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Elihu B. Washburne

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 68.33.83.222 (talk) at 14:39, 13 August 2011 (Have corrected Washburne's diplomatic title in France: he was Envoy Extraordinary & Minister Plenipotentiary and head of the U.S. Legation. Legation was elevated to embassy in 1893. Washburne is a subject of David McCullough's new book.). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Elihu Benjamin Washburne
25th United States Secretary of State
In office
March 5, 1869 – March 16, 1869
PresidentUlysses S. Grant
Preceded byWilliam H. Seward
Succeeded byHamilton Fish
Personal details
Born(1816-09-23)September 23, 1816
Livermore, Maine, U.S.
DiedOctober 23, 1887(1887-10-23) (aged 71)
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Resting placeGreenwood Cemetery (Galena, Illinois)
Political partyWhig, Republican
SpouseAdele Gratiot
Alma materHarvard Law School
ProfessionPolitician

Elihu Benjamin Washburne (September 23, 1816, Livermore, Maine – October 23, 1887, Chicago, Illinois) was one of seven brothers who played a prominent role in the early formation of the United States Republican Party. He later served as United States Secretary of State in 1869.

Washburne, a resident of Galena, Illinois, represented northwestern Illinois in the United States House of Representatives from 1853 to 1869. While in Congress, he was also a member of the powerful Appropriations Committee.[1]

He was known for his courage, and met President-elect Abraham Lincoln upon his arrival in Washington, D.C. on February 23, 1861.[2] An assassination attempt was feared, and other Republican Party leaders were afraid to take on this duty. Washburne and his brothers had hidden the whereabouts of President-elect Lincoln by personally cutting telegraph wires in key locations.

Elihu B. Washburne

Originally a Whig, Washburne was an early member of the Republicans and a leader of the Radical Republicans. He was among the original proponents of legal racial equality. As a congressman, he served on the Joint Committee on Reconstruction which drafted the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. After the Civil War, Washburne advocated that large plantations be divided up to provide compensatory property for freed slaves.

Washburne served as President Ulysses S. Grant's Secretary of State, replacing William H. Seward, for twelve days in March 1869; it remains the shortest term of any Secretary of State. He then became minister -- head of the U.S. diplomateic mission -- to France, where he was influential in negotiating the armistice for the Franco-Prussian War.

Washburne retired from government in 1876, although he was mentioned as a presidential candidate at the Republican conventions in 1880 and 1884. He moved to Chicago, Illinois, and served as president of the Chicago Historical Society from 1884 to 1887.

Three of Washburne's brothers (Cadwallader C. Washburn, William D. Washburn, and Israel Washburn, Jr.) also became politicians. His son, Hempstead Washburne, was mayor of Chicago from 1891 to 1893.

Washburne Street at 1230 south in Chicago is named in honor of Elihu Washburne.

See also

References

  1. ^ An American in Paris, American Heritage
  2. ^ Vidal, Gore (2000). Lincoln: A Novel. New York: Vintage Press. ISBN 0375708766.
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Illinois's 1st congressional district
1853 - 1863 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Illinois's 3rd congressional district
1863 - 1869 		Succeeded by
Political offices

Template:U.S. Secretary box

Diplomatic posts
Preceded by U.S. Minister to France
1869 – 1877 		Succeeded by

Template:Persondata

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