J: Jackson through Julian

See below for annotated biographies of anti-slavery Whigs. Source: Scribner’s Dictionary of American Biography; Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography.

JACKSON, Mortimer Melville, jurist, born in Rensselaerville, Albany County, New York. 5 March, 1814. He was a member of the territorial convention that was held in Madison soon after the election of Harrison to the presidency, when the Whig Party was first organized in Wisconsin. As chairman of the committee, he prepared and reported the resolutions embodying the platform of that organization, and strongly opposed the extension of slavery in the territories.

Biography from Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. III, p. 390:

JACKSON, Mortimer Melville, jurist, born in Rensselaerville, Albany County, New York. 5 March, 1814. He was educated in Flushing and New York City, and entered a counting-house, where he remained several years, also studying law. In 1838 he moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and in the following spring he settled in Mineral Point, Iowa County, where he acquired a good law practice. He was a member of the territorial convention that was held in Madison soon after the election of Harrison to the presidency, when the Whig Party was first organized in Wisconsin. As chairman of the committee, he prepared and reported the resolutions embodying the platform of that organization, and strongly opposed the extension of slavery in the territories. From 1842 till 1847 he was attorney-general, and during his term conducted many important cases. He was a member of the committee that was appointed by an educational convention in Madison in 1846, and prepared a plan for improvement in common-school education, a part of which was subsequently incorporated in the state constitution. He was interested in the efforts made in western Wisconsin to have the reserved mineral lands, which were held by the U. S. government, brought into market, and addressed a memorial to President Polk on this subject, which was adopted by the legislature. On the admission of Wisconsin to the Union, he was elected the first circuit judge for the 5th Judicial Circuit, serving also in the supreme court till the organization of a separate supreme court in 1853, when he resumed his law practice. He subsequently united with the Republican Party, and in 1861 was appointed by President Lincoln U. S. consul at Halifax, Nova Scotia. While there he caused the seizure from Confederates of about $3,000,000 worth of war material, and advised the government of suspected vessels. In 1870, at the request of the Secretary of State, he made a report to Congress on the fisheries and fishery laws of Canada, in which he examined and discussed the controversy between Great Britain and the United States. Judge Jackson also addressed a communication to the Secretary of State, reviewing the action of the fishery commission in 1877, and saying that the sum of $5,500,000 that had been awarded to Great Britain was unwarranted and excessive. He resigned his consulship in 1882 and returned to Madison, Wis. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. III, p. 390.



JACKSON, William Hicks, 1783-1855, Massachusetts, newspaper publisher, abolitionist, temperance activist. U.S. Congressman, Whig Party. Vice president, 1833-1836, and founding member of the American Anti-Slavery Society, December 1833. Founding member, Liberty Party. President of the American Missionary Society from 1846-1854. His antislavery views had him support the Free-Soil party after its establishment in 1848.

(Dumond, 1961, p. 286; Abolitionist, Vol. I, No. XII, December, 1833; Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. III; Biographical Dictionary of the United States Congress; Dictionary of American Biography, Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York, 1936, Vol. 5, Pt. 1, p. 561.

Biography from Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. III, p. 393:

JACKSON, William, financier, born in Newton, Massachusetts, 2 September, 1783; died there, 20 February, 1855. He received a common-school education, and was trained to mercantile life. He was a member of the state house of representatives from 1829 till 1832, and in the latter year was elected to Congress as a Whig. He was re-elected for the following term, but declined a second re-nomination. He was one of the earliest promoters of railroads in Massachusetts, delivering an address to the legislature in favor of the new method of locomotion, which was derisively received. Subsequently he delivered the address in various cities of New England, awakening an interest in railroads, and when their construction was begun superintended the works on the Boston and Worcester, Boston and Albany, and other lines. He was a pioneer in the temperance movement and an early opponent of slavery, being one of the founders of the Liberty Party, which was afterward merged into the Free-Soil Party. From 1848 till his death he was the president of the Newton Bank. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. III, p. 393.

Dictionary of American Biography, Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York, 1936, Volume 5, Pt. 1, pp. 561-562:

JACKSON, WILLIAM HICKS, (September 2, 1783-February 27, 1855), tallow chandler, railway promoter, congressman, the son of Timothy and Sarah (Winchester) Jackson, and said to be a descendant of Edward Jackson, one of the earliest settlers of Cambridge, was born in Newton, Massachusetts. Systematic in his reading and study, he supplemented the elementary education which he received in the town schools. At the age of twenty-one, after three years' experience in a manufactory of soap and candles in Boston, he established himself in th e business, in which, in spite of reverses suffered during the War of 1812, he succeeded in laying the foundations of a modest fortune. He served a term as representative of Boston in the Massachusetts General Court in 1819, retiring at this time from active connection with his tallow chandlery. About 1826 he became greatly interested in railroads. Later as a member of the General Court, 1829-1831, he was an active supporter of railroad projects in Massachusetts, lecturing extensively and writing for many newspapers upon this subject for the next eighteen years. Many of his arguments and predictions which now seem conservative were received with ridicule and abuse at that time when many persons considered canals more advantageous. He participated actively in the construction of several Massachusetts railroads including the Western, the Boston & Worcester, the Boston & Albany, and the New Bedford & Taunton.

Jackson was a member of the Twenty-third and Twenty-fourth congresses (1833-37), being elected by Anti-Masonic and National Republican support. He refused to be a candidate for a third term. In 1840 he took part in the organization of the Liberty party, and as their candidate was defeated for the lieutenant-governorship in 1842, 1843, and 1844. His antislavery views led him to support the Free-Soil party after its establishment in 1848. Long convinced of the evils of intoxication, he was active in temperance reform, abolishing, as an employer, the custom of furnishing rum to his employees, and adding the extra sum to the wages paid. He was a founder and deacon of the Eliot Church of Newton, and president of the American Missionary Association for the first eight years of its existence, 1846-54. His financial concerns late in life were largely confined to the land company which he organized in 1848 for laying out that part of Newton known as Auburndale, and to two banks, the Newton Savings Bank, founded in 1831, of which he was president from 1831 to 1835, and the Newton National Bank, of which he was president from its founding in 1848 to his death. He was married twice: on December 1, 1806, to Hannah Woodward of Newton (d. August II, 1814) by whom he had one son and four daughters, and in 1816 to Mary Bennett of Lunenburg, by whom he had four so ns and seven daughters.

[S. F. Smith, History of Newton, Massachusetts (1880); H. K. Rowe, Tercentenary History of Newton (1930); Biographical Directory American Congress (1928); Boston Transcript, Daily Evening Traveller, February 28, 1855.]

R. E. M.



JOHNSON, Reverdy, 1796-1876, lawyer, diplomat, statesman, U.S. Senator, opposed annexing territories acquired in the war with Mexico. Strongly opposed the annexation of Mexican territory, for he feared that it would revive the whole problem of the extension of slavery. Although he thought that slavery was wrong, he believed that its expansion into the territories was a local concern, but, nevertheless, in order to avert the threatened disaster to the Union he urged compromise and suggested that the slavery question be submitted to the Supreme Court. Ardent supporter of the Union. Believed that African Americans should be recruited into the Union Army and as a result should gain their emancipation.

(Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Volume III, pp. 446-447; Dictionary of American Biography, Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York, 1936, Volume 5, Pt. 2, pp. 112-114; American National Biography, Oxford University Press, New York, 2002, Volume 12, p. 116)

Dictionary of American Biography, Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York, 1936, Volume 5, Pt. 2, pp. 112-114:

JOHNSON, REVERDY (May 21, 1796-February 10, 1876), lawyer and diplomat, was a native of Annapolis, Maryland. His mother, Deborah Ghieselen, was a daughter of Reverdy Ghieselen, of Huguenot descent, who was for a time commissioner of the land office of Maryland. His father, John Johnson, whose ancestors had emigrated from England, served his state as a member of both houses of the legislature, as judge of the court of appeals, and as chancellor. The boy received his general education in St. John's College at Annapolis, graduating in 1811. After reading law, first with his father and .hen with Judge Stephen, he was admitted to the bar in 1815. Four years later, on November 16, he married Mary Mackall Bowie, whose mother's father was Governor. Robert Bowie [q.v.]. Johnson's law practice began in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, but in 1817 he removed to Baltimore, where for almost sixty years he continued active in his profession, becoming one of the greatest lawyers of his day. He had an unusual memory, which served him especially well in the latter half of his life, when he became partially blind. His mental alertness made him a rare cross-examiner. He possessed a deep, oratorical voice that immediately commanded attention and was an important professional asset, as were also his tact, good nature, and unusual courtesy. During his early law practice, in cooperation with Thomas Harris, clerk of the Maryland court of appeals, he compiled the reports of cases decided in that court (1-7 Harris and Johnson Reports, 1800-27).

His chief legal fame rested upon his ability as a constitutional lawyer. He appeared as counsel in a number of very important suits and had as associates or opponents many of the most famous men of his time. In 1854 he and Thaddeus Stevens obtained for Cyrus McCormick a decision upholding the validity of the reaper patent (Seymour vs. McCormick, 16 Howard, 480). Two years later, in a second suit between the same parties he was associated with Edward M. Dickerson in opposition to Edwin M. Stanton (19 Howard, 96). The most famous case with which he was connected was Dred Scott vs. Sanford (19 Howard, 393) in which he represented the defense and was credited by George Ticknor Curtis, one of Scott's attorneys, with being the major influence in bringing about the decision against the bondman (Proceedings, post, p. 12).

Johnson was an ardent Whig during the life of that party and later affiliated with the Democrats but never felt at home with them. In 1821 he was elected state senator from Baltimore and was returned to office in 1826 but resigned two years later because of the increasing demands of his profession. In 1845, when the Oregon and Texas questions were under discussion, he began his national career as a member of the United States Senate. On the Oregon question he attacked the administration and favored a boundary line following the forty-ninth parallel; in the matter of Texas, on the other hand, he deserted the Whigs to uphold Polk in prosecuting the war with Mexico. Yet he opposed the annexation of Mexican territory, for he feared that it would revive the whole problem of the extension of slavery. Although he thought that slavery was wrong, he believed that its expansion into the territories was a local concern, but, nevertheless, in order to avert the threatened disaster to the Union he urged compromise and suggested that the slavery question be submitted to the Supreme Court. In March 1849, he resigned from the Senate to become attorney-general under President Taylor, but his activities in this capacity were of little importance. He was soon under a cloud owing to an opinion he rendered on the Galphin claim in which Secretary of War Crawford had been attorney for the claimant. Before his death, Taylor was considering the dismissal of Johnson for his connection with the scandal, as well as that of Crawford, and of Meredith, the secretary of the treasury.

After Taylor's death Johnson resigned with the rest of the cabinet and soon became allied with the Democrats. He had much sympathy for the South, urged conciliation, and was a member of the futile peace congress held in Washington early in 1861. Secession, however, he looked on as treason and stood for the preservation of the Union. Hence he upheld Lincoln's suspension of the writ of habeas corpus, though he frequently urged leniency or acquittal for those charged with disloyalty. When he was chosen a member of the Maryland house of delegates in 1861 he worked hard to keep the state from seceding from the Union. The next year he was again elected United States senator but did not take his seat until 1863 because Lincoln soon sent him to New Orleans to investigate complaints of foreign consuls that General Benjamin Butler [q.v.] had seized their property. In the Senate he continued his moderate and conciliatory policy, championing the Constitution but occasionally giving way to expediency. He held that slaves who had enlisted in the army should be granted their freedom but was opposed to emancipating their families on this ground. In 1864 he supported McClellan for the presidency since he felt that the Emancipation Proclamation was unwise and resented Lincoln's interference in the Maryland and Kentucky elections. Though he had hoped that emancipation might come gradually, he voted for the Thirteenth Amendment.

In his attitude towards the South he stood out in strong opposition to Sumner's conquered province theory, for he held the Union to be indestructible. He favored the Wade-Davis plan of reconstruction, which Lincoln vetoed and, after Lincoln's assassination, generally supported Johnson in his policy towards the South. He was a member of the committee of fifteen on reconstruction and also sat on the later joint congressional committee. He fought the bill creating the Freedmen's Bureau, chiefly on account of the provision for trial by courts martial, and repeatedly he used his eloquence against arbitrary imprisonment and other violations of personal liberty. While he opposed negro suffrage because he felt that the blacks were unprepared for the responsibility, he finally voted for the Fourteenth Amendment as a means of ending military domination in the South. Yet, later, he voted for the bill dividing that region into military districts. For his various inconsistencies he was called a "trimmer" by his opponents, a term that was not entirely undeserved, 'though some of his shifts can be explained by his open-mindedness and natural lack of strong prejudices. In the quarrel between Congress and President Johnson, he gave the executive considerable support 'and obtained an amendment to the Tenure of Office Act permitting the president to continue making recess appointments. In the impeachment of Johnson he was a member of the committee on rules for the Senate acting as a court, and filed an opinion that Johnson was not guilty. He seems to have been largely responsible for the acquittal through convincing a number of wavering senators that Johnson would enforce congressional reconstruction.

In 1868 he was appointed to succeed Charles Francis Adams as minister to Great Britain, where he was well received, for he was known to favor the maintenance of friendship with the British, but, at home, he was severely criticized for his cordiality towards individuals whose actions had not been friendly to the Union. There were three questions entrusted to Johnson for settlement, the alienability of allegiance, the jurisdiction over the San Juan islands in Puget Sound, and the claims for damages done by the Alabama and other vessels built in Great Britain for the Confederacy. Agreements were promptly signed whereby the British government recognized the right of expatriation for British subjects and pledged itself to submit the San Juan question to arbitration. Johnson also negotiated a treaty for the settlement, by means of arbitral commission, of all financial claims arising between the two countries after July 26, 1853. The most important of the American claims were those for damages done by the Alabama and similar vessels. None of these agreements was ratified, chiefly owing to the fact that they were the work of a supporter of Andrew Johnson, but they did form the bases for later treaties.

After the election of Grant, Reverdy Johnson returned to the United States in the summer of 1869, and resumed his law practice. He defended many Southerners charged with disloyalty to the Union and was attorney for Allen Crosby, Sherod Childers, and others in the Ku Klux trials of South Carolina (Official Report of the Proceedings before the U. S. Circuit Court, Held at Columbia, South Carolina, November Term, 1871, 1872). In 1875 with David Dudley Field he obtained the acquittal of Cruikshank (United States vs. Cruikshank, 92 U. S., 542) who had been charged with fraud and violence in elections and indicted for conspiracy under the enforcement act of May 30, 1870. Still in active practice he died from an accidental fall while in Annapolis to argue a case before the court of appeals.

[Manuscript letters in Library of Congress; B. C. Steiner, Life of Reverdy Johnson (copyright 1914); Proceedings of the Bench and Bar of the Supreme Court of the U. S. in Memoriam Reverdy Johnson (1876); W. D. Lewis, Great American Lawyers, Volume IV (1908); H. W. Scott, Distinguished American Lawyers (1891); J. F. Essary, Maryland in National Politics (copyright 1915); Green Bag, July 1891; The Diary of Gideon Welles (3 volumes, 19u); Charles Warren, The Supreme Court in U. S. History (3 volumes, 1922), and A History of the American Bar (1911); W.W. Bowie, The Bowies and their Kindred (1899); Harper's Weekly, February 26, 1876; Sun (Baltimore), February 11, 12, 1876.]

M. W.W.

Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Volume III, pp. 446-447:

JOHNSON, Reverdy, statesman, born in Annapolis, Maryland, 21 May, 1796; died there, 10 February, 1876. He was educated at St. John's college, studied law with his father, John Johnson, chancellor of the state, and was admitted to the bar in 1815. He began to practise in Upper Marlboro', Prince George county, was appointed deputy attorney-general for that judicial district, and in 1817 removed to Baltimore, where he practised with success. ln 1821 he was elected to the state senate for a term of five years, and soon distinguished himself for his intelligent, bold, and comprehensive discussion of the question of state and Federal policy that was agitating the country. He was re-elected for the succeeding term, but resigned at the end of the second year to become attorney-general in President Taylor's cabinet. In 1845 he was sent to the U. S. senate as a Whig, serving till 1849. One of the most striking characteristics of Mr. Johnson's public life was his occasional disregard of party dictation. A memorable instance of this independent action was his hearty support of the Mexican war measures of Polk's administration, in spite of the violent opposition of the Whigs. On the accession of President Fillmore, Mr. Johnson resigned, and for more than twenty years afterward he was exclusively engaged in his professional duties, appearing during that time in the trial of celebrated cases in almost every part of the country, from New England to California. In 1854 he was employed by some English claimants to argue a case in London before an Anglo-American commission. During his residence of several months in England he was received with marked attention by the barristers and judges of that country, and left a reputation behind him which had not been forgotten when, fourteen years afterward, he went as minister to the court of St. James. Whether in or out of office, Mr. Johnson was invariably outspoken in his opinions of all public matters. His decided opposition to the proscriptive doctrines of the “Know-Nothing” party led him, together with many of the Whig leaders in Maryland, to unite with the Democrats in 1856 and in the subsequent support of Buchanan's administration. In the presidential contest of 1860 Mr. Johnson joined the Douglas wing of the party, and was active in his efforts to secure its success. He was a member of the peace congress in Washington in 1861 and in 1862. Throughout the civil war he supported the National cause, and sustained the measures of the administration. When peace was restored he urged the readmission of the southern states without delay. He voted for the first reconstruction bill, supported that measure when it was vetoed by President Johnson, and opposed the second bill. During his term he was engaged by the government as an umpire in adjusting questions that had arisen in New Orleans during the civil war. In 1868 he resigned his seat in the senate, having been appointed by President Johnson to succeed Charles Francis Adams as minister to England, where he negotiated the “Johnson-Clarendon” treaty for the settlement of the Alabama claims, which was rejected by the senate. In his negotiations with Lord Clarendon he procured a perfect recognition of everything that our government claimed in the international controversies growing out of the civil war. The failure of the senate to ratify the Johnson-Clarendon treaty was due to party jealousy, and nothing more than was embraced in the terms of Mr. Johnson's protocol was afterward obtained from Great Britain. Mr. Johnson's popularity among Englishmen was proverbial, and his recall by President Grant, in 1869, and the nomination of his Republican successor became a party necessity. Although seventy-three years of age when he returned from England, he resumed his law practice with his early eagerness. In 1872 he supported Horace Greeley for president. He was constantly employed in court and office practice until his death, which was caused by apoplexy, and which took place at the executive mansion in Annapolis, where he had been the guest of the governor, and was awaiting the call of a case in the court of appeals. In conjunction with Mr. Thomas Harris he reported the decisions of the Maryland court of appeals, known as “Harris's and Johnson's Reports” (7 vols., 1820-'7). Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Volume III, pp. 446-447.



JOHNSTON, William Freamie, governor of Pennsylvania, born in Greensburg. Westmoreland County Pennsylvania, 29 November, 1808; died in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, 25 October, 1872. As an anti-slavery Whig, he took strong grounds against the Fugitive-Slave Law.

Biography from Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. III, p. 450:

JOHNSTON, William Freamie, governor of Pennsylvania, born in Greensburg. Westmoreland County Pennsylvania, 29 November, 1808; died in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, 25 October, 1872. He was admitted to the bar in 1829, and, removing to Armstrong County, became district attorney. He also represented his county several terms in the legislature, and originated the bill to issue relief-notes. In 1847 he was elected state senator and president of that body. On the resignation of Francis R. Shunk in July following, he became governor of Pennsylvania, and in October, 1849, was elected for the full term. As an anti-slavery Whig, he took strong grounds against the Fugitive-Slave Law. On retiring from office in 1852, he became president of the Alleghany Valley Railroad. During the Civil War he took an active part in organizing troops, as chairman of the executive committee of public safety, superintended the construction of the defences at Pittsburg, and, in connection with John Harper, became financially responsible for a large amount of ammunition that was sent to West Virginia. He was appointed collector of the port of Philadelphia by President Johnson, but was not confirmed. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. III, p. 450.



JULIAN, George Washington, 1817-1899, Society of Friends, Quaker, statesman, lawyer, radical abolitionist leader from Indiana, vice president of the Free Soil Party, 1852. Member of U.S. Congress from Indiana, 1850-1851. Was against the Compromise of 1850 and the Fugitive Slave Act. Fought in court to prevent fugitive slaves from being returned to their owners. Joined and supported early Republican Party. Re-elected to Congress, 1861-1871. Supported emancipation of slaves. Husband of Ann Elizabeth Finch, who was likewise opposed to slavery. After her death in 1860, he married Laura Giddings, daughter of radical abolitionist Joshua Giddings.

(Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. III, p. 486; Blue, 2005, pp. ix, 9, 10, 11, 13, 161-183, 210, 225-229, 259-260, 265-270; Riddleberger, 1966; Rodriguez, 2007, pp. 54, 354-355; Dictionary of American Biography, Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York, 1936, Vol. 5, Pt. 2, p. 245; American Reformers: An H.W. Wilson Biographical Dictionary, New York, 1985, pp. 486-487; American National Biography, Oxford University Press, New York, 2002, Vol. 12, p. 315)

Biography from Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. III, p. 486:

JULIAN, George Washington, statesman, born near Centreville, Indiana, 5 May, 1817. He received a common-school education, taught for three years, studied law, and was admitted to practice in 1840. He was elected to the Indiana House of Representatives in 1845 as a member of the Whig Party; but becoming warmly interested in the slavery question through his Quaker training, severed his party relations in 1848, became one of the founders and leaders of the Free-Soil Party, was a delegate to the Buffalo Convention, and was then elected to Congress, serving from 3 December, 1849, to 3 March, 1851. In 1852 he was a candidate for the vice-presidency on the Free-Soil ticket. He was a delegate to the Pittsburg Convention of 1856, the first National Convention of the Republican Party, and was its vice-president, and chairman of the committee on organization. In 1860 he was elected as a Republican to Congress, and served on the joint committee on the conduct of the war. He was four times re-elected, and served on the Committee on Reconstruction, and for eight years as chairman of the Committee on Public Lands. He espoused the cause of woman suffrage as early as 1847, and in 1868 proposed in Congress a constitutional amendment conferring the right to vote on women. During the discussions on reconstruction he was zealous in demanding the electoral franchise for the Negro. In 1872 he joined the Liberal Republicans, and supported Horace Greeley for president. His most strenuous efforts in Congress were directed to the championship of the homestead policy and the preservation of the public lands for the people. In May, 1885, he was appointed surveyor-general of New Mexico. He has published "Speeches on Political Questions," containing a sketch of his life by Lydia Maria Child (Boston, 1872), and "Political Recollections" (Chicago, 1884), and has contributed to magazines and reviews articles dealing with political reforms.—His brother, Isaac Hooper, journalist, born in Wayne County, Indiana, 19 June, 1823, moved to Iowa in 1846, resided there till 1850, and returning to Indiana settled in Centreville and edited the "Indiana True Republican," which he afterward published in Richmond, Indiana, under the title of "The Indiana Radical." He occupied several local offices in that town, moved to San Marco, Texas, in 1873, and since that date has edited the "San Marco Free Press." He has published, besides numerous poems, pamphlets, and essays, a "Memoir of David Hoover" (Richmond, Indiana, 1857). Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. III, p. 486.

Dictionary of American Biography, Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York, 1936, Volume 5, Pt. 2, pp. 245-246:

JULIAN, GEORGE WASHINGTON (May 5, 1817-July 7, 1899), abolitionist leader, son of Isaac and Rebecca (Hoover) Julian, was born in a log cabin a mile and a half south of Centerville, Wayne County, Indiana. His father, descended from Rene St. Julien, a Huguenot who came to America about the end of the seventeenth century, was a soldier in the War of 1812 and at one time a member of the Indiana legislature. His mother, of German descent, was a Quaker, whose paternal ancestors were also those of Herbert Hoover. Isaac Julian died when George was only six years old, but by hard work and frugality the widowed mother managed to bring up the family of children. George attended the common schools, at eighteen taught a district school, presently studied law, and in 1840 was admitted to the bar, practising successively in Newcastle, Greenfield, and Centerville. In 1845 he was elected to the state legislature as a Whig, but voted with the Democrats against the repudiation of the Wabash and Erie Canal bonds. About the same time he began to write newspaper articles attacking slavery. Defeated in 1847 in an attempt to secure the Whig nomination for state senator, he presently joined the Free-Soil party and the next year attended the Buffalo convention that nominated Van Buren. His activities as an abolitionist had caused him to be ostracized by many former friends and associates and had even brought about the dissolution of a law partnership with his brother, but the political tide presently turned in his favor and in 1848, having been nominated for Congress by the Free-Soilers, he was elected, with the assistance of many Democratic votes. As a member of the little group of anti-slavery men in Congress he vigorously opposed the compromise measures of 1850. Beaten for reelection in that year, he resumed the practice of law but continued his advocacy of abolition both in speeches and in the press. In 1852 he was nominated for the vice-presidency by the Free-Soil party and took an active part in the campaign.

Julian's real opportunity came with the rise of the Republican party, of which the Free-Soil party had been a forerunner. In 1856 he participated in the Pittsburgh convention that formally organized the new party, and was chosen one of the vice-presidents and chairman of the committee on organization. His earnest fight for human freedom brought reward at last when in 1860 he was elected to Congress. Four times reelected, he speedily won a prominent place in legislative deliberations, and among the committees on which he served was the very important committee on the conduct of the war. He early began to urge the emancipation of slaves as a war measure, advancing the argument of John Quincy Adams, that such a step would be within the war powers of the president and Congress. As chairman of the committee on public lands he had an important part in the passage of the celebrated Homestead Act, a measure, he had urged in 1851. Though he thought Lincoln too slow in some respects and opposed his reconstruction plan, Julian refused to join in the attempt in 1864 to nominate Chase in Lincoln's stead. Julian favored punishing Confederate leaders and confiscating their lands and early advocated the granting of the suffrage to the freedmen. He stood, therefore, with the Radicals in their battles with President Johnson, and in 1867 was one of the committee of seven appointed by the House to prepare the articles of impeachment against the President. In 1868 he proposed an amendment to the Constitution conferring the right of suffrage upon women, a reform he continued to champion to the end of his life.

Failing of renomination in 1870, he devoted much of his time to recuperating his broken health and to compiling a volume of Speeches On Political Questions, published in 1872. He had come to be out of sympathy with the influences that dominated the Republican party nationally and in Indiana, and joined the Liberal Republican movement, presiding during parts of two days over the Cincinnati convention (1872) that nominated Horace Greeley. The next year he removed to Irvington, a suburb of Indianapolis, and for some years was occupied with writing and championing reform measures. He supported Tilden in the campaign of 1876, and two million copies of his speech, The Gospel of Reform, were distributed by the Democratic National Committee. In the years that followed he contributed notable articles on politics, the public lands, and other subjects to the North American Review and other periodicals. Meanwhile he was writing his Political Recollections 1840-1872, published in 1884. After the election of Cleveland in that year he was appointed surveyor general of New Mexico, a post for which he was particularly fitted. During his administration (July 1885-September 1889) he brought to light many flagrant frauds in connection with public land grants. In 1889 he published a volume, Later Speeches on Political Questions with Select Controversial Papers, edited by his daughter. His last important literary work was The Life of Joshua R. Giddings (1892). In 1896 he supported the Gold Democrats. He died at his home in Irvington in the summer of 1899.

Julian was twice married. His first wife was Anne Elizabeth Finch of Centerville, who died in November 1860, a few days after his election to Congress. His second wife, whom he married December 31, 1863, was Laura Giddings, daughter of Joshua R. Giddings [q.v.]. She died in 1884.

[Consult Julian's own Political Recollections (1884); George W. Julian (192 3), by his daughter, Grace Julian Clarke; and Indianapolis Sentinel, July 7, 1899. Julian also left an unpublished diary, containing much interesting and important historical material, which is in the possession of his daughter, Grace Julian Clarke, Indianapolis.]

P. L. H.

Sources:
Dictionary of American Biography, Volumes I-X, Edited by Dumas Malone, New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1930.

Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, Volumes I-VI, Edited by James Grant Wilson & John Fiske, New York: D. Appleton and Co., 1888-1889.