George Ellis Pugh
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George Ellis Pugh (November 28, 1822July 19, 1876) was a Democratic politician from
Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...
. He served in the
U.S. Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...
from 1855 to 1861.


Early life

Pugh was born in
Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...
, Ohio. He was the son of Lot and Rachel (née Anthony) Pugh, who were married in Hamilton County, Ohio, on July 7, 1814. George had three brothers and a sister. George Ellis Pugh descended from Ellis Pugh, Sr. (1656–1718), an early Welsh immigrant to Pennsylvania and Quaker minister who, with his wife Sinah, emigrated to Pennsylvania to escape religious persecution in 1686. Pugh attended
Miami University Miami University (informally Miami of Ohio or simply Miami) is a public university, public research university in Oxford, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1809, it is the second-oldest List of colleges and universities in Ohio, university in Ohi ...
.


Career

He began practicing law in 1843, later serving as a captain in the 4th Ohio Regiment in the
Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War (Spanish language, Spanish: ''guerra de Estados Unidos-México, guerra mexicano-estadounidense''), also known in the United States as the Mexican War, and in Mexico as the United States intervention in Mexico, ...
. He was commended for gallantry and bravery in action at the Battle of Atlexco. After serving in the
Ohio House of Representatives The Ohio House of Representatives is the lower house of the Ohio General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Ohio; the other house of the bicameral legislature being the Ohio Senate. The House of Representatives first met in ...
from 1848 to 1850, he served as State Attorney General from 1852 to 1854. Pugh served a single term in the
United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...
from 1855 to 1861, losing a re-election bid to
Salmon P. Chase Salmon Portland Chase (January 13, 1808May 7, 1873) was an American politician and jurist who served as the sixth chief justice of the United States from 1864 to his death in 1873. Chase served as the 23rd governor of Ohio from 1856 to 1860, r ...
, whom he had replaced. In the Senate, he became a champion of the Western
Democracy Democracy (from , ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which political power is vested in the people or the population of a state. Under a minimalist definition of democracy, rulers are elected through competitiv ...
, that is,
Midwest The Midwestern United States (also referred to as the Midwest, the Heartland or the American Midwest) is one of the four census regions defined by the United States Census Bureau. It occupies the northern central part of the United States. It ...
ern Democrats, first against the Republicans, and later against
Stephen A. Douglas Stephen Arnold Douglas (né Douglass; April 23, 1813 – June 3, 1861) was an American politician and lawyer from Illinois. As a United States Senate, U.S. senator, he was one of two nominees of the badly split Democratic Party (United States) ...
' opponents inside the Democratic Party. He spoke in favor of the
Lecompton Constitution The Lecompton Constitution (1858) was the second of four proposed state constitutions of Kansas. Named for the city of Lecompton, Kansas where it was drafted, it was strongly pro-slavery. It never went into effect. History Purpose The Lecompton ...
on March 16, 1858, but followed the instructions of the Ohio legislature in voting against that constitution. On February 23, 1859, during the
lame-duck session A lame-duck session of Congress in the United States occurs whenever one Congress meets after its successor is elected, but before the successor's term begins. The expression is now used not only for a special session called after a ''sine die'' ...
,
Albert Gallatin Brown Albert Gallatin Brown (May 31, 1813June 12, 1880) was Governor of Mississippi from 1844 to 1848 and a Democratic United States Senator from Mississippi from 1854 to 1861, when he withdrew during secession. Early life He was born to Joseph and ...
attacked Douglas over
popular sovereignty Popular sovereignty is the principle that the leaders of a state and its government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associativ ...
. Douglas defended his position, and was joined by
Charles E. Stuart Charles Edward Stuart (November 25, 1810May 19, 1887) was a U.S. Representative and U.S. Senator from the state of Michigan. Biography Stuart was born in New York, either near Waterloo, New York, or in Columbia County. He studied law, was adm ...
of Michigan, David C. Broderick of California, and Pugh. Pugh said, "In the whole Dred Scott case, there was no act of a Territorial legislature before them he justicesin any shape or form." Pugh explained, "This is the first time I ever heard, in a case where nine judges pronounce their opinions ''
seriatim ''Seriatim'' (Latin for "in series") in law indicates that a court is addressing multiple issues in a certain order, such as the order in which the issues were originally presented to the court. In actuarial science it refers to a model that looks ...
'', that because one of them in illustration collaterally makes a reference, that becomes the decision of the court." Pugh answered the demand for a federal slave code, to be imposed on all territories, in this way: "Never; while I live, never! I consider it a monstrous demand." Pugh later had an exchange with
Jefferson Davis Jefferson F. Davis (June 3, 1808December 6, 1889) was an American politician who served as the only President of the Confederate States of America, president of the Confederate States from 1861 to 1865. He represented Mississippi in the Unite ...
about the difference, if any, between Douglas'
Freeport Doctrine The Freeport Doctrine was articulated by Stephen A. Douglas on August 27, 1858, in Freeport, Illinois, at the second of the Lincoln-Douglas debates. Former one-term U.S. Representative Abraham Lincoln was campaigning to take Douglas's U.S. Senate ...
on popular sovereignty and the doctrine Davis had set forth in a speech at
Portland, Maine Portland is the List of municipalities in Maine, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine and the county seat, seat of Cumberland County, Maine, Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 at the 2020 census. The Portland metropolit ...
. Despite his loss to Republican
Salmon P. Chase Salmon Portland Chase (January 13, 1808May 7, 1873) was an American politician and jurist who served as the sixth chief justice of the United States from 1864 to his death in 1873. Chase served as the 23rd governor of Ohio from 1856 to 1860, r ...
in his attempt to secure a second term to the Senate in 1860, Pugh would continue to vocally politically during his remaining time in office. Most notably, during the
secession crisis Secession is the formal withdrawal of a group from a Polity, political entity. The process begins once a group proclaims an act of secession (such as a declaration of independence). A secession attempt might be violent or peaceful, but the goal i ...
following the election of
Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...
to the presidency, Pugh would be one of the most vocal voices in Congress in arguing against the use of coercion to force the seceding Southern states back into the Union. In leaving Congress, he would leave the mantle of being the leading voice for this position to fellow Ohioans Clement L. Vallandigham and
George H. Pendleton George Hunt Pendleton (July 19, 1825November 24, 1889) was an American politician, lawyer and diplomat. He represented Ohio in both houses of Congress and was the unsuccessful Democratic nominee for Vice President of the United States in 1864. A ...
in the
House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...
. He is best known as a member of the counsel for the defense of Clement L. Vallandigham in 1863. During the Civil War, he fell into disfavor with the citizens of Ohio because he was a Democrat and for defending Vallandigham and later in 1863, he lost the election for the office of Lieutenant Governor. He also lost in the election for Congress in 1864 and refrained from seeking public office for several years while continuing his legal profession. He emerged to the political front again in 1873 when he was elected to become a delegate to the Ohio State Constitutional Convention but withdrew from the deliberations and declined to serve. He died in Cincinnati in 1876 when he was 53 years old. Pugh ran for the lieutenant governorship in 1863 and the
United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...
in 1864, losing both times.


Personal life

Pugh married Theresa Chalfant in 1840 and had three children, Robert Chalfont, Nina Theresa and Thomas. He became a
Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
in 1855.


References


Further reading

*
Don E. Fehrenbacher Don Edward Fehrenbacher (August 21, 1920 – December 13, 1997) was an American historian. He wrote on politics, slavery, and Abraham Lincoln. He won the 1979 Pulitzer Prize for History for '' The Dred Scott Case: Its Significance in American La ...
(1979), '' The Dred Scott Case: Its Significance in American Law and Politics'', New York: Oxford, .


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pugh, George E. 1822 births 1876 deaths Ohio attorneys general Democratic Party members of the Ohio House of Representatives Politicians from Cincinnati Miami University alumni Democratic Party United States senators from Ohio American military personnel of the Mexican–American War Burials at Spring Grove Cemetery 19th-century United States senators 19th-century members of the Ohio General Assembly