Henry Wilson

Henry Wilson (16 February 1812 – 22 November 1875) was the 18th Vice President of the United States (1873–1875) and a Senator from Massachusetts (1855–1873). Before and during the American Civil War, he was a leading Republican, and a strong opponent of slavery. He devoted his energies to the destruction of the "Slave Power" - the faction of slave owners and their political allies which anti-slavery Americans saw as dominating the country.

He was considered a "Radical Republican". After the Civil War, he supported the Radical program for Reconstruction. in 1872, he was elected Vice President as running mate with President Ulysses S. Grant, and served from 4 March 1873 until his death on 22 November 1875.

Early life
Wilson was born Jeremiah Jones Colbath in Farmington, New Hampshire. In 1833 he had his name legally changed by the legislature to Henry Wilson. Henry Wilson moved to Natick, Massachusetts in 1833 and became a shoemaker. He attended several local academies, and also taught school in Natick, where he later engaged in the manufacture of shoes. He was a member of the state legislature between 1841 and 1852, and was owner and editor of the Boston Republican from 1848 to 1851.

U.S. Congress
In 1852, Wilson was an unsuccessful candidate for US Representative. He was a delegate to the state constitutional convention in 1853 and was an unsuccessful candidate for Governor of Massachusetts in 1853. In 1855 he was elected to the United States Senate by a coalition of Free-Soilers, "Americans" (Know-Nothings), and Democrats to the vacancy caused by the resignation of Edward Everett. He was reelected as a Republican in 1859, 1865 and 1871, and served from 31 January 1855 to 4 March 1873, when he resigned to become Vice President.

He was Chairman of the Committee on Military Affairs and the Militia and the Committee on Military Affairs. In that capacity, Wilson passed on over 15,000 nominations that Lincoln submitted during the course of the War, and worked closely with him on legislation affecting the Army and Navy. In 1861 he raised and briefly commanded the 22nd Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry from 27 September to 29 October. After the war he became an early member of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States.

A controversy that swirled around Wilson's name since 1861 was that he (while Chairman of the Committee on Military Affairs) may have revealed plans for the invasion of Virginia culminating in the First Battle of Bull Run to southern spy (and Washington society figure) Rose O'Neal Greenhow. Wilson (although married) had seen a great deal of Mrs. Greenhow, and while with her may have told her about the plans followed by Major General Irvin McDowell, which may have been part of the intelligence Mrs. Greenhow got to Confederate forces under Major General Pierre Beauregard. If so this information may have led to the Northern rout in that battle. However, in his most recent biography, an alternative (a Northern clerk named Horace White) was suggested as the real leak.

Wilson was an abolitionist. In the United States Senate, he advocated for equal pay for African-American soldiers.

A Vermont newspaper portrayed Wilson's position:

"Henry Wilson of Massachusetts, in a speech in the U. S. Senate on Friday, said he thought our treatment of the negro soldiers almost as bad as that of the rebels at Fort Pillow. This is hardly an exaggeration."

Vice President
Wilson was elected Vice President of the United States on the Republican ticket with President Ulysses S. Grant to replace the controversial Schuyler Colfax and served from 4 March 1873 until his death. His election was marred by the report that he was involved in the Crédit Mobilier of America scandal. Wilson was one of several major Republican (and Democratic) Representatives and Senators who were offered bribes (and possibly took them) of shares in Crédit Mobilier. Wilson was cleared by the Senate inquiry, but his reputation was stained.

Wilson was erroneously identified as the namesake of the Wilson desk during President Richard Nixon's administration. Questions about the desk's history arose after it was mentioned in Nixon's "Silent majority" speech.

Declining health and death
Wilson suffered a serious stroke in 1873. Although partly paralyzed, he fought to actively perform his duties as presiding officer over the United States Senate. He suffered what was believed to be a minor attack on 10 November 1875, and was taken to the Vice President's Room to recover. Over the next several days, his health appeared to improve and his friends thought he was nearly recovered. However, on 22 November at 7:20 am, Wilson died from a second stroke while working in the United States Capitol Building. He was interred in Old Dell Park Cemetery, Natick, Massachusetts.

Books
Among Wilson's published works are: History of the Anti-Slavery Measures of the Thirty-seventh and Thirty-eighth Congresses, 1861-64 (1864); History of the Reconstruction Measures of the Thirty-ninth and Fortieth Congresses, 1865-68 (1868); and an exceedingly valuable, although partisan, publication,  History of the Rise and Fall of the Slave Power in America, (three volumes, 1872–77).