Why did Democrats perform strongly in CT and NH in the 19th century?

[soniquemd21921]

From 1856 to 1892, no Republican candidate broke 60% in either state, and CT was the only New England state to vote for a Democrat from 1856 to 1908 (four times). This was before massive Catholic immigration, so there were obviously far more Protestants voting Democratic in those states.

Why weren't CT and NH anywhere as Republican as Vermont or Massachusetts were in that era? Perhaps there were long-held cultural or religious differences between the states or they simply voted Democrat out of tradition. It wasn't until the 30s and 40s that both states had GOP margins approaching rural MA or VT, and in the case of NH eventually surpassing them. Indeed, there are quite a few rural towns in New Hampshire that gave Nixon a higher percentage of the vote in 1960 than they had given Hoover in 1928 - which happened almost nowhere else in New England.

["'Oeps!' De blunders van Rick Perry Indicted"]

Franklin Pierce, a Democrat, was from NH and was called a "doughface" - Northerner with Southern sympathies. If that was typical of the mindset in the state, it would explain NH. It's also consistent with the state's conservatism.

Connecticut - I'm not sure. But until the Clinton era, it was usually thought of as a swing state. Presumably Democrats were active there in a way they weren't in the rest of New England. CT is also sometimes characterized as a suburb of New York, a state that has always had a healthy Democratic presence.

[Cubby]

I think in Connecticut it was partly because of our extensive economic ties with the South. We did a lot of trade with them even if we didn't agree with their ideology. John Breckenridge, the pro-slavery, pro-secession candidate in 1860, somehow managed to get 20% in CT, almost surpassing Stephen Douglas.

New Jersey was also pretty Democratic in late 1800's presidential elections.

[Oldiesfreak1854]

I'm guessing it had to do with Catholic immigrants, especially if Al Smith did better than Kennedy.  But then again, they were both Catholic.  Maybe that was more of a factor for JFK than Smith in those areas.