Lot M. Morrill
Encyclopedia
Lot Myrick Morrill was an American
statesman who served as the 28th Governor of Maine
, in the United States Senate
and as Secretary of the Treasury
.
He was born in Belgrade, Maine
, to Peaslee and Nancy (Macomber) Morrill, and studied law at Waterville College, now Colby College
. His older brother Anson P. Morrill
was also a prominent U.S. statesman.
A member of the Republican
party, he served in the Maine State Senate from 1854 until 1856, and was elected Governor of Maine in 1858. (His brother Anson P. Morrill
also served as Maine
's governor.) He served in that office until 1861 when he was elected to the U.S. Senate to replace Hannibal Hamlin
, who had left his seat to become Abraham Lincoln
's running mate. He served in the Senate from 1861 until 1869 and then appointed to fill the vacancy caused by the death of William Pitt Fessenden and re-elected to the post, for another stint of service from 1869 to 1876. In the Senate he was the first chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations. He was also chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee to Audit and Control the Contingent Expense (38th and 39th Congresses), U.S. Senate Committee on the District of Columbia (39th Congress), the Committee on Appropriations (40th, 41st, 43rd and 44th Congresses) and the U.S. Senate Committee on the Library (41st and 42nd Congresses).
Morrill came into the U.S. Senate at a pivotal moment in history. In 1861, shortly after the outbreak of hostility, he argued strongly against compromise on the principles of slavery (via Constitutional Amendments) in order to restore the peace. By the end of the war, he argued against punishing the southern states for the rebellion, and in favor of higher education for people of all races.
He was then appointed Treasury Secretary and served from 1876 to 1877 under President
Grant
and for five days under Rutherford B. Hayes
. Following his term in the Grant Administration, he returned to Maine and became Collector of Customs for the Port of Portland, Maine.
He died in Augusta, Maine
, leaving his wife Charlotte and four daughters, and is interred at Forest Grove Cemetery in that city.
"I admit that this species of legislation Civil Rights Act of 1866
is absolutely revolutionary. But are we not in the midst of a revolution? Is the Senator from Kentucky utterly oblivious to the grand results of four years of war? Are we not in the midst of a civil and political revolution which has changed the fundamental principles of our government in some respects? ... There was a civilization based on servitude.... Where is that? ... Gone forever.... We have revolutionized this Constitution of ours to that extent and every substantial change in the fundamental constitution of a country is a revolution.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
statesman who served as the 28th Governor of Maine
Governor of Maine
The governor of Maine is the chief executive of the State of Maine. Before Maine was admitted to the Union in 1820, Maine was part of Massachusetts and the governor of Massachusetts was chief executive....
, in 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...
and as Secretary of the Treasury
United States Secretary of the Treasury
The Secretary of the Treasury of the United States is the head of the United States Department of the Treasury, which is concerned with financial and monetary matters, and, until 2003, also with some issues of national security and defense. This position in the Federal Government of the United...
.
He was born in Belgrade, Maine
Belgrade, Maine
Belgrade is a town in Kennebec County, Maine, United States. The population was 2,978 at the 2000 census. Belgrade's population, however, approximately doubles during the summer months as part-year residents return to seasonal camps located on the shores of Great Pond, Long Pond and Messalonskee...
, to Peaslee and Nancy (Macomber) Morrill, and studied law at Waterville College, now Colby College
Colby College
Colby College is a private liberal arts college located on Mayflower Hill in Waterville, Maine. Founded in 1813, it is the 12th-oldest independent liberal arts college in the United States...
. His older brother Anson P. Morrill
Anson P. Morrill
Anson Peaslee Morrill was an American politician. Born in 1803 in Belgrade, Maine, originally a storekeeper and millkeeper, he was the 24th Governor of Maine from 1855 to 1856, represented Maine's fourth district in the United States House of Representatives from 1861 to 1863 and served in the...
was also a prominent U.S. statesman.
A member of the Republican
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...
party, he served in the Maine State Senate from 1854 until 1856, and was elected Governor of Maine in 1858. (His brother Anson P. Morrill
Anson P. Morrill
Anson Peaslee Morrill was an American politician. Born in 1803 in Belgrade, Maine, originally a storekeeper and millkeeper, he was the 24th Governor of Maine from 1855 to 1856, represented Maine's fourth district in the United States House of Representatives from 1861 to 1863 and served in the...
also served as Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
's governor.) He served in that office until 1861 when he was elected to the U.S. Senate to replace Hannibal Hamlin
Hannibal Hamlin
Hannibal Hamlin was the 15th Vice President of the United States , serving under President Abraham Lincoln during the American Civil War...
, who had left his seat to become Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
's running mate. He served in the Senate from 1861 until 1869 and then appointed to fill the vacancy caused by the death of William Pitt Fessenden and re-elected to the post, for another stint of service from 1869 to 1876. In the Senate he was the first chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations. He was also chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee to Audit and Control the Contingent Expense (38th and 39th Congresses), U.S. Senate Committee on the District of Columbia (39th Congress), the Committee on Appropriations (40th, 41st, 43rd and 44th Congresses) and the U.S. Senate Committee on the Library (41st and 42nd Congresses).
Morrill came into the U.S. Senate at a pivotal moment in history. In 1861, shortly after the outbreak of hostility, he argued strongly against compromise on the principles of slavery (via Constitutional Amendments) in order to restore the peace. By the end of the war, he argued against punishing the southern states for the rebellion, and in favor of higher education for people of all races.
He was then appointed Treasury Secretary and served from 1876 to 1877 under President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Grant
Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant was the 18th President of the United States as well as military commander during the Civil War and post-war Reconstruction periods. Under Grant's command, the Union Army defeated the Confederate military and ended the Confederate States of America...
and for five days under 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...
. Following his term in the Grant Administration, he returned to Maine and became Collector of Customs for the Port of Portland, Maine.
He died in Augusta, Maine
Augusta, Maine
Augusta is the capital of the US state of Maine, county seat of Kennebec County, and center of population for Maine. The city's population was 19,136 at the 2010 census, making it the third-smallest state capital after Montpelier, Vermont and Pierre, South Dakota...
, leaving his wife Charlotte and four daughters, and is interred at Forest Grove Cemetery in that city.
Famous Quotes by Senator Morrill
Speech in Congress, February 1, 1866:"I admit that this species of legislation Civil Rights Act of 1866
Civil Rights Act of 1866
The Civil Rights Act of 1866, , enacted April 9, 1866, is a federal law in the United States that was mainly intended to protect the civil rights of African-Americans, in the wake of the American Civil War...
is absolutely revolutionary. But are we not in the midst of a revolution? Is the Senator from Kentucky utterly oblivious to the grand results of four years of war? Are we not in the midst of a civil and political revolution which has changed the fundamental principles of our government in some respects? ... There was a civilization based on servitude.... Where is that? ... Gone forever.... We have revolutionized this Constitution of ours to that extent and every substantial change in the fundamental constitution of a country is a revolution.