Robert C. Wickliffe (politician, 1819)

Robert C. Wickliffe

Robert Charles Wickliffe (born January 6, 1819 in Bardstown , Nelson County , Kentucky , † April 18, 1895 ibid) was an American politician and governor of the state of Louisiana from 1856 to 1860 .

Early years and political advancement

Robert Wickliffe was born to Charles A. Wickliffe , who was Kentucky Governor from 1839 to 1840 and US Postal Secretary under President John Tyler . He attended St. Joseph's College in Bardstown and Augusta College and, until 1840, the Center College in Danville . After completing a law degree in Washington, DC and being licensed, he began practicing as a lawyer in Bardstown.

In 1846, Wickliffe moved to St. Francisville , Louisiana to recover from pneumonia. There he lived on the Wyoming plantation that belonged to his wife's family. Wickliffe stayed in Louisiana and became a member of the Democratic Party . Between 1852 and 1855 he was a member of the Louisiana Senate ; from 1854 to 1855 he was president of this body. After the death of Lieutenant Governor W.W. Farmer in 1854 he took over his duties.

Louisiana Governor

On November 5, 1855, he was elected as the new governor of his state as his party's candidate against Charles Derbigny, the son of former governor Pierre Derbigny , who died in 1829 . He took office on January 30, 1856 and held it until January 11, 1860. Wickliffe stood up for state rights vis-à-vis the federal government and was in favor of extending American sovereignty to the Caribbean, including Cuba , Mexico and other parts of Central America. He was also a fan of slavery , which he tried to protect. During his tenure in Louisiana, railroad construction was also continued. The economic crisis that broke out in 1857 also troubled Louisiana. The city of New Orleans received a new ordinance and a new system for registering residents and voters. With this, the governor wanted to fight the Know-Nothing Party that ruled there . In the event of unrest in this city, he even had to send the militia in 1858. But he did not succeed in breaking the power of his opponents in New Orleans.

Another résumé

After the end of his tenure, Wickliffe was initially again a lawyer and planter . In 1860 he was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in Baltimore , where he stood up for Stephen A. Douglas as a presidential candidate. Wickliffe stayed out of the discussions about the secession of Louisiana from the Union. He also did not take part in the civil war. After the war, he was elected to the US House of Representatives for Louisiana in 1866 . Like the other MPs from the southern states, he was not admitted there. In 1876 he was again at the federal party conference of the Democrats, where he supported Samuel J. Tilden , who was then extremely narrowly defeated by Rutherford B. Hayes in the presidential elections. In 1884 he supported the successful presidential candidacy of Grover Cleveland . In 1892 a candidate for the office of lieutenant governor of Louisiana failed .

Robert Wickliffe died in April 1895 while visiting relatives in his birthplace in Kentucky. He was married twice and had two children. His first wife, Anna Dawson, was the daughter of Congressman John Bennett Dawson and the niece of former Governor Isaac Johnson . His second wife was Annie Davis Anderson.

Web links

• Robert Wickliffe in the National Governors Association (English)
• The Governors of Louisiana (English)
• The Political Graveyard (English)
• Robert C. Wickliffe in the database of Find a Grave (English)