Henry Taylor Blow

Henry Taylor Blow

Henry Taylor Blow (born July 15, 1817 in Southampton County , Virginia , †  September 11, 1875 in Saratoga , New York ) was an American diplomat and politician . Between 1863 and 1867 he represented the state of Missouri in the US House of Representatives .

Career

In 1830, Henry Blow came from Huntsville , Alabama , where his family had since moved, to St. Louis , Missouri, where he studied at Saint Louis University until 1831 . His parents were the owners of the slave Dred Scott , who by the historical court decision Dred Scott v. Sandford became known. Blow had to drop out of his studies for financial reasons. He later made his living selling paint. Then he got into the lead business, through which he made a certain fortune. At the same time he began a political career. Between 1854 and 1858 he was a member of the Missouri Senate . In Dred Scott's case, he was an opponent of the verdict of Chief Federal Judge Roger B. Taney . He supported Scott's demand for his release. Henry Blow was a supporter of the Union and was appointed United States Ambassador to Venezuela by President Abraham Lincoln in June 1861 . He held this post until February 22, 1862.

In the congressional election of 1862 Blow was elected as a unionist in the second constituency of Missouri in the US House of Representatives in Washington, DC , where he succeeded James S. Rollins , who moved to the ninth district, on March 4, 1863 . After being re-elected, Blow was able to complete two legislative terms in Congress by March 3, 1867 . These were shaped by the events of the civil war and its consequences. Since 1865 he represented the Republican Party in Congress. It was there that he witnessed the conflict between his new party and President Andrew Johnson . In 1865 the 13th Amendment to the Constitution was ratified. Blow was a member of a committee that prepared the 14th Amendment to the Constitution , which came into force in 1868.

In 1866, Blow decided not to run again. After leaving the US House of Representatives, he resumed his previous activities. Between 1869 and 1871 he was the successor to James Watson Webb as American ambassador to Brazil ; in 1874 and 1875 he was a member of the District of Columbia administration. He died in Saratoga on September 11, 1875 and was buried in St. Louis. Henry Blow was married to Minerva Grimsley (1821-1870), with whom he had six children, including their daughter Susan Elizabeth Blow (1843-1916), who opened the first successful public kindergarten in the United States.

Web links

• Henry Taylor Blow in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)

• Henry Taylor Blow in the database of Find a Grave (English)