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Lewis Davis Campbell (August 9, 1811 – November 26, 1882) was an American politician as a
Morrison, Michael A. "Slavery and the American West.''
/ref> In 1856, he claimed re-election by a 19-vote margin and presented credentials as a Republican member-elect and served from March 4, 1857, to May 25, 1858, when, by a vote of 107–100, the Democrats controlled the House, which decided that Campbell was not entitled to his seat. His election had successfully been contested by
President Andrew Johnson appointed Campbell as
U.S. Representative
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...
for Ohio
Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
. Over his political career he was elected as a Whig, Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
, Know Nothing, and Democrat
Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to:
Politics
*A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people.
*A member of a Democratic Party:
**Democratic Party (United States) (D)
**Democratic ...
.
Early life
Campbell was born inFranklin
Franklin may refer to:
People
* Franklin (given name)
* Franklin (surname)
* Franklin (class), a member of a historical English social class
Places Australia
* Franklin, Tasmania, a township
* Division of Franklin, federal electoral d ...
, Warren County, Ohio
Warren County is a county located in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 242,337. Its county seat is Lebanon. The county is one of Ohio’s most affluent, with the county median income th ...
. His education was in the local public schools. He was apprenticed to learn the art of printing from 1828 to 1831, and he was afterward assistant editor of the ''Cincinnati Gazette''. He published a Henry Clay Whig newspaper in Hamilton, Ohio, from 1831 to 1835 (''The Hamilton Intelligencer''). Meanwhile, he read the law and was admitted to the bar in 1835. He practiced law in Hamilton until 1850, while he engaged in agricultural pursuits. He married Jane Reily on January 5, 1836, in Butler County, Ohio
Butler County is a county located in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 390,357. Its county seat is Hamilton. It is named for General Richard Butler, who died in 1791 during St. Clair' ...
.
Business
He was a director and secretary of the Hamilton and Rossville Hydraulic Company, formed in 1841 for the purpose of building a canal through Hamilton to provide water power to local companies. He was an incorporator and president of the Cincinnati, Hamilton and Dayton Railroad Company. The railroad was constructed between 1846 and 1852.Prewar politics
He ran unsuccessfully as a Whig candidate for election in 1840, 1842, and 1844 to the 27th, 28th, and 29th Congresses. He was elected as a Whig in 1848 from Ohio's 2nd District to the 31st Congress and was re-elected in 1850. Following redistricting after the 1850 census, he found himself in Ohio's 3rd District but was successful in being again elected as a Whig in 1852. With the collapse of the Whigs, he ran as anOpposition Party
Parliamentary opposition is a form of political opposition to a designated government, particularly in a Westminster-based parliamentary system. This article uses the term ''government'' as it is used in Parliamentary systems, i.e. meaning ''t ...
candidate in 1854 and was elected to the 34th Congress. He became chairman of the powerful House Committee on Ways and Means
The Committee on Ways and Means is the chief tax-writing committee of the United States House of Representatives. The committee has jurisdiction over all taxation, tariffs, and other revenue-raising measures, as well as a number of other program ...
.
During the debates on the Kansas-Nebraska Act in 1854, Campbell, a free-soiler, conducted a filibuster, provoking the ire of Henry A. Edmundson, a pro-slavery Virginia Democrat. On May 12, 1854, the tension boiled over. Historian Michael Morrison of Purdue University describes: "A filibuster led by Lewis D. Campbell, an Ohio free-soiler, nearly provoked the House into a war of more than words. Campbell, joined by other antislavery northerners, exchanged insults and invectives with southerners, neither side giving quarter. Weapons were brandished on the floor of the House. Finally, bumptiousness gave way to violence. Henry A. Edmundson, a Virginia Democrat, well oiled and well armed, had to be restrained from making a violent attack on Campbell. Only after the sergeant at arms arrested him, debate was cut off, and the House adjourned did the melee subside."/ref> In 1856, he claimed re-election by a 19-vote margin and presented credentials as a Republican member-elect and served from March 4, 1857, to May 25, 1858, when, by a vote of 107–100, the Democrats controlled the House, which decided that Campbell was not entitled to his seat. His election had successfully been contested by
Clement L. Vallandigham
Clement Laird Vallandigham ( ; July 29, 1820 – June 17, 1871) was an American politician and leader of the Copperhead faction of anti-war Democrats during the American Civil War. He served two terms for Ohio's 3rd congressional district in t ...
, who took his seat on May 26, 1858. Campbell ran against Vallandigham in the election of 1858; Vallandigham won 50.5% of the votes, Campbell 49.5%.
Civil War
Campbell served in theUnion Army
During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union of the collective states. It proved essential to th ...
as colonel of the 69th Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, in 1861 and 1862, when he resigned for his failing health.
Postwar career
President Andrew Johnson appointed Campbell as Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary
An envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary, usually known as a minister, was a diplomatic head of mission who was ranked below ambassador. A diplomatic mission headed by an envoy was known as a legation rather than an embassy. Under the ...
to Mexico on May 4, 1866. He was accompanied by General William Tecumseh Sherman
William Tecumseh Sherman ( ; February 8, 1820February 14, 1891) was an American soldier, businessman, educator, and author. He served as a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War (1861–1865), achieving recognition for his com ...
. Campbell was instructed to tender to President Benito Juárez
Benito Pablo Juárez GarcÃa (; 21 March 1806 – 18 July 1872) was a Mexican liberal politician and lawyer who served as the 26th president of Mexico from 1858 until his death in office in 1872. As a Zapotec, he was the first indigenous pre ...
the moral support of the United States and to offer the use of American military force to aid in the restoration of law. The occupying French forces of Maximilian
Maximilian, Maximillian or Maximiliaan (Maximilien in French) is a male given name.
The name " Max" is considered a shortening of "Maximilian" as well as of several other names.
List of people
Monarchs
*Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor (1459†...
had Juarez's government on the run, and Campbell failed to reach them. Campbell served until June 16, 1867, when he resigned and returned to resume his elective political career.
Campbell was elected to the Ohio Senate in 1869 and resigned in 1870 to take his seat in Congress, after being elected as a Democrat to the 42nd Congress. He declined to run for re-election in 1872. He was a delegate to the third Ohio State constitutional convention in 1873, and he resumed his agricultural pursuits.
Death
Campbell died in Hamilton, Ohio, on November 26, 1882, at 71. He is interred in Greenwood Cemetery.Family
His nephew, James E. Campbell, later held the seat from the 3rd District for one term (1885-1887).References