Robert Charles Wickliffe (January 6, 1819 – April 18, 1895) was Lieutenant Governor and the 15th Governor of Louisiana from 1856 to 1860.

Early life and education

He was born in

Bardstown, Kentucky Bardstown is a home rule-class city in Nelson County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 11,700 in the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Nelson County. Bardstown is named for the pioneering Bard brothers. David Bard obtained a l ...

at Wickland to Governor (and later

U.S. Postmaster General The United States Postmaster General (PMG) is the chief executive officer of the United States Postal Service (USPS). The PMG is responsible for managing and directing the day-to-day operations of the agency. The PMG is selected and appointed by ...

Charles A. Wickliffe Charles Anderson Wickliffe (June 8, 1788 – October 31, 1869) was a U.S. Representative from Kentucky. He also served as Speaker of the Kentucky House of Representatives, the 14th Governor of Kentucky, and was appointed Postmaster General by P ...

. His maternal grandfather was the famed Colonel Crips, an Indian fighter in Kentucky. Wickliffe attended several schools including St. Joseph's College in Bardstown and Augusta College. He graduated from

Centre College Centre College is a private liberal arts college in Danville, Kentucky. It is an undergraduate college with an enrollment of approximately 1,400 students. Centre was officially chartered by the Kentucky General Assembly in 1819. The college is ...

in Danville, Kentucky in 1840 and resided in Washington, DC during his father's tenure as Postmaster General in the

Tyler Tyler may refer to: People and fictional characters * Tyler (name), an English name; with lists of people with the surname or given name * Tyler, the Creator (born 1991), American rap artist and producer * John Tyler, 10th president of the United ...

Administration. He studied law under

United States Attorney General The United States attorney general (AG) is the head of the United States Department of Justice, and is the chief law enforcement officer of the federal government of the United States. The attorney general serves as the principal advisor to the p ...

Hugh Lagare and was admitted to the Kentucky bar. "He was the owner of more slaves than any other person in Kentucky and likely anyone in the United States"

Move to Louisiana

In 1843, Wickliffe married Anna Dawson, the daughter of Louisiana Congressman

John Bennett Dawson John Bennett Dawson (March 17, 1798 – June 26, 1845) was an American politician who served as a Democrat in the United States House of Representatives from the state of Louisiana. Early life Born near Nashville, Tennessee on March 17, 1798, he ...

and niece of Louisiana Governor

Isaac Johnson Isaac Johnson (November 1, 1803 – March 15, 1853) was a US politician and the 12th Governor of the state of Louisiana. Born on his father's plantation "Troy" near St. Francisville in West Feliciana Parish, Johnson was the fourth son of Jo ...

. In 1846, the Wickliffes moved to

St. Francisville, Louisiana St. Francisville is a town in and the parish seat of, West Feliciana Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 1,765 at the 2010 U.S. census, and 1,589 at the 2020 population estimates program. It is part of the Baton Rouge metropolitan ...

so Robert could recover from

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...

at his wife's family's plantation, Wyoming. Wickliffe ran for the Louisiana State Senate in 1851 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 ...

and won. Reelected in 1853, he is appointed Chairman of the Commission on Public Education, and became

President Pro Tempore A president pro tempore or speaker pro tempore is a constitutionally recognized officer of a legislative body who presides over the chamber in the absence of the normal presiding officer. The phrase ''pro tempore'' is Latin "for the time being". ...

of the Louisiana Senate when W. W. Farmer became Lieutenant Governor. When Farmer died in office in 1854, Wickliffe, as President Pro Temp, became Lieutenant Governor. In 1855, Wickliffe was nominated as the Democratic candidate for Governor of Louisiana. He went on to defeat Charles Derbigny, son of former Governor

Pierre Derbigny Pierre Augustin Charles Bourguignon Derbigny (June 30, 1769 – October 6, 1829) was the sixth Governor of Louisiana. Born in 1769, at Laon, France, the eldest son of Augustin Bourguignon d'Herbigny who was President of the Directoire de l'Aisne ...

, who was running on the

Know Nothing The Know Nothing party was a nativist political party and movement in the United States in the mid-1850s. The party was officially known as the "Native American Party" prior to 1855 and thereafter, it was simply known as the "American Party". ...

ticket. In winning, Wickliffe drew 3,000 more votes than Derbigny and carried 31 of 48 parishes. In his inaugural address in

Baton Rouge Baton Rouge ( ; ) is a city in and the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-sma ...

, Governor Wickliffe advocated a united Democratic South to protect state's rights and he championed the expansion of American power to the Caribbean, Mexico, Cuba and Central America in order to protect

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 ...

in the United States. His administration continued the trend of railroad building, but critics claimed he ignored public education. The

Panic of 1857 The Panic of 1857 was a financial panic in the United States caused by the declining international economy and over-expansion of the domestic economy. Because of the invention of the telegraph by Samuel F. Morse in 1844, the Panic of 1857 was ...

caused unrest and depression throughout the country and Louisiana was hard hit. Governor Wickliffe blamed a loosely managed Board of Currency in Louisiana. As a consequence, he ordered banks to make weekly statements to the Board of Currency. The unrest changed to violence in New Orleans, which was under Know Nothing control, and Wickliffe was forced to dispatch the militia to ensure the validity of the 1858 elections. After his term as Governor ended, Wickliffe returned to planting and the practice of law in St. Francisville. In the Presidential election of 1860, Wickliffe joined Senator

Pierre Soulé Pierre Soulé (August 31, 1801March 26, 1870) was a French-American attorney, politician, and diplomat in the mid-19th century. Serving as a U.S. senator from Louisiana from 1849 to 1853, he was nominated that year as U.S. Minister to Spain, a p ...

in backing

Stephen A. Douglas Stephen Arnold Douglas (April 23, 1813 – June 3, 1861) was an American politician and lawyer from Illinois. A senator, he was one of two nominees of the badly split Democratic Party for president in the 1860 presidential election, which wa ...

. The other Louisiana Senator,

John Slidell John Slidell (1793July 9, 1871) was an American politician, lawyer, and businessman. A native of New York, Slidell moved to Louisiana as a young man and became a Representative and Senator. He was one of two Confederate diplomats captured by th ...

, backed former

Vice President A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on t ...

John C. Breckinridge John Cabell Breckinridge (January 16, 1821 – May 17, 1875) was an American lawyer, politician, and soldier. He represented Kentucky in both houses of Congress and became the 14th and youngest-ever vice president of the United States. Serving ...

from Kentucky. Wickliffe was selected to be a delegate for Douglas at the

Democratic National Convention The Democratic National Convention (DNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 1852 ...

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

. In 1861, Wickliffe did not actively support

secession Secession is the withdrawal of a group from a larger entity, especially a political entity, but also from any organization, union or military alliance. Some of the most famous and significant secessions have been: the former Soviet republics le ...

and during the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

he tried to act as an intermediary between the Confederacy and the Union. After the war was over, in 1865, Wickliffe was elected to 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 house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

representing

Louisiana's 3rd congressional district Louisiana's 3rd congressional district is a United States congressional district in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The district covers the southwestern and south central portion of the state, ranging from the Texas border to the Atchafalaya River. ...

. He was not seated as Louisiana was deemed "not reconstructed." Wickliffe married his second wife, Anna Davis Anderson in 1870. He was elected a delegate to the Democratic National Convention supporting

Samuel J. Tilden Samuel Jones Tilden (February 9, 1814 – August 4, 1886) was an American politician who served as the 25th Governor of New York and was the Democratic candidate for president in the disputed 1876 United States presidential election. Tilden was ...

in 1876 and in 1884 was delegate supporting

Grover Cleveland Stephen Grover Cleveland (March 18, 1837June 24, 1908) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 22nd and 24th president of the United States from 1885 to 1889 and from 1893 to 1897. Cleveland is the only president in American ...

. In 1892, he reentered electoral politics when he was nominated for Lieutenant Governor by the Louisiana Lottery faction of the Democratic Party. Wickliffe lost to anti-lottery Democrats led by

Murphy James Foster Murphy James Foster (January 12, 1849June 12, 1921) was the 31st Governor of the U.S. state of Louisiana, an office he held for two terms from 1892 to 1900. Foster supported the Louisiana Constitution of 1898, which effectively disfranchised ...

. Wickliffe died while visiting relatives in Kentucky on April 18, 1895.

References

Sources

State of Louisiana - BiographyCemetery Memorial by La-Cemeteries
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wickliffe, Robert C. 1819 births 1895 deaths People from Bardstown, Kentucky Democratic Party governors of Louisiana 19th-century American politicians People from St. Francisville, Louisiana