Montgomery Blair, U.S. Postmaster General

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montgomery_Blair

Montgomery Blair (May 10, 1813 – July 27, 1883), the son of Francis Preston Blair, elder brother of Francis Preston Blair, Jr. and cousin of B. Gratz Brown, was a politician and lawyer from Maryland. He was a loyal member of the Cabinet of Abraham Lincoln during the American Civil War. Blair was hot-tempered, and in 1864 he launched an all-out attack against Republican liberals.

Blair was born in Franklin County, Kentucky. His father, Francis P. Blair, Sr., was, as editor of the Washington Globe, a prominent figure in the Democratic Party during the Jacksonian era. Blair graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1835, but after a year's service in the Seminole War, he left the Army, studied law, and began practice at St Louis, Missouri. After serving as United States district attorney (1839–43) and as judge of the court of common pleas (1834–1849), he moved to Maryland in 1852 and devoted himself to law practice principally in the United States Supreme Court. He was United States Solicitor in the Court of Claims (1855–58) and was associated with George T. Curtis as counsel for the plaintiff in the Dred Scott v. Sandford case of 1857.

The Blairs, like many other nationalist Democrats, but unusually for politicians from the border states, had abandoned the Democratic Party in the wake of the Kansas-Nebraska Act and had been among the founding leaders of the new Republican Party. In 1860 Montgomery Blair took an active part in the presidential campaign on behalf of Abraham Lincoln. After his election, Lincoln invited Blair to be part of his cabinet as Postmaster-General. Lincoln expected Blair, who advocated taking a firm stance with the southern states, to help balance more conciliatory members of his cabinet.[1] Blair served as Postmaster-General from 1861 until September 1864, when Lincoln accepted an earlier offer by Blair to resign. Lincoln's action may have been a response to the hostility of the Radical Republican faction, who stipulated that Blair's retirement should follow the withdrawal of John C. Frémont's name as a candidate for the presidential nomination in that year. Regarding Lincoln's action, Blair told his wife that the president had acted "from the best motives" and that "it is for the best all around." After he left the cabinet, Blair still campaigned for Lincoln's re-election and Lincoln and the Blair family retained close ties.[2]

Under Blair's administration, such reforms and improvements as the establishment of free city delivery, the adoption of a money order system, and the use of railway mail cars were instituted — the last having been suggested by George B. Armstrong (d. 1871), of Chicago, who from 1869 until his death was general superintendent of the United States railway mail service.

Differing from the Republican Party on the Reconstruction policy, Blair gave his adherence to the Democratic Party after the Civil War, along with his brother, who was the Democratic vice presidential candidate in 1868.

His manor in present-day Silver Spring, Maryland was named Falkland. It was burned by Confederate troops during their thrust towards Washington, D.C. He died at Silver Spring. Montgomery Blair's wife was Mary Woodbury, a daughter of Levi Woodbury. Together, they were the great-grandparents of actor Montgomery Clift.

Montgomery Blair was featured on a U.S. postage stamp issued in 1963.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_people_on_stamps_of_the_United...

Works

Speech on the Causes of the Rebellion (1864)

Honors

Montgomery Blair High School in Silver Spring, Maryland.

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montgomery_Blair

20th United States Postmaster General

In office

March 5, 1861 – September 24, 1864

Preceded by Horatio King

Succeeded by William Dennison, Jr.

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Born May 10, 1813(1813-05-10)

Franklin County, Kentucky

Died July 27, 1883 (aged 70)

Silver Spring, Maryland, U.S.

Political party Republican, Democratic

Spouse(s) Mary Elizabeth Woodbury Blair

Alma mater United States Military Academy

Profession Lawyer, Politician

Military service

Service/branch United States Army

Battles/wars Seminole War

Montgomery Blair (May 10, 1813 – July 27, 1883), the son of Francis Preston Blair, elder brother of Francis Preston Blair, Jr. and cousin of B. Gratz Brown, was a politician and lawyer from Maryland. He was a loyal member of the Cabinet of Abraham Lincoln during the American Civil War. Blair was hot-tempered, and in 1864 he launched an all-out attack against Republican liberals.

Life

Blair was born in Franklin County, Kentucky. His father, Francis P. Blair, Sr., was, as editor of the Washington Globe, a prominent figure in the Democratic Party during the Jacksonian era. Blair graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1835, but after a year's service in the Seminole War, he left the Army, studied law, and began practice at St Louis, Missouri. After serving as United States district attorney (1839–43) and as judge of the court of common pleas (1834–1849), he moved to Maryland in 1852 and devoted himself to law practice principally in the United States Supreme Court. He was United States Solicitor in the Court of Claims (1855–58) and was associated with George T. Curtis as counsel for the plaintiff in the Dred Scott v. Sandford case of 1857.

Lincoln met with his cabinet on July 22, 1862 for the first reading of a draft of the Emancipation Proclamation.

The Blairs, like many other nationalist Democrats, but unusually for politicians from the border states, had abandoned the Democratic Party in the wake of the Kansas-Nebraska Act and had been among the founding leaders of the new Republican Party. In 1860 Montgomery Blair took an active part in the presidential campaign on behalf of Abraham Lincoln. After his election, Lincoln invited Blair to be part of his cabinet as Postmaster-General. Lincoln expected Blair, who advocated taking a firm stance with the southern states, to help balance more conciliatory members of his cabinet.[1] Blair served as Postmaster-General from 1861 until September 1864, when Lincoln accepted an earlier offer by Blair to resign. Lincoln's action may have been a response to the hostility of the Radical Republican faction, who stipulated that Blair's retirement should follow the withdrawal of John C. Frémont's name as a candidate for the presidential nomination in that year. Regarding Lincoln's action, Blair told his wife that the president had acted "from the best motives" and that "it is for the best all around." After he left the cabinet, Blair still campaigned for Lincoln's re-election and Lincoln and the Blair family retained close ties.[2]

Under Blair's administration, such reforms and improvements as the establishment of free city delivery, the adoption of a money order system, and the use of railway mail cars were instituted — the last having been suggested by George B. Armstrong (d. 1871), of Chicago, who from 1869 until his death was general superintendent of the United States railway mail service.

Differing from the Republican Party on the Reconstruction policy, Blair gave his adherence to the Democratic Party after the Civil War, along with his brother, who was the Democratic vice presidential candidate in 1868.

His manor in present-day Silver Spring, Maryland was named Falkland. It was burned by Confederate troops during their thrust towards Washington, D.C. He died at Silver Spring. Montgomery Blair's wife was Mary Woodbury, a daughter of Levi Woodbury. Together, they were the great-grandparents of actor Montgomery Clift.

Works

Speech on the Causes of the Rebellion (1864)

http://www.mrlincolnswhitehouse.org/inside.asp?ID=84&subjectID=2

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The eldest son of Francis P. Blair, Montgomery Blair was born in Kentucky in 1813, where he received his early education. Having been appointed to West Point by President Andrew Jackson, Blair was graduated from the Academy in 1835. He served briefly in the Seminole War before resigning his commission and returning to Kentucky to study law at Transylvania University.

Blair moved to St. Louis, Missouri, in 1837, practiced law, and served in a variety of offices during the 1840s, including mayor of St. Louis. In 1853, however, he moved to Maryland where he practiced law, chiefly before the Supreme Court. A Democrat, he was associated with the free-soil wing of the party, which advocated the non-extension of slavery. He won attention from antislavery advocates for his legal efforts on behalf of the slave, Dred Scott, whose petition for was denied by the Supreme Court in 1857.

By 1860, Blair had joined the Republican Party, and he attended its Chicago convention as a delegate from Maryland. President Lincoln's selection of Blair as postmaster general was a recognition of his border state residence, former Democratic affiliation, family connections, and service to the party.

http://www.tulane.edu/~sumter/Blair.html

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=2937

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Montgomery Blair, the son of Francis Preston Blair, elder brother of Francis Preston Blair, Jr. and cousin of B. Gratz Brown, was a politician and lawyer from Maryland. He served in the Lincoln administration cabinet as Postmaster-General from 1861 to 1864, during the Civil War.

Blair was born in Franklin County, Kentucky. His father, Francis P. Blair, Sr., was, as editor of the Washington Globe, a prominent figure in the Democratic Party during the Jacksonian era, and as a boy Montgomery "often listened to the talk of his father and Andrew Jackson." Blair graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1835, but after a year's service in the Seminole War, he left the Army, studied law, and began practice at St Louis, Missouri, in 1839. After serving as United States district attorney (1839–43) and as judge of the court of common pleas (1834–1849), he moved to Maryland in 1852 and devoted himself to law practice principally in the United States Supreme Court. He was United States Solicitor in the Court of Claims (1855–58) and was associated with George T. Curtis as counsel for the plaintiff in the Dred Scott v. Sandford case of 1857.

The Blairs, like many other nationalist Democrats, but unusually for politicians from the border states, had abandoned the Democratic Party in the wake of the Kansas-Nebraska Act and had been among the founding leaders of the new Republican Party. After Blair switched political parties, President Buchanan removed Blair from his position of United States Solicitor in 1858. In 1860, Blair took an active part in the presidential campaign on behalf of Abraham Lincoln. After his election, Lincoln appointed Blair to his cabinet as Postmaster-General in 1861. Lincoln expected Blair, who advocated taking a firm stance with the southern states, to help balance more conciliatory members of his cabinet. While Postmaster-General, Blair instituted a uniform rate of postage and free delivery in cities. Blair also began the sale of money orders by post offices in order to reduce the mailing of currency, reducing post office robberies. He also called for the First International Postal Conference, which was held in Paris in 1863 and began the process that led to the Universal Postal Union.

Blair served as Postmaster-General from 1861 until September 1864, when Lincoln accepted an earlier offer by Blair to resign. Lincoln's action may have been a response to the hostility of the Radical Republican faction, who stipulated that Blair's retirement should follow the withdrawal of John C. Frémont as a candidate for President in that year. Regarding Lincoln's action, Blair told his wife that the president had acted "from the best motives" and that "it is for the best all around." After he left the cabinet, Blair still campaigned for Lincoln's re-election and Lincoln and the Blair family retained close ties.

Under Blair's administration, such reforms and improvements as the establishment of free city delivery, the adoption of a money order system, and the use of railway mail cars were instituted—the last having been suggested by George B. Armstrong (d. 1871), of Chicago, who from 1869 until his death was general superintendent of the United States railway mail service.

Differing from the Republican Party on the Reconstruction policy, Blair gave his adherence to the Democratic Party after the Civil War, along with his brother, who was the Democratic vice presidential candidate in 1868.

In 1876, Blair was counsel to Secretary of War William W. Belknap during the House of Representatives investigation into the Trader post scandal. Blair unsuccessfully requested the House Investigation Committee chaired by Hiester Clymer to drop the charges against Belknap if Belknap would resign office. Clymer, however, declined Blair's offer. Belknap was impeached by the House of Representatives for receiving illicit payments from the Fort Sill trader post on the Western frontier while Secretary of War. Belknap had been given sole power by Congress to choose sutlers to operate lucrative trader posts that sold supplies to U.S. soldiers and Indians. Belknap resigned over the scandal and was acquitted in a Senate trial during the summer of 1876. Many Senators did not believe that Congress could convict a private citizen, although the Senate passed a resolution that stated Congress could convict a private citizen.

In 1882, Blair unsuccessfully ran for U.S. Representative from Maryland's sixth district.

His 600-acre manor in present-day Silver Spring, Maryland was named Falkland. It was burned by Confederate troops during their thrust towards Washington, D.C. After several years afflicted with "inflammation of the spinal membranes," he died at Silver Spring on July 27, 1883. The funeral services were held at Rock Creek Church, and he was buried at Rock Creek Cemetery. In memory of Blair, the United States Post Office closed on July 30, 1883.

Blair's wife was Mary Woodbury, a daughter of Levi Woodbury. Together, they had one daughter, Minnie Blair. They had three sons, Woodbury Blair, Gist Blair, and Montgomery Blair Jr., all of whom were attorneys.

Montgomery Blair and Mary Woodbury Blair were the great-grandparents of actor Montgomery Clift.