votes in an unprecedented Democratic lead. Al was defeated, but he received the largest Republican vote in Tennessee at that time.

Bob served three terms as governor from 1887 to 1891 and again 1897 to 1899.  He was a congressman and a senator. In 1907 he defeated Edward W. Carmack, the incumbent in the primary, and was elected to U. S. Senate. He served there from 1907 until he died in 1912.

Al served three terms in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1889 to 1895.  He did become the 34^th governor of Tennessee in 1920 in the first election in which women could vote.

After leaving Congress, Al joined Bob on the lecture circuit in 1896.  They co-wrote and presented a popular lecture which they called “Yankee Doodle and Dixie.”

Their tour was a major success, and the brothers made tens of thousands of dollars. Bob published The Bob Taylor Magazine from 1905 to 1906. He then merged his magazine with the Trotwood Monthly edited by John Trotwood Moore.

The campaign of 1886 made the people forget their troubles and enjoy themselves if even for a short time.

Bob and Al realized that their power came from the people. They also observed the politicians’ Rule Number Five, “Don’t take yourself so seriously.” In the last elections, how many politicians knew this rule?

Sources:  Wilma Dykeman, Tennessee, Gentry McGee, A History of Tennessee from 1663 to 1924.

This article originally appeared on The Daily Herald: Sheila Hickman: Governor’s race in 1886 more personal than today