Charles P. Bush (March 18, 1809 – 1857) was a politician from the U.S. state of

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

, and served as the state's 6th Lieutenant Governor from 1847 to 1848.

Biography

Bush was born in

Ithaca, New York Ithaca is a city in the Finger Lakes region of New York, United States. Situated on the southern shore of Cayuga Lake, Ithaca is the seat of Tompkins County and the largest community in the Ithaca metropolitan statistical area. It is named ...

. Bush moved to Michigan in 1836, becoming one of the first residents of Handy. He was elected as a

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 ...

to the Michigan House of Representatives in 1840 and served until 1843. In 1844, he was a Presidential elector for Michigan, voting for

James K. Polk James Knox Polk (November 2, 1795 – June 15, 1849) was the 11th president of the United States, serving from 1845 to 1849. He previously was the 13th speaker of the House of Representatives (1835–1839) and ninth governor of Tennessee (183 ...

, who became U. S. President. In 1846, he was elected to the Michigan Senate and the following year served as president pro tempore of the State Senate. In 1847, when Governor

Alpheus Felch Alpheus Felch (September 28, 1804June 13, 1896) was the fifth governor of Michigan and U.S. Senator from Michigan. Early life Felch was born in Limerick (in modern-day Maine, then a part of Massachusetts). He was left an orphan at the age of th ...

resigned to serve in the U. S. Senate, Bush became the sixth lieutenant governor of Michigan serving under Governor

William L. Greenly William L. Greenly (September 18, 1813November 29, 1883) was a politician from the U.S. state of Michigan, serving as the sixth governor of Michigan. Early life in New York Greenly was born in Hamilton, New York. He graduated from Union College ...

from March 4, 1847, to January 3, 1848. In 1847, he also cast the deciding vote to move the state capital from Detroit to

Lansing Lansing () is the capital of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is mostly in Ingham County, although portions of the city extend west into Eaton County and north into Clinton County. The 2020 census placed the city's population at 112,644, makin ...

. Bush soon moved to Lansing and was elected to the state constitutional convention in 1850. Two years later he was a delegate to the 1852 Democratic National Convention, which nominated Franklin Pierce for U. S. President. In 1855 he was elected as state senator from Shiawassee and Ingham counties. He drafted the bill which abolished capital punishment in Michigan. Bush was a successful business man with a farm in Livingston County was considered one of the best in the state. He was also considered an effective and forcible speaker. He died in Lansing at approximately 47 years of age after suffering years of illness.

References

Political Graveyard
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bush, Charles P. 1809 births 1857 deaths Delegates to the 1850 Michigan Constitutional Convention Lieutenant Governors of Michigan Members of the Michigan House of Representatives Michigan state senators 19th-century American legislators