James Mitchell Ashley | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Ashley,c. 1860–1865 | |
| 3rdGovernor of the Montana Territory | |
| In office April 9, 1869 – July 12, 1870 | |
| Preceded by | Green Clay Smith |
| Succeeded by | Wiley Scribner(acting) |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives from Ohio | |
| In office March 4, 1859 – March 3, 1869 | |
| Preceded by | Richard Mott |
| Succeeded by | Truman H. Hoag |
| Constituency | 5th district (1859–1863) 10th district (1863–1869) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1824-11-14)November 14, 1824 |
| Died | September 16, 1896(1896-09-16) (aged 71) |
| Resting place | Woodlawn Cemetery (Toledo, Ohio) |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | Emma Smith |
| Children | 4 |
| Signature |  |
James Mitchell Ashley (November 14, 1824 – September 16, 1896) was an American politician andabolitionist. A member of theRepublican Party, Ashley served as a member of theUnited States House of Representatives fromOhio during theAmerican Civil War, where he became a leader of theRadical Republicans and pushed for passage of theThirteenth Amendment, endingslavery in the United States. He also authored the resolution which started thefirst impeachment inquiry against Andrew Johnson. After the war, he served asGovernor of theMontana Territory and president of theAnn Arbor Railroad.[1]
Ashley was born inAllegheny County, Pennsylvania, to John Ashley, a bookbinder andCampbellite preacher who evangelized in Kentucky and West Virginia, and his wife Mary A. (Kilpatrick) Ashley of Kentucky. As a boy in theOhio River valley, Ashley sawcoffles of chained slaves being walked to the Deep South, boys his own age being sold, and even white men who refused to let their cattle drink from a stream in which his father had baptized slaves. He grew to hate the "peculiar institution" (which he considered a violation of Christian principles) and the oligarchy that supported it.[2]
Ashley was mostly self-taught in elementary subjects, although his father wanted him to follow family tradition and become a Baptist minister. Rather than attend a seminary, the 14 year old ran away to become a cabin boy on Ohio and Mississippi River boats, and later worked as a clerk on those boats. He had begun helping slaves to escape as early as 1839,[2] and late in his life Ashley relished telling stories of the families he had saved as a 17 year old.[3] He told the story later in life, which came down through the family that, when he left the home at 14, the last words his father said to him as he went off was: "You're on the straight road to Hell, boy!" Twenty years later, when he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, his first act, when he sat down in his office in Washington, D.C., was to pen his father, to whom he had not spoken in twenty years, a letter on the Congressional stationery: "Dear Father, I have just arrived!"
He married Emma Jane Smith in 1851 and together they had four children. He is the great-grandfather of U.S. RepresentativeThomas W. L. Ashley and a number of other descendants, including James Ashley IV, a portraitist living in Chicago.
Ashley was aFreemason, belonging to the Toledo Lodge No. 144 inToledo, Ohio.[4]
In 1848, the burly six-foot tall youth settled inPortsmouth, Ohio, where he became a journalist—first at thePortsmouth Dispatch and later editor of thePortsmouth Democrat.[5] The following year, 1849, he was admitted to the Ohio Bar but did not practice. Instead, by 1851, abolitionist activities caused Ashley and his wife to flee north toToledo, Ohio to avoid prosecution under theFugitive Slave Act of 1850. There, Ashley opened a drug store (which was soon burned down) and also became involved in the new Republican Party, campaigning for its presidential candidateJohn C. Fremont and congressmanRichard Mott.
James Ashley was an activeabolitionist who traveled withJohn Brown's wife to Brown's execution in December, 1859, and reported the event in the still-extant local newspaper, theToledo Blade. In 1858, he led the OhioRepublican Party. As the year ended, Ashley was elected toU.S. House of Representatives of the36th United States Congress, and took office the following year.
Ashley served in theUnited States House of Representatives from 1859 through 1869, representingOhio's 5th congressional district for two terms (1859–63) andOhio's 10th congressional district for three terms (1863–69).
While in Congress (the 37th through 40th sessions), Ashley served as the Chairman of theCommittee on Territories, and was instrumental to the creation (naming and borders) of the territories of Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, and Washington. He also authored theArizona Organic Act. However, he opposedthe Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and especiallypolygamy, and limitedUtah's boundaries to reduce Mormon influence.[1]
During theAmerican Civil War, Ashley took an active role in supporting the recruitment of troops for theUnion Army. He also became a leader among theRadical Republicans, writing a bill to abolish slavery in theDistrict of Columbia in 1862. In 1863 he introduced a bill to create a constitutional amendment to end slavery which ultimately (with Ashley as House Majority floor manager) passed in the House, exceeding the needed a 2/3 margin by merely 2 votes on January 31, 1865. This was ultimately ratified as theThirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, formally abolishingslavery in the United States.
Ashley suspected PresidentAndrew Johnson, who succeeded Lincoln as president after Lincoln's death, of complicity in PresidentLincoln'sassassination.[6] Ashley also attempted to persuade theHouse Committee on the Judiciary of this. He described Johnson as being a," loathing incubus which has blotted our country's history."[7] He also criticized Johnson for attempting to veto extensions of the Freedmen's Bureau, the Civil Rights Bill and the Reconstruction Acts. He suspected Johnson's ties with southern oligarchs.[8] Ashley was among the first to exploreimpeaching Johnson as president, beginning to desire Johnson's impeachment in late 1866.[6][7] His exploration led to his authoring of a January 7, 1867 resolution which launched thefirst impeachment inquiry against Andrew Johnson, thus Ashley initiated the first officialimpeachment proceedings against Johnson.[6][9][10] This inquiry led to a defeated resolution to impeach Johnsonwhich the House voted against on December 7, 1867.[11] However, the following February, the Housevoted to impeach Johnson.[11] Johnson was ultimately acquitted inhis impeachment trial.
Ashley's radical views, particularly on race, as well as his support for educational qualifications, did not endear him to voters. DemocratTruman Hoag defeated him by less than 1,000 votes in the 1868 election, which nearly bankrupted Ashley. However, President Grant appointed Ashley territorialgovernor of Democratic-leaningMontana Territory, where he served fifteen months until 1870, when he was removed by President Grant. His political appointments, and support for public education, including of Chinese immigrants, proved unpopular in the Democratic-leaning territory.[3]
Ashley then returned to Toledo and became involved in the railroad business, linking that city with northern Michigan as well as the Ann Arbor/Detroit area. Ashley helped build theAnn Arbor Railroad and served as its president from 1877 (when he moved to Ann Arbor while two of his sons were enrolled at the University of Michigan Law School) until 1890, when his sons took over. The railroad went bankrupt in the financial crisis of 1893, but soldiered on and continues to operate today.[3]
He also ran unsuccessfully in Ohio for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives in 1890 and 1892.[1]
Ashley suffered fromdiabetes since at least 1863. He died ofheart failure after afishing trip on September 16, 1896, inAlma, Michigan, and was interred inWoodlawn Cemetery (Toledo, Ohio). A eulogy at the Unitarian Church inAnn Arbor, Michigan, mentioned his large size, "intellectually, physically and morally. There was nothing petty, small or mean about him."[12] Three years before his death, his efforts on behalf of racial equality were recognized by the Afro-American League of Tennessee, and he donated the proceeds of a book of his speeches to build schools.[3] His great-great-grandsonThomas William Ludlow Ashley, was later elected a U.S. Representative from Ohio.
Ann Arbor, Michigan named a downtown street leading to its railroad depot after Ashley. His descendant James Ashley IV recently completed a portrait of his great-grandfather, which is installed in the LaValley Law Library at theUniversity of Toledo College of Law. In early 2010, theOhio Historical Society proposed Ashley as a finalist in a statewide vote for inclusion inStatuary Hall at theUnited States Capitol.
Civil rights figureFrederick Douglass regarded Ashley as a white man who had a determination to secure equal justice for all, along with the likes ofBenjamin Wade,Thaddeus Stevens, andCharles Sumner.Mary C. Ames described Ashley as the most genial and kind man in the Congress.[13]
Some historians have been unkind in their views on Ashley.C. Vann Woodward called him, "a nut with an idée fixe" andEric McKitrick described him as having, "an occult mixture ofsuperstition andlunacy".[13] A contemporary journalist,Benjamin Perley Poore, said Ashley was a "man of the lightest mental calibre and most insufficient capacity" who "passed much of his time in perambulating the aisles of the House, holding short conferences with leading Republicans, and casting frequent glances into the ladies' gallery."[14]
Ashley is played by actorDavid Costabile in the 2012Steven Spielberg movieLincoln.
"Ashley, James Monroe".The Biographical Dictionary of America. Vol. 1. 1906. p. 155. [sic]| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
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| Preceded by | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromOhio's 5th congressional district 1859-1863 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromOhio's 10th congressional district 1863–1869 | Succeeded by |
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