David Tod | |
|---|---|
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| 25thGovernor of Ohio | |
| In office January 13, 1862 – January 11, 1864 | |
| Lieutenant | Benjamin Stanton |
| Preceded by | William Dennison |
| Succeeded by | John Brough |
| United States Minister to Brazil | |
| In office August 28, 1847 – August 9, 1851 | |
| President | James K. Polk Zachary Taylor Millard Fillmore |
| Preceded by | Henry A. Wise |
| Succeeded by | Robert C. Schenck |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1805-02-21)February 21, 1805 Youngstown,Ohio, U.S. |
| Died | November 13, 1868(1868-11-13) (aged 63) Youngstown,Ohio, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic (before 1861) Union (1861–1868) |
| Signature |  |
David Tod (February 21, 1805 – November 13, 1868) was an American politician and industrialist from the U.S. state ofOhio. As the 25thgovernor of Ohio, Tod gained recognition for his forceful and energetic leadership during theAmerican Civil War.[1]
A Democrat who supported the war effort, Tod helped to maintain a fragile alliance between the state'sRepublicans andWar Democrats and took steps to secure Ohio's borders. In 1863, the state'sUnion Party did not nominate Tod for a second term because of his tepid support foremancipation and his unpopularity among the state's myriad political factions.[2]
After completing his two-year term as Ohio governor, Tod turned down an invitation to serve in the government of PresidentAbraham Lincoln asSecretary of the Treasury, citing poor health. Tod died of a stroke in 1868, three years after the end of the war and was interred inOak Hill Cemetery (Youngstown, Ohio).[3]
A biography of David Tod by Joseph Lambert Jr. was published in 2023. The Political Transformation of David Tod is the title.
Tod was born inYoungstown, Ohio, to a family actively involved in local and state politics. His father,George Tod, born to aScottish immigrant inSuffield, Connecticut, had relocated to theConnecticut Western Reserve in 1800.[4] There, George Tod pursued a career in public life, serving as an Ohio lawmaker between 1804 and 1806, and winning a seat as a justice of theOhio Supreme Court in 1807.[5]
David Tod attended Burton Academy inGeauga County and studied law inWarren, where he was appointed postmaster. Admitted to the Ohio bar in 1827, he accumulated considerable wealth as a lawyer actively involved in the coal and iron industries of theMahoning Valley, and he went on to become president of theCleveland and Mahoning Railroad.
Tod was in theOhio State Senate from 1838 to 1840.[6] He was a candidate for Ohio's governorship as aDemocrat in 1844 and 1846, running on a strongly anti-national bank platform, but lost both elections. He was appointed by PresidentJames K. Polk as minister (ambassador) toBrazil from 1847 to 1851.[7] He presided over the1860 Democratic National Convention in Baltimore after the resignation ofCaleb Cushing as convention president.
Tod belonged to theWar Democrat faction of theOhio Democratic Party that supported theLincoln administration during theAmerican Civil War. On September 5, 1861, a bipartisan coalition ofRepublicans and War Democrats met inColumbus, Ohio to form theUnion Party. The party passed over the incumbent Republican governor,William Dennison, and threw its support behind Tod in the upcominggubernatorial election—a move designed to win the support of War Democrats for the Union ticket.[8]
Meanwhile, the Democrats who had not joined the Union Party nominatedHugh J. Jewett, who called for reconciliation with the South but "stopped short of taking a strong antiwar stance".[8] Tod won the election, polling 206,997 votes to Jewett's 151,774. Although most Democrats supported Jewett, Tod's result represented a significant increase over the Republican vote in the previous election.[7] Tod ultimately served one term as governor, leading the state from 1862 to 1864.
Governor Tod faced significant difficulties in encouraging military recruitment and providing for Ohio troops in the field, but gained the nickname "the soldier's friend". As historian George W. Knepper observed, the governor was compelled, near the outset of his administration, to "deal with the highly emotional aftermath of thebattle of Shiloh", a costly victory in which Ohio alone suffered 2,000 casualties.[9] Several months later, whenConfederate troops under the leadership ofStonewall Jackson threatened Washington, D.C., Tod was able to secure 5,000 volunteers to provide three months of service.[7] He was less successful, however, in filling Ohio's federally mandated quota of 74,000 troops.[7] In time, he advocated federal conscription, writing toSecretary of WarEdwin Stanton, "With this Ohio will... respond to any further calls made upon her, but without it would be impossible to raise any considerable number". Among those Ohioans who participated in the war effort was Tod's nephew, Brigadier GeneralJames Hobart Ford, who served in the Trans-Mississippi Theater of the War.[10]
States could use their own tax money to supplement the work of theUnited States Sanitary Commission as Ohio did. Under the energetic leadership of Governor Tod, Ohio acted vigorously. Following the unexpected carnage at the Battle of Shiloh in Tennessee in April 1862, it send 3 steamboats to the scene as floating hospitals loaded with doctors, nurses and medical supplies. The state fleet expanded to eleven hospital ships. The state also set up 12 local offices in main transportation nodes across the Midwest to assist Ohio soldiers moving back and forth.[11]
Tod was challenged to maintain the state's security during the war, calling out the militia to respond to acavalry raid byConfederateBrig. Gen.John Hunt Morgan from July 12 to 26, 1863, and arranging for the compensation of Ohioans whose property had been confiscated by Morgan's men. Damages inflicted upon Ohio residents reached $576,225, "while the expense of keeping the militia in the field raised the total cost to well over a million dollars".[12] At the same time, as historian Richard H. Abbott observed, Tod also "battled with recalcitrant Democrats, unruly newspaper editors, draft rioters, and strange secret societies".[13] He was compelled to call out troops to bring an end to draft riots inHolmes County, which became popularly known as the "Battle of Fort Fizzle".[14]
He recommended the federal military arrest ofCopperhead leaders such as Dr.Edson B. Olds—who sued him for kidnapping and actually had the governor briefly arrested, before theSupreme Court of Ohio issued a writ ofhabeas corpus–andClement Vallandigham.[15] In 1862, he attended the LoyalWar Governors' Conference inAltoona, Pennsylvania, which ultimately backed Abraham Lincoln'sEmancipation Proclamation and the Union war effort. At the same time, Tod resisted the idea of using black troops in the war effort. When blackabolitionist leaderJohn Mercer Langston urged the governor to enlistAfrican-American soldiers to help the state fill its draft quotas, Tod responded sharply, saying, "Do you not know, Mr. Langston, that this is a white man's government; that white men are able to defend and protect it?"[16] Nevertheless, by 1863, blacks were being enrolled in Ohio's volunteer units, and more than 5,000 served in state or federal units.[17]
Governor Tod has aided me more and troubled me less than any other governor.
Tod was unable to secure renomination in 1863, losing it to another War Democrat,John Brough, who enjoyed greater popularity among Ohioans and more actively supported the anti-slavery direction the Northern war effort had by then taken.[2] President Abraham Lincoln then offered Tod the post ofU.S. Secretary of the Treasury, telling an aide, "He is my friend, with a big head full of brains... he made a good governor, and has made a fortune for himself". Tod, knowing he was not radical enough for Republicans in theUnited States Senate and in fragile health, declined the appointment. Tod died of a stroke in 1868, at the age of 63, leaving a widow and seven children.[19] He was a RepublicanPresidential elector in 1868 forGrant/Colfax. He died before the meeting of electors, and was replaced byG. V. Dorsey.[18]
Since his death, Tod has gained recognition as an effective political leader who guided his state through a difficult period. As Delmer J. Trester wrote: "His administration was characterized by intense patriotism, devotion to duty, administrative ability, and unflagging energy. Ohio was fortunate to have David Tod as one of its war governors".[1]
Tod is honored with a full-size bronze depiction inside theCuyahoga County Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument in Cleveland, Ohio for his service as governor during the Civil War.[20]
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)| Ohio Senate | ||
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| Preceded by | Member of theOhio Senate fromTrumbull County 1838–1840 | Succeeded by |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Democraticnominee forGovernor of Ohio 1844,1846 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Permanent Chair of the Democratic National Convention 1860 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by None | Unionnominee forGovernor of Ohio 1861 | Succeeded by |
| Diplomatic posts | ||
| Preceded by | United States Minister to Brazil 1847–1851 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Governor of Ohio 1862–1864 | Succeeded by |
| Chargé d'Affaires |  | |
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| Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary | ||
| Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | ||
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