Wilson Shannon | |
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| 2nd Territorial Governor of Kansas | |
| In office September 7, 1855 – August 18, 1856 | |
| Preceded by | Andrew Reeder |
| Succeeded by | John W. Geary |
| 14th and 16th Governor of Ohio | |
| In office December 13, 1838 – December 16, 1840 | |
| Preceded by | Joseph Vance |
| Succeeded by | Thomas Corwin |
| In office December 14, 1842 – April 15, 1844 | |
| Preceded by | Thomas Corwin |
| Succeeded by | Thomas W. Bartley |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives from Ohio's17th district | |
| In office March 4, 1853 – March 3, 1855 | |
| Preceded by | Joseph Cable |
| Succeeded by | Charles J. Albright |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Wilson Shannon (1802-02-24)February 24, 1802 Belmont County, Northwest Territory |
| Died | August 30, 1877(1877-08-30) (aged 75) Lawrence, Kansas |
| Resting place | Oak Hill Cemetery |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Elizabeth Ellis, Sarah Osbun |
| Alma mater | Ohio University Transylvania University |
| Profession | attorney, politician |
Wilson Shannon (February 24, 1802 – August 30, 1877) was an American attorney andDemocratic Party politician fromOhio. He served one term in the U.S. House of Representatives and was the 14th and 16thgovernor of Ohio. He was the first Ohio governor born in the state. He was the second governor of theKansas Territory. He failed to stop an attack by pro-slavery forces and retaliation ensued. He fled and submitted a resignation letter before receiving official news of his firing. Earlier in his career he filed sued for past due loans against Franklin College and helped bankrupt and close down the abolitionist institution before starting a rival institution which failed. Franklin College was re-established.[1]
Shannon was born inBelmont County in theNorthwest Territory, the son of an Irish immigrant, George Shannon, who fought in theRevolutionary War. Wilson Shannon's elder brother,Thomas Shannon, served a partial term in theUnited States House of Representatives from 1826–1827. His oldest brother,George Shannon, was the youngest member of theLewis and Clark Expedition.
After attendingOhio University,Franklin College inNew Athens, Ohio andTransylvania University in Kentucky.[1] Shannon was admitted to the bar and began practicing law in 1830.[2] He wasprosecuting attorney forBelmont County from 1833 to 1835.[2]
Shannon ran for the U.S. House of Representatives in 1832, losing by only 37 votes. Shannon then served as a prosecutor in Belmont County before winning election to the governorship in 1838. He lost a re-election bid to theWhig candidate,Thomas Corwin, in 1840, but defeated Corwin for a second term two years later.
Shannon resigned on April 15, 1844, to take up an appointment from PresidentJohn Tyler as Minister toMexico.[3] Shannon spent a year in the post before being recalled.
Shannon went to California in the 1849 gold rush but returned and later won election to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1852. He served a single term before taking up an appointment from PresidentFranklin Pierce as Governor of the Kansas Territory in 1855.
Shannon was commissioned by President Pierce on August 10, 1855. He took the oath of office on September 7, 1855, and served until June 24, 1856, having been sworn into office a second time on June 13, 1856. He then served from July 7 through August 18, 1856, when he was removed from office by the President. Shannon was known for his Southern sympathies, so much so that he was described by a contemporary as "an extreme Southern man in politics, of the border ruffian type."[4] Shannon frequently used federal troops to bring peace to areas of the territory where violence was commonplace. However, the problems of government administration he experienced while Minister to Mexico plagued him in Kansas, and he stumbled into one political crisis after another.[5]
In May 1856, a large proslavery force enteredLawrence and destroyed many buildings and printing presses in what became known as the "Sacking of Lawrence." Shannon failed to intervene to protect the citizens and their property. In retaliation,John Brown and a small group of followers moved along Pottawatomie Creek, 40 miles south of Lawrence, killing five proslavery settlers. The "Pottawatomie massacre", as it came to be known, brought even more violence into the territory. Shannon lost complete control of the territory and left forSt. Louis on June 23, 1856, leavingDaniel Woodson as acting governor.
While atLecompton, Shannon offered President Pierce his resignation on August 18, 1856, but Pierce had already determined to fire him. In his resignation he wrote that he had
received unofficial information of my removal from office, and finding myself here without the moral power which my official station confers, and being destitute of any adequate military force to preserve the peace of the country, I feel it due to myself, as well as to the government, to notify you that I am unwilling to perform the duties of government of this territory any longer. You will therefore consider my official connection at an end.[6]
Shannon feared for his life and returned east. He metJohn Geary, the next territorial governor, on September 7 atGlasgow, Missouri, though their meeting was brief.
Despite his troubled term as territorial governor of Kansas, Shannon served the longest continuous term of any Kansas territorial governor, more than nine-and-one-half months of an eleven-month term.
Shannon returned to Kansas soon after leaving office. He set up a law practice in Lecompton, and later a practice in Lawrence andTopeka. To visitors he frequently stated: "Govern Kansas in 1855 and '56! You might as well attempt to govern the devil in hell."[7]
Shannon died in Lawrence on August 30, 1877, and is buried in Oak Hill Cemetery in Lawrence.
Shannon, Kansas, the first county seat ofAnderson County, was named for Shannon. The town ceased to exist in 1860.
"Shannon, Wilson" .Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography. 1900.
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