Albert G. Porter
Encyclopedia
Albert Gallatin Porter was an American politician who served as the 19th Governor of Indiana
from 1881 to 1885 and as a United States Congress
man from 1859 to 1863. Originally a Democrat
, he joined the Republican Party
in 1856 after being expelled by the pro-slavery faction of the Democratic Party. Only the second person born in Indiana to become the state's governor, he reluctantly accepted his party's nomination to run. His term saw the start of Indiana's industrialization that continued for several decades. During the second half of his term a strong Democratic majority took control of the Indiana General Assembly
and revoked all of the governor's appointment powers and other authorities, weakening the governors position to its lowest state in the history of the state.
, the son of Thomas and Myra Tousey Porter. His father, a veteran of the War of 1812
, was a bank teller at the Farmer and Mechanic's Bank. Established by the state government in 1818, the bank folded after the Panic of 1819
. His father then served several years as a county clerk until the family moved to Boone County, Kentucky
after his mother inherited her father's farm. The large farm neighbored the Ohio River
at the area's most convenient crossing point, and Porter began managing his father's ferryboat, crossing wagons and passengers across the river.
Using the money he earned from working the ferry, he enrolled in Hanover College
in 1839, but soon ran out of money to continue his education. His uncle offered to pay for the remainder of his school, provided that he would switch to a Methodist school. Porter agreed, and attended and graduated from Asbury University (now DePauw University
) in 1843. The following year he moved to Indianapolis
, Indiana
where he took a job in the state's auditors office and briefly served as a private secretary to Governor of Indiana
James Whitcomb
. Whitcomb influenced Porter to pursue a career in law, so he began to study law in the office of Philip Spooner. He was admitted to the Indiana bar in 1845 and set entered a corporate law practice in Indianapolis headed by Hiram Brown. He met and married Brown's daughter, Minerva, on November 20, 1846. The couple had five children.
Porter took a secondary job writing for the Indianapolis Journal
, recording Indiana Supreme Court decisions, and gained a good reputation with the court. He served as the city attorney from 1851 until 1853, having run for office as a Democrat. In 1853 he was appointed to a vacant reporter seat for the Supreme Court. He was elected to the position in 1854 by a strong majority and served until 1856. That year, he became embroiled in the ongoing political feud between the pro-slavery and anti-slavery factions of the state Democratic party. The pro-slavery faction won, and Porter was among the anti-slavery men expelled from the party, causing him to join the newly formed Republican Party
. With his brother-in-law's help, Porter began to organized the Marion County Republican Party, and ran for the city council on the Republican ticket. He served a partial term in the office but resigned in 1859 after having won the 1858 congressional election.
until 1863, having been reelected once. As a congressman during the American Civil War
, he supported much of the wartime legislation. His primary contribution was his own investigation of the railroads, which had accepted numerous land grants from the government during the war and the years leading up to it. He calculated the value of the transactions, and balanced it again the amount the railroads were demanding for payment for shipping men and munitions, saving the at time cash-strapped government several million dollars. He was nominated a third time to run for Congress in 1862, but declined primarily because of the position's poor salary and his need to replenish his savings.
He returned to Indianapolis where became head of one of the state's leading law firms; his most famous partner was future United States President Benjamin Harrison
. He took on several high profile cases, including the Ex parte Milligan
case, which ended before the United States Supreme Court, who ruled that Lambdin P. Milligan
, who had been arrested during the war for subversive activities, and tried and convicted by a military tribunal, should be released as the tribunal had no authority to prosecute so long as the civil courts were still in operation.
He was nominated as a Republican candidate to run for governor in 1876, but he declined. In 1878, Porter was appointed by President Rutherford B. Hayes
as Comptroller of the United States Treasury
. As Comptroller he oversaw the settlement of numerous treasury disputes dating back to the Civil War. In 1880, while Porter was still in Washington, his party again nominated him to run for Governor, without his knowledge. By the time he received word, his party was already printing campaign posters and the party leaders were able to convince him to run for the good of the party. He reluctantly accepted, and returned to Indianapolis.
, he was able to gain the endorsement of the Knights of Labor
, who turned out a large labor vote in his favor. Porter narrowly won the election by about seven thousand votes. He was the first Republican to win the governorship in twelve years, and along with a strong Republican majority elected to the Indiana General Assembly
, he began a period of Republican dominance that would continue for a generation. Shortly after his term began, his party nominated him as a candidate for the United States Senate
, but he declined.
Porter's term focused primarily on the continuing industrial development in the state, and internal improvement. Porter had the Great Kankakee Swamp in northwestern Indiana surveyed and plans drafted for its draining. The swamp was at the time one of the largest wetlands in the United States and encompassed nearly a tenth of Indiana, and a large part of Illinois
. The plans were submitted to the General Assembly who approved of the plan, leading the reclamation of more than 800000 acres (3,237.5 km²) of land. To implement the project, the governor also advocated the creation of the Department of Geology and Natural History, the forerunner of the Indiana Department of Natural Resources
.
Among Porter's other successful projects included the creation of the State Board of Health, the institution of mining regulations that significantly improved working conditions for miners in the state, and advocacy for women's rights. In 1881, right delivered a speech to the General Assembly urging them to grant suffrage to women. Although no action was taken on his advice, it renewed the debate which had seen little advancement since Governor James D. Williams
had issued a similar request several years earlier. Porter used his appointment powers to advance the women's cause, appointing women to a variety of positions in state agencies, but primarily to board positions overseeing the state's benevolent institutions, like hospitals and orphanages. He also successfully forced out many of the non-expert members of important state boards, and replaced them with field experts.
The second half of Porter's term was one of the uncommon times in Indiana's history where the legislature was completely controlled by a party hostile to the governor. Typical to such occasions, the assembly began to reign in the governor whose weak constitutional position made it difficult to resist. One of their first acts was to revoke all of the governor's appointment powers. He vetoed the bill on its first passage, but the assembly quickly overrode it, taking the responsibility for appointing all board members in the state, a power the governor had held since the Civil War. They also began to enact legislation designed to weaken Republican power across the state, first by creating a state board to manage the newly formed Indianapolis metropolitan police department, taking away control from the Republican controlled city government. Along with other restrictive measures placed on the governor, they weakened the executive office to its lowest point in the history of the state. Nearly fifty years would pass before governors began to regain their former power.
The only significant legislation the governor was able to have passed during this time was a bill to fund a relief program following a flood that devastated the Wabash River
and Ohio River
areas in 1883. At the time the flood was the worst in the state's recorded history, and destroyed and damaged many towns and cities were in significant need of assistance. Consecutive terms being banned by the state constitution, Porter left office in 1884 and returned to his law practice.
where he delivered a speech and nominated his old law partner Benjamin Harrison to run for president. Harrison won the nomination and campaign and appointed Porter as Minister to Italy
in 1889. During his time there, he oversaw negotiations with Italy concerning the lynching of eleven Italians in the 1891 Mafia Riots following a highly publicized mafia
trial in New Orleans.
He resigned in 1892 and returned to Indianapolis where he spent the final years of his life working on a book on the history of Indiana. He never finished the book, which remains unpublished. He suffered a hard fall from which his health never recovered, leading to his death on May 3, 1897 and was buried in Crown Hill Cemetery
.
Governor of Indiana
The Governor of Indiana is the chief executive of the state of Indiana. The governor is elected to a four-year term, and responsible for overseeing the day-to-day management of the functions of many agencies of the Indiana state government. The governor also shares power with other statewide...
from 1881 to 1885 and as a United States Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
man from 1859 to 1863. Originally a Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
, he joined the Republican Party
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
in 1856 after being expelled by the pro-slavery faction of the Democratic Party. Only the second person born in Indiana to become the state's governor, he reluctantly accepted his party's nomination to run. His term saw the start of Indiana's industrialization that continued for several decades. During the second half of his term a strong Democratic majority took control of the Indiana General Assembly
Indiana General Assembly
The Indiana General Assembly is the state legislature, or legislative branch, of the state of Indiana. It is a bicameral legislature that consists of a lower house, the Indiana House of Representatives, and an upper house, the Indiana Senate...
and revoked all of the governor's appointment powers and other authorities, weakening the governors position to its lowest state in the history of the state.
Family and background
Albert G. Porter was born on April 20, 1824 in Lawrenceburg, IndianaLawrenceburg, Indiana
Lawrenceburg is a city in Dearborn County, Indiana, United States. The population was 5,042 at the 2010 census. The city is the county seat of Dearborn County...
, the son of Thomas and Myra Tousey Porter. His father, a veteran of the War of 1812
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...
, was a bank teller at the Farmer and Mechanic's Bank. Established by the state government in 1818, the bank folded after the Panic of 1819
Panic of 1819
The Panic of 1819 was the first major financial crisis in the United States, and had occurred during the political calm of the Era of Good Feelings. The new nation previously had faced a depression following the war of independence in the late 1780s and led directly to the establishment of the...
. His father then served several years as a county clerk until the family moved to Boone County, Kentucky
Boone County, Kentucky
Boone County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. It was formed in 1798. The population was 118,811 in the 2010 Census. Its county seat is Burlington. The county is named for frontiersman Daniel Boone...
after his mother inherited her father's farm. The large farm neighbored the Ohio River
Ohio River
The Ohio River is the largest tributary, by volume, of the Mississippi River. At the confluence, the Ohio is even bigger than the Mississippi and, thus, is hydrologically the main stream of the whole river system, including the Allegheny River further upstream...
at the area's most convenient crossing point, and Porter began managing his father's ferryboat, crossing wagons and passengers across the river.
Using the money he earned from working the ferry, he enrolled in Hanover College
Hanover College
Hanover College is a private liberal arts college, located in Hanover, Indiana, near the banks of the Ohio River. The college is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church . The college was founded in 1827 by the Rev. John Finley Crowe, making it the oldest private college in Indiana. The Hanover...
in 1839, but soon ran out of money to continue his education. His uncle offered to pay for the remainder of his school, provided that he would switch to a Methodist school. Porter agreed, and attended and graduated from Asbury University (now DePauw University
DePauw University
DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana, USA, is a private, national liberal arts college with an enrollment of approximately 2,400 students. The school has a Methodist heritage and was originally known as Indiana Asbury University. DePauw is a member of both the Great Lakes Colleges Association...
) in 1843. The following year he moved to Indianapolis
Indianapolis
Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...
, Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
where he took a job in the state's auditors office and briefly served as a private secretary to Governor of Indiana
Governor of Indiana
The Governor of Indiana is the chief executive of the state of Indiana. The governor is elected to a four-year term, and responsible for overseeing the day-to-day management of the functions of many agencies of the Indiana state government. The governor also shares power with other statewide...
James Whitcomb
James Whitcomb
James Whitcomb was a Democratic United States Senator and the eighth Governor of Indiana. As governor during the Mexican-American War, he oversaw the formation and deployment of the state's levies...
. Whitcomb influenced Porter to pursue a career in law, so he began to study law in the office of Philip Spooner. He was admitted to the Indiana bar in 1845 and set entered a corporate law practice in Indianapolis headed by Hiram Brown. He met and married Brown's daughter, Minerva, on November 20, 1846. The couple had five children.
Porter took a secondary job writing for the Indianapolis Journal
Indianapolis Journal
The Indianapolis Journal was a newspaper published in Indiana during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The paper published daily editions every evening except on Sundays when it published a morning edition. The paper was established in the 1823 as a pro-Whig newspaper. M.B. Martindale...
, recording Indiana Supreme Court decisions, and gained a good reputation with the court. He served as the city attorney from 1851 until 1853, having run for office as a Democrat. In 1853 he was appointed to a vacant reporter seat for the Supreme Court. He was elected to the position in 1854 by a strong majority and served until 1856. That year, he became embroiled in the ongoing political feud between the pro-slavery and anti-slavery factions of the state Democratic party. The pro-slavery faction won, and Porter was among the anti-slavery men expelled from the party, causing him to join the newly formed Republican Party
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
. With his brother-in-law's help, Porter began to organized the Marion County Republican Party, and ran for the city council on the Republican ticket. He served a partial term in the office but resigned in 1859 after having won the 1858 congressional election.
Congressman
He served in the United States House of RepresentativesUnited States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
until 1863, having been reelected once. As a congressman during the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, he supported much of the wartime legislation. His primary contribution was his own investigation of the railroads, which had accepted numerous land grants from the government during the war and the years leading up to it. He calculated the value of the transactions, and balanced it again the amount the railroads were demanding for payment for shipping men and munitions, saving the at time cash-strapped government several million dollars. He was nominated a third time to run for Congress in 1862, but declined primarily because of the position's poor salary and his need to replenish his savings.
He returned to Indianapolis where became head of one of the state's leading law firms; his most famous partner was future United States President Benjamin Harrison
Benjamin Harrison
Benjamin Harrison was the 23rd President of the United States . Harrison, a grandson of President William Henry Harrison, was born in North Bend, Ohio, and moved to Indianapolis, Indiana at age 21, eventually becoming a prominent politician there...
. He took on several high profile cases, including the Ex parte Milligan
Ex parte Milligan
Ex parte Milligan, , was a United States Supreme Court case that ruled that the application of military tribunals to citizens when civilian courts are still operating is unconstitutional. It was also controversial because it was one of the first cases after the end of the American Civil...
case, which ended before the United States Supreme Court, who ruled that Lambdin P. Milligan
Lambdin P. Milligan
Lambdin Purdy Milligan was a lawyer, farmer, and a leader of the Knights of the Golden Circle during the American Civil War. In 1864, he was unlawfully given a capital sentence, and later set free by the United States Supreme Court, setting a precedent later named after him: Ex parte Milligan...
, who had been arrested during the war for subversive activities, and tried and convicted by a military tribunal, should be released as the tribunal had no authority to prosecute so long as the civil courts were still in operation.
He was nominated as a Republican candidate to run for governor in 1876, but he declined. In 1878, Porter was appointed by President Rutherford B. Hayes
Rutherford B. Hayes
Rutherford Birchard Hayes was the 19th President of the United States . As president, he oversaw the end of Reconstruction and the United States' entry into the Second Industrial Revolution...
as Comptroller of the United States Treasury
Comptroller of the Treasury
The Comptroller of the Treasury was an official of the United States Department of the Treasury from 1789 to 1817. According to section III of the Act of Congress establishing the Treasury Department, it is the comptroller's duty to...
. As Comptroller he oversaw the settlement of numerous treasury disputes dating back to the Civil War. In 1880, while Porter was still in Washington, his party again nominated him to run for Governor, without his knowledge. By the time he received word, his party was already printing campaign posters and the party leaders were able to convince him to run for the good of the party. He reluctantly accepted, and returned to Indianapolis.
Republican legislature
One of the most notable thing about the campaign was Porter's sudden change in attire. In Washington he was well known for his style and manner of dress, but upon accepting the nomination he began dressing like a farmer, including wearing a straw hat. The campaign was "vigorous", and Porter traveled to all but five of the state's counties to stump and deliver speeches . Because he had supported the strikers in the Great Railroad Strike of 1877Great railroad strike of 1877
The Great Railroad Strike of 1877 began on July 14 in Martinsburg, West Virginia, United States and ended some 45 days later after it was put down by local and state militias, and federal troops.-Economic conditions in the 1870s:...
, he was able to gain the endorsement of the Knights of Labor
Knights of Labor
The Knights of Labor was the largest and one of the most important American labor organizations of the 1880s. Its most important leader was Terence Powderly...
, who turned out a large labor vote in his favor. Porter narrowly won the election by about seven thousand votes. He was the first Republican to win the governorship in twelve years, and along with a strong Republican majority elected to the Indiana General Assembly
Indiana General Assembly
The Indiana General Assembly is the state legislature, or legislative branch, of the state of Indiana. It is a bicameral legislature that consists of a lower house, the Indiana House of Representatives, and an upper house, the Indiana Senate...
, he began a period of Republican dominance that would continue for a generation. Shortly after his term began, his party nominated him as a candidate for the United States Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
, but he declined.
Porter's term focused primarily on the continuing industrial development in the state, and internal improvement. Porter had the Great Kankakee Swamp in northwestern Indiana surveyed and plans drafted for its draining. The swamp was at the time one of the largest wetlands in the United States and encompassed nearly a tenth of Indiana, and a large part of Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
. The plans were submitted to the General Assembly who approved of the plan, leading the reclamation of more than 800000 acres (3,237.5 km²) of land. To implement the project, the governor also advocated the creation of the Department of Geology and Natural History, the forerunner of the Indiana Department of Natural Resources
Indiana Department of Natural Resources
The Indiana Department of Natural Resources is the agency of the U.S. state of Indiana charged with maintaining natural areas such as state parks, state forests, recreation areas, etc...
.
Among Porter's other successful projects included the creation of the State Board of Health, the institution of mining regulations that significantly improved working conditions for miners in the state, and advocacy for women's rights. In 1881, right delivered a speech to the General Assembly urging them to grant suffrage to women. Although no action was taken on his advice, it renewed the debate which had seen little advancement since Governor James D. Williams
James D. Williams
James Douglas Williams , nicknamed Blue Jeans Bill, was a farmer and Democratic politician who held public office in Indiana for four decades, and was the only farmer elected as the Governor of Indiana, serving from 1877 to 1880...
had issued a similar request several years earlier. Porter used his appointment powers to advance the women's cause, appointing women to a variety of positions in state agencies, but primarily to board positions overseeing the state's benevolent institutions, like hospitals and orphanages. He also successfully forced out many of the non-expert members of important state boards, and replaced them with field experts.
Democratic legislature
After several months of debate, the General Assembly finally agreed to a compromise to grant women the right to vote by agreeing to also enact prohibition legislation. They proposed an amendment to the state constitution that would both grant women the right to vote, and enact statewide prohibition. The two issues were to much for the electorate to consider at once, and in the mid-term election of 1882, the amendment was overwhelming defeated, and so were the Republicans as a large Democratic majority came to power.The second half of Porter's term was one of the uncommon times in Indiana's history where the legislature was completely controlled by a party hostile to the governor. Typical to such occasions, the assembly began to reign in the governor whose weak constitutional position made it difficult to resist. One of their first acts was to revoke all of the governor's appointment powers. He vetoed the bill on its first passage, but the assembly quickly overrode it, taking the responsibility for appointing all board members in the state, a power the governor had held since the Civil War. They also began to enact legislation designed to weaken Republican power across the state, first by creating a state board to manage the newly formed Indianapolis metropolitan police department, taking away control from the Republican controlled city government. Along with other restrictive measures placed on the governor, they weakened the executive office to its lowest point in the history of the state. Nearly fifty years would pass before governors began to regain their former power.
The only significant legislation the governor was able to have passed during this time was a bill to fund a relief program following a flood that devastated the Wabash River
Wabash River
The Wabash River is a river in the Midwestern United States that flows southwest from northwest Ohio near Fort Recovery across northern Indiana to southern Illinois, where it forms the Illinois-Indiana border before draining into the Ohio River, of which it is the largest northern tributary...
and Ohio River
Ohio River
The Ohio River is the largest tributary, by volume, of the Mississippi River. At the confluence, the Ohio is even bigger than the Mississippi and, thus, is hydrologically the main stream of the whole river system, including the Allegheny River further upstream...
areas in 1883. At the time the flood was the worst in the state's recorded history, and destroyed and damaged many towns and cities were in significant need of assistance. Consecutive terms being banned by the state constitution, Porter left office in 1884 and returned to his law practice.
Final years and legacy
Porter's wife had died in 1875, and on January 5, 1881 he remarried to Cornela Stone. The marriage was brief, and she died in 1886. His party attempted to nominate him to run for governor again 1888, but he declined. He did serve as a delegate to the 1888 Republican National Convention1888 Republican National Convention
-Synopsis:The 1888 Republican National Convention was a presidential nominating convention held at the Auditorium Building in Chicago, Illinois, on June 19-25, 1888. It resulted in the nomination of Benjamin Harrison, a former senator of Indiana, and Levi P. Morton, a former U.S. representative of...
where he delivered a speech and nominated his old law partner Benjamin Harrison to run for president. Harrison won the nomination and campaign and appointed Porter as Minister to Italy
United States Ambassador to Italy
Since 1840, the United States has had diplomatic representation in the Italian Republic and its predecessor nation, the Kingdom of Italy, with a break in relations from 1941 to 1944 while Italy and the U.S. were at war during World War II. The U.S. Mission to Italy is headed by the Embassy of the...
in 1889. During his time there, he oversaw negotiations with Italy concerning the lynching of eleven Italians in the 1891 Mafia Riots following a highly publicized mafia
Mafia
The Mafia is a criminal syndicate that emerged in the mid-nineteenth century in Sicily, Italy. It is a loose association of criminal groups that share a common organizational structure and code of conduct, and whose common enterprise is protection racketeering...
trial in New Orleans.
He resigned in 1892 and returned to Indianapolis where he spent the final years of his life working on a book on the history of Indiana. He never finished the book, which remains unpublished. He suffered a hard fall from which his health never recovered, leading to his death on May 3, 1897 and was buried in Crown Hill Cemetery
Crown Hill Cemetery
Crown Hill Cemetery, located at 700 West 38th Street in Indianapolis, is the third largest non-governmental cemetery in the United States at . It contains of paved road, over 150 species of trees and plants, over 185,000 graves, and services roughly 1,500 burials per year. It sits on the highest...
.