William Temple (governor) - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

William Temple was an American merchant and politician from Smyrna, in Kent County, Delaware. He was a member of the Whig Party, and later the Democratic Party, who served in the Delaware General Assembly, as Governor of Delaware, and as U.S. Representative from Delaware.

Early life and family

Temple was born in Queen Anne's County

Queen Anne's County, Maryland

Queen Anne's County is a county located on the Eastern Shore of the U.S. state of Maryland.As of 2010, the population was 47,798. Its county seat and most populous municipality is Centreville. The census-designated place of Stevensville is the county's most populous place...

, Maryland, the son of George Temple. At the age of 18 he moved to Smyrna, Delaware and began his work as a merchant there. He married Sarah Ann Ringgold in 1838 and they had three children, Sarah Louisa, Emma Frances, and William George. Both his daughters died as infants, and his wife, Sarah, died in 1851 at 33 years of age. It is believed they lived at the northeast corner of Main and Mt. Vernon Streets and were members of St. Peter's Episcopal Church in Smyrna.

Delaware politics

Throughout the 19th century Delaware politics was characterized by a conservative down state, agrarian and small business majority, in opposition to a Wilmington

Wilmington, Delaware

Wilmington is the largest city in the state of Delaware, United States, and is located at the confluence of the Christina River and Brandywine Creek, near where the Christina flows into the Delaware River. It is the county seat of New Castle County and one of the major cities in the Delaware Valley...

based industrialist minority. This majority was lead into the Whig Party by John M. Clayton

John M. Clayton

John Middleton Clayton was an American lawyer and politician from Delaware. He was a member of the Whig Party who served in the Delaware General Assembly, and as U.S. Senator from Delaware and U.S. Secretary of State....

, but when that party broke up over the issue ofslavery, generally moved over to a conservative Democratic Party. As the sectional issues intensified with the coming of the Civil War, this majority became impossibly conflicted between its certain loyalty to the Union and its equally certain view that decisions about property, including slaves, belonged with the states. The result was first an effort by many to find a non-existent middle ground, and then, with a much diminished majority, entry into constant and bitter conflict with 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...

minority centered in Wilmington and supported by the Federal government.

Governor of Delaware

As a successful and popular conservative businessman, Temple reflected the majority views well. He was elected, at a young age, to the State House, and to its leadership in his first term, serving in the 1845/46 session as its Speaker. After the successive deaths in office of the elected Governor, Thomas Stockton

Thomas Stockton

Thomas Stockton was an American soldier and politician from New Castle, in New Castle County, Delaware. He was a veteran of the War of 1812, and a member of the Whig Party, who served as Governor of Delaware....

, and his constitutional successor, the Speaker of the State Senate, Joseph Maull

Joseph Maull

Dr. Joseph Maull was an American physician and politician from Lewes, in Sussex County, Delaware. He was a veteran of the War of 1812, and a member of the Federalist Party, then later the Whig Party, who served in the Delaware General Assembly and as Governor of Delaware.-Early life and...

, Temple surprisingly became Governor himself on May 6, 1846, the third Governor in two years. At 32 years of age, he was the youngest Delaware Governor ever and only served the remainder of the term, until January 19, 1847. No sooner had he inherited the job than he received a call to raise troops for the Mexican-American War, then just beginning. Much of his short tenure was spent on this task.

Civil War

Following his time as Governor, he was elected to the Delaware Senate and served in three sessions, from the 1849/50 session through the 1853/54 session. With the demise of the Whig Party, he was too conservative to support the agenda of Stephen A. Douglas

Stephen A. Douglas

Stephen Arnold Douglas was an American politician from the western state of Illinois, and was the Northern Democratic Party nominee for President in 1860. He lost to the Republican Party's candidate, Abraham Lincoln, whom he had defeated two years earlier in a Senate contest following a famed...

, but too fearful of disunion to support the Republican Party or the eventual candidacy of John C. Breckenridge. In the election of 1860 he sought the elusive middle ground, and was one of the Delaware leaders of the short lived 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...

. This party supported the right of each state to decide the slavery question, but argued that somehow that right could be preserved within the Union.

After the election of Abraham Lincoln and the secession of the Confederate states, Temple took a position opposing the enforced restoration of the Union, and joined the Democratic Party. After presiding over a futile "Peace Convention" in Dover in June 1861, he became the Democratic candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives in the hotly contested and controversial 1862 election. His opponent was the incumbent Republican George P. Fisher

George P. Fisher

George Purnell Fisher was an American lawyer and politician from Wilmington, in New Castle County, Delaware. He was a member of the Democratic Party and later the Republican Party, who served in the Delaware General Assembly, as Attorney General of Delaware, as Secretary of State of Delaware, as...

, who had served as Secretary of State

Secretary of State of Delaware

The Secretary of State of Delaware is the head of the Department of State of the U.S. state of Delaware. The Department is in charge of a wide variety of public and governmental services, and is divided into the following divisions:* * * * *...

when Temple was Governor. Now Fisher was convinced that there were various schemes being planned to prevent a legitimate election. Accordingly, he requested that Abraham Lincoln leave the Delaware troops in the U.S. Army home until after the election, and that he send additional Federal troops to supervise the polls on election day. The Democrats were outraged and managed to narrowly elect Temple and a majority in the General Assembly, although losing the Governorship. While officially a member of the U.S. House from March 4, 1863, Temple died before the December convening of the House, and consequently never actually served. In a subsequent special election, Republican Nathaniel B. Smithers

Nathaniel B. Smithers

Nathaniel Barratt Smithers was a was an American lawyer and politician from Dover, in Kent County, Delaware. He was a member of the Republican Party, who served as U. S. Representative from Delaware.-Early life and family:...

won the seat due to a Democratic Party boycott of the election in protest of the continuing presence of Federal troops at the polling places.

Death and legacy

Temple died at Smyrna and is buried there in the St. Peter's Episcopal Church Cemetery. The grave was unmarked until 1979 when a stone was placed where he is believed to have been buried. His grandson, William G. Temple, was an ordained priest in the Roman Catholic Church and was the first priest at St. Elizabeth's Parish in Wilmington. An obituary reads:

"He was emphatically a man of the world, possessing those rare qualities calculated to win every man and repel none. Frank, generous, familiar and courteous, he possessed the key to unlock the hearts of men and blend their interests with his in the prosecution of the public interest. Certainly he was a very pure minded, honorable man, a man of soul and feeling, a friend of all and a great help to many in times of need."

Almanac

Elections are held the first Tuesday after November 1. Members of the General Assembly took office the first Tuesday of January. State Senators have a four year term and State Representatives have a two year term. The Governor takes office the third Tuesday of January and has a four year term. U.S. Representatives took office March 4 and have a two year term.

{|class=wikitable style="width: 94%" style="text-align: center;" align="center"
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(sessions while Governor)
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|1845–1846
|63rd

Delaware General Assembly

The Delaware General Assembly is the legislature of the U.S. state of Delaware. It is a bicameral legislature composed of the Delaware Senate with 21 Senators and the Delaware House of Representatives with 41 Representatives...

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| |Whig

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...

Whig Party (United States)

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|State Representative

Delaware House of Representatives

The Delaware House of Representatives is the lower house of the Delaware General Assembly; the state legislature of the U.S. State of Delaware. It is composed of 41 Representatives from an equal amount of constituencies, each of whom is elected to a two year term. The Delaware General Assembly...

|Legislature

Legislature

A legislature is a kind of deliberative assembly with the power to pass, amend, and repeal laws. The law created by a legislature is called legislation or statutory law. In addition to enacting laws, legislatures usually have exclusive authority to raise or lower taxes and adopt the budget and...

|Dover

Dover, Delaware

The city of Dover is the capital and second largest city in the U.S. state of Delaware. It is also the county seat of Kent County, and the principal city of the Dover, Delaware Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Kent County. It is located on the St. Jones River in the Delaware...

Executive (government)

Executive branch of Government is the part of government that has sole authority and responsibility for the daily administration of the state bureaucracy. The division of power into separate branches of government is central to the idea of the separation of powers.In many countries, the term...

|Dover

Dover, Delaware

Delaware Senate

The Delaware Senate is the upper house of the Delaware General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. State of Delaware. It is composed of 21 Senators, each of whom is elected to a four-year term, except when reapportionment occurs, at which time Senators may be elected to a two-year term....

|Legislature

Legislature

|Dover

Dover, Delaware

Delaware Senate

|Legislature

Legislature

|Dover

Dover, Delaware

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...

|Legislature

Legislature

|Washington
|March 4, 1863
|May 28, 1863
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{|class=wikitable style="width: 94%" style="text-align: center;" align="center"
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! Chamber
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|1845–1846
|63rd

Delaware General Assembly

|State House

Delaware House of Representatives

|Whig

Whig Party (United States)

|Thomas Stockton

Thomas Stockton

|Speaker

Speaker (politics)

The term speaker is a title often given to the presiding officer of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body. The speaker's official role is to moderate debate, make rulings on procedure, announce the results of votes, and the like. The speaker decides who may speak and has the...

|Kent at-large

Kent County, Delaware

Kent County is a county located in the central part of the U.S. state of Delaware. It is coextensive with the Dover, Delaware, Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of 2010 the population was 162,310, a 28.1% increase over the previous decade. The county seat is Dover, the state capital...

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|1849–1850
|65th

Delaware General Assembly

|State Senate

Delaware Senate

|Whig

Whig Party (United States)

|William Tharp

William Tharp

William Tharp was an American farmer and politician from Milford, in Kent County, Delaware. He was a member of the Democratic Party, who served in the Delaware General Assembly and as Governor of Delaware....

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|Kent at-large

Kent County, Delaware

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|1851–1852
|66th

Delaware General Assembly

|State Senate

Delaware Senate

|Whig

Whig Party (United States)

|William H. H. Ross
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|Kent at-large

Kent County, Delaware

|-
|1853–1854
|67th

Delaware General Assembly

|State Senate

Delaware Senate

|Whig

Whig Party (United States)

|William H. H. Ross
|
|Kent at-large

Kent County, Delaware

{|class=wikitable style="width: 94%" style="text-align: center;" align="center"
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!colspan=7 style="background: #ccccff;" |United States Congressional service
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! Dates
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! Chamber
! Majority
! President
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! Class/District
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|1863–1864
|38th

38th United States Congress

-House of Representatives:Before this Congress, the 1860 United States Census and resulting reapportionment changed the size of the House to 241 members...

|U.S. House

United States House of Representatives

|Republican

Republican Party (United States)

|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...

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|at-large

Delaware's At-large congressional district

Delaware's At-large congressional district is a congressional district that includes the entire U.S. state of Delaware.It is currently represented by Democrat John C. Carney, Jr., the former Lieutenant Governor of Delaware.-Voting:-History:...

{|class=wikitable style="width: 94%" style="text-align: center;" align="center"
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!Year
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|1862
|U.S. Representative

United States House of Representatives

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...

| |8,051
| |50%
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| |George P. Fisher

George P. Fisher

| |Republican

Republican Party (United States)

| |8,014
| |50%

Images

Hall of Governors Portrait Gallery; Portrait courtesy of Historical and Cultural Affairs, Dover.

External links

Places with more information

Delaware Historical Society
Delaware Historical Society
The Delaware Historical Society began in 1864 as an effort to preserve documents from the Civil War. Since then, it has expanded into a state-wide historical institution with several venues and a major museum in Wilmington and the historic Read House & Gardens in New Castle.The society...

; website; 505 North Market Street, Wilmington, Delaware 19801; (302) 655-7161
University of Delaware
University of Delaware
The university is organized into seven colleges:* College of Agriculture and Natural Resources* College of Arts and Sciences* Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics* College of Earth, Ocean and Environment* College of Education and Human Development...

; Library website; 181 South College Avenue, Newark, Delaware 19717; (302) 831-2965

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.