Richard Yates (January 18, 1815 – November 27, 1873) was the
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 ...
during the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...
and has been considered one of the most effective war governors. He took energetic measures to secure
Cairo
Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the Capital city, capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, List of ...
and
St. Louis
St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...
against rebel attack. Nicknamed the "Soldiers' Friend", he helped organize the Illinois contingent of Union soldiers, including commissioning
Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union Ar ...
as a colonel for an Illinois regiment. He supported the
Emancipation Proclamation. He also represented Illinois 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 ...
(1851–1855) and in the
U.S. Senate
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and pow ...
(1865–1871). As a Senator, he voted and spoke in favor of removing President
Andrew Johnson from office. He was a Whig and then a Republican.
Early life
Yates was born in a log cabin in
Warsaw, Kentucky
Warsaw is a List of cities in Kentucky, home rule-class city in and the county seat of Gallatin County, Kentucky, Gallatin County, Kentucky, United States, located along the Ohio River. The name was suggested by a riverboat captain, who was reading ...
. His family was of
English descent and moved to Illinois in 1831. He studied at
Miami University
Miami University (informally Miami of Ohio or simply Miami) is a public research university in Oxford, Ohio. The university was founded in 1809, making it the second-oldest university in Ohio (behind Ohio University, founded in 1804) and the ...
and
Georgetown College
Georgetown College is a private Christian college in Georgetown, Kentucky. Chartered in 1829, Georgetown was the first Baptist college west of the Appalachian Mountains.
The college offers 38 undergraduate degrees and a Master of Arts in educat ...
and graduated from
Illinois College
Illinois College is a private liberal arts college in Jacksonville, Illinois. It is affiliated with the United Church of Christ and the Presbyterian Church (USA). It was the second college founded in Illinois, but the first to grant a degree ( ...
in
Jacksonville, Illinois, in 1835. He then studied law at
Transylvania University
Transylvania University is a private university in Lexington, Kentucky. It was founded in 1780 and was the first university in Kentucky. It offers 46 major programs, as well as dual-degree engineering programs, and is accredited by the Southern ...
in
Lexington, Kentucky. He was admitted to the bar in 1837 and commenced practice in Jacksonville.
Yates served as a member of the
Illinois House of Representatives from 1842 to 1845 and 1848 to 1849. In 1850, he was elected as a
Whig to the United States House of Representatives, where he was the youngest member of the
Thirty-second Congress. He was reelected to Congress in 1852. During Yates' second term in Congress, the repeal of the
Missouri Compromise
The Missouri Compromise was a federal legislation of the United States that balanced desires of northern states to prevent expansion of slavery in the country with those of southern states to expand it. It admitted Missouri as a slave state and ...
reignited the
anti-slavery controversy. He opposed the repeal, which opened the possibility of slavery expanding into Kansas, and became identified with the new
Republican Party. Illinois Democrats redrew the boundaries of his district to favor their candidate, and Yates narrowly lost his bid for a third term in Congress.
Yates then worked for a time as president of a railroad company. Remaining politically engaged, he campaigned on behalf of Republican presidential candidate
John C. Frémont in the
1856 election. He was known as an excellent orator. He had a weakness for whiskey, though at times he strove to exercise temperance. In later years, he was often conspicuously drunk, even at public functions. By 1867 he had "resolve
to quit drink altogether" but was unable to persist in this resolution.
Governorship
![Capitol Richard Yates statue by Albin Polasek](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e1/Capitol_Richard_Yates_statue_by_Albin_Polasek.jpg)
In 1860 he was elected governor as a Republican; he and
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 ...
, with whom he was friendly, supported each other's campaigns in Illinois. Yates's inaugural address denied that states had any right to secede from the Union and declared that "a claim so presumptuous and absurd could never be acquiesced in"; he also predicted that the Union would "in the end, be stronger and richer and more glorious, renowned and free, than it has ever been heretofore, by the necessary reaction of the crisis through which
hey were
Hey or Hey! may refer to:
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* ''Hey!'' (Julio Iglesias album) or the title song, 1980
* ''Hey!'' (Jullie album) or the title s ...
passing."
Governor Yates continued to be an outspoken opponent of slavery, and at the opening of the Civil War was very active in raising volunteers. He convened the legislature in extra session on April 12, 1861, the day after the attack on
Fort Sumter
Fort Sumter is a sea fort built on an artificial island protecting Charleston, South Carolina from naval invasion. Its origin dates to the War of 1812 when the British invaded Washington by sea. It was still incomplete in 1861 when the Battle ...
, and took military possession of
Cairo
Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the Capital city, capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, List of ...
, garrisoning it with regular troops. Illinois banks made $1,000,000 available to Yates to equip the new Illinois troops raised in response to Lincoln's call. At Yates's suggestion, Lincoln authorized Illinois troops to protect the
federal arsenal in St. Louis.
In Governor Yates's office, General
Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union Ar ...
received his first distinct recognition as a soldier in the Civil War, being appointed by Yates as mustering officer for the state, and afterward colonel of the
21st Illinois regiment. Yates would also secure military commissions for
John A. Logan
John Alexander Logan (February 9, 1826 – December 26, 1886) was an American soldier and politician. He served in the Mexican–American War and was a general in the Union Army in the American Civil War. He served the state of Illinois as a st ...
,
John A. McClernand
John Alexander McClernand (May 30, 1812 – September 20, 1900) was an American lawyer and politician, and a Union Army general in the American Civil War. He was a prominent Democratic politician in Illinois and a member of the United States H ...
, and
John M. Palmer (all prominent Democrats). Lincoln disregarded a hint from Yates that he would accept a commission as brigadier general on the grounds that Yates was too important as a loyal governor. After the
Battle of Shiloh, Yates personally took hospital supplies to the succor of the wounded from his state, as did the wartime governors of Wisconsin (
Salomon) and Indiana (
Morton Morton may refer to:
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* Morton (surname)
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Fictional
* Morton Koopa, Jr., a character and boss in ''Super Mario Bros. 3''
* A character in the ''Charlie and Lola'' franchise
* A character in the 2008 film '' Horton H ...
). Such humanitarian gestures cemented Yates's popularity, and the governor enjoyed the nickname of the "Soldiers' Friend". In September 1862, Yates attended the Loyal
War Governors' Conference in
Altoona, Pennsylvania
Altoona is a city in Blair County, Pennsylvania. It is the principal city of the Altoona Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). The population was 43,963 at the time of the 2020 Census, making it the eighteenth most populous city in Pennsylvania. T ...
, which ultimately gave
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 ...
support for his
Emancipation Proclamation.
During the Civil War, Yates benefited from his relations with Lincoln to bring significant federal financial resources to the State of Illinois and Chicago in particular. Chicago became the location for the largest prisoner of war encampment,
Camp Douglas, which had been erected on the former estate of Lincoln's political opponent, the late Senator
Stephen A. Douglas (similarly, the estate of Confederate General
Robert E. Lee in Arlington, Virginia was taken over by the government for use as a military cemetery). During this period, Yates enlisted the services of former Chicago Mayor
James Hutchinson Woodworth
James Hutchinson Woodworth (December 4, 1804 – March 26, 1869), was a member of the Illinois State Senate and the Illinois State House of Representatives, served as a Chicago Alderman, was elected to consecutive terms as Mayor of Chi ...
, a Republican with strong anti-slavery views similar to those of Yates, to oversee the disbursement and management of the federal funds received.
In his 1863 annual message, Yates denounced the talk among some secession sympathizers that the Union might be reconstructed to the exclusion of New England.
After the Emancipation Proclamation, the Democratic-dominated Illinois legislature proved increasingly uncooperative. Yates, fearing that the Democrats had been infiltrated by the pro-secession
Knights of the Golden Circle
The Knights of the Golden Circle (KGC) was a secret society founded in 1854 by American George W. L. Bickley, the objective of which was to create a new country, known as the Golden Circle ( es, Círculo Dorado), where slavery would be legal. T ...
, dissolved the Illinois legislature on June 10, 1863, declaring that "the past history of the Assembly hold
out no reasonable hope of beneficial results to the citizens of the State, or the army in the field, from its further continuance".
Senatorial and later career
![R-Yates](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/08/R-Yates.jpg)
After his service as governor ended, Yates was elected as a Republican to the United States Senate and served from March 4, 1865, to March 3, 1871. While in the Senate, Yates was Chairman of the Committee on Revolutionary Claims (
Thirty-ninth and
Forty-first Congresses) and Chairman of the Committee on Territories (
Fortieth Congress). He was identified as an associate and "disciple" of
Charles Sumner
Charles Sumner (January 6, 1811March 11, 1874) was an American statesman and United States Senator from Massachusetts. As an academic lawyer and a powerful orator, Sumner was the leader of the anti-slavery forces in the state and a leader of th ...
, the
Radical Senator from Massachusetts. During the
impeachment proceedings against
Andrew Johnson, Yates spoke in favor of convicting the President, whom he described as a "most pestilent disturber of public peace ... who, through murder succeeded to the chief command and seeks to betray us to the enemy."
Yates did not seek reelection to the Senate. After leaving the Senate, he was appointed by President Grant as a United States commissioner to inspect a
land subsidy railroad. He died suddenly in
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...
on November 27, 1873. He is buried in Diamond Grove Cemetery,
Jacksonville, Illinois.
Legacy
In 1923 a statue of Yates by
Albin Polasek
Albin Polasek (February 14, 1879 – May 19, 1965) was a Czech-American sculptor and educator. He created more than 400 works during his career, 200 of which are displayed in the Albin Polasek Museum & Sculpture Gardens in Winter Park, Flori ...
was erected on the
Illinois State Capitol
The Illinois State Capitol, located in Springfield, Illinois, houses the Illinois General Assembly, legislative and Governor of Illinois, executive branches of the government of the U.S. state of Illinois. The current building is the sixth to serv ...
grounds.
His son,
Richard Yates, Jr., was also active in Illinois politics, and also became governor of Illinois.
References
Bibliography
*
* The standard scholarly history.
*
''Portrait and Biographical Album of Champaign County, Illinois,''Chapman Brothers, Chicago, 1887 – online as part of ''Illinois History'', an ILGenWeb project
*
External links
Illinois Blue Book 2005–2006*Digital collections of th
Yates Family Papersan
Yates (Wabash College) Papersat the
Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum
The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum documents the life of the 16th U.S. president, Abraham Lincoln, and the course of the American Civil War. Combining traditional scholarship with 21st-century showmanship techniques, the museum ...
website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yates, Richard
1815 births
1873 deaths
Republican Party governors of Illinois
Republican Party members of the Illinois House of Representatives
People of Illinois in the American Civil War
People from Morgan County, Illinois
Politicians from Jacksonville, Illinois
Transylvania University alumni
Illinois College alumni
Miami University alumni
Georgetown College (Kentucky) alumni
Republican Party United States senators from Illinois
Union (American Civil War) state governors
Whig Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Illinois
People from Warsaw, Kentucky
19th-century American politicians