Keith A. Moens
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This article appeared in the
Almanac of Arlington Heights
, Spring April-July 2013 edition. Please Read and fill out the contact form below.
The Mugwumps are coming...by Jim Elgas
No, this is not a fictitious fantasy story about some stray marauding band of fairytale folklore insurgents who are about to infiltrate your community. The name “Mugwump” is a variation of the Algonquian Indian word, “mugguomp”, meaning “person of importance”.
It was adopted by a group of political activists who bolted from the Republican Party in 1884 by supporting the Democratic candidate, Grover Cleveland, in the presidential election. They switched parties because they rejected the graft and corruption associated with the then-Republican candidate, James G. Blaine. In a close election, the Mugwumps purportedly made the difference in the state of New York and swung the election to Cleveland. He won the state’s 36 electoral votes, and thus the presidency, by the razor-thin margin of 1,149 votes.
Among the more noted members were Charles Francis Adams Jr., Union Pacific Railroad President; Henry Adams, author; Charles William Eliot, President of Harvard University; E.L. Godkin, editor of
The Nation
; Thomas Nast, political cartoonist; Moorfield Storey, lawyer and future NAACP President from 1909 to 1915; Horace White, editor of the
Chicago Tribune
; Louis Brandeis, future Supreme Court Justice; and most prominently, Mark Twain, America’s foremost authority on everything.
In his autobiography, Mr. Twain stated, “We, the Mugwumps, a little company made up of the unenslaved of both parties and the very best men to be found in the two great parties (that was our idea of it). Our principles were high and very definite. We were not a party; we had no candidates; we had no axes to grind. Our vote laid upon the man we cast it for with no obligation of any kind. By our rule, we could not ask for office; we could not accept office. When voting, it was our duty to vote for the best man, regardless of party name. We had no other creed. Voting for the best man was our creed.”
Twain stated in later writings that instead of being disloyal to a party, the Mugwumps were being loyal to America. “No party holds the privilege of dictating to me how I shall vote. If loyalty to party is a form of patriotism, I am no patriot. If there is any valuable difference between a monarchist and an American, it lies in the theory that the American can decide for himself what is patriotic and what isn’t. I claim that difference. I refuse to be exploited by those who seek to misdirect my ideals to their advantage.”
The Mugwump spirit is the spirit that says, “Enough!”
Now, more than ever, there is a need to revive the Mugwumps. There are many among us who aren’t even aware they are Mugwumps or how to bring others together in this philosophy. But once they hear of the term and its history, they immediately recognize the need for its revival and to increase its numbers.
Once again, we find ourselves in a political climate where the extremes of both sides have made it impossible to go forward. Our divisions now are more ideological than political: Red State versus Blue State, conservative versus liberal, religious versus secular. But the reforms the Mugwumps previously supported should resonate as loudly today as ever. They are the demands for our politics to be based in reality, not phantom issues designed to scare and divide us.
Good news! A new group centered on the Mugwump philosophy is being formed right here in Arlington Heights. Former trustee candidate and resident, Keith Moens, is inviting residents and members of all political persuasions to join together to find common-sense solutions for local issues that will benefit us all. The issues will help determine the best candidates to support in future elections. Anybody in?
For further information and meeting times, you can reach Keith at by filling out the form below. Keith will contact you as to when the Mugwumps meet next. Thank you.
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