Chapter 3: A Brief Chapter for a Brief President
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President Porter
The day of Arthur's death Albert G. Porter was sworn in as the 22nd President of the United States of America. He had only a year before the election and like Arthur before him most expected a place holder president. This time they were right.
History, on the rare occasion that it mentions him, has portrayed Porter as a man who had little in the way of concrete ideas and essentially was there to placate reformers and win Indiana for the GOP. This is an unfair assessment. Porter had plenty of ideas. He'd originally been a Democrat, but his anti-slavery views has gotten him kicked out of the party after the pro-slavery faction won the battle to control the state party. So he joined the Republican Party and was soon elected to congress. There he investigated the railroads and their relation to government interests as the Civil War raged. In 1863 he refused a third term and returned to Indiana to practice law. In 1877 he roused controversy when he supported the striking workers during the Great Railroad Strike. In 1878 President Hayes appointed him as Comptroller of the United States Treasury. In 1880, while he was still in Washington, the Indiana Republican Party nominated him for Governor. By the time he heard about it the campaign was in full swing and he reluctantly accepted. He was narrowly elected with the help of the Knights of Labor.
As Governor he pursued a policy of continued industrialization and internal improvements. Under his watch the state drained acres and acres of wetlands. He instituted regulations on working conditions in the state. Most controversially he called on the legislature to give women the right to vote. He appointed women to charity positions across the state and continued to press for more rights. After months of heated debate the legislature agreed to put the issue up to a statewide ballot in exchange for also putting prohibition on the ballot. Both were handily defeated and Democrats were elected to the legislature in a land slide. From there it all went down hill as the legislature happily went about stripping the governor of his powers. Now virtually powerless the Republican nomination for Vice President was a breath of fresh air. He campaigned hard in Indiana and was rewarded when the state swung into the Republican column.
His term as Vice President was not particularly eventful. He enjoyed living with the cream of Washington society and was a popular figure. Occasionally he'd make a passing reference to women's suffrage or perhaps a nod to the Knights of Labor. But he mostly remained silent.
He remained silent upon his inauguration only making brief speeches and never making the commitments reformers begged of him. He was content to let congress take the lead even more then Arthur was and showed absolutely no interest in becoming President in his own right. When his successor was elected he graciously stepped out of the public eye.
It is tempting to dismiss Porter as a President who took the easy way out instead of standing firm in his ideals. This is misleading, had he tried to push for women's rights or similar reform topics he would've gravely hurt the Reform factions in the 1888 convention as well as the GOP's reputation as a whole. In any matter he soon retired to a private law practice. Shortly before his death in 1892 he published Reflections Of A President, which was not a memoir but rather a call for major reforms.
Before his Presidency was even over Albert Porter was being forgotten as all eyes turned towards the candidates of 1888.
~~~~~
President Porter
The day of Arthur's death Albert G. Porter was sworn in as the 22nd President of the United States of America. He had only a year before the election and like Arthur before him most expected a place holder president. This time they were right.
History, on the rare occasion that it mentions him, has portrayed Porter as a man who had little in the way of concrete ideas and essentially was there to placate reformers and win Indiana for the GOP. This is an unfair assessment. Porter had plenty of ideas. He'd originally been a Democrat, but his anti-slavery views has gotten him kicked out of the party after the pro-slavery faction won the battle to control the state party. So he joined the Republican Party and was soon elected to congress. There he investigated the railroads and their relation to government interests as the Civil War raged. In 1863 he refused a third term and returned to Indiana to practice law. In 1877 he roused controversy when he supported the striking workers during the Great Railroad Strike. In 1878 President Hayes appointed him as Comptroller of the United States Treasury. In 1880, while he was still in Washington, the Indiana Republican Party nominated him for Governor. By the time he heard about it the campaign was in full swing and he reluctantly accepted. He was narrowly elected with the help of the Knights of Labor.
As Governor he pursued a policy of continued industrialization and internal improvements. Under his watch the state drained acres and acres of wetlands. He instituted regulations on working conditions in the state. Most controversially he called on the legislature to give women the right to vote. He appointed women to charity positions across the state and continued to press for more rights. After months of heated debate the legislature agreed to put the issue up to a statewide ballot in exchange for also putting prohibition on the ballot. Both were handily defeated and Democrats were elected to the legislature in a land slide. From there it all went down hill as the legislature happily went about stripping the governor of his powers. Now virtually powerless the Republican nomination for Vice President was a breath of fresh air. He campaigned hard in Indiana and was rewarded when the state swung into the Republican column.
His term as Vice President was not particularly eventful. He enjoyed living with the cream of Washington society and was a popular figure. Occasionally he'd make a passing reference to women's suffrage or perhaps a nod to the Knights of Labor. But he mostly remained silent.
He remained silent upon his inauguration only making brief speeches and never making the commitments reformers begged of him. He was content to let congress take the lead even more then Arthur was and showed absolutely no interest in becoming President in his own right. When his successor was elected he graciously stepped out of the public eye.
It is tempting to dismiss Porter as a President who took the easy way out instead of standing firm in his ideals. This is misleading, had he tried to push for women's rights or similar reform topics he would've gravely hurt the Reform factions in the 1888 convention as well as the GOP's reputation as a whole. In any matter he soon retired to a private law practice. Shortly before his death in 1892 he published Reflections Of A President, which was not a memoir but rather a call for major reforms.
Before his Presidency was even over Albert Porter was being forgotten as all eyes turned towards the candidates of 1888.
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