Veeps: Henry Wilson
Henry Wilson was Ulysses Grant's second Vice-President and the 18th Vice President of the United States. He didn't finish his term because he died in office. Wilson was chosen for the office because he was both a "Radical Republican" and he had a better image that Grant's last running mate (an important consideration after Grant's first Vice President Schuyler Colfax was implicated in the Credit Foncier scandal) though he wasn't above suspicion himself.
Henry Wilson was born on February 16, 1812, but his name at birth was Jeremiah Jones Colbath. he was born in Farmington, New Hampshire. In the words of one biographer, "his life resembled a Dickens novel. Like Pip, David Copperfield, and Nicholas Nickleby, he overcame a childhood of hardship and privation through the strength of his character, his ambition, and occasional assistance from others." His shiftless father named the child after a wealthy bachelor neighbor in vain hope of inheritance. The boy grew to hate the name, and when he came of age he had it legally changed to Henry Wilson. Speculations is that the chose the name either from the Philadelphia school teacher Henry Wilson or Rev. Henry Wilson. When he was ten years old, his father apprenticed him to a nearby farmer, binding him to work until his twenty-first birthday. Lacking formal education, he read copiously, mostly history, biography and philosophy. At age nineteen he took a pledge of total abstinence from alcohol, which he maintained thereafter.
In 1833 he reached twenty-one and was freed from his apprenticeship. He moved to Natick, Massachusetts in 1833 and became a shoemaker. The enterprising Mr. Wilson also taught school in Natick, and he later became a manufacturer of shoes. Wilson was a member of the state legislature between 1841 and 1852. He was also the owner and editor of the Boston Republican from 1848 to 1851.
In 1852, Wilson was ran for the US House of Representatives, unsuccessfully. He was also an unsuccessful candidate for Governor of Massachusetts the following year. Persistence paid off as in 1855 he was elected to the United States Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Edward Everett. He was reelected as a Republican in 1859, 1865 and 1871, and served from 31 January 1855 to 4 March 1873, when he resigned to become Vice President. While in the senate, Wilson was Chairman of the Committee on Military Affairs and the Militia. In that capacity, Wilson handled the passage of over 15,000 nominations that President Abraham Lincoln submitted during the course of the War. The two men worked closely with him on legislation affecting the Army and Navy. In 1861 he raised and commanded the 22nd Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry.
Some suspect that while he was Chairman of the Committee on Military Affairs, Wilson may have revealed plans for the invasion of Virginia culminating in the First Battle of Bull Run to southern spy and Washington society figure Rose O'Neal Greenhow. Wilson, although married, may have had an affair with Mrs. Greenhow, and may have told her about the plans followed by Major General Irvin McDowell. There is not universal agreement among historians about the source of the leak, and some have suggested that the information was leaked by a clerk named Horace White.
Wilson was a fervent abolitionist. As a senator he advocated for equal pay for African-American soldiers. He wrote a number of publications on the subject inclung: History of the Anti-Slavery Measures of the Thirty-seventh and Thirty-eighth Congresses, 1861-64 (written in 1864); History of the Reconstruction Measures of the Thirty-ninth and Fortieth Congresses, 1865-68 (in 1868); and History of the Rise and Fall of the Slave Power in America, (three volumes written from 1872 to 1875).
Wilson was elected Vice President of the United States on the Republican ticket with President Ulysses S. Grant in the election of 1872. He was selected as a replacement for Schuyler Colfax, who was Vice president in Grant's first term. Colfax he was involved in the Crédit Mobilier of America scandal and was dumped from the ticket because of it. The scandal concerned several major Representatives and Senators from both parties who were offered bribes of shares in Crédit Mobilier. Wilson was also implicated in the scandal, but was cleared by the Senate inquiry, although his reputation was tarnished.
Wilson's career as Vice-President is unremarkable. His health was poor and he suffered a serious stroke in 1873. Although partly paralyzed, he fought to actively perform his duties as presiding officer over the United States Senate. On November 10, 1875 he suffered what was believed to be a minor heart attack and was taken to the Vice President's Room to recover. Over the next several days, his health appeared to improve and his friends thought he was nearly recovered. However, on November 22, 1875 at 7:20 am, Wilson died from a second stroke while working in the United States Capitol Building. He was interred in Old Dell Park Cemetery in Natick, Massachusetts.
Henry Wilson was born on February 16, 1812, but his name at birth was Jeremiah Jones Colbath. he was born in Farmington, New Hampshire. In the words of one biographer, "his life resembled a Dickens novel. Like Pip, David Copperfield, and Nicholas Nickleby, he overcame a childhood of hardship and privation through the strength of his character, his ambition, and occasional assistance from others." His shiftless father named the child after a wealthy bachelor neighbor in vain hope of inheritance. The boy grew to hate the name, and when he came of age he had it legally changed to Henry Wilson. Speculations is that the chose the name either from the Philadelphia school teacher Henry Wilson or Rev. Henry Wilson. When he was ten years old, his father apprenticed him to a nearby farmer, binding him to work until his twenty-first birthday. Lacking formal education, he read copiously, mostly history, biography and philosophy. At age nineteen he took a pledge of total abstinence from alcohol, which he maintained thereafter.
In 1833 he reached twenty-one and was freed from his apprenticeship. He moved to Natick, Massachusetts in 1833 and became a shoemaker. The enterprising Mr. Wilson also taught school in Natick, and he later became a manufacturer of shoes. Wilson was a member of the state legislature between 1841 and 1852. He was also the owner and editor of the Boston Republican from 1848 to 1851.
In 1852, Wilson was ran for the US House of Representatives, unsuccessfully. He was also an unsuccessful candidate for Governor of Massachusetts the following year. Persistence paid off as in 1855 he was elected to the United States Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Edward Everett. He was reelected as a Republican in 1859, 1865 and 1871, and served from 31 January 1855 to 4 March 1873, when he resigned to become Vice President. While in the senate, Wilson was Chairman of the Committee on Military Affairs and the Militia. In that capacity, Wilson handled the passage of over 15,000 nominations that President Abraham Lincoln submitted during the course of the War. The two men worked closely with him on legislation affecting the Army and Navy. In 1861 he raised and commanded the 22nd Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry.
Some suspect that while he was Chairman of the Committee on Military Affairs, Wilson may have revealed plans for the invasion of Virginia culminating in the First Battle of Bull Run to southern spy and Washington society figure Rose O'Neal Greenhow. Wilson, although married, may have had an affair with Mrs. Greenhow, and may have told her about the plans followed by Major General Irvin McDowell. There is not universal agreement among historians about the source of the leak, and some have suggested that the information was leaked by a clerk named Horace White.
Wilson was a fervent abolitionist. As a senator he advocated for equal pay for African-American soldiers. He wrote a number of publications on the subject inclung: History of the Anti-Slavery Measures of the Thirty-seventh and Thirty-eighth Congresses, 1861-64 (written in 1864); History of the Reconstruction Measures of the Thirty-ninth and Fortieth Congresses, 1865-68 (in 1868); and History of the Rise and Fall of the Slave Power in America, (three volumes written from 1872 to 1875).
Wilson was elected Vice President of the United States on the Republican ticket with President Ulysses S. Grant in the election of 1872. He was selected as a replacement for Schuyler Colfax, who was Vice president in Grant's first term. Colfax he was involved in the Crédit Mobilier of America scandal and was dumped from the ticket because of it. The scandal concerned several major Representatives and Senators from both parties who were offered bribes of shares in Crédit Mobilier. Wilson was also implicated in the scandal, but was cleared by the Senate inquiry, although his reputation was tarnished.
Wilson's career as Vice-President is unremarkable. His health was poor and he suffered a serious stroke in 1873. Although partly paralyzed, he fought to actively perform his duties as presiding officer over the United States Senate. On November 10, 1875 he suffered what was believed to be a minor heart attack and was taken to the Vice President's Room to recover. Over the next several days, his health appeared to improve and his friends thought he was nearly recovered. However, on November 22, 1875 at 7:20 am, Wilson died from a second stroke while working in the United States Capitol Building. He was interred in Old Dell Park Cemetery in Natick, Massachusetts.