Richard Yates Sr.

Richard Yates

Richard Yates (born January 18, 1818 in Warsaw , Gallatin County , Kentucky , † November 27, 1873 in St. Louis , Missouri ) was an American politician and from 1861 to 1865 the 13th Governor of Illinois . He also sat in both houses of Congress for that state .

Early years and political advancement

Richard Yates attended schools in his home country. He came to Illinois in 1831. There he attended Illinois College in Jacksonville . He then studied law at Transylvania University in Lexington . After his admission to the bar in 1837, he practiced in Jacksonville. Between 1842 and 1845 and again from 1848 to 1849 he was a member of the Whigs in the Illinois House of Representatives . From 1851 to 1855 he represented his state in the US House of Representatives in Washington, DC There he became involved in the debates over the question of slavery and the Missouri Compromise . He represented the positions of the northern states .

After the founding of the Republican Party in 1854, he joined it. In 1854 he was a delegate at the first Republican Congress in Illinois. In 1860 he attended the Republican National Convention in Chicago , where Abraham Lincoln was nominated as a presidential candidate. In the same year, Yates was nominated by his party as a candidate for the gubernatorial election and on November 6, at the same time as Lincoln was elected president, was elected by the citizens of Illinois.

Illinois Governor

Richard Yates began his four-year term on January 14, 1861. His entire term of office was overshadowed by the events of the civil war. When President Lincoln asked the states to volunteer for the Union Army, Governor Yates mobilized far more soldiers than any other state in the Union. Almost 200,000 soldiers responded to the call in Illinois. Yates continued to support the federal government and Lincoln. The country's industrial production was converted to war needs. The railways also had to cede transport capacities to the army. In Illinois a new constitution was drawn up in 1862, but it was rejected by the electorate. In Fulton County led to riots that had reflected the governor.

US Senator

After his tenure ended on January 16, 1865, Yates was a member of the US Senate in Washington until 1871 . There he saw the end of the Civil War and the assassination of Lincoln. In March 1873, President Ulysses S. Grant appointed him inspector of the railroad (the railroad had a few miles of land under its property to the right and left of its routes). He held this post until his death in November of the same year. Richard Yates was married to Catharine Geers, with whom he had five children, including their son Richard , who was also to become Governor of Illinois from 1901 to 1905.

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personal data
SURNAME	Yates, Richard Sr.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Yates, Richard
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	American politician
DATE OF BIRTH	January 18, 1818
PLACE OF BIRTH	Warsaw , Kentucky
DATE OF DEATH	November 27, 1873
Place of death	St. Louis , Missouri