Lawyer, newspaper owner, and editor, Gideon T. Stewart was highly active in promoting prohibition. He came from a long line of lawyers. Born in Johnstown, NY in 1824. He later moved to Norwalk, Ohio. In 1846 he was admitted to the Ohio bar. There and elsewhere he practiced law in various firms. In 1866 he was admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court.

Gideon Stewart was elected three times as head of the Good Templars of Ohio. This was a well-known temperance group. He tried throughout the 1850s to organize a prohibition party.

In 1869. Stewart was a delegates to the convention that formed the nation-wide Prohibition Party. He later served the Party repeatedly. Three times he was the Party’s candidate for governor of Ohio. Seven times he ran as its candidate for judge on the Ohio Supreme Court. Once he ran for circuit court judge. Once for Congress. Finally, in 1876, he ran for vice-president of the U.S. The ticket won 9,522 votes.

Gideon Stewart’s authored many works. They include these.

• • The Prohibition Party and Its Mission. NY: Living Issue, 1871.
  • The Ballot Test of Temperance.  NY: Nat Temp Soc, 1882 & 1884.
  • Christianity against the Liquor Crime. NY: Nat Temp Soc, 1884.
  • Liberty and Union, and The Conflict of Liberty.  NY: Nat Temp Soc, 1885.
  • Broken Reeds. NY: n.p., 1875
  • Moral Suasion…. NY: Nat Temp Soc, 1881 & 1886.
  • The Prohibition Party against the Rum Power. NY: n.p., 1904.

Gideon T. Stewart died in 1909. He spent most of his life promoting temperance. His work did much to advance the national Prohibition Party. In turn, that supported the the cause for which he labored. But he died over a decade before National Prohibition became the law of the land.

Resources: Gideon T. Stewart

Also discover these other Prohibition Party candidates.

• • Marie C. Brehm
  • Ben Bubar
  • Earl Dodge (Highly controversial)
  • Rolland Fisher
  • Robert P. Shuler (Highest vote-getter)
  • Aaron Watkins
  • Claude A. Watson  

Other Web

• • National Prohibition of Alcohol
  • Prohibition Party Presidential/Vice-presidential Candidates
    1872 – Present.
  • Begins of Temperance.

Readings

Appleton Encyclopedia: Gideon Tabor Stewart.

Political Graveyard. Gideon T. Stewart.

Reed, G., et al. (Eds) Bench and Bar of Ohio. Chicago: Century, 1897, pp. 205-207.