William A. Wheeler

William A. Wheeler
19th Vice President of the United States
In office March 4, 1877 – March 4, 1881
President	Rutherford B. Hayes
Preceded by	Henry Wilson
Succeeded by	Chester A. Arthur
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York's 16th district
In office March 4, 1861 – March 3, 1863
Preceded by	George W. Palmer
Succeeded by	Orlando Kellogg
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York's 17th district
In office March 4, 1869 – March 3, 1873
Preceded by	Calvin T. Hulburd
Succeeded by	Robert S. Hale
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York's 18th district
In office March 4, 1873 – March 3, 1875
Preceded by	John M. Carroll
Succeeded by	Andrew Williams
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York's 19th district
In office March 4, 1875 – March 3, 1877
Preceded by	Henry H. Hathorn
Succeeded by	Amaziah B. James
Member of the New York Senate from the 17th district
In office January 1, 1858 – December 31, 1859
Preceded by	Joseph H. Ramsey
Succeeded by	Charles C. Montgomery
Member of the New York State Assembly from the Franklin County district
In office January 1, 1850 – December 31, 1851
Preceded by	George B. R. Gove
Succeeded by	Darius W. Lawrence
Personal details
Born	William Almon Wheeler June 30, 1819 Malone, New York
Died	June 4, 1887 (aged 67) Malone, New York
Nationality	American
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Mary King Wheeler (1828 – March 3, 1876)
Alma mater	University of Vermont
Signature

William Almon Wheeler (June 30, 1819 – June 4, 1887) was a Representative from New York and the 19th Vice President of the United States (1877–81).

Early life and career

Wheeler was born in Malone, New York, and attended Franklin Academy and the University of Vermont, although monetary concerns forced him to drop out without graduating.^[1] (Wheeler received the honorary degrees of master of arts from Dartmouth College in 1865 and LL.D. from the University of Vermont (1867) and Union College (1877). In 1876 he received his bachelor of arts degree from the University of Vermont "as in course", making him a graduate of the class of 1842.)^[2]

He studied law with Asa Hascall, a Malone attorney and politician who served as town supervisor, justice of the peace, district attorney, and member of the New York State Assembly.^[3] Wheeler was admitted to the bar in 1845, and practiced in Malone. He was District Attorney of Franklin County from 1846 to 1849. He was a member of the Assembly (Franklin Co.) in 1850 and 1851; and of the New York State Senate (17th D.) in 1858 and 1859.

He was elected as a Republican to the 37th United States Congress, holding office from March 4, 1861, to March 3, 1863. He was elected to the 41st, 42nd, 43rd and 44th United States Congresses, holding office from March 4, 1869, to March 3, 1877.

William A. Wheeler

During his House tenure, Wheeler served as chairman of the Committee on Pacific Railroads (42nd Congress) and the Committee on Commerce (43rd Congress).

Wheeler's reputation for honesty was celebrated by Allan Nevins in his introduction to John F. Kennedy's Profiles in Courage. Roscoe Conkling, a Senator and a political boss offered "Wheeler, if you will act with us, there is nothing in the gift of the State of New York to which you may not reasonably aspire." Wheeler declined with "Mr. Conkling, there is nothing in the gift of the State of New York which will compensate me for the forfeiture of my self-respect."^[4]

When Congress voted a pay raise in 1873 and made it retroactive for five years (the Salary Grab Act), Wheeler not only voted against the raise, but after it passed he returned his salary increase to the Treasury department.^[1]

Wheeler served as President of the New York Northern Railroad.^[5] He was also President of the New York State Constitutional Convention which met from June 1867 to February 1868. His acceptance speech gave a ringing endorsement for racial equality:

"[W]e owe it to the cause of universal civil liberty, we owe it to the struggling liberalism of the old world,...that every man within [New York], of whatever race or color, or however poor, helpless, or lowly he may be, in virtue of his manhood, is entitled to the full employment of every right appertaining to the most exalted citizenship."^[6]

Election of 1876

Wheeler was a delegate to the 1876 Republican National Convention, which had nominated Rutherford B. Hayes for President on the seventh ballot.

Hayes/Wheeler campaign poster

Wheeler was considered a "safe" choice for the vice presidential nomination, as he had not made many enemies over the course of his political career, though Roscoe Conkling himself supported the former congressman from New York Stewart L. Woodford. When the time came for the convention to nominate a vice-presidential candidate, congressman Luke P. Poland of Vermont nominated Wheeler, who immediately surged to the lead over Woodford and several other candidates. By the time the roll call reached New York, the result was apparent, and Woodford withdrew, enabling New York to cast all its votes for Wheeler.^[7] Wheeler won the nomination with 366 votes to the 89 for his nearest rival Frederick T. Frelinghuysen, who later served on the Electoral Commission which decided the 1876 election in favor of Hayes and Wheeler.

Governor Hayes, when he heard of Wheeler's nomination, wrote to his wife Lucy: "I am ashamed to say: Who is Wheeler?" Hayes and Wheeler had not served in the House of Representatives at the same time, so Hayes was unfamiliar with his running mate.^[8]

Vice Presidency (1877–1881)

He was inaugurated in March 4, 1877 and served until March 4, 1881.

Since Wheeler was a recent widower, his wife having died three months before he took the oath of office,^[1] he was a frequent guest at the White House's alcohol-free luncheons. As Vice President, Wheeler presided over the Senate. According to Hayes, Wheeler "was one of the few Vice Presidents who were on cordial terms, intimate and friendly, with the President. Our family were heartily fond of him."^[1]

Hayes had announced at the start of his administration that he would not run for a second term. Wheeler did not run for the 1880 Republican presidential nomination, and retired at the end of his term.

Retirement (1881–1887)

When his term was over, he retired from public life and active business pursuits because of ill health. On June 4, 1887, he died in his Malone, New York home. He was 67 years old. He died three weeks and five days before his 68th birthday. He was interred next to his wife in Malone's Morningside Cemetery.

References

1. Tally, Steve (1992). Bland Ambition: From Adams to Quayle-The Cranks, Criminals, Tax Cheats, and Golfers Who Made It to Vice President. New York: HBJ. pp. 152–157. ISBN 0156131404.
2. University of Vermont Associate Alumni (1895). University of Vermont Obituary Record. Volume 1. Burlington, VT: University of Vermont. p. 79.
3. Murphy, William D. (1858). Biographical Sketches of the State Officers and Members of the Legislature of the State of New York in 1858. Albany, NY: J. Munsell. p. 110.
4. John F. Kennedy, Profiles in Courage (New York, 1956), p. xiv.
5. Quigley, Second Founding, p.53
6. Quigly, Second Founding, p. 53
7. Purcell, L. Edward (2010). Vice Presidents: A Biographical Dictionary. York, PA: Maple Press. pp. 183–184. ISBN 978-0-8160-7707-6.
8. Trefousse, Hans L. (2002). The American Presidents Series: Rutherford B. Hayes; The 19th President. New York, NY: Henry Holt and Company. p. 68. ISBN 978-0-8050-6908-2.

Further reading

• Hallas, Herbert C. William Almon Wheeler: Political Star of the North Country (Albany: Excelsior Editions, 2013) 349 pp
• Vice Presidents of the United States William A. Wheeler (1877-1881)
• Quigley, David. Second Founding: New York City, Reconstruction, and the Making of American Democracy (New York: Farrar. Straus, and Giroux - Hill and Wang, 2004), ISBN 0-8090-8514-3.

External links

• United States Congress. "William A. Wheeler (id: W000341)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
• William A. Wheeler at Find a Grave