Willard Saulsbury Sr.

Willard Saulsbury

Willard Saulsbury (born June 2, 1820 in Mispillion Hundred, Kent County , Delaware , †  April 6, 1892 in Dover , Delaware) was an American lawyer and politician ( Democratic Party ) who represented the state of Delaware in the US Senate .

Life

Willard Saulsbury came from a family that produced numerous prominent politicians. His brother Gove , born in 1815, became governor of Delaware; Another older brother, Eli , born in 1817, later succeeded Willard Saulsbury as a US Senator, as did his own son Willard , who was born in 1861.

He first attended public schools and later the Dickinson College in Carlisle ( Pennsylvania ) and the Delaware College in Newark , today's University of Delaware . After successfully studying law , he was inducted into the Delaware Bar Association and began practicing in Georgetown .

From 1850 to 1855 Saulsbury held the office of Attorney General of Delaware. In 1858 he stood as an opponent of US Senator Martin W. Bates and was able to defeat this, whereupon he took up his mandate in Washington, DC from March 4, 1859 . He served two full terms in Congress and, as a critic of the Civil War, was one of the staunch opponents of President Abraham Lincoln . This led to a dramatic incident in the Senate in 1863. During a speech Saulsbury described the president as "imbecile" and as the "weakest man who has held high office". When called to order by Vice President Hannibal Hamlin , who chaired the session, the Senator refused to resume his seat. Eventually, the Senate Sergeant at Arms , George T. Brown , was called in to remove Saulsbury from the room. The latter, clearly excited, pulled out a revolver, held it against the head of the officer and shouted: "Damn it, if you touch me, I'll shoot you!" Finally Saulsbury could be calmed down and left the hall.

Saulsbury ran for re-election in 1870. However, he was defeated by his brother Eli, who then replaced him on March 4, 1871 as senator. He went back to his activity as a lawyer and served from 1873 until his death in April 1892 as chairman of the Chancellery ( Court of Chancery ) in his home state, which he carried the title of Chancellor of Delaware .

Individual evidence

1. ^ Doris Kearns Goodwin, Team of rivals: the political genius of Abraham Lincoln, Simon and Schuster, 2005 in the Google book search

Web links

• Willard Saulsbury in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)

• Willard Saulsbury senior in the database of Find a Grave (English)
• The Senators from Delaware