Workingmen's Party of California

The Workingmen's Party of California was an American labor group and political party that started in 1877. It was led by a man named Denis Kearney. The party is mostly remembered today for its strong negative feelings toward Chinese people who lived in California.

One of the party's most well-known phrases was "The Chinese must go!" This showed how the group felt about Chinese immigrants at the time. The party spoke out against them and wanted them to leave the area.

Even though the Workingmen's Party of California had some ideas about workers' rights, its main focus was on being against Chinese people. This made the party an important part of history when talking about how people treated immigrants in the past.

Organizational history

See also: History of California before 1900 § Anti-Asian Nativism

The Workingmen's Party of California started in 1877 because many people were out of work during a tough time called the Long Depression. In 1878, the party won many seats and helped change California’s rules to stop Chinese Americans from voting. They also created a group to watch over big railroad companies.

The party wanted to stop Chinese workers from coming to the country. Many of its members were immigrants themselves, including people from Ireland, Germany, France, and other places. After some time, the party lost power and split into different groups. By 1881, the party was no longer active. Soon after, laws were passed to limit Chinese immigration.

Relation to the WPUS

The Workingmen's Party of California was different from the Workingmen's Party of the United States, which was mostly in the Eastern United States. The members of the Workingmen's Party of the United States in California joined the Workingmen's Party of California because it was growing quickly and used similar ideas. One member who joined was Charles J. Beerstecher, who was elected to the Railroad Commission in 1879. He had originally led the German language group of the Workingmen's Party of the United States in San Francisco.

Members

The Workingmen's Party of California had many important members who held various positions in cities and the state.

City officials

• Denis Kearney, Party President
• John G. Day, Party Vice President
• William Wellock, Party Vice President
• John T. Condon, Party Vice President
• H. L. Knight, Party Secretary
• J. J. Flynn, Party Secretary
• Thomas Donnelly, Party Treasurer
• Anthony Fischer, German Workingmen's Club President, candidate for Recorder of San Francisco (1879)
• Isaac Smith Kalloch, Mayor of San Francisco (1879–1881)
• Washburne R. Andrus, Mayor of Oakland (1878–1880), candidate for Lieutenant Governor (1879)
• William Jefferson Hunsaker, Mayor of San Diego (1888)
• Abel Whitton, President of the Berkeley Board of Trustees (1878–1881)
• John F. Godfrey, Los Angeles City Attorney (1876–1880)
• John P. Dunn, Auditor of San Francisco (1879–1881), Controller of California (1883–1891)
• Cayetano Apablasa, Los Angeles Common Councilman (1877–1878), candidate for State Senate (1880)
• John Tracy Gaffey, Undersheriff of Santa Cruz County (1880–1883), member of the California State Board of Equalization (1887–1891)

State officials

• James J. Ayers, Delegate to the Second Constitutional Convention (1878–1879), candidate for U.S. Representative (1879), California State Printer (1883–1887)
• Clitus Barbour, Delegate to the Second Constitutional Convention (1878–1879), candidate for U.S. Representative (1879)
• Charles W. Cross, Delegate to the Second Constitutional Convention (1878–1879), candidate for California Attorney General (1879), California State Senator (1883–1887) (elected as a Democrat)
• C. C. O'Donnell, Delegate to the Second Constitutional Convention (1878–1879), Coroner of San Francisco (1885–1887) (elected as an Independent)
• William F. White, Delegate to the Second Constitutional Convention (1878–1879), candidate for Governor of California (1879), California Bank Commissioner (1879–1887)
• Charles J. Beerstecher, Delegate to the Second Constitutional Convention (1878–1879), California Rail Commissioner (1880–1883)
• John W. Bones, California State Senator (1878–1880)
• John P. West, Delegate to the Second Constitutional Convention (1878–1879), California State Senator (1880–1883)
• Warren Chase, California State Senator (1880–1883)
• Robert Desty, California State Senator-elect (1880, not seated)
• Charles C. Conger, California State Senator (1880–1883)
• Thomas Kane, California State Senator (1880–1883)
• Thorwald Klaudius Nelson, Delegate to the Second Constitutional Convention (1878–1879), California State Senator (1880–1885)
• Joseph C. Gorman, Delegate to the Second Constitutional Convention (1878–1879), California State Senator (1880–1883)
• Martin Kelly, California State Senator (1880–1887)
• John S. Enos, California State Senator (1880–1883), Commissioner of the California Bureau of Labor Statistics (1883–1887)
• Pierce H. Ryan, California State Senator (1880–1885)
• J. E. Clark, California State Assemblyman (1878–1880)
• Elihu Anthony, California State Assemblyman (1880–1881)
• William W. Cuthbert, California State Assemblyman (1880–1881)
• Stephen J. Garibaldi, California State Assemblyman (1880–1881)
• William J. Sinon, California State Assemblyman (1880–1881, 1883–1885) (elected as a Democrat)
• Samuel Braunhart, California State Assemblyman (1880–1881), California State Senator (1897–1900), Member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors (1900–1906) (elected as a Democrat)
• A. B. Maguire, California State Assemblyman (1880–1881), Member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors (1900) (elected as a Democrat)
• John J. McCallion, California State Assemblyman (1880–1883)
• Jeremiah J. McCarthy, California State Assemblyman (1880–1881)
• Garrett Pickett, California State Assemblyman (1880–1881)
• John Burns, California State Assemblyman (1880–1883)
• Patrick T. Gaffey, California State Assemblyman (1880–1881)
• Michael Lane, California State Assemblyman (1880–1883)
• John J. McDade, California State Assemblyman (1880–1881), Sheriff of San Francisco (1893–1895)
• Stephen Maybell, California State Assemblyman (1880–1881)
• Jeremiah Levee, California State Assemblyman (1880–1881)
• Anderson M. Walker, California State Assemblyman (1880–1881)
• Timothy O'Connor, California State Assemblyman (1881–1883)
• Thomas J. Pinder, California State Assemblyman (1881–1883), California State Senator (1887–1891) (elected as a Democrat)
• Dennis Geary, California State Assemblyman (1881–1882)
• William J. Gavigan, California State Assemblyman (1881–1883)
• Horace J. Jackson, California State Assemblyman (1881–1883)

Other members

• Carl Browne, cartoonist
• Henry George, economist
• Con Mooney, orator and namesake of Mooneysville-by-the-Sea

Endorsees

The Workingmen's Party of California supported several important leaders in government.

City officials

• James R. Toberman, Mayor of Los Angeles (1872–1874, 1878–1882) (elected as a Democrat)
• Robert Howe, candidate for Mayor of San Francisco (1881) (ran as a Democrat)

State officials

• Robert F. Morrison, Chief Justice of the California Supreme Court (1879–1887) (elected as a Democrat)
• Elisha W. McKinstry, Associate Justice of the California Supreme Court (1874–1888) (elected as a Democrat)
• Erskine Mayo Ross, Associate Justice of the California Supreme Court (1880–1886) (elected as a Democrat)
• Samuel B. McKee, Associate Justice of the California Supreme Court (1880–1887) (elected as a Democrat)
• James D. Thornton, Associate Justice of the California Supreme Court (1880–1891) (elected as a Democrat)
• John Sharpstein, Associate Justice of the California Supreme Court (1880–1892) (elected as a Democrat)
• George Stoneman, California Rail Commissioner (1880–1883), Governor of California (1883–1887) (elected as a Democrat)
• William J. Hill, California State Senator (1880–1883) (elected as a Republican)

Federal officials

• John R. Glascock, candidate for U.S. Representative (1880), U.S. Representative (1883–1885) (elected as a Democrat)
• James G. Maguire, California State Assemblyman (1875–1877), San Francisco County Superior Court Judge (1882–1888), U.S. Representative (1893–1899) (elected as a Democrat)