Richard W. Thompson
Encyclopedia
Richard Wigginton Thompson (June 9, 1809 – February 9, 1900) was an American politician
.
Thompson was born in Culpeper County, Virginia
. He left Virginia
in 1831 and lived briefly in Louisville, Kentucky
before finally settling in Lawrence County, Indiana
. There, he taught school, kept a store, and studied law at night. Admitted to the bar
in 1834, he practiced law
in Bedford, Indiana
, and served four terms in the Indiana General Assembly
from 1834 to 1838. He served as President pro tempore
of the Indiana Senate
for a short time and briefly held the office of acting Lieutenant Governor
. In the presidential election of 1840
, he zealously advocated the election of William Henry Harrison
. Thompson then represented Indiana in the United States Congress
, serving in the United States House of Representatives
from 1841 to 1843 and again from 1847 to 1849.
During the 1850s Thompson and some of his fellow Whigs (such as his friend Schuyler Colfax
) transferred allegiance to the American Party, better known as the Know Nothing Party. They did so due to their suspicion of the increased immigration from Ireland and Germany, but also because of the view of the northern portion of the American Party to be opposed to slavery. In time Thompson and his allies would allow an alliance of their portion of the Whig Party
(which was collapsing with the American Party to prevent victories in elections by the Democratic Party
.
In the election of 1860 Thompson was his state's leader of those who organized the Constitutional Union Party
. At the May convention, Indiana first supported John McLean
, but fell in behind John Bell
on the second ballot. Thompson was placed on the National Committee, but gave up the on third party
strategy in August and supported Abraham Lincoln
so as not to risk a Democratic victory in Indiana.
Following the American Civil War
, Thompson served as judge of the 18th Circuit Court of the state of Indiana from 1867 to 1869. Active in Republican politics, he was the Platform Committee chairman at the 1868 Republican National Convention
in Chicago, he offered Vice President
Schuyler Colfax
's name for renomination at the 1872 Republican National Convention
in Philadelphia, and gave the nominating speech for Oliver H. P. Morton
for President at the 1876 Republican National Convention in Cincinnati. In 1877, President
Rutherford B. Hayes
appointed him Secretary of the Navy
; and he held that office until December 1880.
, or Carl Schurz
) nor had been even a close colleague and friend of President Hayes like Vice President William Wheeler
. Even the Postmaster General, David Key, who was the first Confederate veteran to serve in a Federal Cabinet since the American Civil War
was more notable.
Reputedly Thompson was unprepared for his post. A popular (if suspect) story is that he was taken for a tour of one of our warships, and went below deck becoming thunderstruck and shouting, "My God, the durned things hollow!!" Thompson (being from Indiana) was not from a state with a seacoast, but Indiana has several rivers running through it. It is not hard to believe Thompson was on a steamboat at some point and saw the inside of it.
When he assumed the role of Secretary of the Navy he was replacing Grant's Secretary for nearly eight years, George Robeson. Whatever was the situation caused or allowed by Robeson's handling of the Navy, Thompson offered little additional guidance. His most notable involvement in any naval activity was actually on the sidelines: when Lt. George Washington De Long and James Gordon Bennett Jr. set up the USS Jeannette
Expedition to the North Pole in 1879, Thompson gave some advice to the preparations, but seemed determined to watch the extent of Government involvement in the project. His waffling (about escort vessels and later rescue vessels) were somewhat irritating. While not responsible for that tragedy, Thompson certainly did not help matters by his hair-splitting legalisms.
In 1880 a new matter arose that had a bearing with Thompson leaving his post. The French were in the process of funding the new Panama Canal Company under Comte Ferdinand de Lesseps
. The Hayes administration, while willing to keep good relations with the French, were fully suspicious about a French owned Canal across the Isthmus of Panama
as a violation of the Monroe Doctrine. Thompson was aware of this. But
Thompson was also approached by the American based section of the Panama Company with a job offer. The American section was headed and funded by J. & W. Seligman & Co.
, then headed by Jessie Seligman. The Seligmans were old friends of former President Ulysses S. Grant
, and had offered Grant the position of the Presidency of the Canal Company. But Grant refused it. Looking around for a replacement they turned to Thompson. He accepted, and then resigned from the Cabinet. Later on this whole matter became an issue before Congressional Committee that questioned both Seligman and Thompson. Eventually Thompson would leave the Panama Company, but his reputation was somewhat tarnished by the situation. He was not connected with it at the time of the great scandalous collapse of the enterprise in 1889.
Retiring to Indiana, Thompson lived out the remainder of his days in his adopted state. He died in 1900 at Terre Haute, Indiana
.
The United States Navy
destroyer
USS Thompson (DD-305)
was named in his honor.
He was also a member of the Delta Kappa Epsilon
fraternity at Alabama(Psi chapter).
Politics of the United States
The United States is a federal constitutional republic, in which the President of the United States , Congress, and judiciary share powers reserved to the national government, and the federal government shares sovereignty with the state governments.The executive branch is headed by the President...
.
Thompson was born in Culpeper County, Virginia
Culpeper County, Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 34,262 people, 12,141 households, and 9,045 families residing in the county. The population density was 90 people per square mile . There were 12,871 housing units at an average density of 34 per square mile...
. He left Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
in 1831 and lived briefly in Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
before finally settling in Lawrence County, Indiana
Lawrence County, Indiana
As of the census of 2000, there were 45,922 people, 18,535 households, and 13,141 families residing in the county. The population density was 102 people per square mile . There were 20,560 housing units at an average density of 46 per square mile...
. There, he taught school, kept a store, and studied law at night. Admitted to the bar
Admission to the bar in the United States
In the United States, admission to the bar is the granting of permission by a particular court system to a lawyer to practice law in that system. Each U.S. state and similar jurisdiction has its own court system and sets its own rules for bar admission , which can lead to different admission...
in 1834, he practiced law
Practice of law
In its most general sense, the practice of law involves giving legal advice to clients, drafting legal documents for clients, and representing clients in legal negotiations and court proceedings such as lawsuits, and is applied to the professional services of a lawyer or attorney at law, barrister,...
in Bedford, Indiana
Bedford, Indiana
As of the census of 2000, there were 13,768 people, 6,054 households, and 3,644 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,157.1 people per square mile . There were 6,618 housing units at an average density of 556.2 per square mile...
, and served four terms in 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...
from 1834 to 1838. He served as President pro tempore
President pro tempore
A President pro tempore is a constitutionally recognized officer of a legislative body who presides over the chamber in the absence of the normal presiding officer...
of the Indiana Senate
Indiana Senate
The Indiana Senate is the upper house of the Indiana General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Indiana. The Senate is composed of 50 members representing an equal number of constituent districts. Senators serve four-year terms without term limits...
for a short time and briefly held the office of acting Lieutenant Governor
Lieutenant Governor of Indiana
The Lieutenant Governor of Indiana is a constitutional office in the US State of Indiana. Republican Becky Skillman, whose term expires in January 2013, is the incumbent...
. In the presidential election of 1840
United States presidential election, 1840
The United States presidential election of 1840 saw President Martin Van Buren fight for re-election against an economic depression and a Whig Party unified for the first time behind war hero William Henry Harrison and his "log cabin campaign"...
, he zealously advocated the election of William Henry Harrison
William Henry Harrison
William Henry Harrison was the ninth President of the United States , an American military officer and politician, and the first president to die in office. He was 68 years, 23 days old when elected, the oldest president elected until Ronald Reagan in 1980, and last President to be born before the...
. Thompson then represented Indiana in the 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....
, serving in the United States House of Representatives
United 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...
from 1841 to 1843 and again from 1847 to 1849.
During the 1850s Thompson and some of his fellow Whigs (such as his friend Schuyler Colfax
Schuyler Colfax
Schuyler Colfax, Jr. was a United States Representative from Indiana , Speaker of the House of Representatives , and the 17th Vice President of the United States . To date, he is one of only two Americans to have served as both House speaker and vice president.President Ulysses S...
) transferred allegiance to the American Party, better known as the Know Nothing Party. They did so due to their suspicion of the increased immigration from Ireland and Germany, but also because of the view of the northern portion of the American Party to be opposed to slavery. In time Thompson and his allies would allow an alliance of their portion of the Whig Party
Whig Party (United States)
The Whig Party was a political party of the United States during the era of Jacksonian democracy. Considered integral to the Second Party System and operating from the early 1830s to the mid-1850s, the party was formed in opposition to the policies of President Andrew Jackson and his Democratic...
(which was collapsing with the American Party to prevent victories in elections by the Democratic Party
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...
.
In the election of 1860 Thompson was his state's leader of those who organized the Constitutional Union Party
Constitutional Union Party (United States)
The Constitutional Union Party was a political party in the United States created in 1860. It was made up of conservative former Whigs who wanted to avoid disunion over the slavery issue...
. At the May convention, Indiana first supported John McLean
John McLean
John McLean was an American jurist and politician who served in the United States Congress, as U.S. Postmaster General, and as a justice on the Ohio and U.S...
, but fell in behind John Bell
John Bell (Tennessee politician)
John Bell was a U.S. politician, attorney, and plantation owner. A wealthy slaveholder from Tennessee, Bell served in the United States Congress in both the House of Representatives and Senate. He began his career as a Democrat, he eventually fell out with Andrew Jackson and became a Whig...
on the second ballot. Thompson was placed on the National Committee, but gave up the on third party
Third party (United States)
The term third party is used in the United States for any and all political parties in the United States other than one of the two major parties . The term can also refer to independent politicians not affiliated with any party at all and to write-in candidates.The United States has had a...
strategy in August and supported 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...
so as not to risk a Democratic victory in Indiana.
Following 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...
, Thompson served as judge of the 18th Circuit Court of the state of Indiana from 1867 to 1869. Active in Republican politics, he was the Platform Committee chairman at the 1868 Republican National Convention
1868 Republican National Convention
The 1868 National Convention of the Republican Party of the United States was held in Crosby's Opera House, Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, on May 20 to May 21, 1868....
in Chicago, he offered Vice President
Vice President of the United States
The Vice President of the United States is the holder of a public office created by the United States Constitution. The Vice President, together with the President of the United States, is indirectly elected by the people, through the Electoral College, to a four-year term...
Schuyler Colfax
Schuyler Colfax
Schuyler Colfax, Jr. was a United States Representative from Indiana , Speaker of the House of Representatives , and the 17th Vice President of the United States . To date, he is one of only two Americans to have served as both House speaker and vice president.President Ulysses S...
's name for renomination at the 1872 Republican National Convention
1872 Republican National Convention
At the 1872 Republican National Convention the Republicans renominated incumbent President Ulysses S. Grant but nominated a new Vice-Presidential candidate, Henry Wilson. Others, who had grown weary of the corruption of the Grant administration, bolted to form the Liberal Republican Party, which...
in Philadelphia, and gave the nominating speech for Oliver H. P. Morton
Oliver Hazard Perry Morton
Oliver Hazard Perry Throck Morton , commonly known as Oliver P. Morton, was a U.S. Republican Party politician from Indiana. He served as the 14th Governor of Indiana during the American Civil War, and was a stalwart ally of President Abraham Lincoln. During the war, Morton suppressed the...
for President at the 1876 Republican National Convention in Cincinnati. In 1877, 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....
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...
appointed him Secretary of the Navy
United States Secretary of the Navy
The Secretary of the Navy of the United States of America is the head of the Department of the Navy, a component organization of the Department of Defense...
; and he held that office until December 1880.
Secretary of the Navy
Thompson, as Secretary of the Navy, had never been among the leading figures of the Cabinet (William Evarts, John ShermanJohn Sherman (politician)
John Sherman, nicknamed "The Ohio Icicle" , was a U.S. Representative and U.S. Senator from Ohio during the Civil War and into the late nineteenth century. He served as both Secretary of the Treasury and Secretary of State and was the principal author of the Sherman Antitrust Act...
, or Carl Schurz
Carl Schurz
Carl Christian Schurz was a German revolutionary, American statesman and reformer, and Union Army General in the American Civil War. He was also an accomplished journalist, newspaper editor and orator, who in 1869 became the first German-born American elected to the United States Senate.His wife,...
) nor had been even a close colleague and friend of President Hayes like Vice President William Wheeler
William A. Wheeler
William Almon Wheeler was a Representative from New York and the 19th Vice President of the United States .-Early life and career:...
. Even the Postmaster General, David Key, who was the first Confederate veteran to serve in a Federal Cabinet since 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...
was more notable.
Reputedly Thompson was unprepared for his post. A popular (if suspect) story is that he was taken for a tour of one of our warships, and went below deck becoming thunderstruck and shouting, "My God, the durned things hollow!!" Thompson (being from Indiana) was not from a state with a seacoast, but Indiana has several rivers running through it. It is not hard to believe Thompson was on a steamboat at some point and saw the inside of it.
When he assumed the role of Secretary of the Navy he was replacing Grant's Secretary for nearly eight years, George Robeson. Whatever was the situation caused or allowed by Robeson's handling of the Navy, Thompson offered little additional guidance. His most notable involvement in any naval activity was actually on the sidelines: when Lt. George Washington De Long and James Gordon Bennett Jr. set up the USS Jeannette
USS Jeannette (1878)
The first USS Jeannette was originally HMS Pandora, a Philomel-class gunvessel of the Royal Navy, and was purchased in 1875 by Sir Allen Young for his arctic voyages in 1875-1876. The ship was purchased in 1878 by James Gordon Bennett, Jr., owner of the New York Herald; and renamed Jeannette...
Expedition to the North Pole in 1879, Thompson gave some advice to the preparations, but seemed determined to watch the extent of Government involvement in the project. His waffling (about escort vessels and later rescue vessels) were somewhat irritating. While not responsible for that tragedy, Thompson certainly did not help matters by his hair-splitting legalisms.
In 1880 a new matter arose that had a bearing with Thompson leaving his post. The French were in the process of funding the new Panama Canal Company under Comte Ferdinand de Lesseps
Ferdinand de Lesseps
Ferdinand Marie, Vicomte de Lesseps, GCSI was the French developer of the Suez Canal, which joined the Mediterranean and Red Seas in 1869, and substantially reduced sailing distances and times between the West and the East.He attempted to repeat this success with an effort to build a sea-level...
. The Hayes administration, while willing to keep good relations with the French, were fully suspicious about a French owned Canal across the Isthmus of Panama
Isthmus of Panama
The Isthmus of Panama, also historically known as the Isthmus of Darien, is the narrow strip of land that lies between the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean, linking North and South America. It contains the country of Panama and the Panama Canal...
as a violation of the Monroe Doctrine. Thompson was aware of this. But
Thompson was also approached by the American based section of the Panama Company with a job offer. The American section was headed and funded by J. & W. Seligman & Co.
J. & W. Seligman & Co.
J. & W. Seligman & Co., founded in 1846, was a prominent U.S. investment bank c. 1860s–1920s until the divestiture of its investment banking arm in the aftermath of the Glass–Steagall Act. The firm was involved in the financing of several major U.S. railroads in the 1870s and the construction of...
, then headed by Jessie Seligman. The Seligmans were old friends of former President Ulysses S. 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 had offered Grant the position of the Presidency of the Canal Company. But Grant refused it. Looking around for a replacement they turned to Thompson. He accepted, and then resigned from the Cabinet. Later on this whole matter became an issue before Congressional Committee that questioned both Seligman and Thompson. Eventually Thompson would leave the Panama Company, but his reputation was somewhat tarnished by the situation. He was not connected with it at the time of the great scandalous collapse of the enterprise in 1889.
Retiring to Indiana, Thompson lived out the remainder of his days in his adopted state. He died in 1900 at Terre Haute, Indiana
Terre Haute, Indiana
Terre Haute is a city and the county seat of Vigo County, Indiana, United States, near the state's western border with Illinois. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 60,785 and its metropolitan area had a population of 170,943. The city is the county seat of Vigo County and...
.
The United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
destroyer
Destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...
USS Thompson (DD-305)
USS Thompson (DD-305)
USS Thompson , a Clemson-class destroyer of the U.S. Navy named in honor of Secretary of the Navy Richard W. Thompson , never saw action against an enemy. She was the first Navy ship of that name; the second, , named for Robert M...
was named in his honor.
He was also a member of the Delta Kappa Epsilon
Delta Kappa Epsilon
Delta Kappa Epsilon is a fraternity founded at Yale College in 1844 by 15 men of the sophomore class who had not been invited to join the two existing societies...
fraternity at Alabama(Psi chapter).
External links
- Richard W. Thompson at Find A GraveFind A GraveFind a Grave is a commercial website providing free access and input to an online database of cemetery records. It was founded in 1998 as a DBA and incorporated in 2000.-History:...
- Tyler Anbinder Nativisim & Slavery: The Northern Know Nothings & the Politics of the 1850s (New York, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1992),p. 72, 195, passim 241, 268, 274. ISBN 0-19-5-7233-2.
- Leonard Guttridge Icebound: The Jeannette Expedition's Quest for the North Pole (Annapolis, Md.: Naval Institute Press, 1986), p. 42–49 passim, 53, 64, 65, 162, 164, 168. ISBN 0-87021-330-X.
- Maron J. Simon The Panama Affair (New York: Charles Scribners' Sons, 1971, p. 36, 155–156.