Editing Carter Harrison III

{{short description|American politician (1825–1893)}}
{{other people||Carter Harrison (disambiguation){{!}}Carter Harrison}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2021}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name                = Carter Harrison
| image               = Carter Harrison, Sr. - Brady-Handy.jpg
| office              = [[Mayor of Chicago]]
| term_start          = April 17, 1893
| term_end            = October 28, 1893
| predecessor         = [[Hempstead Washburne]]
| successor           = [[John Patrick Hopkins]]<br>[[George Bell Swift]] (acting)
| term_start1         = April 28, 1879
| term_end1           = April 18, 1887
| predecessor1        = [[Monroe Heath]]
| successor1          = [[John A. Roche]]
| state2              = [[Illinois]]
| district2           = {{ushr|IL|2|2nd}}
| term_start2         = March 4, 1875
| term_end2           = March 3, 1879
| predecessor2        = [[Jasper D. Ward]]
| successor2          = [[George R. Davis (Illinois politician)|George R. Davis]]
| office3             = Member of the [[Cook County Board of Commissioners]]
| term_start3         = 1871
| term_end3           = 1875
| predecessor3        = ''position established''
| successor3          = 
| birth_name          = Carter Henry Harrison
| birth_date          = {{birth date|1825|2|15}}
| birth_place         = near [[Lexington, Kentucky]], U.S.
| death_date          = {{death date and age|1893|10|28|1825|2|15}}
| death_place         = [[Chicago]], [[Illinois]], U.S.
| death_cause         = [[Gunshot wound]]s
| restingplace        = [[Graceland Cemetery]]
| party               = [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]
| spouse              = {{marriage | Margarette Stearns | 1882 |1887 |end=d.}}<br>{{marriage | Sophonisba Grayson Preston | 1855 |1876|end=d.}}
| partner             = Annie Howard        
| children            = 10, including [[Carter Harrison IV|Carter IV]]
| education           = [[Yale University]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]])<br>[[Transylvania University]] ([[Bachelor of Laws|LLB]])
| signature           = Signature of Carter Harrison Sr. (1825–1893).png
}}
'''Carter Henry Harrison III''' (February 15, 1825{{spaced ndash}}October 28, 1893) was an American politician who served as [[List of mayors of Chicago|mayor]] of [[Chicago, Illinois]], from 1879 until 1887 and from [[1893 Chicago mayoral election|1893]] until his assassination. He previously served two terms in the [[United States House of Representatives]]. Harrison was the first cousin twice removed of President [[William Henry Harrison]], whose grandson, [[Benjamin Harrison]], had also been president until just months prior to the assassination. He was also the father of [[Carter Harrison IV]], who would follow in his father's footsteps, and would serve five terms as the mayor of Chicago himself.

==Early life, education, and career==
Harrison was born on a plantation on February 15, 1825, in rural [[Fayette County, Kentucky]] near [[Lexington, Kentucky]] to Carter Henry Harrison II and Caroline Russell.<ref>{{cite book |last=Johnson |first=Claudius O.|title=Carter Henry Harrison I: Political Leader |publisher=University of Chicago Press |year=1928 |pages=7}}</ref><ref name="themayors"/><ref name="Another">{{cite web |title=Another Guiteau. |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/754909011 |url-access=subscription|via=Newspapers.com |publisher=Mt. Carmel Republican |access-date=27 March 2023 |language=en |date=November 3, 1893}}</ref><ref name="TopekaDailyPress1"/> He was birthed in his family's home, a [[log cabin]] (as one obituary would remark, "he saw the light in a log hut in a [[canebrake]] in Fayette County.")<ref name="TopekaDailyPress1"/> When Harrison was merely eight months old, his father died.<ref name="Another"/><ref name="manofthepeople"/>

Harrison's family had a long Southern lineage, dating back to early colonial [[Virginia]].<ref name="themayors"/> He had ancestry in the [[Harrison family of Virginia]], the [[Randolph family of Virginia]], [[Carter family of Virginia]], and [[Cabell family of Virginia]].<ref name="Another"/><ref name="manofthepeople"/> Harrison was a descendent of Richard A. Harrison, (a lieutenant general to [[Oliver Cromwell]] during the [[First English Civil War]] who had been involved in carrying out the [[execution of Charles I]]). His great-great grandfather was [[Carter Henry Harrison I]] (who was a brother of founding father [[Benjamin Harrison V]]<ref name="manofthepeople"/> and a cousin of president [[Thomas Jefferson]]).<ref name="Booneville"/> He was a cousin of Vice President [[John C. Breckinridge]], and was also related to presidents [[William Henry Harrison]] and [[Benjamin Harrison]].<ref name="Booneville"/><ref name="manofthepeople"/>

Harrison was educated by private tutors.<ref name="retrobio"/> At the age of fifteen, he began to be tutored by [[Louis Marshall (educator)|Louis Marshall]].<ref name="Another"/> Harrison graduated from [[Yale University|Yale College]] in 1845 as a member of [[Scroll and Key]].<ref name="Another"/><ref name="retrobio"/> He graduated from Yale in 1851.<ref name="TopekaDailyPress1"/> Following graduation, he traveled the world and studied in Europe from 1851 to 1853.<ref name="Another"/><ref name="retrobio"/> His travels took him to England, Ireland, Scotland, and elsewhere. He also visited Egypt and accompanied [[Bayard Taylor]] to explore Syria and Asia Minor.<ref name="manofthepeople"/> After his world travels, he entered [[Transylvania College]] in Lexington in 1853,<ref name="manofthepeople"/> where he earned a [[LLB|law degree]] in 1855.<ref name="Another"/><ref name="retrobio"/>

==Move to Chicago, and early career in the city==
In 1855, Harrison wed his first wife, Sophy Preston, in 1855.<ref name="themayors"/><ref name="TopekaDailyPress1"/> While traveling North for their [[honeymoon]], Harrison stopped in Chicago and decided to settle there.<ref name="TopekaDailyPress1"/> He had decided to settle in Chicago because he saw it as a land of opportunity. At the time, he inherited the Kentucky plantation and almost 100 slaves but sold it away in order to be done with [[Slavery in the United States|slavery]].<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Whitfield |first=Kay |title=Murder in the Kentucky Colony  |url=https://www.classicchicagomagazine.com/murder-in-the-kentucky-colony/ |magazine=Classic Chicago Magazine |language=en-US}}</ref> 

After settling in Chicago, Harrison invested in [[real estate]] in Chicago,<ref name="themayors"/><ref name="manofthepeople"/> and became a millionaire.<ref name="gambler"/> Harrison was also [[Admission to the bar in the United States|admitted to the bar]] in 1855, and commenced [[practice of law|practice]] once he settled in Chicago.<ref name="Another"/><ref name="retrobio"/>

The first property that Harrison bought in Chicago was the Adams house located at the corners of [[Clark Street (Chicago)|Clark]] and Harrison Street<ref name="TopekaDailyPress1"/>

==Cook County Board of Commissioners (1871–1875)==
After the [[Great Chicago Fire]], Harrison became involved in politics.<ref name=cityofthecentury/> In the coinciding county elections, Harrison himself was elected to the [[Cook County Board of Commissioners]].<ref name="manofthepeople">{{cite web |title=A Man of the People, The History of Mayor Harrison in Private Life and Politics |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/246197413 |via=Newspapers.com |url-access=subscription|publisher=The St. Joseph Weekly Gazette |access-date=3 February 2025 |language=en |date=October 31, 1893}}</ref> Harrison had run on a "union" [[Ticket (election)|ticket]] (dubbed the "Fireproof Ticket")<ref name="UnionNominations1">{{cite web |title=Union Nominations |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/465795217 |via=Newspapers.com |url-access=subscription |publisher=Chicago Tribune |access-date=5 February 2025 |language=en |date=October 31, 1871}}</ref> that featured members of the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] and [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] parties.<ref name="Meeting1871a"/> Harrison had been the leading figure in the formation of the Union–Fireproof Ticket<ref name=themayors/> and served as the chair of its nominating convention.<ref name="Meeting1871a">{{cite web |title=Meeting of the Candidates on the Union Ticket |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/465795217 |website=Newspapers.com |publisher=Chicago Tribune |access-date=5 February 2025 |language=en |date=October 31, 1871}}</ref> The ticket ran candidates in both the Cook County and Chicago municipal elections (including in [[1871 Chicago mayoral election|the mayoral election]]).<ref name="UnionNominations1" /> The ticket's mayoral nominee, [[Joseph Medill]], won election.<ref>{{cite web |title=Chicago Mayors, 1837-2007 |url=http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/1443.html |website=www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org |access-date=17 May 2020}}</ref> Harrison had been key in convincing Medill to run for mayor.<ref name=cityofthecentury/> Later, during Harrison's own career in citywide politics, Medill, publisher of the ''[[Chicago Tribune]]'', would come to be a political rival of Harrison's.<ref name=cityofthecentury/>

In addition to being included on Union–Fireproof ticket, Harrison was also included as a county board nominee on the joint [[Slate (election)|slate]] nominated by both the [[Cook County Democratic Party]] and [[Cook County Republican Party]] in the 1871 county and Chicago municipal elections (who partnered due to the extenuating circumstances of the fire).<ref name="UnionTicket1">{{cite web |title=The Union Ticket |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/349799773 |via=Newspapers.com |url-access=subscription |publisher=Chicago Tribune |access-date=3 February 2025 |language=en |date=October 28, 1871}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=City and County Politics |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/465793621 |via=Newspapers.com |publisher=Chicago Tribune |url-access=subscription |access-date=5 February 2025 |language=en |date=October 26, 1871}}</ref>

Harrison served a single term on the county board,<ref name="retrobio"/> for three years{{notetag|The 1871 Cook County Board of Commissioners election included elections for three, two, and one year terms. Harrison was one of five members elected to serve a three-year term.<ref>{{cite web |title=The County Government |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/668090034 |via=Newspapers.com |url-access=subscription |publisher=Chicago Evening Post |access-date=3 February 2025 |language=en |date=December 5, 1871}}</ref>}}

==U.S. House of Representatives (1875–1879)==
Harrison represented [[Illinois's 2nd congressional district]] for two terms (from 1875 until 1879).<ref name="retrobio"/> During the relevant period, with exception of the [[6th ward, Chicago|6th ward]], the district represented all of Chicago's "West Division" wards<ref name="secondcongressionalitspoliticalstatus"/> (the [[7th ward, Chicago|7th]], [[8th ward, Chicago|8th]], [[9th ward, Chicago|9th]], [[10th ward, Chicago|10th]], [[11th ward, Chicago|11th]], 12th, 13th, 14th, and 15th wards).<ref name="Glorious1"/> During his time in congress, Harrison was noted for his flamboyant oration.<ref name="themayors"/>

===Unsuccessful 1872 campaign===
Early into his tenure on the county board, Harrison ran an unsuccessful campaign in [[1872 United States House of Representatives elections in Illinois|1872]] as the Democratic nominee in Illinois's 2nd congressional district for election to the [[43rd United States Congress]].<ref name="retrobio">{{cite web |title=Harrison, Carter Henry (1825-1893) |url=https://bioguideretro.congress.gov/Home/MemberDetails?memIndex=H000267 |department=bioguideretro.congress.gov |publisher=Biographical Director of the United States Congress |access-date=October 29, 2020}}</ref><ref name="National Array"/> Harrison faced Republican nominee [[Jasper D. Ward]].<ref name="National Array">{{cite web |title=Nov. 5, 1872. A National Array of Candidates for the National Election |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/371927756 |via=Newspapers.com |url-access=subscription |publisher=Chicago Tribune |access-date=4 February 2025 |language=en |date=November 4, 1872}}</ref> The district had a strong Republican lean. Harrison, while unsuccessful, managed to greatly outperform previous Democratic nominees in the district.<ref name="retrobio"/> Harrison won 42.14% of the vote to Ward's 57.86%.<ref name="secondcongressionalitspoliticalstatus"/> Harrison led his opponent in the 8th and 9th wards, but trailed him in the other wards.<ref name="Glorious1">{{cite web |title=The Glorious Result |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/667951909 |via=Newspapers.com |url-access=subscription |publisher=Chicago Evening Post |access-date=4 February 2025 |language=en |date=November 6, 1872}}</ref>

The congressional election coincided with the [[1872 United States presidential election]]. Harrison (the Democratic congressional nominee) was listed on a local ticket that also included [[Liberal Republican Party (United States)|Liberal Republican Party]] presidential nominee [[Horace Greeley]].<ref name="secondcongressionalitspoliticalstatus"/>

===First term (1875–1877)===
Due to his strong performance in his 1872 congressional campaign, in 1874 Harrison was again nominated in the 2nd congressional district by the Democratic Party for congress,<ref name="retrobio"/> and in a re-match against Ward won election [[44th United States Congress]] by a margin of only eight votes.<ref name="secondcongressionalitspoliticalstatus"/> The ''[[Chicago Tribune]]'' would blame local Republicans' alignment with the Citizens Union ticket in the [[1873 Chicago mayoral election|1873]] local Chicago elections as detrimental to Ward's re-election, as in the eyes of many voters it had placed Republicans on the less popular side of the "beer question" (positioning them in support of enforcing Sunday temperance [[blue laws]] (laws banning the sale of alcohol on Sundays). Many voters who typically voted Republican had in 1873 voted for the People's Party instead of the Citizens Union ticket due to the "beer question"<ref name="secondcongressionalitspoliticalstatus"/> At the time he was elected, he had been out-of-country visiting Europe with his family (traveling to Austria, Germany, Switzerland, and the [[Tyrol]]). After learning of his election, he returned to the United States to take office.<ref name="manofthepeople"/>

In 1875, during his first term in Congress, Harrison and his family again traveled to Europe. After accompanying his family through Northern Europe, Harrison returned to the United States while the rest of his family continued their trip. However, Harrison traveled to Europe again after his first wife died there.<ref name="manofthepeople"/>

===Second term (1877–1879)===
While he was out-of-country due to the death of his wife, he was re-elected [[1876 United States House of Representatives elections in Illinois|in 1876]] to the [[45th United States Congress]].<ref name="manofthepeople"/> He won 50.89% of the vote against Republican opponent [[George R. Davis (Illinois politician)|George R. Davis]].<ref name="1876result"/>

Scandal occurred in his second term in congress when, as chairman of the Committee on Reform of the Civil Service, Harrison had pushed through the payment of benefits to four self-proclaimed Union Army veterans purporting disabilities from wartime injuries despite the fact that their claims had previously been rejected. None of these individuals had actually seen active service, and none of them had suffered serious injuries.<ref name="gambler"/> 

[[1878 United States House of Representatives elections in Illinois|in 1878]], Harrison lost re-election to congress.<ref name="gambler">{{cite book |last1=Lindberg |first1=Richard C. |title=The Gambler King of Clark Street: Michael C. McDonald and the Rise of Chicago's Democratic Machine |date=2009 |publisher=SIU Press |isbn=978-0-8093-8654-3 |pages=101–102, 140–141, 210|url=https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=IUgbMFn6nCYC |access-date=May 19, 2020 |language=en}}</ref> He was defeated by [[Miles Kehoe]] for re-nomination at the district's Democratic nominating convention.<ref name="MilesKehoeGetsIt"/>

==First mayoralty (1879–1887)==
During his first mayoralty, Harrison was elected mayor of Chicago for four consecutive two-year terms (in [[1879 Chicago mayoral election|1879]], [[1881 Chicago mayoral election|1881]], [[1883 Chicago mayoral election|1883]], and [[1885 Chicago mayoral election|1885]]).

After he campaigned in 1879 with a pet eagle, he became affectionately nicknamed "the Eagle".<ref name="gambler"/>

He was sworn in for his first term on April 28, 1879.<ref>{{cite web |title=Mayor Carter Henry Harrison III Inaugural Address, 1879 |url=https://www.chipublib.org/mayor-carter-henry-harrison-iii-inaugural-address-1879/ |publisher=Chicago Public Library |access-date=May 26, 2020}}</ref>

During his first mayoralty, he surpassed his predecessor [[Monroe Heath]]'s title as the longest serving mayor Chicago had had up to that time.

===Leadership and popularity===
Harrison has been described as a practitioner of [[charismatic authority]].<ref name=cityofthecentury/> He governed the city in cooperation with a fractious Democratic Party organization.<ref name=cityofthecentury/>

While Harrison garnered both business and [[working class]] support, the [[evangelical]] [[middle class]] generally disapproved of Harrison.<ref name="themayors"/>

===Infrastructure and public safety===
At the time he took office, Chicago had nearly a half-million residents.<ref name="themayors">{{cite web |last1=Green |first1=Paul M. |last2=Holli |first2=Melvin G. |title=The Mayors: The Chicago Political Tradition, fourth edition |url=https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=-L_shTgapuIC |publisher=SIU Press |access-date=May 22, 2020 |pages=17–19 |language=en |date=January 10, 2013}}</ref> However, it was still a developing city.<ref name="themayors"/> Harrison would later remark that, when he took office as mayor, "there were not ten miles of paved street in the whole city over which a light vehicle could move rapidly without injury to wheel or axle.”<ref name="themayors"/> Long a [[boosterism|booster]] of his adopted city, Harrison was known to refer to Chicago as his "bride".<ref name="themayors"/> Harrison significantly increased the city's number of paved roads and sidewalks in its downtown and increased the size and improved the efficiency of its fire department.<ref name=cityofthecentury>{{cite book |last1=Miller |first1=Donald L. |title=City of the Century: The Epic of Chicago and the Making of America |date=2014 |publisher=Rosetta Books |isbn=978-0-7953-3985-1 |pages=665, 678, 683, 731–732, 735, 738 |url=https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=_WlsDwAAQBAJ |access-date=May 23, 2020 |language=en}}</ref> Harrison also forced utility companies operating in the central business district to bury their wires.<ref name=cityofthecentury/> Harrison fought the [[Illinois Central Railroad]]'s right to the lakefront,<ref name=cityofthecentury/> a legal battle which was ultimately taken by the State of Illinois to [[Supreme Court of the United States]] in ''[[Illinois Central Railroad Co. v. Illinois]]''. He also worked to persuade railroads to begin elevating their tracks to eliminate [[level crossing]]s.<ref name=cityofthecentury/> He also attempted to push measures in the City Council that would have required locomotives, [[steamships]] and [[tugboats]] to burn [[anthracite]],<ref name=cityofthecentury/> which burned cleaner. He also attempted to have the city build new and longer public water system intake pipes.<ref name=cityofthecentury/>

===Haymarket affair===
Harrison's first mayoral tenure was a period that saw many events which brought the city national and international attention. One such event was the [[Haymarket affair]]. Early on the evening of the Haymarket affair in 1886, Harrison had casually observed the then still peaceful demonstration of anarchists and trade unionists and advised the police to leave the demonstrators alone; he then left the scene before the riot and anarchist bomb-throwing occurred. A significant reason for his ability to attend the rally unbothered was that, while Harrison came from a [[Protestant]] background, he needed the votes of and thus made appeals to the city's large ethnic [[White people|White]] [[Catholic]] population as well as its rapidly growing numbers of [[trade union]]ists. His administration gave the impression of being more favorable to trade unions and strikes than those of previous Chicago mayors as well as other mayors of the time, although his police force routinely put down striking workers and trade union activists when they interfered with the businesses hiring replacements.

In the aftermath, Harrison spoke against anti-[[socialist]] sentiments being published in the media. Harrison argued that socialists were not sympathetic with bomb throwers, and remarked that socialists were representatives of the country's "workers, thinkers, and writers."<ref>{{cite web |title=Harrison,Carter H. |url=https://florencekelley.northwestern.edu/legal/mayors/harrisonsr/ |website=florencekelley.northwestern.edu |publisher=Northwestern University |access-date=6 October 2023}}</ref>

===1884 Democratic National Convention===
Harrison was a delegate to the [[1880 Democratic National Convention|1880]] and [[1884 Democratic National Convention|1884]] Democratic National Conventions.<ref name="retrobio"/> At the 1884 convention, held in Chicago, Harrison supported [[Grover Cleveland 1884 presidential campaign|the successful candidacy]] of [[Grover Cleveland]], and delivered the seconding speech for Cleveland's nomination at the convention.<ref name="gambler"/><ref>{{cite web |title=The Convention Adjourning |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/616918062 |website=Newspapers.com |publisher=The Fall River Daily Herald |access-date=21 May 2022 |language=en |url-access=subscription |date=July 10, 1884}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Haynes |first1=Stan M. |title=President-Making in the Gilded Age: The Nominating Conventions of 1876-1900 |date=2015 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-1-4766-2305-4 |page=108 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CnIhCwAAQBAJ |access-date=May 20, 2020 |language=en}}</ref> Harrison was also alleged to have ordered the Chicago police to fill the convention hall's convention hall with as many men sympathetic to Cleveland's candidacy as they could find on the street.<ref name="gambler"/>

===1884 gubernatorial campaign===
Heading encouragement from other Democrats,<ref name="Another"/> [[1884 Illinois gubernatorial election|in 1884]] Harrison ran as the party's nominee for [[governor of Illinois]].<ref name="retrobio"/> While a reluctant nominee, he conducted an energetic and effective campaign.<ref name="Booneville"/> He lost to [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] incumbent [[Richard J. Oglesby]].<ref name="retrobio"/> The result was unsurprising, considering that the state of Illinois had a strong Republican lean at the time. However, Harrison had managed to decrease the Republican margin of victory in the gubernatorial election from the 40,000 margin of the previous election to 14,500.<ref name="Another"/>

===End of tenure===
Towards the end of his fourth term, public approval of Harrison had significantly declined, which hurt his prospects of being re-elected to a fifth term in [[1887 Chicago mayoral election|the 1887 mayoral election]]. Much of the dissatisfaction with Harrison came from disapproval of his handling of the [[Haymarket Riot]].<ref name="Demise1">{{cite journal |last1=Buller |title=The Great Demise: An Analysis of Carter Henry Harrison's Political Downfall of 1887 |journal=Western Illinois Historical Review |date=Spring 2010 |volume=II |pages=88{{endash}}114 |url=http://www.wiu.edu/cas/history/wihr/pdfs/Buller-WIHRvol2.pdf |issn=2153-1714}}</ref><ref name=cityofthecentury/> Harrison's handling of the Haymarket Riot had also harmed his standing with [[fiscal conservatism|conservative]] business groups.<ref name=cityofthecentury/> Furthermore, Harrison's prospects of re-election to a fifth term was weighed down by a scandal involving criminal charges of [[election fraud]] against some of his supporters (for conduct during the previous mayoral election). Even though the charges against these individuals were did not implicate Harrison in misconduct, there was still concern that public awareness of the scandal would muddy Harrison's public image due to his proximity to the indicted individuals.<ref name=cityofthecentury/><ref>{{cite book |last1=Morton |first1=Richard Allen |title=Roger C. Sullivan and the Making of the Chicago Democratic Machine, 1881-1908 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xA7MDAAAQBAJ |publisher=McFarland |access-date=11 May 2020 |page=39 |language=en |date=29 June 2016|isbn=9781476663777 }}</ref>  Harrison's loss of public favor had led the prospect of re-nominating him to lose losing support within city's Democratic Party. .<ref name="Demise1"/><ref name=cityofthecentury/> Initially, Harrison maintained intention to be re-elected, and unsuccessfully attempted to persuade the [[United Labor Party (Chicago)|United Labor Party]] to support him for re-election and to partner with the city Democratic Party to nominate a joint-[[Slate (elections)|slate]]. Harrison proposed a [[electoral fusion|fusion]] nomination arrangement that would have seen the parties nominate identical [[Ticket (election)|ticket]]s. Harrison's failure to persuade Chicago's United Labor Party to partner with city Democrats further harmed Harrison's support within the local Democratic party.<ref name="Demise1"/><ref name=cityofthecentury/>

Recognizing that he would have difficulty being re-nominated by the Democratic Party, Harrison decided to retire at the end of his fourth term, opting against seeking re-election in 1887.<ref name=Kantowicz>Kantowicz, Edward. “The Emergence of the Polish-Democratic Vote in Chicago.” Polish American Studies, vol. 29, no. 1/2, 1972, pp. 67–80. JSTOR, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/20147849.</ref><ref name=sh>[https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=aRq4z-Hgu4oC History of Chicago, Illinois by John Moses page 233 (293 in Google's digitalized form)]</ref> The Democratic Party voted at its convention to nomiante [[DeWitt Clinton Cregier]]. However, Cregier declined the nomination, refusing to run.<ref name=sh/> After this (and despite his declared intent to retire) the party voted to re-nominate Harrison.<ref name=sh/> Harrison initially accepted the nomination. However, before he could begin campaigning, his wife Elizabeth died. Experiencing great grief over his wife's passing, he withdrew from the election,<ref name="TopekaDailyPress1"/> and instead embarked on international travels.<ref name="TopekaDailyPress1"/> His tenure as mayor formally ended on April 18, 1887.<ref>{{cite web |title=Mayor John A. Roche Inaugural Address, 1887 |url=https://www.chipublib.org/mayor-john-a-roche-inaugural-address-1887/ |publisher=Chicago Public Library |access-date=May 26, 2020}}</ref>

==Post-mayoralty==
[[File:CarterHarrison1890.JPG|thumb|right|upright|Frontispiece from ''A Summer's Outing'' (1891)]]

On July 26, 1887 Harrison embarked on international travels,<ref name="TopekaDailyPress1"/> taking a sixteen-month world tour.<ref name="themayors"/> He concluded this trip on November 8, 1888. Harrison documented his travels in letters he wrote that were published in newspapers. He compiled his travel writings into a book, which was published under the title ''A Race With The Sun''.<ref name="TopekaDailyPress1"/> After returning to Chicago, Harrison continued to be withdrawn from politics for several years. During this time, he focused on his business ventures and authoring literature.<ref name="TopekaDailyPress1"/> In 1890, Harrison and his daughter took a vacation trip from Chicago to [[Yellowstone National Park]] and [[Alaska]]. His letters from the trip were first published in the ''[[Chicago Tribune]]'' and later compiled into an 1891 book, ''A Summer's Outing and The Old Man's Story''.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/summersoutingold00harriala|last=Harrison |first=Carter H. |title=A Summer's Outing and The Old Man's Story |publisher=Dibble Publishing |location=Chicago |year=1891}} at [[Internet Archive]]</ref>

In 1891, Harrison became the owner and editor of the ''[[Chicago Times]]''.<ref name="retrobio"/> THis marked a return to political engagement, as he used this newspaper to advocate for labor unions and the many Catholic and immigrant communities in Chicago.{{Citation needed|date=January 2025}}

===Unsuccessful 1891 mayoral campaign===
Harrison unsuccessfully sought to stage a comeback, running in the [[1891 Chicago mayoral election]]. Failing to receive the Democratic nomination (with incumbent mayor [[DeWitt Clinton Cregier]] being renominated instead), Harrison ran an independent campaign for mayor. The election became a four-candidate race between Harrison, Creiger, Republican nominee [[Hempstead Washburne]], and Citizens nominee [[Elmer Washburn]] (a former head of the [[United States Secret Service]] and [[Chicago Police Department]]). Hempstead Washburne won the election, receiving only a few hundred more votes than runner-up Cregier and a few thousand more votes than Harrison. Elmer Washburn placed a more distant fourth.

==Second mayoralty (1893)==
Harrison was again elected mayor in [[1893 Chicago mayoral election|1893]], in time for the [[World's Columbian Exposition]] being held in the city. Harrison stated that his desire was to show the world the "true" Chicago during the world's fair.{{citation needed|date=January 2025}}

Harrison was sworn-in for his fifth nonconsecutive term on April 17, 1893.<ref>{{cite web |title=Mayor Carter Henry Harrison III Inaugural Address, 1893 |url=https://www.chipublib.org/mayor-carter-henry-harrison-iiir-inaugural-address-1893/ |publisher=Chicago Public Library |access-date=May 26, 2020}}</ref> Harrison's first acts after being sworn-in were to immediately submit [[veto]]es of several ordinances that the council had already passed, one which served the interests of the Midland Elevated Railway (which stockbroker [[James R. Keene]] held significant stake in) and another which would have granted the [[Hygeia Springs]] Company permission to supply water into the city<ref name="PlainDealernewmayor">{{cite web |title=Chicago's New Mayor |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/1077798657 |via=Newspapers.com |url-access=subscription|publisher=Cleveland Plain Dealer |access-date=31 January 2025 |language=en |date=April 18, 1893}}</ref> (which would have advanced a controversial project by [[Wisconsin]] businessman James C. McElroy to pipe water from the famed springs in [[Waukesha, Wisconsin|Waukesha]], Wisconsin to the grounds of the world's fair).<ref>{{cite web |title=Hygeia Spring |url=https://theclio.com/entry/115736 |website=Clio |access-date=31 January 2025 |language=en}}</ref> Mayor Washburne had similarly vetoed the same ordinances in his final act as mayor. All vetoes were sustained.<ref name="PlainDealernewmayor"/>

Harrison appointed 1st Ward [[Alderman]] [[John Coughlin (alderman)|"Bathhouse" John Coughlin]] to sit on the reception committee for the world's fair. This appointment was a small part in Harrison's plan to create a centralized [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]] [[Political machine|machine]] consisting of empowered ward committeemen and precinct captains that would answer to the local Democratic Party. The plan would not be accomplished until [[Anton Cermak]] came to power in Chicago politics in the 1920s.{{citation needed|date=January 2025}}

==Assassination==
[[File:Carter H. Harrison's last speech, World's Fair, October 28, 1893 (NBY 3023) (a).jpg|thumb|Harrison delivers a speech during "American Cities Day" at the [[World's Columbian Exposition]] on October 28, 1893. He was [[assassinated]] later that day.]]
[[File:Harper's Weekly illustration of the assassination of Carter Harrison Sr.png|thumb|Illustration of Harrison's assassination]]
[[File:Grave of Carter Harrison Sr. (1825–1893) at Graceland Cemetery 1.jpg|thumb|Harrison's tomb at [[Graceland Cemetery]]]]

On October 28, 1893, a few months into his fifth term and just two days before the close of the World's Columbian Exposition, Harrison was murdered in his home by [[Patrick Eugene Prendergast]], an office-seeker who had supported Harrison's re-election under the idea that Harrison would reward him with an appointment to a post within his mayoral administration. Harrison was buried in Chicago's [[Graceland Cemetery]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.chipublib.org/mayor-carter-henry-harrison-iii-biography/ |title=Mayor Carter Henry Harrison III Biography |author=<!--Not stated--> |publisher=Chicago Public Library |access-date=September 9, 2017 }}</ref> As part of his funeral services, Harrison [[lay in state]] in the City Hall.<ref>{{cite web |title=Chicago's Mayor Killed |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/171710266 |website=Newspapers.com |publisher=Abbeville Press and Banner |access-date=21 May 2022 |language=en |url-access=subscription |date=15 Nov 1893}}</ref> A celebration planned for the close of the Exposition was cancelled and replaced by a large public memorial service for Harrison. Prendergast was sentenced to death for the crime and [[hanging|hanged]] on July 13, 1894.

While Harrison died at a time when the elites, Protestants, and Republicans of all kinds greatly disliked him, he never lost his core supporters of labor unions, Catholics and immigrants. He was Chicago's first mayor to be elected five times; eventually his son [[Carter Harrison IV]] was also elected mayor five times.

Harrison's career and assassination are closely associated with the World's Columbian Exposition, and are discussed at some length as a subplot to the two main stories (about the fair and serial killer [[H. H. Holmes]]) in [[Erik Larson (author)|Erik Larson]]'s best-selling 2003 non-fiction book ''[[The Devil in the White City]]''.

==Political positions==
Harrison was a [[People's Party (United States)|populist]] Democrat.<ref name=Kantowicz/>

Harrison did not disapprove of liquor consumption or gambling.<ref name="gambler"/>

Hailing from the [[Upland South]] and wed to a woman who hailed from the [[Deep South]], during the [[American Civil War]], Harrison had occasionally openly expressed sympathy towards the Confederate cause, leading him to be derided as a [[Copperhead (politics)|Copperhead]].<ref name="gambler"/>

Harrison saw the city's strength as being in its neighborhoods, and viewed it as a city of neighborhoods.<ref name=cityofthecentury/>

==Personal life==
===Marriages and late engagement===
On April 12, 1855, Harrison married his first wife, the former Sophie Preston.<ref name="gambler"/><ref name=patterson>{{cite book |title=The Assassination of Carter Harrison |publisher=A. Theo Patterson |url=http://moses.law.umn.edu/darrow/documents/Assassination_Carter_Harrison.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://moses.law.umn.edu/darrow/documents/Assassination_Carter_Harrison.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live |access-date=May 22, 2020}}</ref><ref name="Booneville">{{cite web |title=Assassination Foul |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/602203286 |via=Newspapers.com |url-access=subscription |publisher=The Standard of Booneville, Indiana |access-date=31 January 2025 |language=en |date=November 3, 1893}}</ref> She hailed from the Preston family, a distinguished [[Southern United States|southern]] family.<ref name="Booneville"/><ref name="TopekaDailyPress1"/> Harrison and his first wife, Sophie, had ten children together. Six of their children died either in infancy or early childhood.<ref name="gambler"/><ref name="TopekaDailyPress1"/>

Harrison became a [[widower]] after Sophie died in Europe in 1876.<ref name=patterson/> After being widowed, Harrison married Margarette (alternatively spelled "Margaret" or "Marguerite") E. Stearns<!-- not Sterans --> in 1882.<ref name="Booneville"/><ref name=patterson/> Stearns was a member of one of Chicago's earliest and most wealthy families,<ref name="Booneville"/> being the daughter of Chicago pioneer [[Marcus C. Stearns]].{{citation needed|date=January 2025}} He was widowed again when she died in 1887.<ref name=patterson/>

At the time of his assassination, Harrison was engaged to a young New Orleans heiress named Annie Howard, daughter of [[Louisiana State Lottery Company]] organizer [[Charles T. Howard]], who had been worth an estimated $3,000,000,<ref name="gambler"/><ref name=patterson/> $700,000 of which she had inherited from him after his death.<ref name="TopekaDailyPress1"/>

===Children===
Harrison and his first wife, Sophie, had ten children together. Six of their children died either in infancy or early childhood.<ref name="gambler"/><ref name="TopekaDailyPress1">{{cite news |title=Carter Harrison |publisher=The Topeka Daily Press|language=en |date=November 2, 1893}}
*{{cite web |title=Carter Harrison |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/366127324 |via=Newspapers.com |url-access=subscription |publisher=The Topeka Daily Press|page=2 |access-date=5 February 2025 |language=en |date=November 2, 1893}}
*{{cite web |title=Carter Harrison |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/366127336 |via=Newspapers.com |url-access=subscription |publisher=The Topeka Daily Press|page=3 |access-date=5 February 2025 |language=en |date=November 2, 1893}}</ref> 

The four children whom survived to adulthood were Lina, Carter IV, William Preston, and Sophie.<ref name="TopekaDailyPress1"/>

Lina married [[Heaton Owsley]],<ref name="TopekaDailyPress1"/> and became the [[step-mother]] of [[Jack Owsley]] (who became a noted [[American football]] player and coach, as well as a successful businessman).<ref name=Wed>{{cite news|title=John E. Owsley Is Married: Nephew of Carter Harrison and Miss Helen Hall of New Haven Are Wedded There|newspaper=Chicago Daily Tribune|date=November 18, 1908|url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/chicagotribune/access/408264181.html?dids=408264181:408264181&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&type=historic&date=Nov+18%2C+1908&author=&pub=Chicago+Tribune&desc=JOHN+E.+OWSLEY+IS+MARRIED.&pqatl=google|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121107064003/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/chicagotribune/access/408264181.html?dids=408264181:408264181&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&type=historic&date=Nov+18,+1908&author=&pub=Chicago+Tribune&desc=JOHN+E.+OWSLEY+IS+MARRIED.&pqatl=google|url-status=dead|archive-date=November 7, 2012}}</ref> She and Owsley had a daughter who they also named Lina Harrison Owsley. This daughter of the Owsleys (granddaughter of Mayor Harrison) performed as an [[opera]] singer, studying opera under [[Hermann Devriès]]. In 1912, she married [[Paul Bartlett (painter)|Paul Bartlett]], a noted painter.<ref>{{cite web |title=Niece of Mayor Harrison to Seek Honors in Grand Opera This Winter, Plans Recital Soon |url=https://idnc.library.illinois.edu/?a=d&d=CEX19121102.1.9&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN---------- |website=idnc.library.illinois.edu |publisher=Chicago Examiner (published in Volume 10, Number 272) |access-date=5 February 2025 |date=November 2, 1872}}</ref>

Carter IV served as mayor of Chicago from 1887–1905 and 1911–1915. He married [[Edith Ogden]] (who would garner note as the author of children's fairytale books) in 1887.<ref>{{cite web |title=“A blazing, colorful panorama.” Edith Ogden Harrison remembers the 1893 World’s Fair |url=https://worldsfairchicago1893.com/2022/11/16/a-blazing-colorful-panorama-edith-ogden-harrison-remembers-the-1893-worlds-fair |website=Worlds Fair Chicago 1893 |access-date=5 February 2025 |date=16 November 2022}}</ref> Together, they had three children. Their firstborn died in infancy in 1889. Their other two children survived to adulthood: son Carter V (born in 1891) and daughter Edith II (born 1896).{{citation needed|date=February 2025}}

==Legacy==
The Carter H. Harrison Medal is one of two medals "granted to sworn members of the fire and police departments who have performed distinguished acts of bravery in the protection of life or property", the other being the [[Lambert Tree Award]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Medallion Awards |url=https://www.chicagocop.com/awards/medallion-awards/ |publisher=ChicagoCop.com |access-date=February 6, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Carter H. Harrison / Lambert Tree Award Recipients |url=https://www.chicagocop.com/history/people/carter-h-harrison-lambert-tree-award-recipients/ |publisher=ChicagoCop.com |access-date=February 6, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite press release |title=Mayor Emanuel Joins Police and Fire Department to Present Carter Harrison and Lambert Tree Awards for Exemplary Service |url=https://www.chicago.gov/city/en/depts/mayor/press_room/press_releases/2018/november/PresentCarterHarrisonLambertTreeAwardsExemplaryService.html |publisher=Mayor's Press Office, City of Chicago |date=November 15, 2018 |access-date=February 6, 2021}}</ref>

A statue of Harrison is in [[Union Park (Chicago)|Union Park]] on Chicago's [[Near West Side, Chicago|Near West Side]], about two blocks from the [[Ashland Avenue]] home where he lived and was murdered in 1893.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Carter H. Harrison Historical Marker |url=https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=238151 |access-date=2025-02-19 |website=www.hmdb.org |language=en}}</ref> It was erected in 1907. The plaque on the statue is a quote from Harrison's address to the [[World's Columbian Exposition]], given hours before he died. <ref name=":0" />

==Electoral history==
===Mayoral elections===
;[[1879 Chicago mayoral election|1879]]
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center" 
! colspan="8" | '''1879 Democratic city convention mayoral nominating convention balloting<ref name="LocalMarch16">{{cite web |title=Local Politics |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/349287867 |via=Newspapers.com |url-access=subscription |publisher=Chicago Tribune |access-date=18 November 2024 |language=en |date=March 16, 1879}}</ref><br>(simple-majority needed for nomination)'''
|-
!Candidate||Informal ballot||Formal ballot||Unanimous vote
|-
| '''Carter Harrison'''
|style="background:#5cb3ff"|'''38'''
|style="background:#5cb3ff"|'''51'''
|style="background:#5cb3ff"|'''68'''
|-
|[[Murray F. Tuley]]
| 16
| 17
| 0
|-
|[[George L. Dunlap]]
| 14
| 0
| 0
|-
! Total !! 68 !! 68 !! 68
|}

{{Election box begin no change| title='''1879 Chicago mayoral election'''<ref name="1912almanac">{{cite book |title=The Chicago Daily News Almanac and Year Book for 1912 |date=1911 |publisher=Chicago Daily News, Incorporated |page=464 |url=https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=ERgfAQAAMAAJ |access-date=12 May 2020 |language=en}}</ref><ref>History of Chicago, Illinois: Pre-historic agencies ; Rise and fall of French dominion ; First permanent settlement ; The massacre ; Rudimentary by John Moses, Munsell & Company, 1895</ref>}}
{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change
|party = Democratic Party (United States)
|candidate = Carter Harrison
|votes = 25,685
|percentage = 44.28}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
|party = Republican Party (United States)
|candidate = [[Abner Wright]]
|votes = 20,496
|percentage = 35.33}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
|party = Socialist Labor Party of America
|candidate = [[Ernst Schmidt (politician)|Ernst Schmidt]]
|votes = 11,829 
|percentage = 20.39}}
{{Election box total no change
|votes      = 58,010
  |percentage = 100
}}
{{Election box end}}

;[[1881 Chicago mayoral election|1881]]
{{Election box begin no change| title='''1881 Chicago mayoral election'''<ref name="1912almanac"/>}}
{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change
|party = Democratic Party (United States)
|candidate = Carter Harrison (incumbent)
|votes = 35,668
|percentage = 55.22		
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
|party = Republican Party (United States)
|candidate = [[John M. Clark (Chicago alderman)|John M. Clark]]
|votes =  27,925
|percentage = 43.23}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
|party = Independent politician
|candidate = Timothy O'Mara
|votes =  764
|percentage = 1.18}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
|party = Socialist Labor Party of America
|candidate = George Schilling
|votes =  240
|percentage = 0.37}}
{{Election box total no change
|votes      = 64,597
  |percentage = 100
}}
{{Election box end}}

;[[1883 Chicago mayoral election|1883]]
{{Election box begin no change| title='''1883 Chicago mayoral election'''<ref name="1912almanac"/>}}
{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change
|party = Democratic Party (United States)
|candidate = Carter H. Harrison III (incumbent)
|votes = 41,226
|percentage = 57.11
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
|party = Republican Party (United States)
|candidate = [[Eugene Cary]]
|votes =  30,963
|percentage = 42.89}}
{{Election box total no change
|votes      = 72,189
  |percentage = 100
}}
{{Election box end}}

;[[1885 Chicago mayoral election|1885]]
{{Election box begin no change| title='''1885 Chicago mayoral election'''<ref name="1912almanac"/>}}
{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change
|party = Democratic Party (United States)
|candidate = Carter Harrison (incumbent)
|votes = 43,352
|percentage = 50.09		
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
|party = Republican Party (United States)
|candidate = [[Sidney Smith (Illinois judge)|Sidney Smith]]
|votes =  42,977
|percentage = 49.66}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
|party = Prohibition Party
|candidate = William Bush
|votes = 221
|percentage = 0.26}}
{{Election box total no change
|votes      = 86,550
  |percentage = 100
}}
{{Election box end}}


;[[1891 Chicago mayoral election|1891]]

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center" 
! colspan="8" | '''1891 Democratic city convention mayoral nominating convention balloting<ref name=sullivan>{{cite book |last1=Morton |first1=Richard Allen |title=Roger C. Sullivan and the Making of the Chicago Democratic Machine, 1881-1908 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xA7MDAAAQBAJ |publisher=McFarland |access-date=11 May 2020 |pages=39–46 |language=en |date=29 June 2016|isbn=9781476663777 }}</ref><br>(simple-majority needed for nomination)'''
|-
!Candidate
!Formal ballot votes
|-
|'''[[DeWitt Clinton Cregier]] (incumbent)'''
|style="background:#5cb3ff"|'''331'''
|-
| Carter Harrison
|51 
|-
! Total !! 383
|}

{{Election box begin no change| title='''1891 Chicago mayoral election'''<ref name="1912almanac"/>}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
|party = Republican Party (United States)
|candidate = '''[[Hempstead Washburne]]'''
|votes = '''46,957'''
|percentage = '''28.84'''
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
|party = Democratic Party (United States)
|candidate = [[DeWitt Clinton Cregier]] (incumbent)
|votes = 46,558 
|percentage =28.59}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
|party = Independent Democrat
|candidate = Carter Harrison
|votes = 42,931 
|percentage = 26.36}}
{{Election box candidate no change
|party = Citizens
|candidate = [[Elmer Washburn]]
|votes = 24,027
|percentage = 14.75
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
|party = Socialist Labor Party of America
|candidate = [[Thomas J. Morgan]]
|votes = 2,376
|percentage = 1.46}}
{{Election box total no change
|votes      = 162,849
  |percentage = 100
}}
{{Election box end}}

;[[1891 Chicago mayoral election|1893]]
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center" 
! colspan="8" | '''1891 Democratic city convention mayoral nominating convention balloting<ref name=sullivan/><br>(simple-majority needed for nomination)'''
|-
!Candidate
!Formal ballot votes
|-
|'''Carter Harrison'''
|style="background:#5cb3ff"|'''531'''
|-
|[[DeWitt Clinton Cregier]] 
|93 
|-
| [[Washington Hesing]] 
|57 
|-
! Total !! 681
|}

{{Election box begin no change| title='''1893 Chicago mayoral election'''<ref name="1912almanac"/>}}
{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change
|party = Democratic Party (United States)
|candidate = Carter Harrison
|votes =114,237
|percentage =54.03
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
|party = Republican Party (United States)
|candidate = Samuel W. Allerton
|votes = 93,148
|percentage = 44.06}}
{{Election box candidate no change
|party = United Citizens
|candidate = [[DeWitt Clinton Cregier]]
|votes = 3,033
|percentage = 1.44}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
|party = Socialist Labor Party of America
|candidate = Henry Ehrenpreis
|votes = 1,000
|percentage = 0.47}}
{{Election box total no change
|votes      = 211,418
  |percentage = 100
}}
{{Election box end}}

===U.S. House elections===
;[[1872 United States House of Representatives elections in Illinois|1872]]
{{Election box begin no change| title='''1872 U.S. House election in Illinois's 2nd congressional district'''<ref name="Glorious1"/><ref name="secondcongressionalitspoliticalstatus"/>}}
{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change
|party = Republican Party (United States)
|candidate = [[Jasper D. Ward]]
|votes = 12182
|percentage = 57.86 }}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
|party = Democratic Party (United States)
|candidate = Carter Harrison
|votes = 8873
|percentage =42.14 }}
{{Election box total no change
|votes      = 21055
  |percentage = 100
}}
{{Election box end}}

;[[1874 United States House of Representatives elections in Illinois|1874]]
{{Election box begin no change| title='''1874 U.S. House election in Illinois's 2nd congressional district'''<ref name="secondcongressionalitspoliticalstatus">{{cite web |title=Second Congressional. It's Political Status |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/349573740 |via=Newspapers.com |url-access=subscription |publisher=Chicago Tribune |access-date=4 February 2025 |language=en |date=August 5, 1876}}</ref><ref name="CountingTheVote">{{cite web |title=Counting the Vote |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/35058558 |via=Newspapers.com |url-access=subscription |publisher=The Daily Inter-Ocean |access-date=4 February 2025 |language=en |date=November 11, 1874}}</ref>}}
{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change
|party = Democratic Party (United States)
|candidate = Carter Harrison
|votes = 9189
|percentage =50.02 }}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
|party = Republican Party (United States)
|candidate = [[Jasper D. Ward]] (incumbent)
|votes = 9181
|percentage =49.98 }}
{{Election box total no change
|votes      = 18370
  |percentage = 100
}}
{{Election box end}}

;[[1876 United States House of Representatives elections in Illinois|1876]]
{{Election box begin no change| title='''1876 U.S. House election in Illinois's 2nd congressional district'''<ref name="1876result">{{cite web |title=Illinois |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/32559855 |via=Newspapers.com |url-access=subscription |publisher=The Daily Inter-Ocean |access-date=4 February 2025 |language=en |date=November 29, 1876}}</ref>}}
{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change
|party = Democratic Party (United States)
|candidate = Carter Harrison (incumbent)
|votes = 14732
|percentage =50.89 }}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
|party = Republican Party (United States)
|candidate = [[George R. Davis (Illinois politician)|George R. Davis]]
|votes = 14099
|percentage =48.73 }}
{{Election box candidate no change
|party =
|candidate = S. F. Norton
|votes = 118
|percentage = 0.41 }}
{{Election box total no change
|votes      = 28949
  |percentage = 100
}}
{{Election box end}}

;[[1878 United States House of Representatives elections in Illinois|1878]]
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center" 
! colspan="8" | '''1878 Democratic nominating convention for Illinois's 2nd congressional district<br>(simple-majority needed for nomination)<ref name="MilesKehoeGetsIt">{{cite web |title=Local Politics Miles Kehoe Gets It |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/370448023 |via=Newspapers.com |url-access=subscription |publisher=The Chicago Tribune |access-date=4 February 2025 |language=en |date=September 26, 1878}}</ref>'''
|-
!Candidate||Informal ballot||Formal ballot||Unanimous vote
|-
! [[Miles Kehoe]]
|style="background:#5cb3ff"|'''45'''
|style="background:#5cb3ff"|'''44'''
|style="background:#5cb3ff"|'''78'''
|-
! Carter Harrison III (incumbent)
| 33
| 34
| 0
|-
! Total !! 78 !! 78 !! 78
|}

==See also==
* [[Samuel Gompers]]
* [[List of assassinated American politicians]]
* [[Casimir Zeglen]]

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=note}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

* {{cite book
 |last=Abbott |first=W. J.
 |title=Carter Henry Harrison: A Memoir
 |location=New York
 |year=1895
 }}
* {{cite book
 |last=Johnson |first=Claudius
 |title=Carter Henry Harrison I: Political Leader
 |publisher=University of Chicago Press
 |location=Chicago
 |year=1928
 }}

* {{Bioguide}}

==External links==
{{commons category}}
* {{Gutenberg author | id=Harrison,+Carter+H. | name=Carter H. Harrison}}
* {{Internet Archive author |name=Carter Henry Harrison}}
* {{CongBio|H000267}}
* [http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~harrisonrep/harrbios/carterharr3IL.htm Carter Harrison III (1825–1893)]

{{s-start}}
{{s-par|us-hs}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Jasper D. Ward]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=Member of the [[List of United States Representatives from Illinois|U.S. House of Representatives]]<br>from [[Illinois's 2nd congressional district]]|years=1875–1879}}
{{s-aft|after=[[George R. Davis (Illinois politician)|George R. Davis]]}}
|-
{{s-off}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Monroe Heath]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Mayor of Chicago]]|years=1879–1887}}
{{s-aft|after=[[John A. Roche]]}}
|-
{{s-bef|before=[[Hempstead Washburne]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Mayor of Chicago]]|years=1893}}
{{s-aft|after=[[George Bell Swift]]<br>Acting}}
|-
{{s-ppo}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Lyman Trumbull]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] nominee for [[Governor of Illinois]]|years=[[1884 Illinois gubernatorial election|1884]]}}
{{s-aft|after=[[John M. Palmer (politician)|John Palmer]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{Mayors of Chicago}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harrison, Carter Sr.}}
[[Category:1825 births]]
[[Category:1893 deaths]]
[[Category:People murdered in 1893]]
[[Category:19th-century mayors of places in Illinois]]
[[Category:American people of English descent]]
[[Category:Assassinated American politicians]]
[[Category:Assassinated mayors]]
[[Category:Burials at Graceland Cemetery (Chicago)]]
[[Category:Carter family (Virginia)]]
[[Category:Deaths by firearm in Illinois]]
[[Category:Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Illinois]]
[[Category:Harrison family (Virginia)|Carter Sr.]]
[[Category:Mayors of Chicago]]
[[Category:Members of the Cook County Board of Commissioners]]
[[Category:People murdered in Chicago]]
[[Category:Politicians from Lexington, Kentucky]]
[[Category:Randolph family (Virginia)]]
[[Category:Transylvania University alumni]]
[[Category:Yale University alumni]]
[[Category:Copperheads (politics)]]
[[Category:Politicians assassinated in the 1890s]]
[[Category:19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives]]
[[Category:Members of the United States House of Representatives who owned slaves]]