Schuyler Colfax
Schuyler Colfax Jr. was a journalist and politician from Indiana. He served as a United States Representative, Speaker of the House of Representatives, to date, he is one of only two Americans to have served as both House speaker and vice president. Colfax was known for his opposition to slavery while serving in Congress, in January 1865, as Speaker of the House, Colfax made the unusual choice to cast a vote for passage of the Thirteenth Amendment. After winning the election of 1868, Ulysses S. Grant and Colfax. Grant ran again, and Colfax reversed himself and attempted to win the presidential nomination. In January 1871, Colfax encouraged a unified Italy to adopt a republican government that protected religious freedom, Colfax left the vice presidency at the end of his term in 1873 and never again ran for office. Afterwards he worked as a executive and became a popular lecturer. Colfax died in Mankato, Minnesota on January 13,1885 while changing trains as he was en route to Rock Rapids, Iowa to give a speech.
Schuyler Colfax was born on March 23,1823, in New York City to Schuyler Colfax Sr. a bank teller, and Hannah Delameter Stryker, william was commander at Sandy Hook during the War of 1812. Colfaxs father contracted tuberculosis and died on October 30,1822 and his sister Mary died in July 1823,4 months after he was born. His mother remarried, becoming the wife of George W. Mathews, Colfaxs mother and grandmother ran a boarding house as their primary means of economic support. In 1836 Colfaxs family moved to New Carlisle, Indiana, in 1841 Mathews was elected St. Joseph County Auditor, and he appointed Colfax as his deputy, a post which Colfax held for all eight years Mathews served as auditor. Colfax became interested in journalism and covered the Indiana Senate for the Indiana State Journal, in 1845 Colfax purchased the newspaper and changed its name to the St. Joseph Valley Register. In addition to covering the Indiana Senate, Colfax contributed articles on Indiana politics to the New York Tribune, leading to a friendship with its editor, at 19 Colfax became the editor of the pro-Whig South Bend Free Press.
He owned the Register for nine years, at first in support of the Whigs, on October 10,1844 Colfax married childhood friend Evelyn Clark. On November 18,1868, two weeks after he was elected president, Colfax married Ellen M. Wade, a niece of Senator Benjamin Wade. They had one son, Schuyler Colfax III, who served as mayor of South Bend, Colfax was a delegate to the 1848 Whig National Convention. He was a delegate to the constitutional convention of 1849-50
History of the United States Republican Party
The Republican Party, commonly called the GOP, is one of the worlds oldest extant political parties. It is the second oldest existing political party in the United States after its primary rival, the Democratic Party. The Party had almost no presence in the Southern United States, with its election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860, and its success in guiding the Union to victory and abolishing slavery, the party came to dominate the national political scene until 1932. The Republican Party was based on northern white Protestants, small business owners, factory workers, farmers and it was pro-business, supporting banks, the gold standard and high tariffs to protect factory workers and grow industry faster. Under William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt, it emphasized a foreign policy. The GOP lost its majorities during the Great Depression, the Democrats under Franklin D. Roosevelt formed a winning New Deal coalition, which was dominant from 1932 through 1964. That coalition collapsed in the mid-1960s, partly because of white Southern Democrats disaffection with passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Republicans won five of the six presidential elections from 1968 to 1988, with Ronald Reagan as the partys iconic conservative hero.
The GOP expanded its base throughout the South after 1968, largely due to its strength among socially conservative white Evangelical Protestants and traditionalist Roman Catholics. The Republican Partys transforming leader by 1980 was Reagan, whose conservative policies called for reduced government spending and regulation, lower taxes, and his influence upon the party persists, as nearly every GOP speaker still reveres him. This includes current US President Donald Trump, who utilized his own version of Reagans Make America Great Again slogan during the 2016 US Election. Social scientists Theodore Caplow et al. argue, The Republican party, moved from right-center toward the center in the 1940s and 1950s, moved right again in the 1970s and 1980s. The Republican party began as a coalition of anti-slavery Conscience Whigs and Free Soil Democrats opposed to the Kansas–Nebraska Act and this change was viewed by Free Soil and Abolitionist Northerners as an aggressive, expansionist maneuver by the slave-owning South.
The Act was supported by all Southerners, by Northern Doughface Democrats, in the North, the old Whig Party was almost defunct. The opponents were motivated and began forming a new party. The new party went well beyond the issue of slavery in the territories and it envisioned modernizing the United States—emphasizing giving free western land to farmers as opposed to letting slave owners buy up the best lands, expanded banking, more railroads, and factories. They vigorously argued that free labor was superior to slavery. The Republicans absorbed the traditions of its members, most of whom had been Whigs. Many Democrats who joined were rewarded with governorships, or seats in the U. S. Senate, or House of Representatives
United States congressional apportionment
Each state is apportioned a number of seats which approximately corresponds to its share of the aggregate population of the 50 states. However, every state is guaranteed at least one seat. Because the size of a states total congressional delegation determines the size of its representation in the U. S, electoral College, congressional apportionment affects the U. S. presidential election process as well. The number of voting seats in the House of Representatives is currently set to 435, the decennial apportionment determines the size of each states representation in the U. S. Under Article II, Section 1, Clause 2 of the U. S. Constitution, federal law requires the Clerk of the House of Representatives to notify each state government of its entitled number of seats no than January 25 of the year immediately following the census. Any citizen of the State can challenge the constitutionality of the redistricting in their US district court, for example, the electoral college apportionment during 2000 presidential election was still based on the 1990 census results.
Likewise, the districts and the electoral college during the 2020 general elections will still be based on the 2010 census. The subject of Congressional apportionment is addressed twice in the U. S. Constitution, the size of the U. S. House of Representatives refers to total number of congressional districts into which the land area of the United States proper has been divided. The number of voting representatives is currently set at 435, there are an additional five delegates to the House of Representatives. They represent the District of Columbia and the territories of American Samoa, the Northern Mariana Islands, which first elected a representative in 2008, puerto Rico elects a resident commissioner every four years. Prior to the 20th century, the number of representatives increased every decade as more states joined the union, and the population increased. In 1911, Public Law 62-5 raised the membership of the U. S. House to 433 with a provision to add one permanent seat each upon the admissions of Arizona, as provided, membership increased to 435 in 1912.
As of May,2016, there is one representative for every 720,000 people in the state. In 1921, Congress failed to reapportion the House membership as required by the United States Constitution, in 1929 Congress passed the Reapportionment Act of 1929 which capped the size of the House at 435. This cap has remained unchanged for more than eight decades, three states – Wyoming and North Dakota – have populations smaller than the average for a single district. The ideal number of members has been an issue since the countrys founding. George Washington agreed that the original representation proposed during the Constitutional Convention was inadequate and this was the only time that Washington pronounced an opinion on any of the actual issues debated during the entire convention. On a contrary supposition, I should admit the objection to have great weight indeed
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was an American politician and lawyer who served as the 16th President of the United States from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. Lincoln led the United States through its Civil War—its bloodiest war and perhaps its greatest moral, constitutional, in doing so, he preserved the Union, abolished slavery, strengthened the federal government, and modernized the economy. Born in Hodgenville, Lincoln grew up on the frontier in Kentucky. Largely self-educated, he became a lawyer in Illinois, a Whig Party leader, elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1846, Lincoln promoted rapid modernization of the economy through banks and railroads. Reentering politics in 1854, he became a leader in building the new Republican Party, in 1860, Lincoln secured the Republican Party presidential nomination as a moderate from a swing state. Though he gained little support in the slaveholding states of the South. Subsequently, on April 12,1861, a Confederate attack on Fort Sumter inspired the North to enthusiastically rally behind the Union.
Politically, Lincoln fought back by pitting his opponents against each other, by carefully planned political patronage and his Gettysburg Address became an iconic endorsement of the principles of nationalism, equal rights and democracy. Lincoln initially concentrated on the military and political dimensions of the war and his primary goal was to reunite the nation. He suspended habeas corpus, leading to the ex parte Merryman decision. Lincoln closely supervised the war effort, especially the selection of top generals, including his most successful general, Lincoln tried repeatedly to capture the Confederate capital at Richmond, each time a general failed, Lincoln substituted another, until finally Grant succeeded. As the war progressed, his moves toward ending slavery included the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863. On April 14,1865, five days after the surrender of Confederate commanding general Robert E. Lee, Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth, a Confederate sympathizer. Secretary of War Edwin Stanton launched a manhunt for Booth, and 12 days on April 26, Lincoln has been consistently ranked both by scholars and the public as among the greatest U. S. presidents.
Abraham Lincoln was born February 12,1809, the child of Thomas and Nancy Hanks Lincoln, in a one-room log cabin on the Sinking Spring Farm near Hodgenville. He was a descendant of Samuel Lincoln, an Englishman who migrated from Hingham, Norfolk to its namesake of Hingham, samuels grandson and great-grandson began the familys western migration, which passed through New Jersey and Virginia. Lincolns paternal grandfather and namesake, Captain Abraham Lincoln, moved the family from Virginia to Jefferson County, Captain Lincoln was killed in an Indian raid in 1786. His children, including eight-year-old Thomas, the presidents father
Maryland's 4th congressional district
Marylands 4th congressional district comprises portions of Prince Georges County and Anne Arundel County. The seat is represented by Anthony G. Brown, a Democrat, the district is located in the suburbs of Washington, D. C. Marylands Fourth Congressional District was one of the about 50 original Congressional districts, the First Congress of the United States of America. When it was organized in 1788 it covered Baltimore, Baltimore County, according to the 1790 Census, the Fourth District had a population of 53,913, nearly 20% of whom were slaves. In 1792, the Fourth District was moved to western Maryland, with its boundary being a north to south line running about the midpoint of Frederick County. The new district had a population of 36,026, with less than 10% of the population being slaves, the 1800 Census population was 38,015, and the boundaries remained unchanged in 1802. From 1835 to 1843, two seats were apportioned, elected at-large on a general ticket, marylands congressional districts List of United States congressional districts Rep.
Anthony Browns official House of Representatives website
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is the lower chamber of the United States Congress which, along with the Senate, composes the legislature of the United States. The composition and powers of the House are established by Article One of the United States Constitution, since its inception in 1789, all representatives are elected popularly. The total number of voting representatives is fixed by law at 435, the House is charged with the passage of federal legislation, known as bills, after concurrence by the Senate, are sent to the President for consideration. The presiding officer is the Speaker of the House, who is elected by the members thereof and is traditionally the leader of the controlling party. He or she and other leaders are chosen by the Democratic Caucus or the Republican Conferences. The House meets in the wing of the United States Capitol. Under the Articles of Confederation, the Congress of the Confederation was a body in which each state was equally represented. All states except Rhode Island agreed to send delegates, the issue of how to structure Congress was one of the most divisive among the founders during the Convention.
The House is referred to as the house, with the Senate being the upper house. Both houses approval is necessary for the passage of legislation, the Virginia Plan drew the support of delegates from large states such as Virginia and Pennsylvania, as it called for representation based on population. The smaller states, favored the New Jersey Plan, the Constitution was ratified by the requisite number of states in 1788, but its implementation was set for March 4,1789. The House began work on April 1,1789, when it achieved a quorum for the first time, during the first half of the 19th century, the House was frequently in conflict with the Senate over regionally divisive issues, including slavery. The North was much more populous than the South, and therefore dominated the House of Representatives, the North held no such advantage in the Senate, where the equal representation of states prevailed. Regional conflict was most pronounced over the issue of slavery, One example of a provision repeatedly supported by the House but blocked by the Senate was the Wilmot Proviso, which sought to ban slavery in the land gained during the Mexican–American War.
Conflict over slavery and other issues persisted until the Civil War, the war culminated in the Souths defeat and in the abolition of slavery. Because all southern senators except Andrew Johnson resigned their seats at the beginning of the war, the years of Reconstruction that followed witnessed large majorities for the Republican Party, which many Americans associated with the Unions victory in the Civil War and the ending of slavery. The Reconstruction period ended in about 1877, the ensuing era, the Democratic and the Republican Party held majorities in the House at various times. The late 19th and early 20th centuries saw an increase in the power of the Speaker of the House
Springfield, Illinois
Springfield is the capital of the U. S. state of Illinois and the county seat of Sangamon County. The citys population of 116,250 as of the 2010 U. S. Census makes it the sixth most populous city. It is the largest city in central Illinois, present-day Springfield was settled by European Americans in the late 1810s, around the time Illinois became a state. The most famous resident was Abraham Lincoln, who lived in Springfield from 1837 until 1861. The city lies on a flat plain that encompasses much of the surrounding countryside. Hilly terrain lies near the Sangamon River, lake Springfield, a large artificial lake owned by the City Water, Light & Power company, supplies the city with recreation and drinking water. Weather is fairly typical for middle latitude locations, with hot summers and summer weather is like that of most midwestern cities, severe thunderstorms are common. Tornadoes hit the Springfield area in 1957 and 2006, the city is governed by a mayor–council form of government. The city proper is the Capital Township governmental entity, in addition, the government of the state of Illinois is based in Springfield.
State government entities include the Illinois General Assembly, the Illinois Supreme Court, there are three public and three private high schools in Springfield. Public schools in Springfield are operated by District No.186, Springfields economy is marked by government jobs, and the medical field, which account for a large percentage of the citys workforce. Springfields original name was Calhoun, after Senator John C. Calhoun of South Carolina, the land that Springfield now occupies was originally settled by trappers and traders who came to the Sangamon River in 1818. The settlements first cabin was built in 1820, by John Kelly and it was located at what is now the northwest corner of Second Street and Jefferson Street. In 1821, Calhoun became the county seat of Sangamon County due to fertile soil, settlers from Kentucky, and as far as North Carolina came to the city. By 1832, Senator Calhoun had fallen out of the favor with the public, at that time, Massachusetts was comparable to modern-day Silicon Valley—known for industrial innovation, concentrated prosperity, and the celebrated Springfield Armory.
Most importantly, it was a city that had built itself up from frontier outpost to national power through ingenuity – an example that the newly named Springfield, sought to emulate. Kaskaskia was the first capital of the Illinois Territory from its organization in 1809, continuing through statehood in 1818, vandalia was the second state capital of Illinois from 1819 to 1839. Springfield became the third and current capital of Illinois in 1839, the designation was largely due to the efforts of Abraham Lincoln and his associates, nicknamed the Long Nine for their combined height of 54 feet
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The Democrats dominant worldview was once socially conservative and fiscally classical liberalism, especially in the rural South, since Franklin D. Roosevelt and his New Deal coalition in the 1930s, the Democratic Party has promoted a social-liberal platform, supporting social justice. Today, the House Democratic caucus is composed mostly of progressives and centrists, the partys philosophy of modern liberalism advocates social and economic equality, along with the welfare state. It seeks to provide government intervention and regulation in the economy, the party has united with smaller left-wing regional parties throughout the country, such as the Farmer–Labor Party in Minnesota and the Nonpartisan League in North Dakota. Well into the 20th century, the party had conservative pro-business, the New Deal Coalition of 1932–1964 attracted strong support from voters of recent European extraction—many of whom were Catholics based in the cities.
After Franklin D. Roosevelts New Deal of the 1930s, the pro-business wing withered outside the South, after the racial turmoil of the 1960s, most southern whites and many northern Catholics moved into the Republican Party at the presidential level. The once-powerful labor union element became smaller and less supportive after the 1970s, white Evangelicals and Southerners became heavily Republican at the state and local level in the 1990s. However, African Americans became a major Democratic element after 1964, after 2000, Hispanic and Latino Americans, Asian Americans, the LGBT community, single women and professional women moved towards the party as well. The Northeast and the West Coast became Democratic strongholds by 1990 after the Republicans stopped appealing to socially liberal voters there, the Democratic Party has retained a membership lead over its major rival the Republican Party. The most recent was the 44th president Barack Obama, who held the office from 2009 to 2017, in the 115th Congress, following the 2016 elections, Democrats are the opposition party, holding a minority of seats in both the House of Representatives and the Senate.
The party holds a minority of governorships, and state legislatures, though they do control the mayoralty of cities such as New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago and Washington, D. C. The Democratic Party traces its origins to the inspiration of the Democratic-Republican Party, founded by Thomas Jefferson, James Madison and that party inspired the Whigs and modern Republicans. Organizationally, the modern Democratic Party truly arose in the 1830s, since the nomination of William Jennings Bryan in 1896, the party has generally positioned itself to the left of the Republican Party on economic issues. They have been liberal on civil rights issues since 1948. On foreign policy both parties changed position several times and that party, the Democratic-Republican Party, came to power in the election of 1800. After the War of 1812 the Federalists virtually disappeared and the national political party left was the Democratic-Republicans. The Democratic-Republican party still had its own factions, however.
As Norton explains the transformation in 1828, Jacksonians believed the peoples will had finally prevailed, through a lavishly financed coalition of state parties, political leaders, and newspaper editors, a popular movement had elected the president
Virginia
Virginia is a state located in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, as well as in the historic Southeast. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth are shaped by the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Chesapeake Bay, the capital of the Commonwealth is Richmond, Virginia Beach is the most populous city, and Fairfax County is the most populous political subdivision. The Commonwealths estimated population as of 2014 is over 8.3 million, the areas history begins with several indigenous groups, including the Powhatan. In 1607 the London Company established the Colony of Virginia as the first permanent New World English colony, slave labor and the land acquired from displaced Native American tribes each played a significant role in the colonys early politics and plantation economy. Although the Commonwealth was under one-party rule for nearly a century following Reconstruction, the Virginia General Assembly is the oldest continuous law-making body in the New World. The state government was ranked most effective by the Pew Center on the States in both 2005 and 2008 and it is unique in how it treats cities and counties equally, manages local roads, and prohibits its governors from serving consecutive terms.
Virginias economy changed from agricultural to industrial during the 1960s and 1970s. Virginia has an area of 42,774.2 square miles, including 3,180.13 square miles of water. Virginias boundary with Maryland and Washington, D. C. extends to the mark of the south shore of the Potomac River. The southern border is defined as the 36° 30′ parallel north, the border with Tennessee was not settled until 1893, when their dispute was brought to the U. S. Supreme Court. The Chesapeake Bay separates the portion of the Commonwealth from the two-county peninsula of Virginias Eastern Shore. The bay was formed from the river valleys of the Susquehanna River. Many of Virginias rivers flow into the Chesapeake Bay, including the Potomac, Rappahannock and James, the Tidewater is a coastal plain between the Atlantic coast and the fall line. It includes the Eastern Shore and major estuaries of Chesapeake Bay, the Piedmont is a series of sedimentary and igneous rock-based foothills east of the mountains which were formed in the Mesozoic era.
The region, known for its clay soil, includes the Southwest Mountains around Charlottesville. The Blue Ridge Mountains are a province of the Appalachian Mountains with the highest points in the state. The Ridge and Valley region is west of the mountains and includes the Great Appalachian Valley, the region is carbonate rock based and includes Massanutten Mountain. The Cumberland Plateau and the Cumberland Mountains are in the southwest corner of Virginia, in this region, rivers flow northwest, with a dendritic drainage system, into the Ohio River basin
John T. Stuart
John Todd Stuart was a lawyer and a U. S. Born near Lexington, Stuart graduated from Centre College, Kentucky and he studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1828, and commenced practice in Springfield, Illinois. He was a major in the Black Hawk War in 1832, where he first met Abraham Lincoln and he served as member of the Illinois House of Representatives between 1832 and 1836. Stuart encouraged Lincoln to study law and the two became law partners, between 1837 and 1841. If not for Stuarts influence, it is conceivable that Lincoln might never have been interested in the law - and thus, Stuart was an unsuccessful candidate for election in 1836 to the Twenty-fifth Congress. He was, elected as a Whig to the Twenty-sixth and Twenty-seventh Congresses and he was not a candidate for renomination in 1842. Stuart established a law partnership with Benjamin S. Edwards in 1843, Stuart served as member of the Illinois Senate between 1848 and 1852. He was the unsuccessful Constitutional Union candidate for Governor of Illinois in 1860, Stuart was elected as a Democrat to the Thirty-eighth Congress, and served there while Lincoln was president.
He was defeated in 1864 by Republican Shelby Moore Cullom, a Lincoln ally, following his defeat in 1864, Stuart resumed the practice of law in Springfield. He died there and was interred in the Oak Ridge Cemetery, the firm that he founded in Springfield Illinois, once known as Stuart and Lincoln, is still operating under the name Brown, Hay, & Stephens, and includes his great-great-grandson as a partner. Congressional Biography Robert A. Stuart, Jr, paul M. Angle, One Hundred Years of Law, Illinois, Brown and Stephens,1928. Stuart at Find a Grave This article incorporates public domain material from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress website http, //bioguide. congress. gov
Tennessee
Tennessee is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th largest and the 17th most populous of the 50 United States, Tennessee is bordered by Kentucky and Virginia to the north, North Carolina to the east, Georgia and Mississippi to the south, and Arkansas and Missouri to the west. The Appalachian Mountains dominate the eastern part of the state, Tennessees capital and second largest city is Nashville, which has a population of 654,610. Memphis is the states largest city, with a population of 655,770, the state of Tennessee is rooted in the Watauga Association, a 1772 frontier pact generally regarded as the first constitutional government west of the Appalachians. What is now Tennessee was initially part of North Carolina, Tennessee was admitted to the Union as the 16th state on June 1,1796. Tennessee was the last state to leave the Union and join the Confederacy at the outbreak of the American Civil War in 1861, occupied by Union forces from 1862, it was the first state to be readmitted to the Union at the end of the war.
Tennessee furnished more soldiers for the Confederate Army than any other state besides Virginia and this sharply reduced competition in politics in the state until after passage of civil rights legislation in the mid-20th century. This city was established to house the Manhattan Projects uranium enrichment facilities, helping to build the worlds first atomic bomb, Tennessees major industries include agriculture and tourism. Poultry and cattle are the primary agricultural products, and major manufacturing exports include chemicals, transportation equipment. In the early 18th century, British traders encountered a Cherokee town named Tanasi in present-day Monroe County, the town was located on a river of the same name, and appears on maps as early as 1725. The meaning and origin of the word are uncertain, some accounts suggest it is a Cherokee modification of an earlier Yuchi word. It has been said to mean meeting place, winding river, according to ethnographer James Mooney, the name can not be analyzed and its meaning is lost.
The modern spelling, Tennessee, is attributed to James Glen, the governor of South Carolina, the spelling was popularized by the publication of Henry Timberlakes Draught of the Cherokee Country in 1765. In 1788, North Carolina created Tennessee County, the county to be established in what is now Middle Tennessee. When a constitutional convention met in 1796 to organize a new out of the Southwest Territory. Other sources differ on the origin of the nickname, according to the Columbia Encyclopedia. Tennessee ties Missouri as the state bordering the most other states, the state is trisected by the Tennessee River. The highest point in the state is Clingmans Dome at 6,643 feet, Clingmans Dome, which lies on Tennessees eastern border, is the highest point on the Appalachian Trail, and is the third highest peak in the United States east of the Mississippi River
Pennsylvania's 14th congressional district
Pennsylvanias 14th congressional district includes the entire city of Pittsburgh and parts of surrounding suburbs. A variety of working class and majority black suburbs located to the east of the city are included, such as McKeesport, a major part of the district are number of middle class suburbs that have historic Democratic roots, such as Pleasant Hills and Penn Hills. The seat has held by Democrat Mike Doyle since 1995. In the 2006 election, he faced Green Party candidate Titus North, list of United States congressional districts Pennsylvanias congressional districts Martis, Kenneth C. The Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress, the Historical Atlas of United States Congressional Districts. Archived from the original on December 16,2002, Congressional Biographical Directory of the United States 1774–present Congressional redistricting in Pennsylvania
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