Black Day of the Indiana General Assembly

The Black Day of the General Assembly was February 24, 1887, on which date the Indiana General Assembly dissolved into legislative violence. The event began as an attempt by Governor Isaac P. Gray to be elected to the United States Senate and his own party’s attempt to thwart him. It escalated when the Democratic controlled Indiana Senate refused to seat the newly elected Lieutenant Governor, Robert S. Robertson, after being ordered to do so by the Indiana Supreme Court. When Robertson attempted to enter the chamber he was attacked, beginning four hours of intermittent fighting that spread throughout the Indiana Statehouse. The fight ended after Republicans and Democrats began threatening to kill each other and the Governor ordered police to get the situation under control. Subsequently, the Republican controlled House of Representatives refused to communicate with the Democratic Senate ending the legislative session.

This led to calls for United States Senators to be elected by popular vote.

Isaac P. Gray, a former Republican, was elected as a Democratic Governor of Indiana in 1884 along with Democratic Lieutenant Governor Mahlon D. Manson. Gray desired to be elected by the Indiana General Assembly to the United States Senate, but leaders in his party did not want him to rise farther because of his actions while he was a Republican. To create an issue in an attempt to eliminate his candidacy, they convinced Manson to resign from office. In the debate for selecting a candidate, Democrats argued that without a sitting Lieutenant Governor, the Governor should not be sent to the Senate because there would be no one who could readily fill his position.

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