Encyclopedia Dubuque
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MAHONY, Dennis
MAHONY, Dennis. (Ross County, Ireland, Jan. 20, 1821--Dubuque, IA, Nov. 5, 1879). Mahony settled in Dubuque in 1843 and continuing his law studies with Davis & Crawford. During the winter of 1844-1845 he taught school in Dubuque, and in the latter year established an academy in Jackson County. It was through his suggestion that the name for the settlement became Garryowen in memory of a section of his native Limerick instead of Makokiti. (1) Here he was also Postmaster and Justice of the Peace.
In 1847 Malony was admitted to the bar before the Supreme Court at Iowa City, and commenced practice. In 1848 he was elected to the House from the Legislative District, composed of Jackson and Jones Counties, and was made Chairman of the House Committee on Schools. He drafted the bill which became the Public School Law of Iowa during that session. Mahony came to symbolize the opposition in Dubuque to President Abraham Lincoln's approach to the South. Among the nation's most die-hard COPPERHEADS, he went to work in 1849 as the editor of the Miner's Express.
With several associates, Mahony established the Dubuque Herald in 1852. He sold his interest three years later to his partner Joseph B. DORR, and reentered the state legislature in 1858. He also became involved with land speculation. The PANIC OF 1857, however, led Mahony to lose $40,000. (2) In 1860 Mahony repurchased the paper. He was also listed as an agent for the sale of Manhattan Printing Ink. (3) Mahony was, by this time, solidly a part of the Southern faction of the Democratic Party. During this time, Mahony served on the city's first board of education. He declined nomination for MAYOR because he felt there were too many foreigners on the ticket.
During the first year of the CIVIL WAR, Mahony became increasingly harsh in his attacks on President Lincoln and the North. He considered the Civil War to be unnecessary and unconstitutional. If left alone, Mahony felt the South would return to the Union. He believed that Lincoln's policies violated states' rights. Although personally opposed to slavery, Mahony believed it had to be accepted as long as it was allowed by law.
A meeting in Table Mound township in February 1862 passed the following: (4)
Resolved, That we consider Abolitionism as preached
in the pulpit, spread broadcast amongst the people
by the infamous Abolition press, harped upon in
Congress and in the Legislature of the Free States,
as the most disastrous, mischievous and suicidal
doctrine ever promulgated among the people since the
formation of the government. We believe it to be the
primary cause of secession, for if we had no Abolitionists
we would have no secession.
Resolved, That we believe D. A. Mahony to be an unflinching
constitutional Democrat who has for the past year stood with
a bold front in the face of public opinion, fanaticism and
partisan feeling combined, threatened by suppression and the
fury of mob violence stirred up by a false view of patriotism;
he has triumphed over his most inveterate enemies.
Before daylight on August 14, 1862, Mahony was arrested by a group of soldiers at his home by order of Secretary of War Edwin Stanton. (5) Although placed aboard the steamer "Bill Henderson," Mahony was able to write a note entitled "Fellow-Citizens of Iowa." In this he explained the reason for his arrest as his "fidelity to the Constitution." (6) Believing he would be able to see Iowa Governor Kirkwood, Mahony instead received only a letter and was quickly moved to Burlington. From there he was moved by rail to Chicago and then to jail in the Old Capitol Prison in Washington, D.C. (7) His writ of habeas corpus suspended by Lincoln, Mahony faced no specific charge, never found who accused him, and was never was given a hearing. (8)
On August 25, 1862, Mahony was nominated by district Democrats to be their candidate for the United House of Representatives. He accepted at the risk of having his imprisonment extended.
From his cell, Mahony wrote "Address of D. A. Mahony to the Citizens of the Third Congressional District." As a campaign document, the author's political beliefs were clearly stated:
The Constitution As It Was
The Union As It Was
The Government As it Should Be (9)
Realizing that the South would not win the struggle, he swore allegiance to the federal government and the Constitution in November 1862, after which he was released on November 11, 1862. A large portion of the people in his District felt that this proceeding was not only unjustified but a violation of the rights of a citizen. So strong was this feeling that while he was in prison, he was nominated by the Democrats of the Third Iowa District for Representative in Congress, and though defeated by William Boyd ALLISON, he carried Dubuque County by a majority of 1,457 votes. (10) The year following his release, in 1863, he was elected Sheriff of Dubuque County, and in 1865 re-elected to the same office. (11) He then served one term as country treasurer. (12)
In January 1863 the Chicago Tribune called Mahony "the Dubuque Traitor; the spawn of a felon's cell." Upon his return to Dubuque, Mahony’s writings reflected a softening attitude until his wartime experiences faded. He left his job at the Herald in August, 1863. In 1866 he went to St. Louis and became Chief Editor of the "St. Louis Times." (13)
Mahony wrote Prisoner of the State (1863). In it he accused President Lincoln of "setting the Presidential power far above than that what was created by the Constitution of the United States. Instead of preserving, protecting and defending the Constitution, he has in every instance destroyed, violated and suffered it to be outraged." (14) While living in New York, he wrote The Four Acts of Despotism. (15) He returned to Dubuque, purchased the Dubuque Telegraph, and worked as the editor until his death.
In his latter years, Mahony did not seem to mellow a great deal as witnessed by the following editorial in the Dubuque Herald: (16)
That venerable old smut render Dennis Mahony piously preaches
the Herald a sermon on the wickedness of libel and false
swearing in his last issue. We feel much mortified at receiving
reproof from such an eminently innocent and chaste source. Dennis
is just the man to preach that doctrine to all the world. The
man who levies blackmail on the good intentions of all mankind,
who whines because he cannot steal a railroad, who steals beer
from his printers, who cries for municipal economy, deplores the
leanness of funds in the in the city treasury and sues the city
for $10,000 on weak pretense, who charges $5,000 for haggling
bond settlements for the county, who is a proverbial liar and
gripes like Satan with the bellyache at the idea of telling the
truth, and who would forswear himself into Satan's friendly
embrace in two minutes to satisfy a grudge, is the man to
dispense Christian wisdom to the community at large.
In 1874 Mahony broke his arm and sued the city. He won $600, but moved for a new trial in Delaware County. This led to another editorial in the Dubuque Herald which stated," (17)
Dissatisfied as usual with every dispensation of providence in
this world, Dennis Mahony is anything but pleased with the
verdict of $600...and is now moving the case for a new trial and
change of venue to Delaware County, where the name of Dennis
Mahony has not become a stench and a filth in the nostrils of
all fair-minded people.
This editorial apparently led to Mahony threatening to cow-hide the editorial staff of the Herald. Their comment did nothing to dampen the emotions: (18)
We appreciate the compliment and meekly inquire whether old
Dennis plans to do the job himself or let it out on contract.
---
Source:
1. Driscoll, Rt. Rev. Msgr. Justin A. With Faith and Vision, Dubuque: Bureau of Education Archdiocese of Dubuque, 1967, p. 5
2. Johnson, Russell Lee. Warriors Into Workers: The Civil War and the Formation of Urban-industrial Society in a Northern City. Fordham University Press, 2003. p. 60 Online: http://books.google.com/books?id=ahqtg54TXyEC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false
3. "Manhattan Printing Ink, Dubuque Democratic Herald, September 10, 1863, p. 1. Online: https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=A36e8EsbUSoC&dat=18630910&printsec=frontpage&hl=en
4. Salvaterra, David. "Old Abe" vs "Old Dogmatism"--Dennis Mahony-Kidnapped," Julien's Journal, October, 2013, p. 56
5. Oldt, Franklin T. The History of Dubuque County, Iowa. Chicago: Western Historical Company, 1880, Online: http://books.google.com/books?id=u9xDAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA464&lpg=PA464&dq=Burton%27s+Furnace+%28dubuque+history%29&source=bl&ots=0CkCGLFR0v&sig=a0Ou1vN3ew6nQUYoq2aOJsXF9Mg&hl=en&sa=X&ei=j3HVT5XALaP42QXVp9iFDw&ved=0CGgQ6AEwBQ#v=onepage&q=Burton%27s%20Furnace%20%28dubuque%20history%29&f=false (p. 533)
6. Ibid.
7. Ibid.
8. Ibid.
9. Ibid.
10. "Dennis Mahony," Online: http://iagenweb.org/boards/dubuque/biographies/index.cgi?read=189491
11. Ibid.
12. Hansen, Gary. "Dehhis Mahoney--The Dubuquer Who Hated Lincoln," Telegraph Herald, March 18, 1962, p. 11
13. "Dennis Mahony"
14. Hansen
15. "Dennis Mahony"
16. "Mahony on Libel," Dubuque Herald, November 20, 1873, p. 4. Online: https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=uh8FjILnQOkC&dat=18731120&printsec=frontpage&hl=en
17. "Mahony's Case," Dubuque Herald, January 20, 1874, p. 4. Online: https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=uh8FjILnQOkC&dat=18740120&printsec=frontpage&hl=en
18. "A Cow-hiding Coming," Dubuque Herald, January 21, 1874, p. 4. Online: https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=uh8FjILnQOkC&dat=18740121&printsec=frontpage&hl=en