Joseph Lane | |
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| United States Senator fromOregon | |
| In office February 14, 1859 – March 3, 1861 | |
| Preceded by | Himself (Shadow Senator) |
| Succeeded by | James Nesmith |
| United States Shadow Senator from theOregon Territory | |
| In office July 5, 1858 – February 14, 1859 | |
| Preceded by | Seat established |
| Succeeded by | Himself (U.S. Senator) |
| Governor of the Oregon Territory | |
| In office May 16, 1853 – May 19, 1853 Acting | |
| Preceded by | John P. Gaines |
| Succeeded by | George Curry (Acting) |
| In office March 3, 1849 – June 18, 1850 | |
| Appointed by | James K. Polk |
| Preceded by | George Abernethy |
| Succeeded by | Kintzing Prichette |
| Delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives from theOregon Territory's at-large district | |
| In office March 4, 1851 – February 14, 1859 | |
| Preceded by | Samuel Thurston |
| Succeeded by | La Fayette Grover (Representative) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1801-12-14)December 14, 1801 Buncombe County, North Carolina, U.S. |
| Died | April 19, 1881(1881-04-19) (aged 79) Roseburg, Oregon, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Polly Hart |
| Children | 10, includingLafayette |
| Relatives | Harry Lane (grandson) |
| Signature |  |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Branch/service |  United States Army |
| Years of service | 1846–1848 |
| Rank | Brigadier General |
Joseph Lane (December 14, 1801 – April 19, 1881) was an American politician and soldier. He was a state legislator representingEvansville, Indiana, and then served in theMexican–American War, becoming a general. PresidentJames K. Polk appointed Lane as the firstGovernor ofOregon Territory. When Oregon was admitted as a state in 1859, Lane was elected one of Oregon's first twoU.S. Senators.
In the1860 United States presidential election, Lane was nominated forvice president of the pro-slavery Southern wing of theDemocratic Party, asJohn C. Breckinridge's running mate. Lane's pro-slavery views and sympathy for theConfederate States of America in theCivil War effectively ended his political career in Oregon.
One of his sons was later electedU.S. Representative, and a grandson U.S. Senator, making Lane the patriarch of one of the state's most prominent political families.
Joseph Lane was born inBuncombe County, North Carolina, on December 14, 1801, to a family of English extraction with roots incolonial Virginia.[1] His father, John Lane, was a veteran of theAmerican Revolutionary War.[1] The Lane family moved toKentucky from North Carolina when Joseph was a young child.[2]
Lane left home at the age of 15, and was married four years later. He moved toEvansville, Indiana, in 1820.[2] Lane and his wife, Polly Hart Lane, had 10 children.[3]
Lane was largely self-educated, learning about the world from books he read at night.[2] During the daytime, he worked and saved his money, investing it shortly in the purchase of a flatboat, with which he transported freight up and down theOhio River.[2] Financial success followed.[2]
Lane was an eloquent public speaker, a talent that helped him to win election to theIndiana House of Representatives in 1822 at the age of just 21.[2] He served in that body from 1822 to 1823, from 1830 to 1833, and from 1838 to 1839.[4] He then moved to theIndiana State Senate, where he served from 1839 to 1840, and from 1844 to 1846.[4] Widely esteemed by his peers, Lane was likewise elected as a captain of his localmilitia while still a young man.[2]
TheMexican–American War broke out in 1846.[1] Lane resigned his State Senate seat, and enlisted in a company of Indiana volunteers.[1] His company was assigned to the 2nd Indiana Volunteer Regiment, and Lane was electedcolonel in June 1846. He was appointed abrigadier general of volunteers less than a week later.[1]
Lane and the Indiana troops were then deployed toMexico where he fought with distinction, suffering two minor gunshot wounds, and was brevetted tomajor general in 1847.[1] He commanded the Indiana Brigade at theBattle of Buena Vista, where he served under General and future PresidentZachary Taylor.[1]
Lane also led the relief force which lifted theSiege of Puebla, defeatingAntonio López de Santa Anna at theBattle of Huamantla.
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As soon as Lane returned from Mexico, President Polk appointed him governor ofOregon Territory. Lane received his commission on August 18, 1848.[1] Lane arrived in Oregon on March 3, 1849, following a hazardous winter trip on theOregon Trail.[1] Upon reachingOregon City, Lane's first official act was to initiate the first census of the territory's residents, which showed a total of 8,785 American citizens and 298 citizens of other countries.[1]
While Governor, Lane also served as the first Oregon Superintendent of Indian Affairs.[1]
Also among Lane's early duties was the apprehension of fiveCayuse Indians accused in theWhitman Massacre. The accused were brought back to Oregon City for trial, where they were convicted and hanged.[5]Lane resigned as territorial governor on June 18, 1850, in favor of a new appointee.[1] On June 2, 1851, Lane was elected Oregon Territory'sDelegate in Congress as aDemocrat.[1] In May 1853, he was acting Territorial Governor for three days to assist in the removal of the unpopularJohn P. Gaines from office. Lane then ran for re-election as Delegate, winning election on June 6, 1853.[1] Lane won two more terms of office as Delegate in the June elections of 1855 and 1857.[1] He was subsequently elected as one of Oregon's first twoUnited States Senators when Oregon became a state in 1859.
In 1853, after he was re-elected as Delegate, but before he left for Washington, D.C., Lane was appointed as brigadier general commanding a force of volunteers raised to suppress recent Native American violence. Lane led the force to southern Oregon to stop Native American attacks against settlers and miners there.[1] Lane was again wounded in a skirmish atTable Rock, in Sams Valley, not far from today's cities ofMedford andCentral Point.[1]
Lane was also an active participant in the so-calledRogue River Wars of 1855–1856,[1] being wounded in the shoulder at theBattle of Evans Creek.
In 1860, the Democratic Party split onthe issue of slavery. Pro-slavery Democrats from the Southleft the national convention and nominated their own candidates:John C. Breckinridge for president, and Lane for vice president.
This "Southern Democrat" ticketwas defeated. With his defeat for vice president and the beginning of theCivil War, Lane's political career ended. His pro-slavery views had been controversial in Oregon; his pro-secessionist views were wholly unacceptable.[5] Lane became notorious for an exchange withAndrew Johnson ofTennessee on his last day in the Senate. Johnson had spoken in favor of the Union and denounced secession. A referendum on secession in Tennessee failed shortly thereafter, generally credited to Johnson's speech. On March 2, Lane accused Johnson of having "sold his birthright" as a Southerner. Johnson responded by suggesting that Lane was a hypocrite for so accusing Johnson when Lane so staunchly supported a movement of active treason against the United States.[6]
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Lane had taken a land claim of 1 square mile (2.6 km2) located just north ofRoseburg, Oregon, in 1851.[1] He later purchased a 2,000-acre (810 ha) ranch located about 11 miles (18 km) east of that town, which he owned for a number of years before selling to a son.[1] Lane also constructed a home overlooking theSouth Umpqua River; after his Senate term, he retired there in 1861.[1] Although openly sympathetic to the Confederate cause, he remained home on his ranch; he did not participate in the war, nor did he make a return to politics after that date.[1] He has been accused of keeping a personal slave as late as 1878, an assumption based on the race of the African-Indian orphan, named Peter Waldo, he raised from the age of two to seventeen.[7] Lane was baptized as aRoman Catholic in 1867,[8] and his family was reared in the same faith,[1] but he renounced that faith shortly before his death.[9]
Lane died at his home on April 19, 1881. His body was interred in theRoseburg Memorial Gardens.
General Lane's daughter's home in Roseburg, where he spent much of his time, is now a museum maintained by the Douglas County Historical Society.[10] Known as the Creed Floed House, theFloed–Lane House, or simply the Joseph Lane House, it is on theNational Register of Historic Places.[11] The Floed-Lane House was never his dwelling place.[10]
Lane County, Oregon, is named for Lane.[12] Joseph Lane Middle School in Roseburg is named for him, as is Joseph Lane Middle School in Portland.
Lane's sonLafayette Lane served as U.S. Representative from 1875 to 1877; another son, John Lane, fought in the Civil War for theConfederacy.[8] Lane's grandsonHarry Lane was a mayor ofPortland, Oregon, and then U.S. Senator from 1913 until his death in 1917.[8]
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Governor of Oregon 1848–1850 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Governor of Oregon Acting 1853 | Succeeded by George Curry Acting |
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
| Preceded by | Delegate to theU.S. House of Representatives from theOregon Territory's at-large congressional district 1851–1859 | Succeeded byas U.S. Representative |
| U.S. Senate | ||
| New seat | U.S. Shadow Senator (Class 3) from the Oregon Territory 1858–1859 Served alongside:Delazon Smith | Succeeded by Himself asU.S. Senator |
| Preceded by Himself asShadow Senator | U.S. Senator (Class 3) from Oregon 1859–1861 Served alongside:Delazon Smith,Edward Baker | Succeeded by |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Democraticnominee forVice President of the United States(2) 1860 | Succeeded by |
| Notes and references | ||
| 1. The Democratic Party split in 1860, producing two vice presidential candidates. Lane was nominated by Southern Democrats;Herschel Vespasian Johnson was nominated by Northern Democrats. | ||
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| Class 3 | ||
| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
