Zachariah
Chandler
was born in Bedford, New Hampshire, on 10th December, 1813. After
working as a schoolteacher he moved to Detroit,
Michigan, where he started his own successful dry goods business.
Chandler, a member of the Whig Party, was
active in the anti-slavery movement.
He was elected mayor of Detroit in 1851
but failed in his bid to become governor of Michigan in 1852.
An early member of the the Republican
Party, Chandler
was elected to the Senate in 1857. He soon became a leading figure
in the group that became known as the Radical
Republicans.
In
July, 1861, Chandler was a member of a group of politicians, including
Benjamin
Wade,
Lyman
Trumbull
and James Grimes, who
witnessed the Battle of Bull Run. The
battle was a disaster for the Union forces and at one
stage Chandler came close to being captured by the Confederate
Army. After arriving
back in Washington, Chandler was one
of those who led the attack on the incompetence of the leadership
of the Union
Army.
Chandler was also highly critical of President
Andrew Johnson and voted for his impeachment
in 1868.
In 1875 President Ulysses
S. Grant
appointed Chandler as his Secretary of the Interior. He left office
but soon afterwards was re-elected to the Senate and served from 22nd
February, 1879 until his death in Chicago
on 1st November, 1879.
(1) The conservative New
York Herald published an article about the Radical
Republicans during the early part
of the American Civil War (23rd July,
1861)
Who are they? They belong
to that fanatical abolitionist clique who are labouring to divert
this war from its legitimate objective into an exterminating crusade
against Southern slavery.
(2)
Zachariah
Chandler,
letter to Henry W. Lord (27th October, 1861)
Lincoln means well but
has no force of character. He is surrounded by Old Fogy Army officers
more than half of whom are downright traitors and the other one half
sympathize with the South. One month ago I began to doubt whether
this accursed rebellion could be put down with a Revolution in the
present Administration.
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