John Staniford Robinson (November 10, 1804 – April 25, 1860) was an American lawyer and politician. He is most notable for his service as the 22nd

governor of Vermont The governor of Vermont is the head of government of Vermont. The officeholder is elected in even-numbered years by direct voting for a term of 2 years. Vermont and bordering New Hampshire are the only states to hold gubernatorial elections every ...

, from 1853 to 1854.

Biography

Robinson was born in

Bennington, Vermont Bennington is a town in Bennington County, Vermont, United States. It is one of two shire towns (county seats) of the county, the other being Manchester. As of the 2020 US Census, the population was 15,333. Bennington is the most populous t ...

, the son of Nathan Robinson and Jerusha Staniford. Governor and

United States Senator 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 po ...

Moses Robinson was his grandfather, and Senator Jonathan Robinson and Vermont House

Speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** In ...

Samuel Robinson Samuel Robinson may refer to: *Samuel Robinson (1666–1729), member of Parliament for Cricklade, England *Samuel Robinson (politician) (1738–1813), Vermont political and military leader *Samuel Robinson (industrialist) (1794–1884), English indu ...

were his great-uncles. He graduated in 1824 from

Williams College Williams College is a private liberal arts college in Williamstown, Massachusetts. It was established as a men's college in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim Williams, a colonist from the Province of Massachusetts Bay who was kille ...

, studied law and passed the bar in 1827. In October, 1847 he married Mrs. Juliette Staniford Robinson, widow of William Robinson. They had no children.

Career

Robinson opened his own law office in Bennington and continued to practice until his death. He served in local offices including justice of the peace, and was a member of the

Vermont House of Representatives The Vermont House of Representatives is the lower house of the Vermont General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Vermont. The House comprises 150 members, with each member representing around 4,100 citizens. Representatives are ...

from 1832 to 1833 and the Vermont Senate from 1838 to 1839. Robinson's political aspirations were thwarted by the fracturing of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

over slavery. After 1848, the

Vermont Democratic Party The Vermont Democratic Party is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the U.S. state of Vermont. From the time of the American Civil War until the 1960s, Vermont was an almost exclusively Republican state, with Republicans dominating Vermo ...

split between the regular Democrats and the

anti-slavery Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people. The Britis ...

Democrats, who joined with anti-slavery Whigs and Liberty men to form the

Free Soil Party The Free Soil Party was a short-lived coalition political party in the United States active from 1848 to 1854, when it merged into the Republican Party. The party was largely focused on the single issue of opposing the expansion of slavery int ...

. Robinson was the regular Democratic candidate for governor in 1851, when he finished third behind the Whig and Free Soil candidates. In

1852 Events January–March * January 14 – President Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte proclaims a new constitution for the French Second Republic. * January 15 – Nine men representing various Jewish charitable organizations come tog ...

he was nominated again by the Democrats and finished second; no candidate received a majority of the votes, and the election went to the

Vermont General Assembly The Vermont General Assembly is the legislative body of the state of Vermont, in the United States. The Legislature is formally known as the "General Assembly," but the style of "Legislature" is commonly used, including by the body itself. The G ...

, who elected

Erastus Fairbanks Erastus Fairbanks (October 28, 1792November 20, 1864) was an American manufacturer, Whig politician, a founder of the Republican Party, and the 21st and 26th governor of Vermont. Biography Fairbanks was born in Brimfield, Massachusetts, to Ph ...

. He placed second in the 1853 election, but again no candidate received a majority. After several unsuccessful ballots during the month of October, the legislature chose Robinson over Fairbanks, after a number of Free Soil legislators who had supported Lawrence Brainerd switched their support to Robinson. Serving from 1853 to 1854, he was the first Democratic Governor of Vermont and remained the only Democrat elected to the governorship for the next 110 years. The

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

winning streak ended when Democrat

Philip H. Hoff Philip Henderson Hoff (June 29, 1924 – April 26, 2018) was an American politician from the U.S. state of Vermont. He was most notable for his service as the List of Governors of Vermont, 73rd governor of Vermont from 1963 to 1969, the state's ...

won the governorship in 1962.

Death

In 1860, while Robinson was serving as chairman of the Vermont delegation to the Democratic National Convention in Charleston, South Carolina, he died from apoplexy (a stroke). He is interred at Old Bennington Cemetery in Bennington, Vermont.

References

External links

*
The Political GraveyardList of Governors, Vermont History & Genealogy
{{DEFAULTSORT:Robinson, John S. 1804 births 1860 deaths Williams College alumni Democratic Party governors of Vermont Democratic Party members of the Vermont House of Representatives Democratic Party Vermont state senators Vermont lawyers People from Bennington, Vermont 19th-century American politicians 19th-century American lawyers