David R. Porter
Encyclopedia
David Rittenhouse Porter (October 31, 1788 – August 6, 1867) was the ninth Governor of Pennsylvania
. He served from 1839 to 1845.
David R. Porter was the son of Andrew and Elizabeth (Parker) Porter. Andrew Porter distinguished himself in battle as a Revolutionary soldier, later became the state's surveyor general, but turned down an appointment by President Madison to become secretary of war.
Porter received a classical education at Norristown Academy. In 1813, he moved to Huntingdon where he studied law with Edward Shippen and eventually purchased an iron works. Due to the recession that followed the War of 1812
and his resulting business failure
his life was changed by 1819. He turned to politics, being elected to the General Assembly, and married Josephine McDermott in 1820.
He also served in row offices in Huntingdon County and then was elected to the Pennsylvania Senate in 1836. In 1838 Porter was nominated for governor by the Jacksonian Democrats in order to mend the split between former Governor George Wolf and the Rev. Henry A.
Muhlenberg, as well as defeat incumbent Governor Joseph Ritner's
bid for a second term.
By then the public had grown tired of the Anti-Masonic Party's "witch hunts," giving Porter a slim 5,500-voter margin of victory. The election result was bitterly contested by Ritner's supporters nearly to the point of violence. Known as the "Buckshot War," Governor Ritner was forced to order militia intervention in Harrisburg for the peaceful transition of government. Porter's victory was certified by the legislature only a few days before his inauguration.
Upon taking office, Porter was immediately challenged with heavy state spending, coupled with a recession that began in 1837. Affable, eloquent, but succinct in expression, his statements often moralized against the improvident profusion in spending. He obtained a tax on persons in professions and the trades that was much like an income tax, and the first tax on capital stock shares. He cut state spending and hiring, although his administration continued the work on the expansion of canals and railroads.
The governor also promoted the economic benefits of connecting canals and railroads between Pittsburgh and points west to the capitals of Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, and to the Mississippi River at St. Louis. Although the total state debt rose twenty-five percent under Porter, the state eventually had more than enough revenue to pay the interest.
Porter resisted attempts of the General Assembly to encroach upon constitutional separations of the executive and judicial branches and refused to recognize some demands of the legislature. Porter easily won re-election in 1841 over John Banks, the first Whig gubernatorial candidate to run without a coalition with the Anti-Masonic Party.
During his second term, the imprisonment of people for debts was abolished, but he faced difficult decisions with a rise of anti-foreign prejudice. During "Nativist riots" in Philadelphia in 1844, mainly directed toward Irish Catholic immigrants, Governor Porter acted firmly to suppress violence.
The new state constitution no longer allowed a third term as governor and acrimony with the assembly-including attempts to impeach him- and his own party's position against protective tariffs, which Porter favored, caused the governor to retire from politics.
After 1844, he resumed his private business in iron making, returning to public life only briefly in 1856 to endorse his longtime friend James Buchanan
for president.
Porter became involved in promoting a transcontinental railroad through Texas and adapting anthracite coal to iron making. He built the first anthracite coal furnace for iron in south central Pennsylvania at Harrisburg.
Speaking out against Southern secession from the Union, he lived long enough to see his son, Lt. Col. Horace Porter
, later a general, gain honor through many Civil War battles. As the aide-de-camp for General Grant, Horace Porter was present to witness the surrender of General Lee. It is said that Horace Porter’s book on the subject was the definitive account of the events at Appomatix Court House.
David R. Porter died August 6, 1867, at age seventy-eight, from a long illness contracted the previous winter after attending a night church meeting in Harrisburg. He is buried in Harrisburg Cemetery.
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
. He served from 1839 to 1845.
Life
Porter, the first governor under the State Constitution of 1838 was born October 31, 1788, near Norristown, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania spending his boyhood at Selma Mansion, a home built by his father in 1794.David R. Porter was the son of Andrew and Elizabeth (Parker) Porter. Andrew Porter distinguished himself in battle as a Revolutionary soldier, later became the state's surveyor general, but turned down an appointment by President Madison to become secretary of war.
Porter received a classical education at Norristown Academy. In 1813, he moved to Huntingdon where he studied law with Edward Shippen and eventually purchased an iron works. Due to the recession that followed 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...
and his resulting business failure
Business failure
Business failure refers to a company ceasing operations following its inability to make a profit or to bring in enough revenue to cover its expenses...
his life was changed by 1819. He turned to politics, being elected to the General Assembly, and married Josephine McDermott in 1820.
He also served in row offices in Huntingdon County and then was elected to the Pennsylvania Senate in 1836. In 1838 Porter was nominated for governor by the Jacksonian Democrats in order to mend the split between former Governor George Wolf and the Rev. Henry A.
Muhlenberg, as well as defeat incumbent Governor Joseph Ritner's
bid for a second term.
By then the public had grown tired of the Anti-Masonic Party's "witch hunts," giving Porter a slim 5,500-voter margin of victory. The election result was bitterly contested by Ritner's supporters nearly to the point of violence. Known as the "Buckshot War," Governor Ritner was forced to order militia intervention in Harrisburg for the peaceful transition of government. Porter's victory was certified by the legislature only a few days before his inauguration.
Upon taking office, Porter was immediately challenged with heavy state spending, coupled with a recession that began in 1837. Affable, eloquent, but succinct in expression, his statements often moralized against the improvident profusion in spending. He obtained a tax on persons in professions and the trades that was much like an income tax, and the first tax on capital stock shares. He cut state spending and hiring, although his administration continued the work on the expansion of canals and railroads.
The governor also promoted the economic benefits of connecting canals and railroads between Pittsburgh and points west to the capitals of Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, and to the Mississippi River at St. Louis. Although the total state debt rose twenty-five percent under Porter, the state eventually had more than enough revenue to pay the interest.
Porter resisted attempts of the General Assembly to encroach upon constitutional separations of the executive and judicial branches and refused to recognize some demands of the legislature. Porter easily won re-election in 1841 over John Banks, the first Whig gubernatorial candidate to run without a coalition with the Anti-Masonic Party.
During his second term, the imprisonment of people for debts was abolished, but he faced difficult decisions with a rise of anti-foreign prejudice. During "Nativist riots" in Philadelphia in 1844, mainly directed toward Irish Catholic immigrants, Governor Porter acted firmly to suppress violence.
The new state constitution no longer allowed a third term as governor and acrimony with the assembly-including attempts to impeach him- and his own party's position against protective tariffs, which Porter favored, caused the governor to retire from politics.
After 1844, he resumed his private business in iron making, returning to public life only briefly in 1856 to endorse his longtime friend James Buchanan
James Buchanan
James Buchanan, Jr. was the 15th President of the United States . He is the only president from Pennsylvania, the only president who remained a lifelong bachelor and the last to be born in the 18th century....
for president.
Porter became involved in promoting a transcontinental railroad through Texas and adapting anthracite coal to iron making. He built the first anthracite coal furnace for iron in south central Pennsylvania at Harrisburg.
Speaking out against Southern secession from the Union, he lived long enough to see his son, Lt. Col. Horace Porter
Horace Porter
Horace Porter, was an American soldier and diplomat who served as a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War....
, later a general, gain honor through many Civil War battles. As the aide-de-camp for General Grant, Horace Porter was present to witness the surrender of General Lee. It is said that Horace Porter’s book on the subject was the definitive account of the events at Appomatix Court House.
David R. Porter died August 6, 1867, at age seventy-eight, from a long illness contracted the previous winter after attending a night church meeting in Harrisburg. He is buried in Harrisburg Cemetery.