Alexander Randall (Wisconsin politician)
Alexander Randall | |
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22nd United States Postmaster General | |
In office July 25, 1866 – March 4, 1869 | |
President | Andrew Johnson |
Preceded by | William Dennison, Jr. |
Succeeded by | John Creswell |
3rd United 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 the Wisconsin State Assembly from the Waukesha 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 October 31, 1819 Ames, New York, U.S. |
Died | July 26, 1872 Elmira, New York, U.S. | (aged 52)
Resting place | Woodlawn Cemetery Elmira, New York |
Political party | Republican (1855–1872) 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 | Sarah Adaline Randall (b. 1843; died 1852) |
Parents |
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Profession | lawyer, politician |
Alexander Williams Randall (October 31, 1819 – July 26, 1872) was a lawyer, judge and politician from Wisconsin. He served as the sixth Governor of Wisconsin from 1858 until 1861. He was instrumental in raising and organizing the first Wisconsin volunteer troops for the Union Army during the American Civil War.
Life and career
Randall was born in Ames, 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 to Wisconsin 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 the Wisconsin State Assembly for the 1855 session and was the Republican Party's first candidate for Attorney 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 a Republican, and won re-election in 1859.[1] He was a dark horse candidate in 1857. The two principal candidates in the convention that year were Edward D. Holton of Milwaukee and Walter McIndoe of Wausau. 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 ardent abolitionist and proposed that Wisconsin secede 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 Governor Coles Bashford.[2][7]
Civil War
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. The Union Army created a military camp from the former state fairgrounds in Madison, Wisconsin, and named it "Camp Randall" after the governor. Camp Randall Stadium is now located on the site of the military camp.
In 1861, President Abraham Lincoln appointed Randall U.S. Minister to the Papal States.[2] He was succeeded by Richard Milford Blatchford, and, in 1863, accepted appointment as Assistant Postmaster General.[1] President Andrew Johnson appointed him United 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 to Elmira, New York, where he resumed practicing law. He died there July 26, 1872.[1] He is buried in Woodlawn Cemetery.
Electoral history
Wisconsin Attorney General
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
General Election, November 6, 1855 | |||||
Democratic | William R. Smith | 37,312 | 51.22% | −5.81% | |
Republican | Alexander Randall | 35,533 | 48.78% | ||
Plurality | 1,779 | 2.44% | -12.00% | ||
Total votes | 72,845 | 100.0% | +31.03% | ||
Democratic hold |
Wisconsin Governor
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
General Election, November 3, 1857 | |||||
Republican | Alexander Randall | 44,693 | 49.63% | −0.23% | |
Democratic | James B. Cross | 44,239 | 49.12% | −0.95% | |
Scattering | 1,126 | 1.25% | |||
Total votes | '90,058' | '100.0%' | +24.05% | ||
Republican hold |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
General Election, November 8, 1859 | |||||
Republican | Alexander Randall (incumbent) | 59,999 | 53.21% | +3.58% | |
Democratic | Harrison Carroll Hobart | 52,539 | 46.60% | −2.53% | |
Scattering | 83 | 0.07% | |||
Total votes | '112,755' | '100.0%' | +25.20% | ||
Republican hold |
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Wisconsin Historical Society, Dictionary of Wisconsin History, "Term: Randall, Gov. Alexander W. (1819–1872)". Retrieved December 20, 2012.
- ^ a b c d e Wisconsin Historical Society, Wisconsin Historical Images, "Governor Alexander Randall". Retrieved December 20, 2012.
- ^ Michael J. McManus, Political Abolitionism in Wisconsin, 1840–1861. Kent, OH: Kent State University Press, 1998, p. 28.
- ^ Caryn Hannan (ed.), Wisconsin Biographical Dictionary. 2008–2009 ed. State History Publications, 2008, pp.334–335.
- ^ "State Convention of 1857". The Milwaukee Sentinel. March 18, 1896. Retrieved January 7, 2016.
- ^ Gayle Soucek, Chicago Calamities: Disaster in the Windy City. Charleston, SC: History Press, 2010, p.54.
- ^ National Governor's Association, "Wisconsin Governor Alexander Williams Randall". Retrieved December 20, 2012.
- ^ "The Official Canvass". Daily Free Democrat. Milwaukee, Wisconsin. December 19, 1855. p. 2. Retrieved August 7, 2020.
Further reading
- Brown, Reuben Samuel Tilden. The War Administration of Alexander Randall. Master's thesis, University of Wisconsin, 1921. At Google Books; at University of Wisconsin-Madison Libraries
External links
- 1819 births
- 1872 deaths
- 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 lawyers
- 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
- American abolitionists
- Republican Party governors of Wisconsin
- 19th-century American politicians
- 19th-century American diplomats
- Burials at Woodlawn Cemetery (Elmira, New York)
- Activists from Wisconsin
- Testifying witnesses of the impeachment trial of Andrew Johnson