SkipCaptcha
35,519
edits
Changes
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
start
'''Benjamin Franklin Wade''' (October 27, 1800 – March 2, 1878), also known as '''B. F. Wade''' and nicknamed "Bluff," was a lawyer and prominent [[Radical Republican]] from [[Ohio]] known for his opposition towards the lenient [[Reconstruction]] policies pushed by President [[Abraham Lincoln]] as well as [[Andrew Johnson]]. He was previously a state senator from 1837 to 1842.
==Political career==
Wade's life in politics began as a prosecutor and local judge.<ref name=battlefieldtrust>[https://www.battlefields.org/learn/biographies/benjamin-wade Benjamin Wade]. ''American Battlefield Trust''. Retrieved November 9, 2021.</ref> From the late 1830s to the early 1840s, Wade served in the state legislature, where he established a reputation as a staunch [[abolitionist]] and advocate of [[civil rights]], pushing for the repeal of racist "Black Codes." He was a member of the [[Whig Party]] during this period.<ref name=battlefieldtrust/>
===U.S. Senate===
As a Whig, Wade won a special election to Ohio's Class I Senate seat in 1851.<ref>[https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=142492 OH US Senate Special Race - Mar 14, 1851]. ''Our Campaigns''. Retrieved November 9, 2021.</ref> When the party collapsed due to internal division over [[slavery]], he helped form the [[Republican Party]], which he joined.<ref name=battlefieldtrust/>
Joining GOP ranks as a Radical Republican, Wade was an ardent supporter of [[women's suffrage]] and trade unions.<ref name=battlefieldtrust/> He voiced heavy opposition towards the [[Fugitive Slave Act]] and the [[Kansas-Nebraska Act]], drawing the ire of Southerners.
During the [[American Civil War|Civil War]], Wade became chair of the Joint Committee on the Conduct of War.<ref name=battlefieldtrust/> He frequently criticized the policies of President Lincoln, viewing them as too lenient and hesitating against the [[Confederacy]]. Indeed, Wade even doubted Lincoln's abolitionist stances and said that the latter's viewpoints:<ref name=battlefieldtrust/>
{{cquote|...could only come of one born of poor white trash and educated in a slave state.|||Wade during the Civil War}}
Sen. Wade, with fellow Radical Republican Henry W. Davis, introduced the [[Wade-Davis bill]] pertaining to a post-war plan which called for harsh restrictions on [[the South]] to safeguard the constitutional rights of newly freed blacks.<ref name=battlefieldtrust/> Although it passed both houses of Congress, Lincoln pocket-vetoed Wade-Davis, and it never became law.
==References==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
*[https://bioguideretro.congress.gov/Home/MemberDetails?memIndex=W000005 Profile] at the ''Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
*[https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/4979/benjamin-franklin-wade Profile] at ''Find a Grave
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wade, Benjamin}}
[[Category:Ohio]]
[[Category:Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Whig Party]]
[[Category:Republican Party]]
[[Category:Former United States Senators]]
[[Category:State Senators]]
[[Category:Civil Rights]]
[[Category:Black History]]
[[Category:Patriots]]
[[Category:American Civil War]]
[[Category:Reconstruction]]
==Political career==
Wade's life in politics began as a prosecutor and local judge.<ref name=battlefieldtrust>[https://www.battlefields.org/learn/biographies/benjamin-wade Benjamin Wade]. ''American Battlefield Trust''. Retrieved November 9, 2021.</ref> From the late 1830s to the early 1840s, Wade served in the state legislature, where he established a reputation as a staunch [[abolitionist]] and advocate of [[civil rights]], pushing for the repeal of racist "Black Codes." He was a member of the [[Whig Party]] during this period.<ref name=battlefieldtrust/>
===U.S. Senate===
As a Whig, Wade won a special election to Ohio's Class I Senate seat in 1851.<ref>[https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=142492 OH US Senate Special Race - Mar 14, 1851]. ''Our Campaigns''. Retrieved November 9, 2021.</ref> When the party collapsed due to internal division over [[slavery]], he helped form the [[Republican Party]], which he joined.<ref name=battlefieldtrust/>
Joining GOP ranks as a Radical Republican, Wade was an ardent supporter of [[women's suffrage]] and trade unions.<ref name=battlefieldtrust/> He voiced heavy opposition towards the [[Fugitive Slave Act]] and the [[Kansas-Nebraska Act]], drawing the ire of Southerners.
During the [[American Civil War|Civil War]], Wade became chair of the Joint Committee on the Conduct of War.<ref name=battlefieldtrust/> He frequently criticized the policies of President Lincoln, viewing them as too lenient and hesitating against the [[Confederacy]]. Indeed, Wade even doubted Lincoln's abolitionist stances and said that the latter's viewpoints:<ref name=battlefieldtrust/>
{{cquote|...could only come of one born of poor white trash and educated in a slave state.|||Wade during the Civil War}}
Sen. Wade, with fellow Radical Republican Henry W. Davis, introduced the [[Wade-Davis bill]] pertaining to a post-war plan which called for harsh restrictions on [[the South]] to safeguard the constitutional rights of newly freed blacks.<ref name=battlefieldtrust/> Although it passed both houses of Congress, Lincoln pocket-vetoed Wade-Davis, and it never became law.
==References==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
*[https://bioguideretro.congress.gov/Home/MemberDetails?memIndex=W000005 Profile] at the ''Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
*[https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/4979/benjamin-franklin-wade Profile] at ''Find a Grave
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wade, Benjamin}}
[[Category:Ohio]]
[[Category:Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Whig Party]]
[[Category:Republican Party]]
[[Category:Former United States Senators]]
[[Category:State Senators]]
[[Category:Civil Rights]]
[[Category:Black History]]
[[Category:Patriots]]
[[Category:American Civil War]]
[[Category:Reconstruction]]