John Covode (March 17, 1808 – January 11, 1871) was an

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businessman and abolitionist politician. He served three 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 house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

from

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

Early life

Covode was born in Fairfield Township, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania. He worked for several years on his father's farm, served an apprenticeship to a

blacksmith A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from #Other metals, other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such ...

, and then was employed at a woolen mill in Lockport, Pennsylvania. He became owner of the woolen mill and attained considerable wealth as a woolen manufacturer. Other business interests included the Westmoreland Coal Company, where he served as the first president of the company in 1854.Westmoreland Coal Company
He served for two terms in the Pennsylvania Legislature( House of Representatives). Two attempts to enter the Pennsylvania Senate were unsuccessful.

United States House of Representatives

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 Teut ...

, he was elected to

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as an

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candidate. After joining the

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, he was re-elected to the

35th Congress The 35th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1857, ...

1856 Events January–March * January 8 – Borax deposits are discovered in large quantities by John Veatch in California. * January 23 – American paddle steamer SS ''Pacific'' leaves Liverpool (England) for a transatlantic voyag ...

. He was a strong supporter of the

Freedmen's Bureau The Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, usually referred to as simply the Freedmen's Bureau, was an agency of early Reconstruction, assisting freedmen in the South. It was established on March 3, 1865, and operated briefly as a ...

, the

Civil Rights Act of 1866 The Civil Rights Act of 1866 (, enacted April 9, 1866, reenacted 1870) was the first United States federal law to define citizenship and affirm that all citizens are equally protected by the law. It was mainly intended, in the wake of the Amer ...

, and the Reconstruction Acts. He attended the

Union National Convention The National Union Convention (also known as the Loyalist Convention, the Southern Loyalist Convention, the National Loyalists' Loyal Union Convention, or the Arm-In-Arm Convention) was held on August 14, 15, and 16 1866, in Philadelphia, Pennsylva ...

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in 1866. On February 21, 1868, Covode introduced a resolution in the House of Representatives to

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Andrew Johnson Andrew Johnson (December 29, 1808July 31, 1875) was the 17th president of the United States, serving from 1865 to 1869. He assumed the presidency as he was vice president at the time of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Johnson was a Dem ...

. A slightly-amended version of this resolution, was passed by the House on February 24, 1868, thereby impeaching Johnson, but the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

did not vote to convict him in his his impeachment trial.

Committees

He served as chairman of the United States House Committee on Public Expenditures from 1857 until 1859 and the United States House Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds from 1867 until 1869. He also served on the United States Congressional Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War, in reference to 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 th ...

Covode Committee

Covode is most famous for chairing a committee to investigate the possibility of impeaching President

James Buchanan James Buchanan Jr. ( ; April 23, 1791June 1, 1868) was an American lawyer, diplomat and politician who served as the 15th president of the United States from 1857 to 1861. He previously served as secretary of state from 1845 to 1849 and repr ...

during the spring and summer of 1860. Officially titled the

United States House Select Committee to Investigate Alleged Corruptions in Government The Select Committee to Investigate Alleged Corruptions in Government was a select committee of the United States House of Representatives which operated during the spring and summer of 1860 during the 36th Congress. The committee was charged with ...

, it is more popularly known as the Covode Committee after him.

United States House election, 1870

Covode contested with Henry D. Foster the election to the Forty-first Congress, neither being sworn pending the contest, as no credentials were issued by the Governor. On February 9, 1870, the House declared him duly elected, whereupon he qualified and served until his death. Covode died in

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Harrisburg is the capital city of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Dauphin County. With a population of 50,135 as of the 2021 census, Harrisburg is the 9th largest city and 15th largest municipality in Pe ...

, aged 62.

Family

His oldest son,

George H. Covode George Hay Covode (August 19, 1835 – June 25, 1864) was a Pennsylvania merchant and a Colonel (United States), colonel of cavalry in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Early life Born in Covodesville, Pennsylvania, Covode was th ...

(1835–1864), was a

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

in the

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...

during the Civil War. He died on June 25, 1864, after being shot in the arm and stomach by

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troops he had mistaken for Unionists.

References

External links

Biography from Spartacus Educational
*

- People's Contest Website

Bibliography

*Chester, Edward W. "The Impact of the Covode Congressional Investigation." Western Pennsylvania Historical Magazine 42 (December 1959): 343-50 *Baker, Jean H.: James Buchanan, Times Books: 2004 {{DEFAULTSORT:Covode, John 1808 births 1871 deaths People from Adams County, Pennsylvania Pennsylvania Whigs Members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives Opposition Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania American abolitionists Politicians from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania People from Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania People of Pennsylvania in the American Civil War 19th-century American politicians Impeachment of Andrew Johnson