Matthew Quay


Matthew Stanley "Matt" Quay was a Pennsylvania political boss once dubbed a "kingmaker" by President Benjamin Harrison. He graduated college, studied law and Opened his practice in 1854. During the Civil War, he served in the Union Army as a member of the 134th Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment, which he commanded as a colonel. Quay received the Medal of Honor for heroism at the battle of Fredericksburg. He later served as the Pennsylvania Militia's assistant commissary general, and as a personal assistant to Governor Andrew Curtin.
Quay's attention soon focused on politics, and he served in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from 1865 to 1867. He later served as Secretary of the Commonwealth, Philadelphia County Recorder, and Pennsylvania Treasurer. Quay served in the United States Senate twice, the first time from 1887 to 1899, and the second from 1901 until his death in 1904.
From 1888 to 1891, Quay was Chairman of the Republican National Committee. As a party "boss" at the state and national levels, Quay had the ability to influence the selection of Republican nominees and the general election support they received; he was largely credited with the leadership of Benjamin Harrison's successful campaign for president in 1888.

Biography

Early life

Quay was born in Dillsburg, Pennsylvania. After attending Beaver and Indiana academies, he graduated at Jefferson College in 1850. Quay was admitted to the bar in 1854. Prior to the start of the Civil War, Quay won election to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, representing Beaver County. At the start of the American Civil War, Quay was a colonel with 134th Pennsylvania volunteers. He served in various capacities in the Civil War, including as Assistant Commissary General of Pennsylvania. Congress awarded him the Medal of Honor for gallantry at the battle of Fredericksburg. Quay's conduct during the war earned him the attention of Pennsylvania Governor Andrew Curtin, who made Quay his personal aide tasked with answering the letters of soldiers. In 1864, Quay was elected to the Pennsylvania legislature, serving from 1865–1867. He was a companion of the Pennsylvania Commandery of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States.

Politics

After the war, Quay became an ally of party boss Simon Cameron, who founded a state machine that also included his son, future Senator Donald Cameron. Quay became the editor of a newspaper called the 'Radical,' where Quay defended the spoils system and called for greater protection of African-American civil rights in the South. He was appointed by the governor as Secretary of the Commonwealth from 1873–1878, and again from 1879–1882. He was appointed as the County Recorder of Philadelphia from 1878–1879, and state treasurer from 1886–1887.
He was elected by the legislature in 1887 to the United States Senate, serving from March 4, 1887 until March 3, 1899, with repeated re-elections. Shortly after his election to the Senate, Quay outmaneuvered fellow Senator Donald Cameron to become the boss of the state Republican Party. Quay was elected as chairman of the Republican National Committee in 1888. Quay served as Benjamin Harrison's campaign manager in the 1888 presidential election. Quay's strategy focused on the state of New York, which had been the pivotal state in the previous election. Quay objected to the voting process in New York City, which had been controlled by the Democratic Tammany Hall political machine. In order to ensure that voter fraud did not occur in New York City, Quay discreetly compiled a city directory which would contain the names of all of the city's eligible voters. Although Cleveland got more votes in New York City, Harrison won New York and the presidency despite losing the national popular vote. Harrison credited "Providence" with his victory, a remark which prompted Quay to state that "Providence hadn't a damn thing to do with it."
In the 1896 presidential election, Quay finished third on the Republican National Convention's presidential ballot. Quay aided New York party boss Thomas C. Platt in making Theodore Roosevelt the party's vice presidential nominee in 1900.
Quay was perhaps the preeminent state party boss of the late 19th century, and other party bosses in states like New York and Illinois followed Quay's example. With his control of state patronage, Quay built an organization with a budget comparable to mid-sized railroads of the era. Quay rarely spoke in public, but instead conducted most of his business in one-on-one meetings, locking down support before making a public move. He was meticulous in tracking the activities of individual legislators and kept track of favors granted to people and details of their lives in card files known as "Quay's coffins". Despite his power, Quay frequently clashed with reformers in Pennsylvania, particularly with Philadelphia's Committee of One Hundred. Quay was succeeded as party boss by fellow Senator Boies Penrose. The fictional "Senator Mark Simpson" in Theodore Dreiser's The Financier was based on Quay.

Senate seating controversy

In 1898, Quay was brought to trial on a charge of misappropriating state funds. Although he was acquitted the following year, the feeling among the reform element in his own party was so opposed to him that the legislature became deadlocked over filling the Senate vacancy. As the legislature was unable to build consensus for anyone to be elected to the seat, Governor William Stone appointed Quay to fill the ensuing vacancy. Quay presented his credentials to the Senate in December 1899, but the Senate refused to seat him, declaring that he was not entitled to the seat. Pennsylvania held a special election to fill the persistent vacancy, and Quay was re-elected to the seat. Quay would serve in the Senate until his death in 1904.

Standard Oil

One of the first politicians that Standard Oil bought was Matthew Quay - at least on record. Quay was given the code name "Black" according to a note that John D. Rockefeller's personal secretary sent to associate Henry M. Flagler. In early 1880, Quay asked for a "loan" of $15,000, which Rockefeller thought was worth the price. Quay continued to be in Standard Oil's pay until his death in 1904 when he was representing both the State of Pennsylvania and Standard Oil in the United States Senate.

Legacy

Quay was a central figure in Pennsylvania politics from the 1860s until his death. He was responsible year in and year out for supervising the party organization and patronage system. His role in the U.S. Senate was to supervise political affairs back in Pennsylvania. He paid little attention to legislation except for higher tariffs to benefit his state's manufacturing industries and keep wages high. He did however control much of the national patronage regarding the building of federal buildings nationwide, which made him the object of attention of all Republican Congressman. Quay achieved his goal of making Pennsylvania the most safely Republican, and most boss-controlled state. The most comparable boss was Thomas C. Platt of New York.

Family

In 1855, Quay married Agnes Barclay ; they were the parents of several children, of whom five lived to adulthood
Quay was interested in his family's history and genealogy. After discovering that two of his ancestors, John Quay and John Quay Jr., had married American Indians, Quay took an interest in Native Americans in the United States, and worked on their behalf in the Senate. The Delawares recognized him as a member of their tribe; Quay attended their annual summer convocations, and received several gifts and honors over the years, including election as a war chief in recognition of his military service and efforts on their behalf while serving as a member of the Senate's Indian Affairs Committee.
Quay died in Beaver in 1904, and was buried at Beaver Cemetery and Mausoleum in Beaver.
The Matthew S. Quay House in Beaver has been designated as a National Historic Landmark. In addition, another of his residences, the Roberts-Quay House in Philadelphia was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.

Timeline

and the small community of Quay, New Mexico and the community of Quay, Oklahoma are all named in his honor.
Matthew Quay appears on a 45p commemorative stamp from the Isle of Man Post Office, as part of a series honoring Manx-Americans.
In the 1890s in Pennsylvania there was an attempt to create a county from existing counties and name it after him. The county would have been created out of Schuylkill, Carbon and Luzerne Counties. The bill passed the Legislature but was vetoed by Governor Daniel Hastings. Governor Hastings was hanged in effigy on the streets of Hazleton, which would have been the seat of justice of the new county if Hastings had approved the bill.

Medal of Honor citation

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