Elihu B. Washburne
Elihu Benjamin Washburne (September 23, 1816 – October 22, 1887) was an American politician and diplomat. A member of the Washburn family, which played a prominent role in the early formation of the United States Republican Party, he served as a congressman from Illinois before and during the American Civil War. He was a political ally of President Abraham Lincoln and General (later President) Ulysses S. Grant. During Grant's administration, Washburne was the 25th United States Secretary of State briefly in 1869, and was the United States Minister to France from 1869 to 1877.
Elihu Washburne
1st district (1853–63)
3rd district (1863–69)
Whig (before 1856)
Republican (1856–1887)
Adele Gratiot
7, including Hempstead
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In his youth, when his family became destitute, Washburne left home in Maine at the age of 14, to support himself and further his education. After working for newspapers in Maine and studying law, Washburne passed the bar and moved to Galena, Illinois, where he became a partner in a successful law firm. Washburne was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1852 and served from 1853 to 1869, which included the American Civil War and the first part of Reconstruction. While advocating Lincoln's war policy, Washburne sponsored an up-and-coming Grant; they were acquainted because Grant had moved to Galena shortly before the war to work in his father's leather goods business. Washburne advocated for Grant's promotions in the Union Army, and protected him from critics in Washington and in the field. Washburne was Grant's advocate in Congress throughout the war, and their friendship and association lasted through Grant's two terms as president.
As a leader of the Radical Republicans, Washburne opposed the Reconstruction policies of President Andrew Johnson and supported African American suffrage and civil rights. Washburne was appointed United States Secretary of State in 1869 by President Grant, out of respect for his championship of Grant's career during the Civil War, and to give Washburne diplomatic clout after being appointed minister to France. Washburne's tenure as Secretary of State lasted for only eleven days, but he served in France for eight years, where he became known for diplomatic integrity and his humanitarian support of Americans, other neutrals, and Germans in France during the Franco-Prussian War. For his efforts, he received formal praise from governments in both France and Germany. Washburne's friendship with Grant ended after the contentious 1880 Republican convention, when Washburne was a candidate for president. He did not garner wide support, but Grant had been the front runner for an unprecedented third term, and was disappointed when the party eventually turned to dark horse James A. Garfield. In retirement, Washburne published a biography of anti-slavery politician Edward Coles, and a memoir of his own diplomatic career in France.
Early life, education, and legal career[edit]
Washburne was born on September 23, 1816, in Livermore, when Maine was part of Massachusetts.[1] He was the third oldest of eleven children born to Israel and Martha (née Benjamin) Washburn.[2] Washburne was the grandson of Captain Israel and Abiah (King) Washburne.[2] His grandfather served as an officer in the Continental Army during the American Revolution and was a descendant of John Washburne, who served as Secretary of the Plymouth Colony while in England.[2] John Washburne was a Puritan colonist who emigrated to America in 1631 and settled in Duxbury, Massachusetts.[2]
Washburne's father settled in Maine in 1806 and set up a shipbuilding trade at Whites Landing on the Kennebec River in 1808.[2] Following Puritan heritage, Israel was a strict disciplinarian and Washburne and his siblings were instructed in the Bible and put to work daily in the fields and on other chores, with no time for leisure.[3] During the winter months Washburne attended district schools that used "birch rod" corporal punishment.[3] Washburne's family fell on financial hard times in 1829, and his father, who was then in the mercantile business, was forced to sell his general store.[1][2] The family was destitute and forced to rely on farming for subsistence, while Washburne and several of his brothers had to fend for themselves.[1] At the age of 14, Washburne added the letter "e" to his name, as was the original ancestral spelling, and left home in search of education and a career.[1]
After attending public schools, Washburne worked as a printer on the Christian Intelligencer in Gardiner, Maine, from 1833 to 1834.[2] From 1834 to 1835 Washburne taught school and from 1835 to 1836 he worked for the Kennebec Journal in Augusta, Maine.[2] Washburne attended Maine Wesleyan Seminary, studied law with Judge John Otis, and completed his legal studies with a year at Harvard Law School from 1839 to 1840.[4] In 1840 he passed the bar exam,[4] and moved west to Galena, Illinois.[4] In Galena, Washburne entered into law partnership with Charles S. Hempstead.[2]
Marriage and family[edit]
On July 31, 1845, Washburne married Adele Gratiot, the niece of his law partner and the daughter of Colonel Henry Gratiot and Susan Hempstead Gratiot, members of one of Galena's most prominent families.[5][6] Washburne had met Adele shortly after arriving in Galena;[5] she was 10 years younger than Washburne, and known to be attractive, well-educated, and charming.[5] The Washburnes had seven children including sons Gratiot, Hempstead, William P., and Elihu B. Jr., and daughters Susan and Marie L.[6] The Washburnes were married for 42 years, which ended with Washburne's death.[5]
Minister to France (1869–1877)[edit]
As Minister to France, Washburne played a major diplomatic and humanitarian role during the Franco-Prussian War.[27] This was the first major war in which all belligerents appointed protecting powers to represent their interests in enemy capitals, and the United States agreed to be the protecting power for the North German Confederation and several of the German states.[28][29] Washburne arranged for railroad transportation to evacuate 30,000 German civilians who had been living in France, and was responsible for feeding 3,000 Germans during the Siege of Paris. Although the State Department gave him permission to evacuate the American Legation at his discretion, Washburne chose to remain in Paris throughout the war and the Commune of Paris.[30][31]
Washburne was the only diplomat from a major power to remain in the French capital through the Siege of Paris. As protecting power, he transmitted messages between the French and German governments. He was permitted by the Germans to receive sealed diplomatic communications from outside the city, a privilege that was denied to the smaller neutrals. Washburne was also entrusted with the protection of seven Latin American consulates that lacked diplomatic representation in France. The French Republic finally exchanged chargés d'affaires with the German Empire in June 1871, after an eleven-month breach in diplomatic relations between France and Germany. Washburne, who had lost 17 pounds during the ordeal, returned immediately to the Carlsbad springs to recuperate; he had been visiting the springs when he learned of the start of the war.[31][32]
Washburne's tireless efforts set a precedent for the role of protecting power in future wars. He received special honors from German Emperor Wilhelm I and German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck, as well as from the French leaders Léon Gambetta and Adolphe Thiers.[33]
Retirement[edit]
In 1882, Washburne published a biography of former Illinois governor Edward Coles, an anti-slavery Virginian who had emancipated his slaves.[42] Washburne later moved to Chicago, and he served as president of the Chicago Historical Society from 1884 to 1887. In 1887, he published a memoir of his time as a diplomat, Recollections of a Minister to France.[33]
Death and burial[edit]
Washburne died at his son Hempstead's home in Chicago on October 22, 1887, following a two-week period of ill health and a heart ailment. His wife had died only a few months earlier.[3] He was buried at Greenwood Cemetery in Galena.
Notable relatives[edit]
Three of Washburne's brothers (Cadwallader C. Washburn, William D. Washburn, and Israel Washburn, Jr.) also became politicians. His son, Hempstead Washburne, was the 32nd Mayor of Chicago serving from 1891 to 1893.[2]
Honors[edit]
In 1885 Washburne received the honorary degree of LL.D. from Bowdoin College.[45]
Washburne Avenue at 1232 South in Chicago is named in honor of Elihu Washburne.[46]
Books
New York Times