Montgomery
Blair
was born in Franklin County, Kentucky, in 1813. He graduated from
West Point in 1835 and later saw action in the Seminole
War. After leaving the army Blair studied law at Transylvania
University before moving to St. Louis.
A successful lawyer he was elected mayor of the city (1842-43) before
moving to Washington.
An opponent of slavery Blair joined the
Republican Party and in 1861 Abraham
Lincoln appointed him as his Postmaster General. Blair was the
only Cabinet member who urged Lincoln to reinforce Fort
Sumter.
Blair was an efficient Postmaster General and was responsible for
establishing military post offices, appointing stamp agents for the
armies, secured passage of a bill abolishing postmasters' franking
privileges, and improved the international mail system.
As the war progressed Blair became increasingly identified with the
conservatives in Lincoln's government. He upset the more progressive
members of the Republican Party when
he made a speech calling for the separation of the races after the
war. Radical Republications urged Lincoln
to sack Blair but Lincoln stayed loyal to his Postmaster General.
In May, 1860 a convention of Radical Republications
selected John Fremont as their candidate
for president. Fremont accepted the nomination and told the audience:
"Today we have in this country the abuses of a military dictation
without its unity of action and vigor of execution." The idea
of a radical candidate standing in the election worried Abraham
Lincoln and negotiations began to persuade him to change his mind.
Fremont's price was the removal of Blair from the Cabinet. On 22nd
September, 1864, Fremont withdrew from the contest. The following
day, Lincoln sacked Blair and replaced him with the radical, William
Dennison.
Blair expected Abraham Lincoln to appoint
him to the Supreme Court but was disappointed
when Abraham Lincoln selected his old
rival, Salmon P. Chase, instead. After
the American Civil War, Blair supported
the conservative policies of President Andrew
Johnson and eventually joined the Democratic
Party. Montgomery Blair died in 1883.
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