Walter Q. Gresham

Walter Q. Gresham
Walter Quintin Gresham (March 17, 1832May 28, 1895) was an American attorney, jurist, statesman, and politician from the state of Indiana who served in the cabinets of Presidents Chester A. Arthur and Grover Cleveland.
Gresham was the 31st Postmaster General of the United States under Arthur from 1883 to 1884 and briefly the 35th United States Secretary of the Treasury from September to October 1884 before resigning to become a federal judge. He was twice a candidate for the Republican nomination for President of the United States in 1884 and 1888 before leaving the party to support Grover Cleveland in the election of 1892. He joined Cleveland's second cabinet as the 33rd United States Secretary of State from 1893 until his death.
Gresham served as a federal judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, United States Circuit Courts for the Seventh Circuit, and the United States District Court for the District of Indiana.
Early life and education
Walter Quintin Gresham was born on March 17, 1832, in Lanesville, Indiana to William Gresham (1802–1834) and his wife Sarah Davis.
William Gresham was a former Colonel in Indiana militia, a cabinet maker, and a member of the Whig Party. He was elected Sheriff of Harrison County, and on January 26, 1834, he was fatally stabbed while assisting in the arrest of Levi Sipes, a so-called "desperado". After William's death, Walter and his brothers were raised by a stepfather, Noah Remley. His grandmother's brother, Dennis Pennington, was also influential on his childhood. Pennington secured him a position in the office of the Harrison County auditor.
After attending the local schools in Harrison County, Gresham attended Corydon Seminary from 1849 to 1851. Montgomery Schuyler Jr. later attributed Greshman's foreign policy to his devout religiosity.
He attended Indiana University Bloomington for a year beginning in September 1851, then returned to Corydon to read law with Judge William A. Porter. He was admitted to the bar on April 1, 1854, and entered private practice with Thomas C. Slaughter.
Gresham quickly became involved in politics as an opponent of slavery, advocating for gradual, peaceful abolition. He ran unsuccessfully for Harrison County clerk in 1853. He joined the nativist American Party in 1855 before quickly joining the new Republican Party in 1856, actively campaigning for the. In 1860, was elected to the Indiana House of Representatives as a Republican in a strongly Democratic district. Though Stephen Douglas carried Harrison County, Gresham won by sixty votes.
Gresham's first act in the House was to introduce a resolution declaring armed resistance to constitutional laws by Congress as treason; though the word "treason" was ultimately removed, Gresham's resolution passed. He was also a strong critic of the spoils system.
Gresham received a commission as a colonel on the staff of Oliver P. Morton, but their relationship was strained. As chair of the House Committee on Military Affairs, he was the author of a bill transferring power to commission militia officers to the Governor; their office had previously been elected. Gresham asked Morton for such a commission but was refused.
Civil War service
At the end of his term in the House, Gresham organized a military company at Corydon and enlisted as a private; he was elected captain but, following his friends' lobbying of Governor Morton, was quickly commissioned lieutenant colonel of the 38th Indiana Volunteer Infantry on September 18, 1861. In December, he was promoted to colonel and placed in command of the 53rd Indiana Volunteer Infantry. His Infantry subsequently took part in Grant's Tennessee campaign of 1862, including the Siege of Corinth and Battle of Vicksburg. During the Siege of Vicksburg, Colonel Gresham commanded a brigade. On August 11, 1863, he was appointed brigadier general of volunteers and was placed in command of the Federal forces at Natchez, Mississippi.
In 1864, he commanded a division of the XVII Corps in Sherman's Atlanta Campaign, and before the Battle of Atlanta, on July 20, he received a gunshot wound to his knee that forced him to retire from active service and left him lame for life. In 1865, he was appointed a brevet major general of volunteers.
Political and judicial career
In November 1865, Gresham returned to private practice in New Albany in partnership with Judge John Butler, but shortly began a solo practice. Though Gresham's popularity with his party declined over his opposition to black suffage, he was nominated for U.S. House in 1866. He was defeated by Michael C. Kerr. Instead, the legislature elected him to handle Indiana state finances in New York City.
While serving in that office, he was a delegate to the 1868 Republican National Convention. He was nominated for House against Kerr again but was defeated by a larger margin.
Judge for the U.S. District Court of Indiana
On September 1, 1869, after declining appointments rom President Ulysses S. Grant as collector of the Port of New Orleans and United States Attorney for the District of Indiana, Gresham received a recess appointment without consent to a seat on the United States District Court for the District of Indiana vacated by Judge David McDonald; he accepted . He was nominated by President Grant on December 6, 1869, confirmed by the United States Senate on December 21, 1869, and received his commission on December 21, 1869.
Gresham's career as a district judge was marked by the Great Railroad Strike of 1877, during which he organized volunteer companies to preserve order and protect property. He repeatedly declined to run for public office, including Governor of Indiana and United States Senate.
Cabinet of Chester A. Arthur, Court of Appeals, and presidential campaigns
On April 9, 1883, Gresham resigned from the bench to accept an appointment as Postmaster General of the United States in the cabinet of President Chester A. Arthur. He supervised the reduction of the postal rate from three cents to two, the increase in the weight allowance from half an ounce to a full ounce, and the reduction in the cost of postage of mail to Canada. He also participated in the suppression of the Louisiana lottery by banning it from federal mails. He also oversaw reforms designed to improve the foreign postal service and restore faster mail delivery.
In September 1884, Arthur appointed Gresham to succeed Charles J. Folger, who died in office, as United States Secretary of the Treasury. After one month in office, he resigned to accept a recess appointment from President Arthur to a seat on the United States Circuit Courts for the Seventh Circuit vacated by Judge Thomas Drummond. He was nominated to the same position by President Arthur on December 3, 1884, was confirmed on December 9, and received his commission the same day. Gresham was assigned by operation of law to additional and concurrent service on the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit on June 16, 1891, to a new seat authorized by the Evarts Act. His service terminated on March 3, 1893, due to his resignation.
Gresham was a candidate for the Republican presidential nomination in 1884 and 1888. His 1888 candidacy was supported by several notable agrarian unions, including the Agricultural Wheel, The National Grange of the Order of Patrons of Husbandry and the Farmer's Alliance.
On the first ballot, Gresham finished second behind John Sherman and carried the states of Washington, Oregon, Minnesota, Illinois, Colorado, and Missouri. He did not, however, carry Indiana, which backed his rival Benjamin Harrison. On the eighth ballot, Harrison secured the nomination; he went on to defeat incumbent Grover Cleveland in the general election.
Once in office, Harrison signed the McKinley Tariff. As a leading critic of protective tariffs and personal rival to Harrison, Gresham grew increasingly estranged from the Republican Party.
Secretary of State
In 1892, he was offered the presidential nomination of the Populist Party but declined and supported Democratic candidate Grover Cleveland; privately, he emphasized that his support was due to Cleveland's position on the tariff and not his personal rivalry with Harrison.
On January 25, 1893, Cleveland offered Gresham the position of Secretary of State. On the advice of his family, who suggested joining Cleveland's administration would appear to be a quid pro quo and risk his personal popularity, Gresham first declined the offer on February 3. On the advice of friends, especially Henry Watterson, and an urgent telegram from Cleveland to accept the offer, he reversed his position days later. Despite some opposition from Democratic Party regulars, the appointment was generally received with approval.
Gresham was United States Secretary of State in President Grover Cleveland's cabinet from 1893 to 1895. As Secretary of State, Gresham led a moderate diplomatic application of the Monroe Doctrine in Central America and served as an international arbitrator between imperial powers in Central America and Asia. He negotiated the withdrawal of British troops during the Nicaragua Crisis of 1894-1895 and helped settle the Venezuelan crisis of 1895. He also served as an arbitrator in the First Sino-Japanese War and participated in the Bering Sea Arbitration.
He died on May 28, 1895, in Washington, D.C. He is interred in Arlington National Cemetery.
Personal life
Gresham married Matilda McGrain on March 11, 1858. They had two children, Kate and Otto.
One of his grandsons was U.S. Representative Walter Gresham Andrews of New York.
Legacy
An eight-hundred page biography of Gresham by his son and widow was published in 1919.
Gresham, Oregon, Gresham, Nebraska and Gresham, Wisconsin are named in his honor.
See also
List of American Civil War generals (Union)
References
Bibliography
External links
1832 births
1895 deaths
19th-century American judges
19th-century American politicians
Arthur administration cabinet members
Burials at Arlington National Cemetery
Cleveland administration cabinet members
Gresham, Oregon
Indiana Democrats
Indiana Republicans
Indiana Whigs
Judges of the United States circuit courts
Judges of the United States District Court for the District of Indiana
Members of the Indiana House of Representatives
People from Harrison County, Indiana
People of Indiana in the American Civil War
Union Army generals
United States federal judges appointed by Chester A. Arthur
United States federal judges appointed by Ulysses S. Grant
United States Postmasters General
Candidates in the 1888 United States presidential election
United States Secretaries of State
United States Secretaries of the Treasury