Nathaniel P. Banks
[9] Banks's job, which he held until political changes forced him out in 1849,[10] gave him sufficient security that he was able to marry Mary Theodosia Palmer, an ex-factory employee he had been courting for some time.[12] In 1848, Banks was victorious in another run for the state legislature, successfully organizing elements in Waltham whose votes were not easily controlled by the Whig-controlled Boston Manufacturing Company.[14] This brought Banks, along with fellow Democrats Rantoul and George S. Boutwell to form a coalition with the Free Soil Party that successfully gained control of the legislature and governor's chair.The deals negotiated after the coalition win in the 1850 election put Boutwell in the governor's chair and made Banks the Speaker of the Massachusetts House of Representatives.After the longest speakership contests on record, lasting from December 3, 1855, to February 2, 1856, Banks was chosen on the 133rd ballot, receiving 103 votes out of 214 cast, or five less than an absolute majority.[27] He gave antislavery men important posts in Congress for the first time, and cooperated with investigations of both the Kansas conflict and the caning of Charles Sumner on the floor of the Senate.Because of his fairness in dealing with the numerous factions, as well his parliamentary ability, Banks was lauded by others in the body, including former Speaker Howell Cobb, who called him "in all respects the best presiding officer [I] had ever seen.His nomination by the Republicans was contentious, with opposition coming primarily from radical abolitionist interests opposed to his comparatively moderate stand on the issue.His failure to secure a majority in the state delegation prompted him to skip the national convention,[37] where he received first-ballot votes as a nominee for Vice President.[38] His attempt to promote Henry L. Dawes, another moderate Republican, as his successor in the governor's chair also failed: the party nominated the radical Andrew, who went on to win the general election.[40] During the summer of 1860, Banks accepted an offer to become a resident director of the Illinois Central Railroad, which had previously employed his mentor Robert Rantoul.[46] Many of the professional soldiers in the regular army were unhappy with this[47] but Banks, given his national prominence as a leading Republican, brought political benefits to the administration, including the ability to attract recruits and money for the Union cause, despite his lack of field experience.[48] Banks first commanded a military district in eastern Maryland, which notably included Baltimore, a hotbed of secessionist sentiment and a vital rail link.Banks for the most part stayed out of civil affairs, allowing political expression of secessionism to continue, while maintaining important rail connections between the north and Washington, DC.Banks was criticized for mishandling his troops and performing inadequate reconnaissance in the campaign,[54] while his political allies sought to pin the blame for the debacle on the War Department."[57] The arrival at the end of the day of Union reinforcements under Pope, as well as the rest of Jackson's men, resulted in a two-day stand-off there, with the Confederates finally withdrawing from Cedar Mountain on August 11.In November 1862, President Lincoln gave Banks command of the Army of the Gulf, and asked him to organize a force of 30,000 new recruits, drawn from New York and New England.[61] In December he sailed from New York with a large force of raw recruits to replace Maj. Gen. Benjamin Butler at New Orleans, Louisiana, as commander of the Department of the Gulf.Gideon Welles, Secretary of the Navy, doubted the wisdom of replacing Butler (also a political general, and later a Massachusetts governor) with Banks, who he thought was a less able leader and administrator.[63] Banks had to contend not just with Southern opposition to the occupation of New Orleans, but also to politically hostile Radical Republicans both in the city and in Washington, who criticized his moderate approach to administration.He did not move immediately, because the garrison at Port Hudson was reported to be large,[65] his new recruits were ill-equipped and insufficiently trained for action, and he was overwhelmed by the bureaucratic demands of administering the occupied portions of Louisiana.In March 1863, after they had been captured or destroyed, naval commander David Farragut sought to run the river past Port Hudson in a bid to regain control over that area, and convinced Banks to make a diversionary land attack on the Confederate stronghold.[68] Under political pressure to show progress, Banks embarked on operations to secure a route that bypassed Port Hudson via the Red River in late March.Banks and General Grant both considered the Red River Campaign a strategic distraction, with an eastward thrust to capture Mobile, Alabama preferred.Despite winning a tactical victory at Pleasant Hill, Banks continued the retreat to Alexandria, his force rejoining part of Porter's Federal Inland Fleet.He recruited large numbers of African Americans for the military, and instituted formal works and education programs to organize the many slaves who had left their plantations, believing they had been freed.[93] In August 1863, President Lincoln ordered Banks to oversee the creation of a new state constitution, and in December granted him wide-ranging authority to create a new civilian government.[101] In early 1865, Secretary of War Halleck ordered William Farrar Smith and James T. Brady to investigate breaches of Army regulations during the occupation of New Orleans.He introduced the Annexation Bill of 1866 promoting offers to annex all of British North America (effectively today's Canada) in order to appeal to his heavily Irish-American constituency and to tap into the anger the American public felt towards Britain in its unofficial support for the Confederacy, such as blockade runners supplying weapons (which lengthened the war by two years and killed 400,000 additional Americans).[120] Seeking a revival of his political fortunes, in 1873, Banks ran successfully for the Massachusetts Senate, supported by a coalition of Liberal Republicans, Democrats, and Labor Reform groups.
Governor of MassachusettsLieutenantEliphalet TraskHenry GardnerJohn Albion AndrewSpeaker of the United States House of RepresentativesLinn BoydJames Lawrence OrrChairman of the House Republican ConferenceRobert C. SchenckJames G. BlaineJustin S. MorrillAustin BlairU.S. House of RepresentativesMassachusettsEdward D. HaydenSherman Hoar5th districtSelwyn Z. BowmanBenjamin Butler6th districtJohn Z. GoodrichDaniel W. Gooch7th districtWaltham, MassachusettsDemocraticAmericanRepublicanLiberal RepublicanMaude BanksMilitary officerUnited States ArmyUnion ArmyMajor GeneralArmy of the ShenandoahV CorpsArmy of the GulfAmerican Civil WarStonewall Jackson's Valley CampaignFirst Battle of KernstownBattle of Front RoyalFirst Battle of WinchesterNorthern Virginia CampaignBattle of Cedar MountainSecond Battle of Bull RunVicksburg CampaignSiege of Port HudsonRed River CampaignBattle of MansfieldBattle of Pleasant HillCivil WarDemocratic PartyRepublican PartyUnited States House of Representatives34th CongressSpeaker of the Housean electionAbraham Lincolnpolitical major generalsWest PointShenandoah RiverStonewall JacksonNew OrleansDepartment of the GulfLouisianaMississippi RiverVicksburgManifest DestinyAlaska PurchaseUnited States marshalLibrary of Congresstextile millBoston Manufacturing Companybobbin boybobbinsLowellElias HoweBostonAtheneum LibraryDaniel Webstertemperance movementRobert Rantoul Jr.Port of Boston72nd Massachusetts General Court (1851)73rd Massachusetts General Court (1852)Southworth and Hawessecret ballotabolitionistGeorge S. BoutwellFree Soil PartySpeaker of the Massachusetts House of RepresentativesCharles SumnerUnited States SenateUnited States CongressConstitutional Convention of 1853Kansas–Nebraska ActMissouri CompromiseNorth American continentKnow NothingHenry WilsonHenry J. GardnerPortland, Maine34th U.S. CongressSpeaker of the U.S. House of RepresentativesOpposition PartyKansas conflictcaning of Charles SumnerHowell CobbJohn C. FrémontMillard FillmoreJames BuchananEdward G. LoringAnthony BurnsFugitive Slave Law of 1850William Lloyd GarrisonJohn Brown's raid on Harpers FerryVice PresidentHenry L. DawesIllinois Central RailroadChicagoGeneral Winfield Scottmajor generalsvolunteersBaltimoreWashington, DCJohn Adams Dix