George Edwin Taylor facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
George Edwin Taylor
|
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born | August 4, 1857 Little Rock, Arkansas, United States
|
| Died | December 23, 1925 (aged 68) United States
|
| Occupation | Newspaper editor, journalist |
| Parent(s) | Amanda Hines Nathan Taylor |
George Edwin Taylor (born August 4, 1857 – died December 23, 1925) was an American journalist, newspaper editor, and political leader. In 1904, he made history as the first African American to run for President of the United States. He was the candidate for the National Negro Liberty Party.
Taylor was born free in Little Rock, Arkansas, because his mother was a free woman. His father was enslaved. After his mother died, he moved to La Crosse, Wisconsin in 1865. He lived with a foster family and went to public school. In La Crosse, he started working as a journalist and became active in politics, especially in the labor movement. In 1891, Taylor moved to Oskaloosa, Iowa. There, he started his own weekly newspaper called the Negro Solicitor. Over time, Taylor changed his political views, moving from the Republican Party to the Democratic Party.
In 1892, he helped start and became president of the National Colored Men's Protection League. By 1900, he was the president of the National Negro Democratic League. This group worked within the national Democratic Party. In 1904, Taylor joined the National Negro Liberty Party, which was a smaller, third political party. He ran as their candidate for president. After his presidential campaign, he went back to working with the Democratic Party.
George Edwin Taylor: A Pioneer for Change
Growing Up Free
George Edwin Taylor was born free in Little Rock, Arkansas, on August 4, 1857. This was because his mother, Amanda Hines, was a free woman of color. His father, Nathan Taylor, was an enslaved African American. In 1859, Arkansas passed a law that forced all free Black people to leave the state or risk being sold into slavery.
Life in Alton and La Crosse
To stay free, Amanda Hines quickly moved with baby George to Alton, Illinois. Alton was a free state, located across the river from St. Louis, Missouri. Sadly, Hines died from a lung illness in 1861 or 1862. George later said he lived as an orphan in Alton during the Civil War.
In 1865, when he was eight years old, George arrived in La Crosse, Wisconsin. He lived there for a few years, possibly with a family named Southall. When the Southalls left, George, at age 10 or 11, stayed in La Crosse. A judge placed him with Nathan and Sarah Smith, a Black foster family who cared for children. George lived with the Smiths until he was 20. During this time, he started using the name George Edward Taylor and went to a local school.
At age 20, Taylor went to Wayland Academy for two years. He studied subjects like grammar and public speaking. He left the academy early because of health and money problems.
A Voice for Workers
Taylor returned to La Crosse in 1879 and changed his middle name to Edwin. In 1885, he married Mary Hall. They did not have any known children.
Journalism and Politics in Wisconsin
Taylor wrote for several newspapers in La Crosse and for the Inter Ocean in Chicago. He became the city editor for the La Crosse Democrat newspaper. He also became editor of the La Crosse Evening Star and later owned and edited the Wisconsin Labor Advocate. These newspapers supported the rights of working people and groups like the Knights of Labor.
Taylor was very active in politics in La Crosse and Wisconsin. He helped start the Wisconsin People's Party in 1886. He became the party's State Secretary. His newspaper, the Wisconsin Labor Advocate, was the official voice for the labor party in 1887.
As Taylor became more important in the labor movement, some people started to focus on his race. His opponents reminded him that he was Black. This made it harder for him to get support from the mostly white community in La Crosse.
Moving to Iowa: Focus on Race
After leaving La Crosse, Taylor moved to Oskaloosa, Iowa, in January 1891. By this time, he had joined the Republican Party. In Iowa, Taylor's main focus shifted from labor issues to issues of race. This was a time when the country was thinking a lot about race and the challenges faced by Black Americans.
Editor, Judge, and Politician
For two decades in Iowa, Taylor owned and ran a newspaper called the Negro Solicitor. He also owned a farm and served two terms as a local judge, called a "Justice of the Peace." He changed his political party several times, from Republican to Democrat and then to Independent. He also worked as a policeman. From 1900 to 1904, he led the Negro Bureau within the national Democratic Party. In 1904, he became the presidential candidate for the National Negro Liberty Party.
Taylor married Cora Cooper Buckner in 1894. Cora was a typist and writer who helped edit the Negro Solicitor. They did not have any known children together. Their marriage ended in divorce.
No copies of Taylor's Negro Solicitor newspaper are known to exist today. However, some of his articles were reprinted in other newspapers.
National Impact: Running for President
In 1892, Taylor tried to play a bigger role as an Independent Republican. He and other Black leaders made suggestions to the Republican Party. But the party rejected their ideas. In response, Taylor wrote a strong message called a "National Appeal" to Black Americans. This ended his chances of playing a big role in the Republican Party.
Taylor then focused on groups that were not tied to one political party. These included the National Colored Men's Protective League, which he led as president. These groups were places for Black people to talk about issues important to their race. Taylor also led other groups, including the National Negro Democratic League, which became the official Black group within the Democratic Party.
The 1904 Presidential Campaign
From 1900 to 1904, Taylor was president of the National Negro Democratic League. During this time, Southern Democrats were passing laws that stopped most Black people from voting. They also created "Jim Crow" laws, which enforced racial segregation. Northern Democrats did not seem to stop these unfair practices. By 1904, Taylor decided to leave the Democratic Party.
In 1904, the new National Negro Liberty Party asked Taylor to be their candidate for president. This party started in Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1897. It was first known as the Ex-Slave Petitioners' Assembly. This group wanted to get pensions for former slaves. By 1903, the group also started focusing on issues like lynching, Jim Crow laws, and stopping Black people from voting. In 1904, the party moved its main office to Chicago and changed its name to the National Negro Civil Liberty Party.
The party held its first national meeting in St. Louis, Missouri, in July 1904. They planned to have candidates in states with many Black voters. Their platform included ideas about voting rights, opportunities for Black people in the military, and pensions for former slaves. The party first chose William Thomas Scott as their candidate. But after Scott was arrested, the party's leaders asked George Edwin Taylor to run instead.
Taylor's campaign in 1904 was not successful. The party promised many speakers and candidates, but these plans did not happen. No newspapers supported the party. Also, state laws made it hard for the party to list its candidates on official election ballots. Taylor's name was not on any state ballot. The votes he received were not officially counted.
After the 1904 election, Taylor returned to his farm in Iowa. He later moved to Ottumwa, Iowa, for health reasons. He stayed involved with the National Negro Liberty Party and also reconnected with the Democratic Party. He supported their local candidates. Because of his support, he was given a job as a policeman in Ottumwa's Black community.
In 1908, Taylor gave a speech at a meeting of Black political groups in Denver, Colorado. This meeting formed the National Negro Anti-Taft League, which supported William Jennings Bryan for president. Taylor was part of this group.
Later Years in Florida
Taylor moved from Iowa to Florida in 1910. He may have moved for health reasons, as he had lung problems. He had also visited Jacksonville, Florida before and knew many Black journalists there. Jacksonville had a large Black population and more job opportunities.
Taylor married Marion Tillinghast, a school teacher from Green Cove Spring, Florida. The date of their marriage is not known.
Continuing His Activism
Taylor first worked as a reporter in Tampa, Florida. In 1911, he moved to St. Augustine, Florida. There, he managed a company that sold health products. While in St. Augustine, he wrote two political essays. In 1912, Taylor became the editor of the Daily Promoter in Jacksonville. In 1917, he became editor of the "Black Star" edition of the Florida Times-Union, which was Florida's largest newspaper. He was also active in the Young Men's Christian Association in Jacksonville.
By 1912, Taylor was well-connected in Florida politics and at the national level. He supported Theodore Roosevelt for president in 1912. When Woodrow Wilson won the election, Taylor joined a group of Black leaders who marched in President Wilson's 1913 Inaugural Parade.
During World War I, Taylor moved to a farm and raised chickens. After the war, he returned to Jacksonville. He became the leader of a group called the "Progressive Order of Men and Women," which was like an investment club and insurance company. He also became the editor of the Florida Sentinel. George Edwin Taylor died in Jacksonville on December 23, 1925.
