Andrew Horatio Reeder (July 12, 1807 – July 5, 1864) was the first governor of the

Territory of Kansas The Territory of Kansas was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 30, 1854, until January 29, 1861, when the eastern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the free state of Kansas. T ...

Biography

Reeder was born in

Easton, Pennsylvania Easton is a city in, and the county seat of, Northampton County, Pennsylvania, United States. The city's population was 28,127 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Easton is located at the confluence of the Lehigh River, a river tha ...

to Absolom Reeder and Christina (Smith) Reeder. He was educated at an academy in Lawrenceville, New Jersey. He

read law Reading law was the method used in common law countries, particularly the United States, for people to prepare for and enter the legal profession before the advent of law schools. It consisted of an extended internship or apprenticeship under the ...

in a

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

law office and was admitted to the bar there in 1828. In 1831, he married Frederika Amalia Hutter. Together they had three sons and seven daughters.

Career

Reeder was a very loyal member of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

and supported the idea of popular sovereignty which dealt with territories' decisions on the issue of

slavery Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

. On June 29, 1854, President

Franklin Pierce Franklin Pierce (November 23, 1804October 8, 1869) was the 14th president of the United States, serving from 1853 to 1857. He was a northern Democrat who believed that the abolitionist movement was a fundamental threat to the nation's unity ...

appointed Reeder to the office of the governor of the territory of Kansas and remained in office until August 16, 1855, when he was fired. Reeder took the oath of office on July 7 and arrived in Kansas on October 7. He served until April 17, 1855, when he left the territory, making

Daniel Woodson Daniel Woodson (May 24, 1824 – October 5, 1894) was secretary of Kansas Territory (1854–1857) and a five-time acting governor of the territory. Early life Woodson was born on a farm in Albemarle County, Virginia and orphaned at age 7. He ...

acting territorial governor. Reeder returned to the Kansas Territory on June 23. As governor of the Territory of Kansas, Reeder was a proponent of the controversial Kansas-Nebraska Act, which let each territory's residents decide whether to allow or prohibit slavery. On March 30, 1855, one of the biggest voting frauds took place, when neighboring Missourians came into the Kansas Territory to vote illegally on the issue of Kansas being admitted into the US as a free state or a slave state. The incident caused border violence between

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...

and

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

, part of the Bleeding Kansas period. Reeder refused to ratify the results, called for a new election to fill the vacancies, and designated the townsite of Pawnee as the meeting place for the first territorial legislature. Pierce formally dismissed Reeder for his refusal to use his position to aid in making Kansas a slave state. In May 1856, facing indictment for high treason, he left the territory disguised as a woodchopper. Reeder returned to Pennsylvania and remained in politics, joining the recently founded

Republican Party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa *Republican Party (Liberia) * Republican Part ...

. On the first ballot for the vice-presidential nomination taken by delegates to the

1860 Republican National Convention The 1860 Republican National Convention was a presidential nominating convention that met May 16-18 in Chicago, Illinois. It was held to nominate the Republican Party's candidates for president and vice president in the 1860 election. The conven ...

, Reeder received fifty-one votes, which put him in fourth place behind the eventual nominee,

Hannibal Hamlin Hannibal Hamlin (August 27, 1809 – July 4, 1891) was an American attorney and politician who served as the 15th vice president of the United States from 1861 to 1865, during President Abraham Lincoln's first term. He was the first Republican ...

Death

Andrew Horatio Reeder died in

, on July 5, 1864, and is buried in

Easton Cemetery Easton Cemetery is a historic rural cemetery located in Easton, Pennsylvania and the burial site of many notable individuals. ''Note:'' This includes The cemetery was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1990. Easton Cemetery's ...

. Reeder Street on College Hill is named for him.

References

External links

*
Andrew Horatio Reeder
at

The Political Graveyard The Political Graveyard is a website and database that catalogues information on more than 277,000 American political figures and political families, along with other information. The name comes from the website's inclusion of burial locations of ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reeder, Andrew Horatio 1807 births 1864 deaths 19th-century American politicians American lawyers admitted to the practice of law by reading law Governors of Kansas Territory Kansas Democrats Lawrenceville School alumni Pennsylvania Republicans Politicians from Easton, Pennsylvania