Difference between revisions of "Benjamin F. Wade" - New World Encyclopedia
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==Civil War== | ==Civil War== | ||
| − | In July 1861 | + | From the outset of the Civil War, Wade was one of the most vigorous critics of the Lincoln administration, whose Ohio member, [[Salmon P. Chase]], had long been a political rival. Wade advocated the immediate emancipation and arming of the slaves, the execution of prominent Southern leaders, and the wholesale confiscation of Confederate property. |
| − | During the [[American Civil War]], Wade was highly critical of | + | |
| − | Wade was also critical of Lincoln's [[Reconstruction]] | + | In July 1861, along with other politicians, Wade witnessed the defeat of the Union Army at the [[First Battle of Bull Run]]. There, he was nearly captured by the Confederate Army. After returning to [[Washington, D.C.|Washington]], he was one of those who led the attack on the supposed "incompetence" of the leadership of the Union Army. From 1861 to 1862 he was chairman of the important ''Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War'', and in 1862, as chairman of the ''Senate Committee on Territories'', was instrumental in abolishing slavery in the Federal Territories. |
| − | The Wade-Davis Bill mandated that there be a fifty-percent White male Iron-Clad Loyalty Oath, | + | |
| + | During the [[American Civil War]], Wade was highly critical of [[Abraham Lincoln|President Lincoln]]; in a September 1861 letter, he privately wrote that Lincoln's views on slavery "could only come of one born of poor white trash and educated in a slave State." He was especially angry when Lincoln was slow to recruit [[African-American]]s into the armies. | ||
| + | |||
| + | Wade was also critical of Lincoln's [[Reconstruction Plan]]; in 1864, he and Henry Winter Davis sponsored a bill that would run the South, when conquered, their way. | ||
| + | The Wade-Davis Bill (which had as its fundamental principle the concept that reconstruction was a legislative, not an executive, problem) mandated that there be a fifty-percent White male Iron-Clad Loyalty Oath, Black male suffrage, and Military Governors that were to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate. It passed in the lower chamber on May 4, 1864 by a margin of 73 positive votes to 59 opposing votes; in the upper chamber on July 2, 1864 it passed by a similar percentage of 18 yeses to 14 nos and was brought to Lincoln's desk. | ||
| + | |||
| + | President Lincoln withheld his signature, and on the 8th of July issued a proclamation explaining his course and defining his position, which was that he didn't want to be held to one Reconstruction policy. Soon afterward, on August 5th, Wade and Davis published in the New York Tribune the famous "Wade-Davis Manifesto", a castigating document impugning the President's honesty of purpose and attacking his leadership. <ref>[http://www.nndb.com/people/047/000103735/ Benjamin F. Wade], Soylent Communications, Retrieved February 23, 2007</ref> | ||
==Impeachment of Johnson== | ==Impeachment of Johnson== | ||
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"It was believed by many at the time that some of the [moderate] Republican Senators that voted for acquittal [of Andrew Johnson] did so chiefly on account of their antipathy to the man who would succeed to the presidency in the event of the conviction of the [sitting] president. This man was Senator Benjamin Wade, of Ohio, President pro tempore of the U. S. Senate who as the law then stood, would have succeeded to the presidency in the event of a vacancy in the office from any cause. Senator Wade was an able man … He was a strong party man. He had no patience with those who claimed to be [Radical] Republicans and yet refused to abide by the decision of the majority of the party organization [as did Grimes, Johnson, Lincoln, Pratt, and Trumbull] … the sort of active and aggressive man that would be likely to make for himself enemies of men in his own organization who were afraid of his great power and influence, and jealous of him as a political rival. That some of his senatorial Republican associates should feel that the best service they could render their country would be to do all in their power to prevent such a man from being elevated to the Presidency … for while they knew he was an able man, they also knew that, according to his convictions of party duty and party obligations, he firmly believed he who served his party best served his country best…that he would have given the country an able administration is concurrent opinion of those who knew him best." {{cn}} | "It was believed by many at the time that some of the [moderate] Republican Senators that voted for acquittal [of Andrew Johnson] did so chiefly on account of their antipathy to the man who would succeed to the presidency in the event of the conviction of the [sitting] president. This man was Senator Benjamin Wade, of Ohio, President pro tempore of the U. S. Senate who as the law then stood, would have succeeded to the presidency in the event of a vacancy in the office from any cause. Senator Wade was an able man … He was a strong party man. He had no patience with those who claimed to be [Radical] Republicans and yet refused to abide by the decision of the majority of the party organization [as did Grimes, Johnson, Lincoln, Pratt, and Trumbull] … the sort of active and aggressive man that would be likely to make for himself enemies of men in his own organization who were afraid of his great power and influence, and jealous of him as a political rival. That some of his senatorial Republican associates should feel that the best service they could render their country would be to do all in their power to prevent such a man from being elevated to the Presidency … for while they knew he was an able man, they also knew that, according to his convictions of party duty and party obligations, he firmly believed he who served his party best served his country best…that he would have given the country an able administration is concurrent opinion of those who knew him best." {{cn}} | ||
In 1868, then-presidential candidate [[Ulysses S. Grant]] was urged by his fellow Republicans to choose Wade as his vice presidential running mate; but he refused, instead choosing another radical ([[Schuyler Colfax]]). After being defeated in the 1868 elections, Wade returned to his Ohio law practice. He died on March 2, 1878, in [[Jefferson, Ohio]]. | In 1868, then-presidential candidate [[Ulysses S. Grant]] was urged by his fellow Republicans to choose Wade as his vice presidential running mate; but he refused, instead choosing another radical ([[Schuyler Colfax]]). After being defeated in the 1868 elections, Wade returned to his Ohio law practice. He died on March 2, 1878, in [[Jefferson, Ohio]]. | ||
| − | + | ||
| − | + | —— | |
| − | + | As long as President Andrew Johnson promised severe treatment of the conquered South, Wade supported him, but when the President definitively adopted the more lenient policy of his predecessor, Wade became one of his most bitter and uncompromising opponents. In 1867 he was elected president pro tem of the Senate, thus becoming acting vice-president. He voted for Johnson's conviction on his trial for impeachment, and for this was severely criticized, since, in the event of conviction, he would have become president; but Wade's whole course before and after the trial would seem to belie the charge that he was actuated by any such motive. | |
| − | + | ||
| − | + | ---- | |
| − | — | + | |
==See also== | ==See also== | ||
*[[Dudley-Winthrop Family]] | *[[Dudley-Winthrop Family]] | ||
Revision as of 19:54, 23 February 2007
Benjamin Franklin "Bluff" Wade (October 27, 1800 – March 2, 1878) was a U.S. lawyer and United States Senator. In the Senate, he was associated with the "Radical Republicans" of that time.
Early life
Benjamin Franklin Wade was born in Feeding Hills, near Springfield, Hampden County, Massachusetts, on October 27, 1800, and was of Puritan ancestry. He was reared on a farm, receiving most of his early education from his mother. In 1821 he moved with his family to Andover, in the Western Reserve of Ohio. Here he spent two more years on a farm, and then, securing employment as a drover, worked his way to Philadelphia and finally to Albany, New York, where for two years he taught school, studied medicine and was a laborer on the Erie Canal. [1]
Benjamin's brother, Edward Wade, also went into politics, being an elected Congressional Representative from Ohio. [2]
Early Political Involvement
Wade returned to Ohio in 1825, and studied law at Canfield. He was admitted to the bar in 1827, and began practice at Jefferson, Ashtabula county, where from 1831 to 1837 he was a law partner of Joshua R. Giddings, the prominant anti-slavery leader.
As a member of the Whig Party, Wade was elected to the Ohio State Senate, serving two two-year terms between 1837 and 1842. Between 1847 and 1851, Wade was a district judge in the Ohio court. In 1851 he was elected to a seat in the United States Senate, first as an anti-slavery Whig and later as a Republican.
There, he associated with such eventual radical Republicans as Thaddeus Stevens and Charles Sumner. He fought against the controversial Fugitive Slave Act and the Kansas-Nebraska Act. He was known as one of the most radical politicians in America at that time, supporting women's suffrage, Labor union rights, and equality for African-Americans. Wade was also critical of capitalism.
From the begining, Wade was an uncompromising opponent of slavery, his bitter denunciations of that institution and of the slaveholders receiving added force from his rugged honesty and sincerity. His blunt, direct style of oratory and his somewhat rough manners were characteristic. [3]
Civil War
From the outset of the Civil War, Wade was one of the most vigorous critics of the Lincoln administration, whose Ohio member, Salmon P. Chase, had long been a political rival. Wade advocated the immediate emancipation and arming of the slaves, the execution of prominent Southern leaders, and the wholesale confiscation of Confederate property.
In July 1861, along with other politicians, Wade witnessed the defeat of the Union Army at the First Battle of Bull Run. There, he was nearly captured by the Confederate Army. After returning to Washington, he was one of those who led the attack on the supposed "incompetence" of the leadership of the Union Army. From 1861 to 1862 he was chairman of the important Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War, and in 1862, as chairman of the Senate Committee on Territories, was instrumental in abolishing slavery in the Federal Territories.
During the American Civil War, Wade was highly critical of President Lincoln; in a September 1861 letter, he privately wrote that Lincoln's views on slavery "could only come of one born of poor white trash and educated in a slave State." He was especially angry when Lincoln was slow to recruit African-Americans into the armies.
Wade was also critical of Lincoln's Reconstruction Plan; in 1864, he and Henry Winter Davis sponsored a bill that would run the South, when conquered, their way. The Wade-Davis Bill (which had as its fundamental principle the concept that reconstruction was a legislative, not an executive, problem) mandated that there be a fifty-percent White male Iron-Clad Loyalty Oath, Black male suffrage, and Military Governors that were to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate. It passed in the lower chamber on May 4, 1864 by a margin of 73 positive votes to 59 opposing votes; in the upper chamber on July 2, 1864 it passed by a similar percentage of 18 yeses to 14 nos and was brought to Lincoln's desk.
President Lincoln withheld his signature, and on the 8th of July issued a proclamation explaining his course and defining his position, which was that he didn't want to be held to one Reconstruction policy. Soon afterward, on August 5th, Wade and Davis published in the New York Tribune the famous "Wade-Davis Manifesto", a castigating document impugning the President's honesty of purpose and attacking his leadership. [4]
Impeachment of Johnson
Wade, along with most other Radical Republicans, was highly critical of President Andrew Johnson (who became President after Lincoln's assassination). At the beginning of the 40th Congress, Wade became the President pro tempore of the U.S. Senate, which meant that he was the Acting Vice President and next in line for the presidency (as Johnson had no vice president). After many fallouts with the Republican-dominated Congress, the Judiciary Committee voted to impeach President Johnson (who had been a Democrat). Although most senators believed that Johnson was guilty of the charges, they did not want the extremely radical Wade to become president. One newspaper wrote, "Andrew Johnson is innocent because Ben Wade is guilty of being his successor." [citation needed] According to John Roy Lynch (R-MS, 1873-76, 1881-82), one of the twenty-two African Americans elected to Congress from the South, during Reconstruction (1861-1901) in his book "Facts Concerning Reconstruction.": "It was believed by many at the time that some of the [moderate] Republican Senators that voted for acquittal [of Andrew Johnson] did so chiefly on account of their antipathy to the man who would succeed to the presidency in the event of the conviction of the [sitting] president. This man was Senator Benjamin Wade, of Ohio, President pro tempore of the U. S. Senate who as the law then stood, would have succeeded to the presidency in the event of a vacancy in the office from any cause. Senator Wade was an able man … He was a strong party man. He had no patience with those who claimed to be [Radical] Republicans and yet refused to abide by the decision of the majority of the party organization [as did Grimes, Johnson, Lincoln, Pratt, and Trumbull] … the sort of active and aggressive man that would be likely to make for himself enemies of men in his own organization who were afraid of his great power and influence, and jealous of him as a political rival. That some of his senatorial Republican associates should feel that the best service they could render their country would be to do all in their power to prevent such a man from being elevated to the Presidency … for while they knew he was an able man, they also knew that, according to his convictions of party duty and party obligations, he firmly believed he who served his party best served his country best…that he would have given the country an able administration is concurrent opinion of those who knew him best." [citation needed] In 1868, then-presidential candidate Ulysses S. Grant was urged by his fellow Republicans to choose Wade as his vice presidential running mate; but he refused, instead choosing another radical (Schuyler Colfax). After being defeated in the 1868 elections, Wade returned to his Ohio law practice. He died on March 2, 1878, in Jefferson, Ohio.
As long as President Andrew Johnson promised severe treatment of the conquered South, Wade supported him, but when the President definitively adopted the more lenient policy of his predecessor, Wade became one of his most bitter and uncompromising opponents. In 1867 he was elected president pro tem of the Senate, thus becoming acting vice-president. He voted for Johnson's conviction on his trial for impeachment, and for this was severely criticized, since, in the event of conviction, he would have become president; but Wade's whole course before and after the trial would seem to belie the charge that he was actuated by any such motive.
See also
- Dudley-Winthrop Family
| Preceded by: Thomas Ewing |
United States Senator (Class 1) from Ohio 1851–1869 |
Succeeded by: Allen G. Thurman |
| Preceded by: Lafayette S. Foster |
President pro tempore of the United States Senate March 2, 1867 – March 3, 1869 |
Succeeded by: Henry B. Anthony |
| Presidents pro tempore of the United States Senate | 
|
|---|---|
| Langdon • Lee • Langdon • Izard • H Tazewell • Livermore • Bingham • Bradford • Read • Sedgwick • Laurance • Ross • Livermore • Tracy • Howard • Hillhouse • Baldwin • Bradley • Brown • Franklin • Anderson • Smith • Bradley • Milledge • Gregg • Gaillard • Pope • Crawford • Varnum • Gaillard • Barbour • Gaillard • Macon • Smith • L Tazewell • White • Poindexter • Tyler • W R King • Southard • Mangum • Sevier • Atchison • W R King • Atchison • Cass • Bright • Stuart • Bright • Mason • Rusk • Fitzpatrick • Bright • Fitzpatrick • Foot • Clark • Foster • Wade • Anthony • Carpenter • Anthony • Ferry • Thurman • Bayard • Davis • Edmunds • Sherman • Ingalls • Manderson • Ransom • Harris • Frye • (Special: Bacon • Curtis • Gallinger • Brandegee • Lodge) • Clarke • Saulsbury • Cummins • Moses • Pittman • W H King • Harrison • Glass • McKellar • Vandenberg • McKellar • Bridges • George • Hayden • Russell • Ellender • Eastland • Magnuson • Young • Magnuson • Thurmond • Stennis • Byrd • Thurmond • Byrd • Thurmond • Byrd • Stevens • Byrd
Emeritus: Thurmond • Byrd • Stevens |
Footnotes
- ↑ Benjamin F. Wade, Soylent Communications, Retrieved February 23, 2007
- ↑ Wade, Benjamin Franklin, (1800 - 1878), Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, Retrieved February 23, 2007
- ↑ Benjamin F. Wade, Soylent Communications, Retrieved February 23, 2007
- ↑ Benjamin F. Wade, Soylent Communications, Retrieved February 23, 2007
Sources and further reading
- Thomas Harry Williams, Benjamin F. Wade 1864-1869, 1932, OCLC 57655904
- B F Wade, The papers of Benjamin F. Wade. 1832-1878, Washington, D.C., The Library of Congress, 1938, OCLC 30501168
- Reno W Bupp, The senatorial career of Benjamin F. Wade to 1861, 1939, OCLC 61718019
- William Henry Seward; Stephen Arnold Douglas; Salmon P Chase; Edward Everett; Truman Smith; George Edmund Badger, Speeches in Congress on The compromises of 1850 and Nebraska and Kansas, Washington, 1854, OCLC 4759295
External links
- WADE, Benjamin Franklin, (1800 - 1878), Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, Accessed February 3,2007
- Benjamin F. Wade (1800-1878), Mr. Lincoln's White House, Accessed February 3,2007
- Benjamin F. Wade, NNDB-Soylent Communications, Accessed February 3,2007
- Brainy Quote, Benjamin F. Wade, Accessed February 3,2007
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