Difference between revisions of "Leonidas Houk"

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'''Leonidas Campbell Houk''' (June 8, 1836 – May 25, 1891) was an Eastern [[Tennessee]] Unionist and [[Republican]] [[nationalist]]<ref name=tennesseeencyclopedia>Schlup, Leonard (October 8, 2017). [https://tennesseeencyclopedia.net/entries/leonidas-campbell-houk/ Leonidas Campbell Houk]. ''Tennessee Encyclopedia''. Retrieved August 25, 2021.</ref> who fought against Southern [[Confederate]]s during the [[American Civil War]] and later represented the state's 2nd congressional district from 1879 until his death in 1891.
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{{Officeholder
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|name=Leonidas C. Houk
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|image=Leonidas C. Houk.jpg
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|party=[[Republican]]
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|spouse=Elizabeth Matilda Smith<br>(died 1879)<ref>[https://mcclungcollection.knoxlib.org/repositories/2/resources/1508 Leonidas C. and John Chiles Houk Papers.]. ''Knox County Tennessee Public Library''. Retrieved October 7, 2021.</ref><br>Mary Bella Von Rosen<ref>September 24, 1937. [https://www.nytimes.com/1937/09/24/archives/mrs-leonidas-c-houkk-widow-and-mother-of-congressmen-from-tennessee.html MRS. LEONIDAS C. HOUKK; Widow and Mother of Congressmen From Tennessee Is Dead]. ''The New York Times''. Retrieved August 25, 2021.</ref>
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|religion=[[Methodist]]<ref name=tennesseeencyclopedia>Schlup, Leonard (October 8, 2017). [https://tennesseeencyclopedia.net/entries/leonidas-campbell-houk/ Leonidas Campbell Houk]. ''Tennessee Encyclopedia''. Retrieved August 25, 2021.</ref>
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|offices=
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{{Officeholder/representative
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|state=Tennessee
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|district=2nd
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|terms=March 4, 1879 – May 25, 1891
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|preceded=Jacob M. Thornbugh
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|former=y
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|succeeded=[[John C. Houk]]
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}}
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{{Officeholder/misc
 +
|office=State Representative<br>from Tennessee
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|terms=1873–1875
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|preceded=???
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|former=y
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|succeeded=???
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}}
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{{Officeholder/misc
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|office=Judge of the<br>[[United States Court of Appeals|Circuit Court]] of Tennessee
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|terms=1866–1870
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|preceded=???
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|former=y
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|succeeded=???
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}}
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|military=y
 +
|allegiance=[[United States]]
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|rank=• Private<br>• [[Lieutenant]]<br>• Quartermaster
 +
|unit=Third Regiment<br>Tennessee Volunteer Infantry
 +
|serviceyears=1861–1863
 +
|battles=[[American Civil War]]
 +
}}
 +
 
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'''Leonidas Campbell Houk''' (June 8, 1836 – May 25, 1891) (pron. HOWK) was an Eastern [[Tennessee]] Unionist and [[Republican]] [[nationalist]]<ref name=tennesseeencyclopedia/> who fought against Southern [[Confederate]]s during the [[American Civil War]] and later represented the state's 2nd congressional district from 1879 until his death in 1891.
 +
 
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==Background==
 +
Houk was born in Boyds Creek, Sevier County, Tennessee. His father John died when he was young, leaving the family under impoverished circumstances.<ref name=tennesseeencyclopedia/><ref name=knoxvillefocus>Hill, Ray (October 6, 2013). [https://knoxfocus.com/archives/congressman-leonidas-campbell-houk/ Congressman Leonidas Campbell Houk]. ''The Knoxville Focus''. Retrieved August 25, 2021.</ref> He managed to survive and make a living as a [[Methodist]] preacher and cabinetmaker while studying [[law]] at night.
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 +
In 1859, Houk was admitted to the bar and proceeded to open an office in Clinton, Tennessee (located in Anderson County).<ref name=tennesseeencyclopedia/><ref name=knoxvillefocus/>
  
 
==Civil War, Eastern Tennessee resists secession and Confederacy==
 
==Civil War, Eastern Tennessee resists secession and Confederacy==
−
The Eastern portion of Tennessee, located within the [[Appalachian Mountains]], were unsuitable for plantation farming and were a stronghold for anti-slavery forces in the South. Residents in the area maintained a strong sense of Unionism when the Civil War broke out, and Houk participated in the 1891 Union Convention.<ref name=tennesseeencyclopedia/>
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The Eastern portion of Tennessee, located within the [[Appalachian Mountains]], were unsuitable for plantation farming and were a stronghold for anti-slavery forces in the South. Residents in the area maintained a strong sense of Unionism when the Civil War broke out, and Houk participated in the 1861 Union Convention.<ref name=tennesseeencyclopedia/>
  
 
Organizing the First Tennessee Infantry, Houk served under several different ranks on the side of the Union.<ref name=tennesseeencyclopedia/> He later left the military in 1863 due to poor health, and wrote articles for the press expressing pro-Union statements.
 
Organizing the First Tennessee Infantry, Houk served under several different ranks on the side of the Union.<ref name=tennesseeencyclopedia/> He later left the military in 1863 due to poor health, and wrote articles for the press expressing pro-Union statements.
  
 
==Political career==
 
==Political career==
 +
During the [[United States presidential election, 1864|1864 presidential election]], Houk served as an [[elector]] for the Republican Party ticket.
 +
 +
Although he served in the Union and fought to defeat the Confederacy, Houk refused to hear cases of [[treason]] against Confederates as a circuit judge after the war on the grounds that Tennessee's status as a U.S. state ceased upon secession in 1861.<ref name=tennesseeencyclopedia/> However, he backed the [[Radical Republican]] faction of the GOP and gave support to staunch [[abolitionist]] and [[civil rights]] advocate [[Ulysses S. Grant]] in the [[United States presidential election, 1868|1868]] and [[United States presidential election, 1872|1872]] presidential elections.<ref name=tennesseeencyclopedia/>
 +
 +
Houk was a delegate to almost all [[Republican National Convention]]s in the post-war era and also belonged to the Southern Claims Commission.<ref name=tennesseeencyclopedia/> He served for a term in the Tennessee House of Representatives from 1873 to 1875, where he chaired a committee and sponsored statewide school law.
 +
 +
Initially, Houk strongly supported the policies of Tennessee Radical Republican governor William G. "Parson" Brownlow, who moved to harshly punish and disenfranchise Confederates.<ref name=knoxvillefocus/> However, he would withdraw his support for Brownlow in the late 1860s.
 +
 
===U.S. House of Representatives===
 
===U.S. House of Representatives===
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After running as a [[Democrat]] in the 1868 elections for the House of Representatives against incumbent [[Radical Republican]] Horace Maynard and losing by a landslide,<ref>[https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=627167 TN - District 02 Race - Nov 03, 1868]. ''Our Campaigns''. Retrieved August 25, 2021.</ref> Houk was victorious when running for the same seat a decade later in the 1878 midterms as a Republican,<ref>[https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=627276 TN - District 02 Race - Nov 05, 1878]. ''Our Campaigns''. Retrieved August 25, 2021.</ref> and re-elected six times.<ref>[https://www.ourcampaigns.com/CandidateDetail.html?CandidateID=233331 Candidate - Leonidas C. Houk]. ''Our Campaigns''. Retrieved August 25, 2021.</ref>
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Houk in 1865 challenged incumbent Republican congressman Horace Maynard in an effort to deny the latter renomination for the U.S. House, though lost.<ref name=knoxvillefocus/> After failing again in the 1868 elections against Maynard in both the primary<ref name=knoxvillefocus/> and the general election, where he ran as a Democrat and lost by a landslide,<ref>[https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=627167 TN - District 02 Race - Nov 03, 1868]. ''Our Campaigns''. Retrieved August 25, 2021.</ref> Houk was victorious when running for the same seat a decade later in the 1878 midterms as a Republican,<ref>[https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=627276 TN - District 02 Race - Nov 05, 1878]. ''Our Campaigns''. Retrieved August 25, 2021.</ref> and subsequently re-elected six times.<ref>[https://www.ourcampaigns.com/CandidateDetail.html?CandidateID=233331 Candidate - Leonidas C. Houk]. ''Our Campaigns''. Retrieved August 25, 2021.</ref>
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====Tenure====
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A member of the [[Stalwart]] faction in the House,<ref>[https://prabook.com/web/leonidas.houk/3759312 Lenoidas Houk]. ''Prabook''. Retrieved August 25, 2021.</ref> Houk supported Grant in his run for a third non-consecutive presidential term in [[United States presidential election, 1880|1880 election]].<ref name=tennesseeencyclopedia/> He also expressed sympathy for the struggles of poor farmers, reflecting a [[populist]] bent in his district due to the mountainous geographic nature stifling development and thus contributing to poverty.
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Largely focusing on local as opposed to national issues, Houk emphasized constituents services and provided aid to veterans.<ref name=knoxvillefocus/> He managed to consolidate political power within the state GOP, subsequently gaining control of [[patronage]]. This ultimately led to an alliance with some [[Democrats]] in the state, which elicited substantial criticisms.<ref name=knoxvillefocus/>
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 +
Like nearly all Stalwarts, Houk ultimately caved into supporting [[civil service system|civil service reform]] as a means of compromise in the 1880s, voting for the [[Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act]] in 1883 which ended the traditional [[spoils system]] Republicans utilized in the post-war [[Reconstruction]] period to safeguard the constitutional rights of newly freed blacks.<ref>[https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/47-2/h272 TO PASS S. 133, A BILL REGULATING AND IMPROVING THE U. S. CIVIL SERVICE. (J.P. 163).]. ''GovTrack.us''. Retrieved November 7, 2021.</ref>
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 +
====Accidental death====
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In late May 1891, Houk visited a drug store<ref name=knoxvillefocus/> and mistook a bottle of toxic [[arsenic]] for a glass of ice water, which he drank.<ref>May 26, 1891. [https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1891/05/26/103310340.pdf DEATH OF CONGRESSMAN HOUK.; TOOK ARSENIC BY MISTAKE FOR A GLASS OF ICE WATER.]. ''The New York Times''. Retrieved August 25, 2021.</ref> He died in pain the next day,<ref name=knoxvillefocus/> which came as a shock to the district's constituents. Houk is interred at the Old Gray Cemetery.
  
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In late May 1891, Houk visited a drug store and mistook a bottle of toxic [[arsenic]] for a glass of ice water, which he drank.<ref name=knoxvillefocus>Hill, Ray (October 6, 2013). [https://knoxfocus.com/archives/congressman-leonidas-campbell-houk/ Congressman Leonidas Campbell Houk]. ''The Knoxville Focus''. Retrieved August 25, 2021.</ref> He died in pain the next day, which came as a shock to the district's constituents.<ref>May 26, 1891. [https://www.nytimes.com/1891/05/26/archives/death-of-congressman-houk-took-arsenic-by-mistake-for-a-glass-of.html DEATH OF CONGRESSMAN HOUK.; TOOK ARSENIC BY MISTAKE FOR A GLASS OF ICE WATER.]. ''The New York Times''. Archived version available [https://archive.is/sD7ZC here]. Retrieved August 25, 2021.</ref>
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==See also==
 +
*[[Roderick R. Butler]], U.S. representative from Tennessee's 1st district
 +
*[[J. Will Taylor]] – later congressman from the 2nd district; similar to Houk, he prioritized control of patronage and was suspected of working with Democrats
  
 
==References==
 
==References==
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[[Category:Tennessee]]
 
[[Category:American Civil War]]
 
[[Category:American Civil War]]
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[[Category:Judges]]
 
[[Category:Republicans]]
 
[[Category:Republicans]]
 
[[Category:Former Democrats]]
 
[[Category:Former Democrats]]
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[[Category:State Representatives]]
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[[Category:Former United States Representatives]]
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[[Category:Stalwarts (Republican Party)]]
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[[Category:Patriots]]
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[[Category:Methodists]]
 
[[Category:Nationalists]]
 
[[Category:Nationalists]]
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[[Category:Old Republicans (The South)]]
 
[[Category:United States Veterans]]
 
[[Category:United States Veterans]]

Revision as of 16:05, December 27, 2021

Leonidas C. Houk
Leonidas C. Houk.jpg
Former U.S. Representative from Tennessee's 2nd Congressional District
From: March 4, 1879 – May 25, 1891
Predecessor Jacob M. Thornbugh
Successor John C. Houk
Former State Representative
from Tennessee
From: 1873–1875
Predecessor ???
Successor ???
Former Judge of the
Circuit Court of Tennessee
From: 1866–1870
Predecessor ???
Successor ???
Information
Party Republican
Spouse(s) Elizabeth Matilda Smith
(died 1879)[1]
Mary Bella Von Rosen[2]
Religion Methodist[3]
Military Service
Allegiance United States
Service Years 1861–1863
Rank • Private
• Lieutenant
• Quartermaster
Unit Third Regiment
Tennessee Volunteer Infantry
Battles/wars American Civil War

Leonidas Campbell Houk (June 8, 1836 – May 25, 1891) (pron. HOWK) was an Eastern Tennessee Unionist and Republican nationalist[3] who fought against Southern Confederates during the American Civil War and later represented the state's 2nd congressional district from 1879 until his death in 1891.

Background

Houk was born in Boyds Creek, Sevier County, Tennessee. His father John died when he was young, leaving the family under impoverished circumstances.[3][4] He managed to survive and make a living as a Methodist preacher and cabinetmaker while studying law at night.

In 1859, Houk was admitted to the bar and proceeded to open an office in Clinton, Tennessee (located in Anderson County).[3][4]

Civil War, Eastern Tennessee resists secession and Confederacy

The Eastern portion of Tennessee, located within the Appalachian Mountains, were unsuitable for plantation farming and were a stronghold for anti-slavery forces in the South. Residents in the area maintained a strong sense of Unionism when the Civil War broke out, and Houk participated in the 1861 Union Convention.[3]

Organizing the First Tennessee Infantry, Houk served under several different ranks on the side of the Union.[3] He later left the military in 1863 due to poor health, and wrote articles for the press expressing pro-Union statements.

Political career

During the 1864 presidential election, Houk served as an elector for the Republican Party ticket.

Although he served in the Union and fought to defeat the Confederacy, Houk refused to hear cases of treason against Confederates as a circuit judge after the war on the grounds that Tennessee's status as a U.S. state ceased upon secession in 1861.[3] However, he backed the Radical Republican faction of the GOP and gave support to staunch abolitionist and civil rights advocate Ulysses S. Grant in the 1868 and 1872 presidential elections.[3]

Houk was a delegate to almost all Republican National Conventions in the post-war era and also belonged to the Southern Claims Commission.[3] He served for a term in the Tennessee House of Representatives from 1873 to 1875, where he chaired a committee and sponsored statewide school law.

Initially, Houk strongly supported the policies of Tennessee Radical Republican governor William G. "Parson" Brownlow, who moved to harshly punish and disenfranchise Confederates.[4] However, he would withdraw his support for Brownlow in the late 1860s.

U.S. House of Representatives

Houk in 1865 challenged incumbent Republican congressman Horace Maynard in an effort to deny the latter renomination for the U.S. House, though lost.[4] After failing again in the 1868 elections against Maynard in both the primary[4] and the general election, where he ran as a Democrat and lost by a landslide,[5] Houk was victorious when running for the same seat a decade later in the 1878 midterms as a Republican,[6] and subsequently re-elected six times.[7]

Tenure

A member of the Stalwart faction in the House,[8] Houk supported Grant in his run for a third non-consecutive presidential term in 1880 election.[3] He also expressed sympathy for the struggles of poor farmers, reflecting a populist bent in his district due to the mountainous geographic nature stifling development and thus contributing to poverty.

Largely focusing on local as opposed to national issues, Houk emphasized constituents services and provided aid to veterans.[4] He managed to consolidate political power within the state GOP, subsequently gaining control of patronage. This ultimately led to an alliance with some Democrats in the state, which elicited substantial criticisms.[4]

Like nearly all Stalwarts, Houk ultimately caved into supporting civil service reform as a means of compromise in the 1880s, voting for the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act in 1883 which ended the traditional spoils system Republicans utilized in the post-war Reconstruction period to safeguard the constitutional rights of newly freed blacks.[9]

Accidental death

In late May 1891, Houk visited a drug store[4] and mistook a bottle of toxic arsenic for a glass of ice water, which he drank.[10] He died in pain the next day,[4] which came as a shock to the district's constituents. Houk is interred at the Old Gray Cemetery.

See also

  • Roderick R. Butler, U.S. representative from Tennessee's 1st district
  • J. Will Taylor – later congressman from the 2nd district; similar to Houk, he prioritized control of patronage and was suspected of working with Democrats

References

  1. ↑ Leonidas C. and John Chiles Houk Papers.. Knox County Tennessee Public Library. Retrieved October 7, 2021.
  2. ↑ September 24, 1937. MRS. LEONIDAS C. HOUKK; Widow and Mother of Congressmen From Tennessee Is Dead. The New York Times. Retrieved August 25, 2021.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 3.9 Schlup, Leonard (October 8, 2017). Leonidas Campbell Houk. Tennessee Encyclopedia. Retrieved August 25, 2021.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 4.8 Hill, Ray (October 6, 2013). Congressman Leonidas Campbell Houk. The Knoxville Focus. Retrieved August 25, 2021.
  5. ↑ TN - District 02 Race - Nov 03, 1868. Our Campaigns. Retrieved August 25, 2021.
  6. ↑ TN - District 02 Race - Nov 05, 1878. Our Campaigns. Retrieved August 25, 2021.
  7. ↑ Candidate - Leonidas C. Houk. Our Campaigns. Retrieved August 25, 2021.
  8. ↑ Lenoidas Houk. Prabook. Retrieved August 25, 2021.
  9. ↑ TO PASS S. 133, A BILL REGULATING AND IMPROVING THE U. S. CIVIL SERVICE. (J.P. 163).. GovTrack.us. Retrieved November 7, 2021.
  10. ↑ May 26, 1891. DEATH OF CONGRESSMAN HOUK.; TOOK ARSENIC BY MISTAKE FOR A GLASS OF ICE WATER.. The New York Times. Retrieved August 25, 2021.

External links

  • Profile at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
  • Profile at Find a Grave
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