Fernando Wood

Fernando Wood

Fernando Wood (born June 14, 1812 in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania , †  February 14, 1881 in Hot Springs , Arkansas ) was an American politician . Between 1841 and 1881 he represented New York State in the US House of Representatives several times . He was also mayor of New York City twice .

Career

Fernando Wood was the older brother of Congressman Benjamin Wood (1820-1900). He attended the public schools in his home country. In 1820 he came to New York City with his father. Since 1831 he worked in the mail order business. Politically, he became a member of the Democratic Party and the New York City related organization Tammany Hall .

In the congressional elections of 1840 Wood was elected to the US House of Representatives in Washington, DC in the third constituency of New York , where he took up his new mandate on March 4, 1841. Since he was not confirmed in 1842, he could initially only complete one legislative period in Congress until March 3, 1843 . That time was determined by the tension between President John Tyler and the Whigs . In addition, a possible annexation of the Republic of Texas , which has been independent of Mexico since 1836, was already being discussed.

Between 1844 and 1847, Wood worked for the State Department as a dispatch agent in New York Harbor . In 1850 he tried unsuccessfully for the post of mayor of New York. Four years later he was elected to this office, which he held from 1855 to 1858. This led to riots, mainly because of the then corrupt police forces and the gangsterism of this city. Because Wood was unable to control the problem, the state legislature cut his term by one year. He was again mayor of New York in 1861 and 1862. At the beginning of the civil war he strove for a neutrality of his city in order to be able to maintain the economic relations with the southern states . That would have meant leaving the Union. With this plan, however, he could not prevail.

In the congressional election of 1862 Wood was re-elected to Congress in the fifth district of his state, where he replaced William Wall on March 4, 1863 . Since he was not confirmed in 1864, he could only stay in Congress for one legislative period until March 3, 1865. This was shaped by the events of the civil war. In 1866, he was re-elected to the US House of Representatives in the ninth electoral district. On March 4, 1867, he took up his mandate. After seven re-elections, he was able to remain there until his death on February 14, 1881. From 1873 to 1875 he represented the tenth and then again the ninth district of New York. As early as 1865 to 1869, the work of Congress was burdened by tension between Republicans and President Andrew Johnson , which culminated in a narrowly failed impeachment process. Fernando Wood was chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means from 1877 . At the time of his death he had already been re-elected for the next legislative period beginning March 4, 1881. Another rebuke from the US House of Representatives is noteworthy, which he received in 1868 for improper language in Congress.

Trivia

In the 2012 movie Lincoln , Fernando Wood is portrayed by actor Lee Pace as a staunch opponent of President Abraham Lincoln .

Web links

• Fernando Wood in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)

• Fernando Wood in the database of Find a Grave (English)
• Biography (English)

predecessor	Office	successor
Edward Curtis	United States House of Representatives for New York (2nd constituency) with Charles G. Ferris , James I. Roosevelt, and John McKeon March 4, 1841 - March 3, 1843	Jonas P. Phoenix
Jacob Aaron Westervelt	Mayor of New York City 1855-1858	Daniel F. Tiemann
Daniel F. Tiemann	Mayor of New York City 1860–1862	George Opdyke
William Wall	United States House of Representatives for New York (5th constituency) March 4, 1863 - March 3, 1865	Nelson Taylor
William Augustus Darling	United States House of Representatives for New York (9th constituency) March 4, 1867 - March 3, 1873	David B. Mellish
Clarkson Nott Potter	United States House Representative for New York (10th constituency) March 4, 1873 - March 3, 1875	Abram Hewitt
Richard Schell	United States House Representative for New York (9th constituency) March 4, 1875 - February 14, 1881	John Hardy