Elihu
Benjamin Washburne
was
born
in
Livermore, Maine, on 23rd September, 1816. He worked as a printer's
apprentice before becoming assistant editor of the Kennebec
Journal in Augusta.
Washburne studied law at Kent's Hill Seminary in 1836 and Harvard
Law School in 1839. After being admitting to the bar in 1840 Washburne
he worked as a lawyer in Galena, Illinois. A member of the Whig
Party he failed in his attempt to be elected to the 31st Congress
in 1848. However, he was successful in the 33rd Congress and took
his seat in March, 1853.
An early member of the the Republican
Party, and
served as chairman of the Committee on Commerce and Committee on Appropriations.
In 1860 Washburne played an important role in persuading radicals
such as Joshua
Giddings to support the nomination
of Abraham Lincoln. He also persuaded
Lincoln to appoint Salmon
P. Chase as Secretary of the Treasury.
However, he failed to stop
William Seward (Secretary of State) and
Simon Cameron (Secretary of War),
entering the Cabinet.
A strong opponent of slavery, Washburne
became a leading figure in the group that became known as the Radical
Republicans.
Although privately critical of some of his policies, he remained loyal
to Abraham
Lincoln throughout the
American Civil War. He also promoted
the career of his friend, Ulysses
S. Grant.
Washburne
opposed the policies of President Andrew
Johnson and argued that Southern plantations should
be taken from their owners and divided among the former slaves. He
also attacked Johnson when he attempted to veto the extension of the
Freeman's
Bureau, the Civil
Rights Bill and the Reconstruction
Acts.
In 1868 President Ulysses
S. Grant
appointed Washburne as his Secretary of State. However, he resigned
a few days later in order to accept a diplomatic mission to France.
Elihu
Washburne served until 1877 when he returned
to the United States and settled in Chicago
where he died on 23rd October, 1887.
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