Francis Preston Blair, Sr. (April 12, 1791 – October 18, 1876) or Preston Blair was an American journalist and politician, before and during the American Civil War. Blair wanted to reunite the North and the South during the war. Blair helped to create the Republican Party. He supported many Democrats, but was mostly the ally of Republican President Abraham Lincoln. He is nicknamed The Father of the Republican Party since he was one of the men who started the Republican Party.
Blair was born at Abingdon, Virginia on April 12, 1791. He moved to Kentucky and later graduated from Transylvania University in 1811. Blair became a journalist in Frankfort, Kentucky and Washington D.C., and a prominent leader of the Democrats. He was married to Eliza Violet Gist from 1812 until his death in 1876. They had five children. He founded Silver Spring, the second largest city in Maryland, in 1840.
Blair helped create the Republican Party and supported the first nominee of the party, Abraham Lincoln. Although he had slaves, Blair was said that after the Mexican War that slavery should not be extended beyond where it was allowed. In 1848 he actively supported Martin Van Buren, the Free Soil Party candidate for the presidency. Later, he supported Franklin Pierce, but then went on to help organize the new Republican Party in supporting Anti-Slavery reforms at a convention at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in February 1856.
Blair wanted John C. Frémont for president and supported him at the June 1856 convention. At the 1860 convention he supported the nomination of Edward Bates as president. When it was clear that Bates would not be nominated, Blair then supported the nomination of Abraham Lincoln. Blair helped many democratic politicians to vote yes on making slavery illegal and becoming the 13th Amendment.
Blair asked President Lincoln that once Savannah, Georgia fell, he should travel to the capital of the Confederacy in Richmond, Virginia to talk to President Jefferson Davis, whom he knew. He organized a peace conference that failed.
In 1862, Blair had told his slaves that they could "go when they wished." He said that "all but one declined the privilege," choosing to stay on as servants.
Blair died on October 18, 1876 in Silver Spring, Maryland from natural causes, aged 85. He was later buried at Rock Creek Cemetery in Washington, D.C. His wife, Eliza, died on July 5, 1877, a year after his death.
In Steven Spielberg's 2012 biography movie "Lincoln", Blair was played by actor Hal Holbrook.
A town is named after him in Georgia, Blairville, Georgia.
His great-great grandson is American actor Montgomery Clift.
Araliaceae
The Araliaceae are a family of flowering plants, also known as the Aralia family (after its type genus "Aralia") or ivy family. The family includes 254 species of trees, shrubs, lianas and perennial herbaceous plants in two subfamilies. Species usually bear pinnately or palmately compound leaves, and usually have small flowers produced in large panicles.
Hindkowan
Hindkowans is a general term used to identify speakers of the Hindko dialect of North Punjabi (claimed to be a separate language, according to some people) within Pakistan. In fact this is not an ethnic grouping or category properly speaking, and comprises diverse elements in the Punjab, and small amount in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and in Mianwali District and Dera Ghazi Khan areas of Punjab (Pakistan).
However, over time, this linguistic category or grouping has come to be linked to various indigenous regional demands and aspirations and is now thought to be an ethnic group in itself.
Patricia Neal
Patricia Neal (January 20, 1926 – August 8, 2010) was an American movie, television, stage, radio, and voice actress who is known for her roles in "Breakfast at Tiffany's", "The Day the Earth Stood Still", "Hud", "A Face in the Crowd", and in "The Fountainhead". She has won an Academy Award in 1963, two BAFTA Awards in 1963 and in 1965, an Golden Globe Award 1971, and an Tony Award in 1947.
Neal was born on January 20, 1926 in Packard, Kentucky. She was raised in Knoxville, Tennessee. She studied at Knoxville High School and at Northwestern University. Neal was married to Roald Dahl from 1953 until they divorced in 1983. They had five children. She was partners with Gary Cooper before she meet Dahl. Neal died on August 8, 2010 in Edgartown, Massachusetts from lung cancer, aged 84.
Thaddeus Stevens
Thaddeus Stevens (April 4, 1792 – August 11, 1868) was an American Republican leader. He was one of the most powerful members of the United States House of Representatives from 1849 until his death in 1868.
He was chairman of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee. Stevens was a witty, sarcastic speaker and confident party leader. He dominated the House from 1861 until his death. Stevens helped create the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution. He also helped with the act that helped the Reconstruction of the United States.
Stevens was born in Danville, Vermont on April 4, 1792. He went to Dartmouth College and the University of Vermont. Stevens was never married and had no children. He was in a relationship with his black housekeeper even when slavery was legal. He wore a wig because he was bald.
He wrote much of the financial legislation that paid for the American Civil War. Stevens and Senator Charles Sumner were the prime leaders of the Radical Republicans during the war and Reconstruction era. He worked and supported Abraham Lincoln's plan to end slavery and the U.S. reconstruction plan. He was part of Andrew Johnson's impeachment.
Stevens died on August 11, 1868 in Washington, D.C. from a stomach infection, aged 76. He was buried in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Stevens never married. However, there were rumors about his 20-year relationship (1848–1868) with his widowed housekeeper, Lydia Hamilton Smith (1813–1884). She was a light-skinned African-American; her husband Jacob and at least one of her sons were much darker than she was.
He was played by actor Tommy Lee Jones in Steven Spielberg's 2012 biography movie "Lincoln".
Lincoln (movie)
Lincoln is a 2012 biographical war drama movie that is based on events during the life of the 16th United States President Abraham Lincoln. The movie was made by Disney's Touchstone label, Dreamworks, and 20th Century Fox. The movie is based on Doris Kearns Goodwin's book .
"Lincoln" tells about President Abraham Lincoln during January 1865, in his efforts to pass the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution in the United States House of Representatives, which would finally ban slavery in the country. Expecting the Civil War to end within a month but concerned that his 1863 Emancipation Proclamation may be rejected by the courts once the war has stopped and the 13th Amendment defeated by the returning slave states. President Lincoln seeks help from his cabinet including the founder of the Republican Party Francis Preston Blair who can help congress vote yes on stopping slavery. As he talks about the Democrats saying no, Lincoln talks to Secretary of State William H. Seward about the problem of Democrats. As Thaddeus Stevens convinces the congress to vote yes on abolishing slavery, Union Army General Ulysses S. Grant received a surrender from Confederate General Robert E. Lee. Later on April 14, 1865, Lincoln has a final meeting with his cabinet and prepares to go to a play with his wife Mary Todd Lincoln. The movie ends when Lincoln's son receives the news that his father died after being shot at Ford's Theater. As the movie ends it shows flashbacks of Lincoln's second inaugural address.
As of November 22, 2012, the movie has made $32,291,000 from 1,775 theaters. The movie opened at 11 theaters with $944,308 and an average of $85,846 per theater. It opened at the #15 rank, becoming the highest opening of a movie with such a limited release.