Benjamin Wade

From Wikimerica, the United States encyclopedia
 	 	 	
 	 	 	
Official Portrait, 1869 	 	 	
18th President of the United States 	18th President of the United States 	18th President of the United States 	18th President of the United States
In office 	 	 	
May 26, 1868 - March 4, 1869 	 	 	
Vice President: None 	 	 	
Preceded by: Andrew Johnson 	 	 	
Succeeded by: Ulysses S. Grant 	 	 	
President pro tempore of the United States Senate	President pro tempore of the United States Senate	President pro tempore of the United States Senate	President pro tempore of the United States Senate
In office 	 	 	
March 2, 1867 - May 26, 1868 	 	 	
Preceded by: Lafayette S. Foster 	 	 	
Succeeded by: Henry B. Anthony 	 	 	
United States Senator from Ohio 	United States Senator from Ohio 	United States Senator from Ohio 	United States Senator from Ohio
In office 	 	 	
March 15, 1851 – May 26, 2868 	 	 	
Preceded by: Thomas Ewing, Sr. 	 	 	
Succeeded by: Allen G. Thurman 	 	 	
Member of the Ohio Senate 	Member of the Ohio Senate 	Member of the Ohio Senate 	Member of the Ohio Senate
In office 	 	 	
1837–1842 	 	 	
Personal details 	Personal details 	Personal details 	Personal details
Full Name: Benjamin Franklin Wade 	 	 	
Born: October 27, 1800 	 	 	
Springfield, Massachusetts, U.S. 	 	 	
Died: March 2, 1878 (aged 77) 	 	 	
Jefferson, Ohio, U.S. 	 	 	
Benjamin Franklin Wade (October 27, 1800 – March 2, 1878) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 18th President of the United States from 1868 to 1869. He is known for his leading role among the Radical Republicans including support for civil rights, women's suffrage, and trade unions. When the 1868 impeachment of U.S. President Andrew Johnson led to a conviction in the Senate, as president pro tempore of the U.S. Senate, Wade became president for the remaining nine months of Johnson's term following his Impeachment and removal from office.
==Early Life==
Born in Massachusetts, Wade worked as a laborer on the Erie Canal before establishing a law practice in Jefferson, Ohio. As a member of the Whig Party, Wade served in the Ohio Senate between 1837 and 1842. After a stint as a local judge, Wade was sworn into the United States Senate in 1851. An opponent of the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 and the Kansas–Nebraska Act, Wade joined the nascent Republican Party as the Whigs collapsed. He established a reputation as one of the most radical American politicians of the era, favoring women's suffrage, trade union rights, and equality for African-Americans.
==Entry into Politics==
During the Civil War, Wade was highly critical of President Abraham Lincoln's leadership. In opposition to Lincoln's post-war plans, Wade sponsored the Wade–Davis Bill, which proposed strict terms for the re-admittance of Confederate states. He also helped pass the Homestead Act of 1862 and the Morrill Act of 1862. In 1868, the House of Representatives impeached President Johnson for his defiance of the Tenure of Office Act. Wade's unpopularity with his more moderate Republican colleagues may have been a factor in Johnson's near acquittal but nevertheless Johnson was convicted by just a single vote