Henry Wilson

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Henry Wilson
Henry Wilson

In office
March 4, 1873 – November 22, 1875
President Ulysses S. Grant
Preceded by Schuyler Colfax
Succeeded by William A. Wheeler

In office
January 31, 1855 – March 3, 1873
Preceded by Julius Rockwell
Succeeded by George S. Boutwell

In office
1861 – 1872
Preceded by Jefferson Davis
Succeeded by John A. Logan

Born February 16, 1812(1812-02-16)
Farmington, New Hampshire
Died November 22, 1875 (aged 63)
Washington, D.C.
Nationality American
Political party Republican
Spouse Harriet Malvina Howe Wilson
Religion Congregationalist

Henry Wilson (February 16, 1812 – November 22, 1875) was a Senator from Massachusetts and the eighteenth Vice President of the United States. He was a leading Republican who devoted his enormous energies to the destruction of what he considered the slavocracy, that is the conspiracy of slave owners to seize control of the federal government and block the progress of liberty.

Wilson was born Jeremiah Jones Colbath in Farmington, New Hampshire. In 1833 he had his name legally changed by the legislature to Henry Wilson. Henry Wilson moved to Natick, Massachusetts in 1833 and became a shoemaker. He attended several local academies, and also taught school in Natick, where he later engaged in the manufacture of shoes. He was a member of the state legislature between 1841 and 1852, and was owner and editor of the Boston Republican from 1848 to 1851.

Henry Wilson's shoeshop in Natick, Massachusetts.

Wilson was an unsuccessful candidate for election in 1852 to Congress. He was a delegate to the state constitutional convention in 1853 and was an unsuccessful candidate for Governor of Massachusetts in 1853. In 1855 he was elected to the United States Senate by a coalition of Free-Soilers, Americans (aka Know Nothings), and Democrats to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Edward Everett. He was reelected as a Republican in 1859, 1865 and 1871, and served from January 31, 1855, to March 3, 1873, when he resigned to become Vice President. He was Chairman of the Committee on Military Affairs and the Militia and the Committee on Military Affairs. In 1861 he raised and commanded the Twenty-second Regiment, Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry.

Grant/Wilson campaign poster

Wilson was elected Vice President of the United States on the Republican ticket with President Ulysses S. Grant to replace the controversial Schuyler Colfax and served from March 4, 1873, until his death from a stroke in the United States Capitol Building at Washington, D.C.. He had suffered from paralysis from 1873-75 after he had a previous stroke. Among his works are: History of the Anti-Slavery Measures of the Thirty-seventh and Thirty-eighth Congresses, 1861-64 (1864); History of the Reconstruction Measures of the Thirty-ninth and Fortieth Congresses, 1865-68 (1868); and an exceedingly valuable publication, History of the Rise and Fall of the Slave Power in America, (three volumes, 1872-77). He was interred in Old Dell Park Cemetery, Natick.

[edit] References

  • Henry Wilson, History of the Rise and Fall of the Slave Power in America, 2 vols. (Boston: J. R. Osgood and Co., 1873-77)

[edit] Trivia

  • His desk was the desk used by Richard Nixon during his administration. Nixon really wanted the desk used by Woodrow Wilson, and when he asked for a "Wilson desk", he received the desk used by Henry Wilson. Nixon didn't figure out about this mistake until later on.[1]

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Urban Legend Page

[edit] External links

United States Senate
Preceded by
Julius Rockwell
United States Senator (Class 2) from Massachusetts
January 31, 1855 – March 3, 1873
Served alongside: Charles Sumner
Succeeded by
George S. Boutwell
Political offices
Preceded by
Schuyler Colfax
Vice President of the United States
March 4, 1873 – November 22, 1875
Vacant
Title next held by
William A. Wheeler
Party political offices
Preceded by
Schuyler Colfax
Republican Party vice presidential candidate
1872 (won)
Succeeded by
William A. Wheeler
Honorary titles
Preceded by
Charles Sumner
Persons who have lain in state or honor
in the United States Capitol rotunda

November 25-November 26, 1875
Succeeded by
James Garfield
Persondata
NAME Wilson, Henry
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION
DATE OF BIRTH
PLACE OF BIRTH
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH
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