Alexander Randall
22ndUnited States Postmaster General
In office July 25, 1866 – March 4, 1869
President	Andrew Johnson
Preceded by	William Dennison, Jr.
Succeeded by	John Creswell
3rdUnited States Minister to the Papal States
In office June 6, 1862 – August 4, 1862
President	Abraham Lincoln
Preceded by	John P. Stockton
Succeeded by	Richard Blatchford
6th Governor of Wisconsin
In office January 4, 1858 – January 6, 1862
Lieutenant	Erasmus D. Campbell Butler Noble
Preceded by	Coles Bashford
Succeeded by	Louis P. Harvey
Wisconsin Circuit Court Judge for the 2nd Circuit
In office April 1856 – December 31, 1857
Appointed by	Coles Bashford
Preceded by	Levi N. Hubbell
Succeeded by	Arthur MacArthur, Sr.
Member of theWisconsin State Assembly from theWaukesha 4th district
In office January 10, 1855 – January 9, 1856
Preceded by	Jesse Smith
Succeeded by	Charles S. Hawley
Personal details
Born	Alexander Williams Randall (1819-10-31)October 31, 1819 Ames, New York, U.S.
Died	July 26, 1872(1872-07-26) (aged 52) Elmira, New York, U.S.
Resting place	Woodlawn Cemetery Elmira, New York
Political party	Republican(after 1855) Whig(Before 1838, 1849–1855) Free Soil(1848–1849) Democratic(1838–1848)
Spouse(s)	Mary C. Van Vechten (died 1858) Helen M. Thomas (died 1918)
Children	1
Profession	lawyer, politician

Alexander Williams Randall (October 31, 1819 – July 26, 1872) was an Americanlawyer,judge, andRepublican politician fromWaukesha, Wisconsin. He served as the 22ndUnited States Postmaster General, during the administration of PresidentAndrew Johnson (1865–1869). He previously served as the sixthgovernor of Wisconsin (1858–1862) and, as governor, was instrumental in raising and organizing the first Wisconsin volunteer troops for theUnion Army during theAmerican Civil War. He is the namesake ofCamp Randall andCamp Randall Stadium.

Randall was born inAmes, New York, on October 31, 1819.^[1] His father, Phineas, was judge of the court of common pleas there from 1837 to 1841. Randall attended Cherry Valley Academy in New York then studied law with his father.^[2] He was admitted to the bar in New York at age 19.^[1] Shortly after that, he moved toWisconsin Territory. He opened a law practice in Waukesha in 1840, where he became postmaster in 1845.^[1][2]

Randall was a delegate to the state's first constitutional convention in 1846. There he successfully advocated for a resolution that would put the question of "Negro suffrage" to a statewide referendum.^[3] He was elected to theWisconsin State Assembly for the1855 session and was the Republican Party's first candidate forAttorney General of Wisconsin, running unsuccessfully in the 1855 election.^[1][4] From 1855 to 1857, he was a circuit judge in Milwaukee.^[1]

Randall was elected governor in 1857 as aRepublican, and won re-election in 1859.^[1] He was adark horse candidate in 1857. The two principal candidates in the convention that year wereEdward D. Holton of Milwaukee andWalter McIndoe ofWausau. Holton's abolitionist passions and his connections with the Milwaukee elite gave him strong support, but McIndoe's more rough-hewn personality resonated better with the frontier character of the state at the time. As such, they split the vote, neither able to garner a majority for the nomination. When it became apparent that the convention was at an impasse, and the delegates were released from their obligation, the votes eventually were cast in favor of Randall, the obvious compromise candidate.^[5]

Prior to the beginning of the Civil War, he was an ardentabolitionist and proposed that Wisconsinsecede from the Union if Abraham Lincoln did not win the presidency.^[6]

As governor, Randall conducted an investigation of fraud in the distribution of federal railroad land grants in Wisconsin perpetrated by his predecessor, Republican GovernorColes Bashford.^[2][7]

Once war began Randall raised 18 regiments, 10 artillery batteries, and three cavalry units before leaving office, exceeding Wisconsin's quota by 3,232 men. TheUnion Army created a military camp from the former state fairgrounds inMadison, Wisconsin, and named it "Camp Randall" after the governor.Camp Randall Stadium is now located on the site of the military camp.

In 1861, PresidentAbraham Lincoln appointed Randall U.S. Minister to thePapal States.^[2] He was succeeded byRichard Milford Blatchford, and, in 1863, accepted appointment as Assistant Postmaster General.^[1] PresidentAndrew Johnson appointed himUnited States Postmaster General in 1866 and he remained in that position until 1869.^[1] When Johnson was impeached, Randall remained loyal, testifying on Johnson's behalf and contributing to his defense fund.^[2]

After leaving the federal government, Randall moved toElmira, New York, where he resumed practicing law. He died there July 26, 1872.^[1] He is buried inWoodlawn Cemetery.

• Brown, Reuben Samuel Tilden.The War Administration of Alexander Randall. Master's thesis, University of Wisconsin, 1921. AtGoogle Books; atUniversity of Wisconsin-Madison Libraries

• Media related toAlexander Williams Randall at Wikimedia Commons
• Randall, Gov. Alexander W. (1819–1872) | Wisconsin Historical Society

• 1819 births
• 1872 deaths
• Republican Party governors of Wisconsin
• People from Montgomery County, New York
• Politicians from Waukesha, Wisconsin
• United States postmasters general
• People of Wisconsin in the American Civil War
• Wisconsin circuit court judges
• Ambassadors of the United States to the Holy See
• Republican Party members of the Wisconsin State Assembly
• Andrew Johnson administration cabinet members
• Union (American Civil War) state governors
• Abolitionists from Wisconsin
• 19th-century American diplomats
• Burials at Woodlawn Cemetery (Elmira, New York)
• Activists from Wisconsin
• Testifying witnesses of the impeachment trial of Andrew Johnson
• 19th-century members of the Wisconsin Legislature

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