Lyman Trumbull
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Lyman Trumbull (October 12, 1813 – June 25, 1896) was a lawyer, judge, 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 powe ...
from
Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...
and the co-author of the
Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution The Thirteenth Amendment (Amendment XIII) to the United States Constitution abolished slavery and involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime. The amendment was passed by the Senate on April 8, 1864, by the House of Representative ...
. Born in
Colchester, Connecticut Colchester is a town in New London County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 15,555 at the 2020 census. In 2010 Colchester became the first town in Connecticut, and the 36th in the country, to be certified with the National Wildli ...
, Trumbull established a law practice in
Greenville, Georgia Greenville is a city and the county seat of Meriwether County, Georgia, United States. The population was 794 at the 2020 census. The city is located southwest of Atlanta and, as such, is part of the Atlanta metropolitan area (Atlanta-Sandy Sprin ...
, before moving to
Alton, Illinois Alton ( ) is a city on the Mississippi River in Madison County, Illinois, Madison County, Illinois, United States, about north of St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri. The population was 25,676 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. It is a p ...
, in 1837. He served as the
Illinois Secretary of State The Secretary of State of Illinois is one of the six elected executive state offices of the government of Illinois, and one of the 47 secretaries of states in the United States. The Illinois Secretary of State keeps the state records, laws, libr ...
from 1841 to 1843 and as a justice of the Illinois Supreme Court from 1848 to 1853. He was elected to the Senate in 1855 and became a member of the Republican Party. As chairman of the
Senate Judiciary Committee The United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, informally the Senate Judiciary Committee, is a standing committee of 22 U.S. senators whose role is to oversee the Department of Justice (DOJ), consider executive and judicial nominations ...
from 1861 to 1873, he co-wrote the Thirteenth Amendment, which abolished
slavery in the United States The legal institution of human chattel slavery, comprising the enslavement primarily of Africans and African Americans, was prevalent in the United States of America from its founding in 1776 until 1865, predominantly in the South. Sl ...
. In the 1868 impeachment trial of President Andrew Johnson, Trumbull voted to acquit Johnson despite heavy pressure from other Republican senators. He was a candidate for the presidential nomination at the 1872 Liberal Republican convention but the fledgling party nominated Horace Greeley instead. Trumbull left the Senate in 1873 to establish a legal practice in
Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...
. Before his death in 1896, he became a member of the Populist Party and represented
Eugene V. Debs Eugene Victor "Gene" Debs (November 5, 1855 – October 20, 1926) was an American socialist, political activist, trade unionist, one of the founding members of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), and five times the candidate of the Soc ...
before the Supreme Court of the United States.


Education and early career

Trumbull was born in
Colchester, Connecticut Colchester is a town in New London County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 15,555 at the 2020 census. In 2010 Colchester became the first town in Connecticut, and the 36th in the country, to be certified with the National Wildli ...
, the grandson of the historian Benjamin Trumbull. Lyman Trumbull is the subject of the second half of this article entitled with his father's name. After graduating from Bacon Academy, he taught school from 1829 to 1833. At 20, he was hired as head of an academy in Georgia. He studied (read the law) as a legal apprentice, and was admitted to the bar in Georgia. He practiced law in
Greenville, Georgia Greenville is a city and the county seat of Meriwether County, Georgia, United States. The population was 794 at the 2020 census. The city is located southwest of Atlanta and, as such, is part of the Atlanta metropolitan area (Atlanta-Sandy Sprin ...
until 1837, when he moved west to
Alton, Illinois Alton ( ) is a city on the Mississippi River in Madison County, Illinois, Madison County, Illinois, United States, about north of St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri. The population was 25,676 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. It is a p ...
. His house in Alton, the
Lyman Trumbull House Lyman Trumbull House is a house significant for its association with former U.S. Senator from Illinois Lyman Trumbull. The house is located in the historic Middletown neighborhood in Alton, Illinois. Senator Trumbull was best known for bein ...
, is a National Historic Monument.


Elected office

By 1840, Trumbull was elected to the Illinois House of Representatives. He was appointed as Illinois Secretary of State, serving from 1841 to 1843. In 1848, he was appointed as a justice of the Supreme Court of Illinois, serving until 1853. Although 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 ...
in 1854, he was elected by the state legislature to serve in the
United States 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 ...
before he could take his seat. He served for nearly two decades, from 1855 through 1873. During this time, he claimed party affiliations with the Democrats, the Republicans, the Liberal Republicans, and finally the Democrats again. On August 7, 1858, Trumbull delivered a speech in
Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...
stating "We, the Republican Party, are the white man's party, we are for free white men and for making white labor respectable and honorable, which it can never be when negro slave labor is brought into competition with it". On December 16, 1861, Trumbull asked the Senate to consider his resolution: Senator
James Dixon James Dixon (August 5, 1814 – March 27, 1873) was a United States representative and United States Senator, Senator from Connecticut. Biography Dixon, son of William & Mary (Field) Dixon, was born August 5, 1814 in Enfield, Connecticut, ...
said of the resolution that "it seems to me calculated to produce nothing but mischief." As chairman of the Judiciary Committee (1861–1872), he co-wrote the Thirteenth Amendment, which prohibited
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 other than its use as punishment for crimes of which the party had been convicted; this became the sentence to "time at hard labor" that became assignable for certain crimes. It was also the constitutional loophole by which southern states abused
convict lease Convict leasing was a system of forced penal labor which was practiced historically in the Southern United States, the laborers being mainly African-American men; it was ended during the 20th century. (Convict labor in general continues; f ...
labor, a practice lasting into the twentieth century.


Johnson impeachment trial

During President Andrew Johnson's
impeachment trial An impeachment trial is a trial that functions as a component of an impeachment. Several governments utilize impeachment trials as a part of their processes for impeachment, but differ as to when in the impeachment process trials take place and how ...
, Trumbull and six other Republican senators were disturbed by their belief that
Thaddeus Stevens Thaddeus Stevens (April 4, 1792August 11, 1868) was a member of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania, one of the leaders of the Radical Republican faction of the Republican Party during the 1860s. A fierce opponent of sla ...
and
Benjamin Wade Benjamin Franklin "Bluff" Wade (October 27, 1800March 2, 1878) was an American lawyer and politician who served as a United States Senator for Ohio from 1851 to 1869. He is known for his leading role among the Radical Republicans.
and those of similar position had manipulated the proceedings against Johnson in order to give a one-sided presentation of the evidence. Trumbull, in particular, noted:
Once set the example of impeaching a President for what, when the excitement of the hour shall have subsided, will be regarded as insufficient causes, as several of those now alleged against the President were decided to be by the House of Representatives only a few months since, and no future President will be safe who happens to differ with a majority of the House and two-thirds of the Senate on any measure deemed by them important, particularly if of a political character. Blinded by partisan zeal, with such an example before them, they will not scruple to remove out of the way any obstacle to the accomplishment of their purposes, and what then becomes of the checks and balances of the Constitution, so carefully devised and so vital to its perpetuity? They are all gone.
All seven senators, resisting the pressure imposed on them, broke party ranks and defied public opinion, voting for acquittal, although they knew their decision would be unpopular. In addition, they were joined by three other Republican senators (
James Dixon James Dixon (August 5, 1814 – March 27, 1873) was a United States representative and United States Senator, Senator from Connecticut. Biography Dixon, son of William & Mary (Field) Dixon, was born August 5, 1814 in Enfield, Connecticut, ...
,
James Rood Doolittle James Rood Doolittle (January 3, 1815July 27, 1897) was an American politician who served as a U.S. Senator from Wisconsin from March 4, 1857, to March 4, 1869. He was a strong supporter of President Abraham Lincoln's administration during the ...
,
Daniel Sheldon Norton Daniel Sheldon Norton (April 12, 1829July 13, 1870) was an American lawyer and politician who served in the Minnesota State Senate and as a U.S. Senator from Minnesota. Life and career Norton was born in Mount Vernon, Ohio to Daniel Sheldon and ...
) and all nine Democrats in voting against conviction. None of the Republicans who voted against conviction were reelected. After the trial, Congressman
Benjamin Butler Benjamin Franklin Butler (November 5, 1818 – January 11, 1893) was an American major general of the Union Army, politician, lawyer, and businessman from Massachusetts. Born in New Hampshire and raised in Lowell, Massachusetts, Butler is ...
of Massachusetts conducted hearings in the House on widespread reports that Republican senators had been bribed to vote for Johnson's acquittal. Butler's hearings and subsequent inquiries revealed evidence that some acquittal votes were acquired by promises of patronage jobs and cash cards.


Yellowstone

During the December 1871 congressional debate on the creation of
Yellowstone National Park Yellowstone National Park is an American national park located in the western United States, largely in the northwest corner of Wyoming and extending into Montana and Idaho. It was established by the 42nd U.S. Congress with the Yellowst ...
, Senator Trumbull, whose son Walter Trumbull was a member of the Washburn-Langford-Doane Expedition to Yellowstone in 1870, spoke in favor of the park concept:
Here is a region of the country away up in the Rocky Mountains, where there are the most wonderful geysers on the face of the earth; a country that is not likely ever to be inhabited for the purpose of agriculture; but it is possible that some person may go there and plant himself right across the only path that leads to the wonders, and charge every man that passes along between the gorges of these mountains a fee of a dollar or five dollars. He may place an obstruction there and toll may be gathered from every person who goes to see these wonders of creation.


Later career

After leaving the Senate in 1873, Trumbull set up a law practice in
Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...
. He worked in private practice except for a brief period when he ran an unsuccessful campaign for governor (as a Democrat) in 1880. In January 1883, Trumbull was given a
seat of honor {{Short pages monitor See also *Curule seat Honor Honour (British English) or honor (American English; see spelling differences) is the idea of a bond between an individual and a society as a quality of a person that is both of social teac ...
at the dedication of the Pullman Arcade Theatre in
George Pullman George Mortimer Pullman (March 3, 1831 – October 19, 1897) was an American engineer and industrialist. He designed and manufactured the Pullman sleeping car and founded a company town, Pullman, for the workers who manufactured it. This ulti ...
's company town. He became a
Populist Populism refers to a range of political stances that emphasize the idea of "the people" and often juxtapose this group against " the elite". It is frequently associated with anti-establishment and anti-political sentiment. The term develop ...
in 1894. According to Almont Lindsey's 1942 book, ''The Pullman Strike,'' Trumbull took part in defending
Eugene Debs Eugene may refer to: People and fictional characters * Eugene (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Eugene (actress) (born 1981), Kim Yoo-jin, South Korean actress and former member of the sin ...
and other labor leaders of the American Railway Union, who had been convicted for violating a federal court injunction during the 1894 Pullman railroad strike. Trumbull was part of the three-member legal team, which included
Clarence Darrow Clarence Seward Darrow (; April 18, 1857 – March 13, 1938) was an American lawyer who became famous in the early 20th century for his involvement in the Leopold and Loeb murder trial and the Scopes "Monkey" Trial. He was a leading member of t ...
, when their ''habeas corpus'' case ''Ex parte In the Matter of Eugene V. Debs 'et al. was heard by the
US Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point of ...
in 1895. Trumbull died at his home in Chicago on June 25, 1896, and was buried at
Oak Woods Cemetery Oak Woods Cemetery is a large lawn cemetery in Chicago, Illinois. Located at 1035 E. 67th Street, in the Greater Grand Crossing area of Chicago's South Side. Established on February 12, 1853, it covers . Oak Woods is the final resting place o ...
.


Memorials

During his explorations in the west
John Wesley Powell John Wesley Powell (March 24, 1834 – September 23, 1902) was an American geologist, U.S. Army soldier, explorer of the American West, professor at Illinois Wesleyan University, and director of major scientific and cultural institutions. He ...
named Mt. Trumbull (and now the Mt. Trumbull Wilderness) in northwestern Arizona after the Senator. The
Lyman Trumbull House Lyman Trumbull House is a house significant for its association with former U.S. Senator from Illinois Lyman Trumbull. The house is located in the historic Middletown neighborhood in Alton, Illinois. Senator Trumbull was best known for bein ...
is a
National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...
. Trumbull has a street named after him in the city of Chicago; Lyman Trumbull Elementary School in Chicago was named after the Senator. Trumbull Park and adjacent Trumbull Park Homes in Chicago are named after the Senator.


See also

*
List of American politicians who switched parties in office The following American politicians switched parties while they were holding elected office. Federal State Local See also * List of Canadian politicians who have crossed the floor * List of elected British politicians who have chang ...
*
List of members-elect of the United States House of Representatives who never took their seats Some people who were 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 chamber of the Unit ...


References


Further reading

* White, Horacebr>''The Life of Lyman Trumbull''
Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1913.
Remarks of Hon. Lyman Trumbull, of Illinois, on seizure of arsenals at Harper's Ferry, Va., and Liberty, Mo., and in vindication of the Republican party and its creed, in response to Senators Chesnut, Yulee, Saulsbury, Clay and Pugh. Delivered in the United States Senate December, 6, 7, and 8 1859

Speech of Hon. Lyman Trumbull, of Illinois, on introducing a bill to confiscate the property of rebels and free their slaves : delivered in the Senate of the United States, December 5, 1861

Speech of Hon. Lyman Trumbull, of Illinois, on amending the Constitution to prohibit slavery. Delivered in the Senate of the United States, March 28, 1864

Speech of Hon. Lyman Trumbull, of Illinois, on the Freedmen's bureau--veto message; delivered in the Senate of the United States, February 20, 1866


External links



, - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Trumbull, Lyman 1813 births 1896 deaths 19th-century American lawyers 19th-century American judges Bacon Academy alumni Democratic Party United States senators from Illinois Georgia (U.S. state) lawyers Illinois Democrats Illinois Liberal Republicans Illinois Populists Illinois Republicans Justices of the Illinois Supreme Court Lawyers from Chicago Liberal Republican Party United States senators Members of the Illinois House of Representatives Moderate Republicans (Reconstruction era) People from Belleville, Illinois People from Colchester, Connecticut People of the Reconstruction Era People of Illinois in the American Civil War Republican Party United States senators from Illinois Secretaries of State of Illinois Union (American Civil War) political leaders