Alexander W. Randall

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Alexander W. Randall

Alexander Williams Randall (born October 31, 1819 in Ames , Montgomery County , New York , † July 26, 1872 in Elmira , New York) was an American politician . He was the 6th Governor of Wisconsin from 1858 to 1862  and served as Secretary of the Post Office of President Andrew Johnson .

Early years

Randall studied law with his father and was admitted to the bar in 1838. In 1840 he moved to what is now Waukesha in the Wisconsin Territory . There he practiced as a lawyer.

Start of political career

Randall was originally a Whig Party supporter . But he joined the Democratic Party early on, which earned him the appointment of President James K. Polk to head the post office in his area . In 1846 he helped found Waukesha County , which was separated from Milwaukee County . Then he became the new county's first district attorney. Also in 1846 he was a delegate to the first constituent assembly of the future state of Wisconsin. There he campaigned for the right to vote for African-Americans , an extremely unusual proposal for the time.

In 1848 Randall changed his party affiliation for the third, but not the last time. He became a member of the short-lived Free Soil Party and was a delegate at their federal party congress, at which ex-President Martin Van Buren was named their unsuccessful presidential candidate. Randall returned to the Democrats in 1849. After the founding of the Republicans , he finally joined this party in 1855.

In 1854, Randall was a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly . Then he tried unsuccessfully for the office of Attorney General of Wisconsin. During the politically turbulent dispute over the outcome of the gubernatorial elections of 1856 between William A. Barstow and Coles Bashford , he was one of Bashford's lawyers. After his victory, he appointed Randall a judge in the country's second judicial district. After Governor Bashford, like his predecessor Barstow, was involved in bribery affairs, in 1858 he was no longer sustainable for his Republican Party as the top candidate for the gubernatorial election. The party chose Randall, who then won the actual election.

Governor, Ambassador and Minister

Randall took office on January 4, 1858. After being re-elected, he could remain in office until January 6, 1862. He was a staunch opponent of slavery and took a corresponding position at the outbreak of the American Civil War . When this war broke out, he managed to outbid the contingent of soldiers specified by the federal government for the army of the northern states by over 3,200 men.

After the end of his tenure, Alexander Randall was nominated by President Abraham Lincoln as American Ambassador to the Papal States . In 1866, the new President Andrew Johnson appointed him Postmaster General in his cabinet . He held this office until the end of Johnson's tenure on March 3, 1869. With negative sentiment against President Johnson and his administration in Wisconsin during those days, Randall did not return home as Johnson minister, but practiced in Elmira, New York as a lawyer, where he also died in 1872. He was married twice and had one child.

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personal data
SURNAME Randall, Alexander W.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Randall, Alexander Williams (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American politician
DATE OF BIRTH October 31, 1819
PLACE OF BIRTH Ames , Montgomery County , New York
DATE OF DEATH July 26, 1872
Place of death Elmira , New York