William Alexander Richardson | |
|---|---|
 Photograph byMathew Brady,c. 1855–1865 | |
| United States Senator fromIllinois | |
| In office January 12, 1863 – March 3, 1865 | |
| Preceded by | Orville H. Browning |
| Succeeded by | Richard Yates |
| 5th Governor of Nebraska Territory | |
| In office January 12, 1858 – December 5, 1858 | |
| President | James Buchanan |
| Preceded by | Thomas B. Cuming |
| Succeeded by | Julius Sterling Morton |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromIllinois's5th district | |
| In office March 4, 1861 – January 12, 1863 | |
| Preceded by | Isaac N. Morris |
| Succeeded by | Owen Lovejoy |
| In office December 6, 1847 – August 25, 1856 | |
| Preceded by | Stephen A. Douglas |
| Succeeded by | Jacob C. Davis |
| 12th Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives | |
| In office December 5, 1842 – December 2, 1844 | |
| Preceded by | Samuel Hackleton |
| Succeeded by | Newton Cloud |
| Member of theIllinois Senate | |
| In office 1838-1842 | |
| Member of theIllinois House of Representatives | |
| In office 1836–1838 1844–1846 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1811-01-16)January 16, 1811 |
| Died | December 27, 1875(1875-12-27) (aged 64) Quincy, Illinois, US |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Alma mater | Centre College Transylvania University |
| Profession | Politician, Lawyer |
| Military service | |
| Branch/service | United States Army |
| Rank | Major |
| Battles/wars | Mexican–American War |
William Alexander Richardson (January 16, 1811 – December 27, 1875) was a prominentIllinoisDemocratic politician before and during theAmerican Civil War. A protege ofStephen Douglas, Richardson was an ardent proponent ofJacksonian democracy,popular sovereignty, andstrict constructionism. During the American Civil War, he switched from supporting the conflict to join theCopperhead wing of theDemocratic party and bitterly criticize PresidentAbraham Lincoln.
Born nearLexington, Kentucky, Richardson came from a distinguished family. His maternal great-grandfather was a veteran of theAmerican Revolutionary War participating in theBattle of Kings Mountain. His maternal grandfather fought in theWar of 1812 and was killed in theBattle of Frenchtown.[1] Richardson attendedTransylvania University, and then proceeded to teach school and study law. He passed the bar exam in 1831 and started his practice inShelbyville, Illinois. He served as an officer during theBlack Hawk War whose soldiers remembered the "stern coarseness" of his leadership.[2] He was an attorney for the state from 1834 to 1835, and was elected representative to the state house, serving from 1836 to 1838. During this term Richardson served alongside Stephen Douglas and Abraham Lincoln.[3]
In 1837 he supported Lincoln in makingSpringfield the capital of Illinois, after the charter forVandalia expired.[4] Richardson was a supporter of PresidentAndrew Jackson against theSecond Bank of the United States. At the state level he supported a bill that would make bank directors and stockholders responsible for redemption notes that citizens had with the state.[5] When GovernorJoseph Duncan defended the Bank, Richardson and other Democrats introduced a resolution calling such claims "contrary to the assertions of the patriot and statesmen, General Jackson."[6]
He was narrowly elected to thestate senate in 1838 by only seven votes which almost led to aduel between Richardson and his opponent's campaign managers.[7] He served to 1842 deciding against reelection. Richardson returned to the house again from 1844 to 1846, briefly serving as speaker of the lower house during his last term. He was a presidential elector in 1844 for successful Democratic nomineeJames K. Polk.
When theMexican-American War broke out, Richardson raised a company of volunteers who then chose him as theircaptain in theU.S. Army. Initially underJohn J. Hardin's command, Richardson's regiment was later placed under GeneralZachary Taylor and by the end of the war Richardson was promoted to lieutenant-colonel.[8] A strong defender of the war one of his first actions in congress was introducing an unsuccessful resolution calling the conflict "just and necessary".[9] When his term of service expired in July 1847, he moved toQuincy, Illinois, and then was elected a U.S. congressman to the30th Congress to fillStephen A. Douglas's seat. He was then reelected to the31st,32nd,33rd, and34th Congresses for the same seat (1847 to 1856).
During his time in theHouse of Representatives, he was the chairman of the Committee on Territories (32nd–33rd Congresses). In congress, Richardson was a loyal protege of Stephen Douglas. During the crisis of 1850, Richardson supported all five parts of theCompromise of 1850. Afterword, when confronted in Illinois about the unpopularFugitive Slave Act, Richardson said that while he personally opposed the law he supported it in order to ensure theadmission ofCalifornia.[10] That year he won reelection defeatingOrville H. Browning.[11] During the crisis Richardson lamented the rise of secessionist sentiment:
There is a bad state of things here, and, as little as it is thought about, I fear this Union is in danger... It is appalling to hear gentlemen, Members of Congress sworn to support the Constitution, talk and talk earnestly for a dissolution of the Union.[12]
After the1852 Presidential election, Richardson took a leading role in the House in supporting Douglas's policies on theKansas andNebraska territories. His initial bill introduced on February 2, 1853, contained no mention of slavery and was supported by representativesWillard P. Hall andJoshua Giddings.[13] When Douglas brought forth theKansas–Nebraska Act, Richardson acted as his "manger" for the bill in the house and was instrumental in securing its passage.[14] Richardson's role in the Kansas-Nebraska debate made him a national figure and in the1854 House elections he was the only supporter of the Kansas-Nebraska Act to be reelected by a wider majority.[15]
During theSpeaker election after the midterm elections, Richardson was the choice forSpeaker of the House of pro-Nebraska Democrats.[16][17] On the first ballot Richardson won the most votes, with his closest opponentLewis D. Campbell twenty votes behind, but fell short of the majority needed to be speaker.[18] As balloting went on anti-Nebraska forces began consolidate aroundNathaniel P. Banks of theAmerican(Know Nothing) party.[19] On January 10, 1856, Southern Know Nothings in an attempt to embarrass Richardson and stall for time sent the leading candidates (Richardson, Banks, andHenry Mills Fuller) a questionnaire on the issues ofslavery in the District of Columbia and the territories, the Fugitive Slave Law,nativism, and racial equality.[20] Richardson responded that the Constitution and the Fugitive slave act applied to the territories. While "hedging" on the question of constitutionality of theWilmot Proviso, he also asserted that the constitution did not carry slavery into the territories. He opposed the abolition of slavery in theDistrict, asserted the superiority of Whites over Blacks, and condemned nativism.[21] Richardson's stance on the Wilmot Proviso undermined his position with Southern Democrats and threeSouth Carolina reps abandoned him on the next ballot which was the 108th.[22] Under pressure from PresidentFranklin Pierce for a resolution to the stalemate in the house, Democrats replaced Richardson withJames Lawrence Orr. Ultimately Banks was elected as speaker.[23]
Richardson was the Democratic nominee for governor in the1856 Illinois gubernatorial election. He resigned in August 1856 to run forGovernor of Illinois, narrowly losing to fellow representative, and first nominee of the newly establishedRepublican Party,William H. Bissell. Richardson carried most of south Illinois while Bissell won most of north Illinois. Bissell won by 4,697 votes, a margin of just under 2%.[24]
After being defeated, Richardson was appointed by PresidentJames Buchanan as theGovernor of the Nebraska Territory for most of 1858. Richardson resigned near the end of the year, remaining loyal to his political mentor,Stephen A. Douglas.
He was a delegate to1860 Democratic National Convention from Illinois. He then came back to Washington D.C. as a member of the37th Congress in 1861. In 1863, he was elected to fill Stephen Douglas's old seat in theUnited States Senate, defeating incumbent RepublicanOrville Browning. He was not renominated in 1865 and spent the rest of his life engaged in newspaper work.
He died on December 27, 1875, inQuincy, Illinois, where he is buried.
Richardson County, Nebraska, is named after him.
This article incorporatespublic domain material fromBiographical Directory of the United States Congress.Federal government of the United States.| Party political offices | ||
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| Preceded by | Democratic nominee forGovernor of Illinois 1856 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
| Preceded by | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromIllinois's 5th congressional district 1847–1856 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Territorial Governor of Nebraska January 12, 1858 – December 5, 1858 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
| Preceded by | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromIllinois's 5th congressional district 1861–1863 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. Senate | ||
| Preceded by | U.S. senator (Class 2) from Illinois January 12, 1863 – March 3, 1865 Served alongside:Lyman Trumbull | Succeeded by |
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| Class 3 | ||
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| State(since 1867) | ||
Italics indicate acting governors | ||
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| National | |
| People | |
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