USA > Ohio > Ross County > Chillicothe > Ohio centennial anniversary celebration at Chillicothe, May 20-21, 1903 : under the auspices of the Ohio State Archaelogical and Historical Society : complete proceedings > Part 23
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The contest over the election of delegates was vigorous and bitter ; when the convention met at Chillicothe in November, 1802, and voted on the expediency of statehood, thirty-four voted yes, only one voted no. This was an overwhelming victory for the Chillicotheans; they controlled the convention completely.
Edward Tiffin was its president, and a careful study of its committees and proceedings will disclose what an iron grip they had upon it, and how fully they directed its actions.
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For years these men had been contending for the right of the people to govern themselves through their representatives, and had been fighting the paternal policy of their governor. It was but natural, when the opportunity came, for them to try to secure perpetually these principles and to embody them in their consti- tution. The governor was made a mere figurehead, given no control whatever over the Legislature, by the right of vetoing its acts or otherwise ; he was not even required to sign its laws be- fore they went into effect (provisions still in force) ; was shorn of all patronage and allowed to name no officers, except an adju- tant-general. The Legislature made all the appointments of state officers, including the judiciary ; its powers were bounded only by the constitution itself, which protects the people by a long and liberal bill of rights and provides an easy way of amending its provisions. This constitution was the full and complete triumph of democracy, and is the crowning glory of those who brought it about; for the history of the Anglo-Saxon race in its broadest sense is a record of the struggles of the people to assert them- selves against their rulers. The great trophies in this contest are the Magna Charter and the Bill of Rights of 1689, won by our ancestors in the old home across the sea, and the Declaration of Independence, made good by our Revolutionary forefathers in America. Each of these marks a long step forward toward a "government of the people, by the people and for the people," but none go quite so far as to claim for the people absolute power, freed from all control by king or president or governor. The first to reach that goal were the founders of Ohio, led by the Chil- licothe statesmen, who had been trained in their backwoods strug- gles with savage men and rugged nature to rely on themselves alone, and to allow no man to dictate what was best for them and theirs.
It would be doing the framers of the first constitution of Ohio a grievous wrong to stop with this statement. They did not by any means intend to make the governor of Ohio a mere figure- head; they only were determined to make it impossible for a weak or wicked executive to thwart the will and wishes of the people; they wanted no tyrant even for one moment to rule in Ohio; they knew full well that a man worthy in mind and character to be
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the governor of Ohio could and would exercise great influence on the affairs of state, by reason and by argument he could guide the Legislature far better and more safely than by any political power conferred on him; in effect they said to the governor of Ohio - you are the first citizen of this state, now be a leader of the people by the force of your character and strength of your mind, draw them to your policies by convincing them that what you offer is right and best for the commonwealth; thwart them by force or bribe them by patronage you shall not. In their action on the subject of the governorship these men embodied a great truth - the mere cloak of office makes no man good nor great ; a knave or a fool, if clothed with power, may do untold harm; a wise and an able man brings to any position all the dignity and influence which it needs ; they said, we will give this office to our leaders, because they have proven themselves to be great men and will be equal to all its requirements ; should by chance any dema- gogue or vain and brainless citizen obtain the place, so much the worse for him.
They had read aright the fable in which the lion's skin is put on the ass : it did not make him a lion, it only made him more of an ass. The founders of Ohio proved the sincerity of their belief by their practice, the governors which they gave to Ohio were their tried and trusted leaders. Tiffin, Meigs, Worthington and Morrow need only be named to demonstrate the truth of this assertion ; all these were men of large experience and distinction when they came into the governorship -men in every way worthy to be called leaders of men.
Now having before us the limitations and ideals set by the framers of our first constitution for the governors of Ohio, let us briefly pass in review the men who filled the governor's chair during the first half century of her statehood and see how nearly they met the hopes and desires of those who created them.
The first governor of Ohio was Edward Tiffin, who was born in Carlisle, England, in 1766, came to America in 1784, at- tended Jefferson Medical College and in due time was licensed to practice his profession. In 1789 he married a sister of Thomas Worthington, then a resident of Berkeley County, Virginia, and
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lived in that state for fourteen years. In 1798 he manumitted the slaves inherited by his wife and moved to Chillicothe. He at once became an active member of this, then new, community, and by his character and ability soon took rank as one of its leading citizens. He was a member from Ross County of both the first and second Territorial Legislatures and in both was elected speaker of the House; he played a prominent part in the contest over the admission of Ohio into the Union, was elected a delegate to the convention which framed the first constitution of Ohio, was chosen president of that body and when Ohio became a state was elected governor, and in 1805 was re-elected to the same office, both times without opposition; in 1807 was elected to the United States Senate; in 1809 he resigned his seat in that body, was immediately elected a member of the General Assembly of Ohio, in which body he served two terms, during both of which he was speaker of the House. President Madison ap- pointed him commissioner of public lands; he was the first in- cumbent of this office and while filling it achieved the unique distinction of being the only public official who saved entire the records of his office when Washington City was captured by the British; he afterwards exchanged this position for that of sur- veyor-general of the Northwest, which enabled him to reside at home.
Ohio was fortunate in having her first chief executive a man of Tiffin's character and ability ; he was a strong and fear- less opponent of all schemes to introduce slavery into Ohio, a bold and fearless advocate of the free navigation of the Missis- sippi, a courageous factor in stopping the conspiracy of Aaron Burr and is well entitled to the praise bestowed upon him by Hon. Daniel J. Ryan in his history of Ohio, who says: "No man who has ever filled the gubernatorial chair of Ohio, possessed a greater genius for the administration of public affairs than Ed- ward Tiffin. His work in advancing and developing the state has not been equaled by that of any man in its history."
In 1807 Return Jonathan Meigs of Washington County was elected governor, but his election being contested the General Assembly decided that he was not eligible because he had not been a resident of the state for the length of time required by the
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constitution. Thomas Kirker, of Adams County, who was the president of the Senate, thereupon became acting governor. Governor Kirker was of Irish ancestry, a member of the con- stitutional convention and represented Adams County in both branches of the General Assembly of Ohio for many years, at times serving as presiding officer of each body. He was one of the leading opponents of Governor St. Clair and a warm friend of the Chillicothe party.
In 1808 Samuel Huntington of Trumbull County was elected governor ; he was a native of Connecticut, a graduate of Yale, had represented Trumbull County in the constitutional conven- tion and State Senate and at the time of his election was a judge of the Supreme Court; his administration was stormy, its chief distinction being "The sweeping resolution," which was an at- tempt to subordinate the judiciary to the Legislature and which happily ended in failure.
The next governor of Ohio was Return Jonathan Meigs, of Washington County, who served two terms. Meigs was a na- tive of Connecticut, a graduate of Yale, a member of the first Territorial Legislature, judge of the Supreme Court of the Northwest Territory, also of Louisiana Territory, at the time of his election a member of the United States Senate and resigned the governorship to become postmaster-general of the United States, which office he held for more than nine years.
Governor Meigs was an able and active man, a bitter oppo- nent of St. Clair, going even farther against him than the Chil- licothe leaders and enjoys the distinction of being the first war governor of Ohio; during the war of 1812 he rendered much valuable service to his country's cause. Othniel Looker, of Ham- ilton County, being speaker of the Senate, filled out Meigs' unex- pired time ; Governor Looker represented Hamilton County, both before and after occupying the executive office, many times in both branches of the General Assembly.
Ross County furnished the next governor - Thomas Worth- ington, who served two terms. Worthington was a native of Virginia, an early settler of Chillicothe and a prominent member of the coterie opposed to St. Clair, being their representative in Washington, was a member of both territorial legislatures, the
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constitutional convention and one of the first two senators sent by Ohio to Congress.
As governor, Worthington was a strong advocate of public schools and improved transportation facilities, the encouragement of manufactures and the reform of the banking facilities. Gov- ernor Chase well said of him, "He was the father of internal improvements, of the Great National Road, and of the Erie Canal." Time forbids our giving him the notice he deserves. He was a statesman, a scholar and a gentleman, his beautiful home Adena was a model of beauty and elegance and famed for its charming hospitality and distinguished guests.
Ethan Allen Brown, a native of Connecticut, was the next governor, being at the time of his election a citizen of Hamil- ton County and a judge of the Supreme Court. His adminis- tration was marked by its enthusiasm for the building of canals. and the establishment of free schools and it was troubled by the results of bad banking and unwise credits for land.
In 1822 Governor Brown was elected to the United States Senate, and Allen Trimble, as speaker of the Senate, became acting governor. From 1822 to 1826 Jeremiah Morrow, of War- ren County, was governor. Born in Pennsylvania of Scotch-Irish ancestry, he came to Ohio in 1796, and few of her sons have served her longer or more faithfully; he was a member of the second Territorial Assembly, of the constitutional convention, and of the first General Assembly ; he was the first and, for ten years, the only representative of the state in the lower house of Con- gress ; served one term in the United States Senate and then after the close of his two terms as governor served in both branches of the General Assembly, and closed his career with two terms in Congress when over seventy years of age.
It is impossible to recount, in a limited time, the great ser- vices of this remarkable man whose hard common sense, frank- ness, honesty and thorough knowledge of the questions coming before him commanded the implicit confidence and respect of all men. As governor he was industrious in encouraging the con- struction of canals and other public improvements, and his ad- ministration saw the beginning of work on both the canal sys- tem of Ohio and the National Road.
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Allen Trimble, of Highland County, next filled the governor's chair for two terms. Born in Virginia, he had spent most of his life in Ohio, and had the unique distinction of having been seven times elected speaker of the State Senate ; during one of his terms as speaker he became acting governor of Ohio by reason of the resignation of Ethan Allen Brown, so when elected governor he had already had a year's previous experience in the executive office.
He was a strong friend of the common schools and public improvements ; his administration saw the beginning of the Abo- lition movement and the dawn of another era in the history of Ohio. His successor, General Duncan McArthur, of Ross County, a native of New York, was the last of the pioneer governors.
He had been a part of the beginnings of Ohio, a surveyor in the wilderness, a member and speaker of both branches of the General Assembly and a representative in Congress. His chief distinction, however, is as a soldier; at eighteen he began his military career as a private in Harmar's expedition, served the next year in another Indian campaign, was made captain of mili- tia by St. Clair in 1798, and elected major-general of the Ohio militia in 1808 by the General Assembly of Ohio. In the War of 1812 he enlisted as a private, was almost immediately elected colonel of the first regiment of Ohio volunteers, bore a most creditable part in Hull's unfortunate campaign and made, during the course of this war, in the operations around the western end of Lake Erie, so brilliant a record that he was, at its termination, a brigadier-general of the regular army.
His administration as governor saw the last of the Indian wars, which particularly affected Ohio, the canals in operation, the National Road in use, and the commencement of the era of railways, eleven being chartered at one session of the General Assembly of 1831 and 1832.
In 1832 Robert Lucas, of Pike County, was elected governor ; he was a native of Virginia, had served in the War of 1812, ob- taining the rank of brigadier-general, and had been a member of both branches of the General Assembly and twice speaker of the State Senate. He had the honor of presiding over the first Dem- ocratic National Convention, which nominated General Jackson
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for his second term. During Governor Lucas' second term oc- curred the famous controversy with Michigan over the north- western boundary of the state. Ohio came out of this conflict victorious, and Governor Lucas was immortalized by having a county named for him at the mouth of the Maumee.
The Whigs elected the next governor in the person of Joseph Vance, of Champaign County ; he was a native of Pennsylvania, a soldier in the War of 1812, many times a member of the Gen- eral Assembly, and for fourteen years a member of Congress. During his administration the school system of Ohio was thor- oughly revised and greatly improved.
In 1838 Wilson Shannon, of Belmont County, was elected governor ; he was the first native-born citizen to achieve this posi- tion. He was a distinguished lawyer, and one of the very few men who came into this office without previous service in other positions. His administration was marked by an increase of the Abolition movement, and marred by hard times. In 1842 he was defeated for re-election by Thomas Corwin. In 1844 was again elected governor, defeating Corwin, and in 1844 resigned to be- come minister to Mexico.
Thomas Corwin is one of the best known of our governors, famous for his oratory and wit. He was born in Kentucky, acted as wagon boy in the War of 1812, and had served two terms in the General Assembly and five in Congress when elected chief magistrate of Ohio. After his term as governor, he was elected to the United States Senate, and resigned from that body to be- come secretary of the treasury.
When Governor Shannon resigned in 1844, Thomas W. Bartley, of Richland County, speaker of the Senate, became act- ing governor. He was a Democrat, and was succeeded in the office by his father, Mordecai Bartley, a Whig. The latter was born in Pennsylvania, was an officer in the War of 1812, a mem- ber of the General Assembly, and had served four terms in Con- gress, from 1823 to 1831.
Mordecai Bartley was the second war governor of Ohio, his administration witnessing the war with Mexico. During his term the Bank of the State of Ohio was chartered, and our pres- ent system of taxation adopted. In 1846 William Bebb, of But-
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ler County, a native of the state, was elected to the executive office. He was a sturdy opponent of "the black laws," and during his term much progress was made in internal improvements.
Seabury Ford, of Geauga County, was the last Whig candi- date elected governor of Ohio. He was a native of Connecticut, and had served in both branches of the General Assembly.
The last governor under the first constitution was Reuben Wood, of Cuyahoga County, a native of Vermont, who had been a state senator and a judge of both the Common Pleas and Su- preme Courts.
The convention elected to frame a new constitution for Ohio, met during Governor Wood's first term, and the instrument, framed by it, went into effect in 1852, so he was the first governor under the second as well as the last under the first.
His administration was a time of great activity in financial affairs, the free banking system was inaugurated, and many rail- road lines opened for traffic. In 1853 Governor Wood resigned to accept the position of consul at Valparaiso. Under the first constitution nineteen men held the executive office. Of these sixteen were elected and three succeeded as speakers of the Sen- ate. All but Tiffin, and possibly Kirker, were natives of the United States. Four were born in Connecticut, three in Virginia, three in Pennsylvania, three in Ohio, one in New York, one in Kentucky, and one in Vermont. The records fail to show to what state Kirker should be credited. Ross County furnished three, Hamilton, Warren and Richland each two, and Adams, Trum- bull, Washington, Highland, Pike, Champaign, Belmont, Butler, Geauga and Cuyahoga one each. All but three of them had served in the Territorial Legislatures or the General Assemblies of Ohio, five had been members of Congress, six United States senators, two became cabinet officers, and two had occupied seats on the Supreme bench of Ohio.
The men who were governors of Ohio under the first consti- tution have now passed before you. In ability they varied, yet each and all were men of good hard common sense. In character they were upright and clean, in achievement they obtained vari- ous degrees of success, but each contributed something to the greatness and upbuilding of their state. The devotion of them all
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to their duty, as they saw it, is beyond question. They were all representatives of the best citizenship of their day and generation, and each vindicated in his way the faith of the framers of the first constitution that the people could be trusted to select for their governors men whom they knew to be tried and true; men in every way worthy to be called leaders of men.
FORT HARMAR. BUILT 1785.
THE GOVERNORS OF OHIO UNDER THE SECOND CONSTITUTION.
JAMES E. CAMPBELL.
The second constitution of Ohio was adopted in 1851, but Reuben Wood, then governor, remained in office until 1853, so that the topic, "The Governors under the Second Constitution," covers precisely the second half cen- tury of the state's existence. During this time there have been nineteen governors. Of these nineteen, all but one were natives of this country, and of English, Scotch, or Scotch-Irish stock. Not only were they natives themselves, but in every case they were descended from many genera- tions of native ancestors; while they have stood for diverse ideas, creeds and affiliations, yet in one respect they have been alike-they have repre- sented in their own persons, long- descended, inborn, thorough Amer- JAMES E. CAMPBELL. canism.
Of these nineteen men only eight were college-bred, which shows how great a part the "little red schoolhouse" has played in the making of history; of fourteen who came in since the great day of Appomattox, ten were veterans of the Civil War, proving that Republics are not always ungrateful. Two have been president of the United States, one a chief justice, four cabinet officers, three foreign ministers, three United States senators, eight representatives in Congress; evidently their ser- vices were not unappreciated by their countrymen.
Let us call the roll.
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WILLIAM MEDILL was born in New Castle County, Dela- ware, in 1802, and died at Lancaster, Ohio, September 2, 1865. He came to Lancaster in 1832, entering at once on the practice of the law; then served three years in the State Legislature, and four years - from 1839 to 1843-in Congress. Early in President Polk's administration he was made first assistant post- master-general, but resigned to accept the Commissionership of Indian Affairs, in which office he introduced many needed re- forms. The Indian Bureau was then a part of the War De- partment, but was transferred to the Department of the Interior shortly before Governor Medill resigned. The department had just been created, and the first secretary was Thomas Ewing, also a citizen of Lancaster.
In 1851 he was selected as president of the convention which constructed the second constitution of the state. He was very influential in that body, and was the only member (out of one hundred and five) who rose to the governorship. Less than a dozen members of the body achieved any subsequent distinction - a just retribution for their failure to arm the office of gov- ernor with the salutary power of the veto.
In 1853 Governor Medill (being then lieutenant-governor) succeeded to the governor's office upon the resignation of Gover- nor Wood, and was elected to that office the same fall. He subsequently held the position of first comptroller of the United States Treasury, serving through all of President Buchanan's administration, and two months under President Lincoln. His public career then ended, and he returned to Lancaster where he was held in the highest esteem by the people.
Governor Medill was a man of strict integrity, and firm purposes ; as an illustration, when he was comptroller an old claim passed both houses of Congress involving an expenditure of two or three millions, and was approved by the President. Medill, satisfied that it was a fraud, refused to pay it. The appeals of congressmen and senators, and of the President himself, failed to move him, and the claim was not paid. An attempt was then made to impeach him in the Senate, but the firmness of R. M. T. Hunter, of Virginia, and others who had confidence in his judgment and integrity, frustrated it.
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Although Governor Medill was a man of culture, of fine manners, and fond of society, he never married. He has the. distinction - if it be such -to have been the only bachelor who occupied the gubernatorial chair of Ohio.
SALMON PORTLAND CHASE was born in Cornish, N. H., on January 13, 1808, and died in the city of New York on May 7, 1883.
He procured an education by close economy and hard work, and graduated at Dartmouth in 1826, becoming subsequently a. law student in William Wirt's office in Washington. Although he had spent some years in Ohio with his celebrated uncle, Bishop Philander Chase, he did not formally settle in the state until he went to Cincinnati, in 1830, where, in his early practice, he- compiled "Chase's Statutes of Ohio."
In politics he was an Abolition-Democrat, and, while pur- suing his law studies in Washington, was actively engaged in trying to procure the abolition of slavery in the District of Co- lumbia. During his residence in Cincinnati, before he entered upon his public career, he was the head and front of the long and bitter contest against slavery. His labors on behalf of Bir- ney's newspaper, "The Philanthropist," (which was destroyed by a mob in 1836) and his defense in court of the alleged slave girl Matilda, are among the well remembered instances of his willingness to face danger and unpopularity where anti-slavery principles were at stake. In the language of one of his admirers "behind the dusky face of every black man he saw his Savior, the divine man, also scourged, also in prison, at last crucified."
In 1849 Mr. Chase was elected to the United States Senate by the Democrats in the Legislature with the aid of two "free soilers" who held the balance of power. In 1855 he was elected governor, and again in 1857. During these four years the Re- publican party was organized; and, in 1860, Mr. Chase was a prominent candidate for the presidential nomination. His name was presented by the Ohio delegation, but they did not press his claims with as much ardor and persistence as he expected.
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