Joseph Duncan (February 22, 1794January 15, 1844) was an Illinois politician. He served as the sixth

Governor of Illinois The governor of Illinois is the head of government of Illinois, and the various agencies and departments over which the officer has jurisdiction, as prescribed in the state constitution. It is a directly elected position, votes being cast by p ...

from 1834 to 1838, the only Whig to ever govern the state. Before becoming governor he served four terms in the

United States House of Representatives 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 ...

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 ...

Early and family life

Duncan was born in

Paris, Kentucky Paris is a home rule-class city in Bourbon County, Kentucky. It lies northeast of Lexington on the Stoner Fork of the Licking River. Paris is the seat of its county and forms part of the Lexington–Fayette Metropolitan Statistical Area. As ...

. He served in the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States, United States of America and its Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom ...

and the

Black Hawk War The Black Hawk War was a conflict between the United States and Native Americans led by Black Hawk, a Sauk leader. The war erupted after Black Hawk and a group of Sauks, Meskwakis (Fox), and Kickapoos, known as the " British Band", cros ...

as a soldier.

Career

Duncan moved to Illinois in the year of its statehood, 1818, settling in Brownsville in Jackson County. Here, he was a member of the Masonic fraternity at Hiram Lodge No. 8. Duncan moved to

Jacksonville Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...

in 1830. Before becoming governor, he had a notable political career. Duncan first won election as a delegate in the Illinois House of Representatives, serving from 1825 to 1829. Voters then elected him to represent

Illinois's at-large congressional district Illinois elected its United States Representative at-Large on a general ticket upon achieving statehood December 3, 1818. It last elected a US Representative in the Election of 1946. The district has been inactive since. List of members repr ...

in Congress in 1826, as he defeated abolitionist and multi-term Congressman

Daniel Pope Cook Daniel Pope Cook (1794 – October 16, 1827) was a politician, lawyer and newspaper publisher from the U.S. state of Illinois. An anti-slavery advocate, he was the state's first attorney general, and then congressman. Cook County, Illinois, is ...

. Jacksonian Democrats were ascendant in Illinois politics, and Cook had fallen out of favor with them when he voted against

Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was an American lawyer, planter, general, and statesman who served as the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before being elected to the presidency, he gained fame as ...

in the contingent election of 1825. Duncan successfully ran as a Jacksonian, winning 6,322 votes to Cook's 5,619. He was re-elected twice to the at-large district and in 1832 won a fourth term representing the newly created 3rd district. Duncan first went to Congress as a Jacksonian Democrat, but his relationship with President Jackson's party worsened during his career in Congress. By 1834 he voted more often with the opposition Whigs. His final break with the Democrats occurred in June 1834, when he voted to recharter the Bank of the United States. With the help of Democrats unaware of Duncan's change in politics, Duncan was elected governor that year without campaigning or even visiting Illinois. In his mid-term address two years later, Governor Duncan asked the legislature to pass a state

Internal Improvements Internal improvements is the term used historically in the United States for public works from the end of the American Revolution through much of the 19th century, mainly for the creation of a transportation infrastructure: roads, turnpikes, canal ...

Act, which would authorize the construction of numerous roads, railroads, bridges, river and harbor improvements, and canals across the state. Attempting to deal with the national economic Panic of 1837 and seeing the costs of internal improvements piling up, Duncan asked the legislature to repeal the program. Legislators ignored the governor, adding even more projects to the program. While the number of improvements were few, the program accumulated debt that almost forced the state into bankruptcy. The first bill for the $15 million that had been borrowed to pay for the program was more than double the state's annual revenue. The debt from the Internal Improvements Act would not be fully paid off until 1882, costing the state more in interest than in the dollar amounts to actually build the so-called improvements throughout the state. It was also during Duncan's tenure that the state capital was moved from Vandalia,

Fayette County, Illinois Fayette County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. As of the 2010 census, the population was 22,140. Its county seat is Vandalia, the site of the Vandalia State House State Historic Site. Ramsey Lake State Recreation Area is ...

, to its current location, Springfield,

Sangamon County, Illinois Sangamon County is located in the center of the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it had a population of 197,465. Its county seat and largest city is Springfield, the state capital. Sangamon County is included in the Sp ...

. This was controversially done in large part by the successful leadership skills of Springfield's representatives, known as the "Long Nine," one of whom was

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...

. Lincoln and the eight other members of his delegation won the capital by trading their votes to win the capital for Springfield for projects for other representatives' districts. This led to the failed internal improvements program. Duncan became the Whig candidate for governor in 1842, and his initial opponent died in May, but voters nonetheless elected Democrat Thomas Ford as Illinois' 8th governor, and Democrats also won control over both houses of the Illinois legislature.

Death and legacy

Duncan died in Jacksonville at the age of 50. Interment is at Diamond Grove Cemetery there. Duncan's home in Jacksonville, the Joseph Duncan House, has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Duncan, Joseph 1794 births 1844 deaths Governors of Illinois Illinois state senators American people of the Black Hawk War American people of Scottish descent Politicians from Jacksonville, Illinois Illinois Jacksonians Whig Party state governors of the United States 19th-century American politicians Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Illinois People from Paris, Kentucky American military personnel of the War of 1812