William Henry Robertson (October 10, 1823
Bedford
Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population of the Bedford built-up area (including Biddenham and Kempston) was 106,940, making it the second-largest settlement in Bedfordshire, behind Luton, whilst ...
,
Westchester County, New York
Westchester County is located in the U.S. state of New York. It is the seventh most populous county in the State of New York and the most populous north of New York City. According to the 2020 United States Census, the county had a population ...
– December 6, 1898
Katonah, Westchester Co., NY), also known as W. H. Robertson, was an American lawyer and politician from
New York.
Robertson was known to have allied with the GOP
Half-Breed
Half-breed is a term, now considered offensive, used to describe anyone who is of mixed race; although, in the United States, it usually refers to people who are half Native American and half European/white.
Use by governments United States
I ...
faction,
[About the Vice President , Levi Parsons Morton, 22nd Vice President (1889-1893)]
''United States Senate''. Retrieved February 12, 2022..[Dwyer, Owen]
Stalwarts vs. Half-Breeds: Charisma and Vindictiveness in 19th Century Politics
''Aspects of History''. Retrieved February 12, 2022. which as a whole supported moderate
civil service reform and emphasized the issues of
protectionist
Protectionism, sometimes referred to as trade protectionism, is the economic policy of restricting imports from other countries through methods such as tariffs on imported goods, import quotas, and a variety of other government regulations. ...
tariff
A tariff is a tax imposed by the government of a country or by a supranational union on imports or exports of goods. Besides being a source of revenue for the government, import duties can also be a form of regulation of foreign trade and pol ...
s as well as industry.
Life
He was the son of Henry Robertson ( 1881). He received an academic education, studied law, and began practice in his native town.
He was a
Whig member of the
New York State Assembly (Westchester Co., 1st D.) in
1849
Events
January–March
* January 1 – France begins issue of the Ceres series, the nation's first postage stamps.
* January 5 – Hungarian Revolution of 1848: The Austrian army, led by Alfred I, Prince of Windisch-Grätz, enters in th ...
and
1850
Events
January–June
* April
** Pope Pius IX returns from exile to Rome.
** Stephen Foster's parlor ballad "Ah! May the Red Rose Live Alway" is published in the United States.
* April 4 – Los Angeles is incorporated as a city ...
; and of the
New York State Senate (7th D.) in
1854
Events
January–March
* January 4 – The McDonald Islands are discovered by Captain William McDonald aboard the ''Samarang''.
* January 6 – The fictional detective Sherlock Holmes is perhaps born.
* January 9 – The ...
and
1855
Events
January–March
* January 1 – Ottawa, Ontario, is incorporated as a city.
* January 5 – Ramón Castilla begins his third term as President of Peru.
* January 23
** The first bridge over the Mississippi River open ...
. He was Judge of the Westchester County Court from 1856 to 1866. He joined the
Republican Party upon its organization in 1855, and was a
presidential elector
The United States Electoral College is the group of presidential electors required by the Constitution to form every four years for the sole purpose of appointing the president and vice president. Each state and the District of Columbia app ...
in
1860
Events
January–March
* January 2 – The discovery of a hypothetical planet Vulcan is announced at a meeting of the French Academy of Sciences in Paris, France.
* January 10 – The Pemberton Mill in Lawrence, Massachusett ...
, voting for
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 ...
and
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 ...
.
Robertson was elected as a Republican to the
40th United States Congress, holding office from March 4, 1867, to March 3, 1869. He was again a member of the State Senate from 1872 to 1881, sitting in the
95th 95 or 95th may refer to:
* 95 (number)
* one of the years 95 BC, AD 95, 1995, 2095, etc.
* 95th Division (disambiguation)
* 95th Regiment
** 95th Regiment of Foot (disambiguation)
* 95th Squadron (disambiguation)
* Atomic number 95: americium
*M ...
,
96th,
97th,
98th,
99th,
100th,
101st
The 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) ("Screaming Eagles") is a light infantry division (military), division of the United States Army that specializes in air assault military operation, operations. It can plan, coordinate, and execute mul ...
,
102nd (all eight 9th D.),
103rd and
104th New York State Legislatures (both 12th D.). In 1874, after a constitutional amendment created it as a standing office, he was chosen
President pro tempore of the New York State Senate. He remained on this post until his retirement from the Senate in May 1881 upon his federal appointment.
In 1881, he was appointed
Collector of the Port of New York
The Collector of Customs at the Port of New York, most often referred to as Collector of the Port of New York, was a federal officer who was in charge of the collection of import duties on foreign goods that entered the United States by ship at t ...
by President
James Garfield whose nomination he had helped to secure by leading a part of the New York delegation at the
1880 Republican National Convention
The 1880 Republican National Convention convened from June 2 to June 8, 1880, at the Interstate Exposition Building in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Delegates nominated James A. Garfield of Ohio and Chester A. Arthur of New York as the off ...
to desert the
Grant
Grant or Grants may refer to:
Places
*Grant County (disambiguation)
Australia
* Grant, Queensland, a locality in the Barcaldine Region, Queensland, Australia
United Kingdom
* Castle Grant
United States
* Grant, Alabama
* Grant, Inyo County, ...
column. Robertson's nomination to the collectorship, made without consulting the wishes of the two Republican
U.S. Senators,
Roscoe Conkling
Roscoe Conkling (October 30, 1829April 18, 1888) was an American lawyer and Republican politician who represented New York in the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate. He is remembered today as the leader of the ...
and
Thomas C. Platt, and, according to their claims, in violation of the President's pledge, led to the resignation of the two senators and resulted in a serious party split. In the bitter struggle between the
Stalwart and the
Half-Breed
Half-breed is a term, now considered offensive, used to describe anyone who is of mixed race; although, in the United States, it usually refers to people who are half Native American and half European/white.
Use by governments United States
I ...
factions which followed, Robertson was active in the campaign that resulted in the election of new senators in the place of Conkling and Platt. Robertson was a delegate to the
1884 Republican National Convention, and held the collectorship until 1885. Afterwards, he resumed his law practice.
He was again a member of the State Senate (12th D.) from 1888 to 1891, sitting in the
111th,
112th,
113th and
114th New York State Legislatures.
Stalwarts vs. Half-Breeds, President Garfield hands post to Robertson
During the
1880 presidential election, a three-way battle initially emerged between the
Blaine faction, Half-Breeds, and
conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...
pro-
spoils system
In politics and government, a spoils system (also known as a patronage system) is a practice in which a political party, after winning an election, gives government jobs to its supporters, friends (cronyism), and relatives (nepotism) as a reward ...
Stalwarts led by Conkling.
[ The Stalwarts favored a third non-consecutive term for ]Radical Republican
The Radical Republicans (later also known as "Stalwarts") were a faction within the Republican Party, originating from the party's founding in 1854, some 6 years before the Civil War, until the Compromise of 1877, which effectively ended Recon ...
former president 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 ...
, while speculating that the Blaine faction would push through a nomination of their leader James G. Blaine. Robertson was a leader of the anti-Grant forces, and voiced his staunch support for Blaine.
Ultimately, an alliance between the Blaine faction and Half-Breeds successfully nominated dark house candidate James A. Garfield
James Abram Garfield (November 19, 1831 – September 19, 1881) was the 20th president of the United States, serving from March 4, 1881 until his death six months latertwo months after he was shot by an assassin. A lawyer and Civil War gene ...
, who promised to appease the Stalwart agenda during the campaign to ensure party unity.[ Once elected president, Garfield betrayed his vows, an example being his appointment of Robertson to New York Collector of the Port and customhouse head without consulting Sen. Conkling][Stalwarts, Half Breeds, and Political Assassination]
''National Park Service''. Retrieved February 12, 2022. in a rebuke of the latter's political machine.[
According to historian ]Heather Cox Richardson
Heather Cox Richardson is an American historian and professor of history at Boston College, where she teaches courses on the American Civil War, the Reconstruction Era, the American West, and the Plains Indians. She previously taught history ...
, Conkling was "undoubtedly personally affronted."[ The Stalwart leader voiced opposition towards Garfield's appointment of Robertson by arguing that presidents were expected to obtain the agreement of senators from the states they sought to give positions to, though Richardson asserted:][
Conkling and his New York senatorial colleague Thomas C. Platt resigned from their seats in protest, expecting to be immediately elected to their same positions by the state legislature that would serve as a rebuke to President Garfield.][ They instead were simply outmaneuvered by the Half-Breeds within the legislature,][ which ended Conkling's career in politics.Both New York Senators Resign]
''United States Senate''. Retrieved February 12, 2022.
References
* ''Autobiography of Thomas Collier Platt'' (edited by L. J. Lang, New York, 1910)
Sources
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Robertson, William H
People from Bedford, New York
1823 births
1898 deaths
Members of the New York State Assembly
New York (state) state senators
1860 United States presidential electors
Majority leaders of the New York State Senate
Collectors of the Port of New York
New York (state) Whigs
Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state)
People from Katonah, New York
19th-century American politicians
Half-Breeds (Republican Party)