William Henry Robertson | |
|---|---|
 William H. Robertson | |
| Born | (1823-10-10)October 10, 1823 |
| Died | December 6, 1898(1898-12-06) (aged 75) |
| Other names | W. H. Robertson |
| Occupations | Lawyer, Politician |
| Political party | Republican |
| Parent | Henry Robertson |
William Henry Robertson (October 10, 1823 – December 6, 1898), also known asW. H. Robertson,[1] was an American lawyer and politician fromNew York.
Robertson was known to have allied with the GOPHalf-Breed faction,[2][3] which as a whole supported moderatecivil service reform[4] and emphasized the issues ofprotectionisttariffs as well as industry.
He was the son of Henry Robertson (d. 1881). He received an academic education, studied law, and began practice in his native town.
He was aWhig member of theNew York State Assembly (Westchester Co., 1st D.) in1849 and1850; and of theNew York State Senate (7th D.) in1854 and1855. He was Judge of the Westchester County Court from 1856 to 1866. He joined theRepublican Party upon its organization in 1855, and was apresidential elector in1860, voting forAbraham Lincoln andHannibal Hamlin.
Robertson was elected as a Republican to the40th United States Congress, holding office from March 4, 1867, to March 3, 1869. He was again a member of the State Senate from 1872 to 1881, sitting in the95th,96th,97th,98th,99th,100th,101st,102nd (all eight 9th D.),103rd and104th New York State Legislatures (both 12th D.). In 1874, after a constitutional amendment created it as a standing office, he was chosenPresident pro tempore of the New York State Senate. He remained on this post until his retirement from the Senate in May 1881 upon his federal appointment.
In 1881, he was appointedCollector of the Port of New York by PresidentJames Garfield whose nomination he had helped to secure by leading a part of the New York delegation at the1880 Republican National Convention to shift their support fromGrant. Robertson's nomination to the collectorship, made without consulting the two RepublicanU.S. Senators,Roscoe Conkling andThomas C. Platt, and, according to their claims, in violation of the President's pledge, led to the resignation of the two senators and resulted in a serious party split. In the bitter struggle between theStalwart and theHalf-Breed factions which followed, Robertson was active in the campaign that resulted in the election of new senators in the place of Conkling and Platt. Robertson was a delegate to the1884 Republican National Convention, and held the collectorship until 1885. Afterwards, he resumed his law practice.
He was again a member of the State Senate (12th D.) from 1888 to 1891, sitting in the111th,112th,113th and114th New York State Legislatures.
During the1880 presidential election, a three-way battle initially emerged between theBlaine faction, Half-Breeds, andconservative pro-spoils systemStalwarts led by Conkling.[2] The Stalwarts favored a third non-consecutive term forRadical Republican former presidentUlysses S. Grant, while speculating that the Blaine faction would push through a nomination of their leaderJames G. Blaine. Robertson was a leader of the anti-Grant forces,[5] and voiced his staunch support for Blaine.[6]
Ultimately, an alliance between the Blaine faction and Half-Breeds successfully nominateddark horse candidateJames A. Garfield, who promised to appease the Stalwart agenda during the campaign to ensure party unity.[2] Once elected president, Garfield betrayed his vows, an example being his appointment of Robertson to New York Collector of the Port and customhouse head without consulting Sen. Conkling[3][7] in a rebuke of the latter's political machine.[2]
According to historianHeather Cox Richardson, Conkling was "undoubtedly personally affronted."[7] The Stalwart leader voiced opposition towards Garfield's appointment of Robertson by arguing that presidents were expected to obtain the agreement of senators from the states they sought to give positions to, though Richardson asserted, "What was really at stake was whether or not Conkling would control New York."
Conkling and his New York senatorial colleagueThomas C. Platt resigned from their seats in protest, expecting to be immediately elected to their same positions by the state legislature that would serve as a rebuke to President Garfield.[2] They instead were simply outmaneuvered by the Half-Breeds within the legislature,[3] which ended Conkling's career in politics.[8]
{{cite encyclopedia}}:Missing or empty|title= (help)| New York State Assembly | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | New York State Assembly Westchester County, 1st District 1849–1850 | Succeeded by |
| New York State Senate | ||
| Preceded by | New York State Senate 7th District 1854–1855 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | New York State Senate 9th District 1872–1879 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | New York State Senate 12th District 1880–1881 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
| Preceded by | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromNew York's 10th congressional district 1867–1869 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | President pro tempore of the New York State Senate 1874–1881 | Succeeded by |
| Government offices | ||
| Preceded by | Collector of the Port of New York 1881–1885 | Succeeded by |
| New York State Senate | ||
| Preceded by | New York State Senate 12th District 1888–1891 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
