William Allen (politician, 1803)

William Allen

William Allen (born December 18, 1803 in Edenton , Chowan County , North Carolina , †  July 11, 1879 in Ross County , Ohio ) was an American politician . He represented the state of Ohio in both chambers of Congress and was its 31st governor from 1874 to 1876  .

Early years

Early on, William Allen came to Lynchburg , Virginia , where he attended private schools. In 1819 he moved to Chillicothe , Ohio, where he attended the Chillicothe Academy . Later he also studied law. He was admitted to the bar in 1827, after which he worked as a lawyer in his new hometown.

Political career

In Congress

William Allen was a member of the Democratic Party , for which he was a member of the US House of Representatives between 1833 and 1835 . Between 1837 and 1849 he was a member of the US Senate in Washington, DC There he was chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee . After the end of his time in Congress, he retired to his farm "Fruit Hill" near Chillicothe. There he spent the next 25 years.

Governor of ohio

During the Civil War he was among the critics of President Abraham Lincoln's policies . In 1873, William Allen returned to the political scene as the Democratic Party candidate for the upcoming gubernatorial election. He won with 47.8 percent of the vote, just ahead of the Republican incumbent Edward F. Noyes (47.6 percent) and was able to take up his new office on January 12, 1874. This made him the first Democratic governor of Ohio since William Medill , who served between 1853 and 1856. During his two-year tenure, taxes were cut and government spending reduced. Strikes in the railways and in the mining industry were successfully resolved. In 1875, Allen failed his re-election attempt. Therefore, he resigned on January 10, 1876 from his office.

Further life

After the end of his governorship, Allen retired from politics. He returned to farming on his “Fruit Hill” farm, where he died in July 1879. William Allen was married to Effie McArthur Coons. The couple had a child.

Web links

• William Allen in the National Governors Association (English)
• William Allen in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)
• William Allen in the Ohio History Connection Archives
• William Allen in the database of Find a Grave (English)