Benjamin F. Wade (1800-1878) Nicknamed “Bluff Ben,” Benjamin F. Wade was a Senator from Ohio (Whig, Republican, 1851-69). Support for him within the Ohio delegation at 1860 Republican Convention split the state’s vote and furthered animosity between himself and Governor Salmon Chase, which originally had developed when… Abraham Lincoln’s White House >

Lyman Trumbull (1813-1896) Illinois Senator (Democrat, then Republican, 1855-73) Lyman Trumbull grew estranged from President Lincoln at the outset of the Civil War. Trumbull pushed for stronger Confiscation Acts than Mr. Lincoln liked, but the President approved of… Abraham Lincoln’s White House >

Charles Sumner (1811-1874) Senator from Massachusetts (1851-74, Free Soil, Republican), Charles Sumner served as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and was a supporter of President Lincoln’s war policies, but pushed him to end slavery. His vigorous support for… Abraham Lincoln’s White House >

Thaddeus Stevens (1792-1868) “The Great Commoner,” Thaddeus Stevens was a Pennsylvania Congressman (Whig, Republican 1849-53, 1859-68) and Radical Republican who often pressed President Lincoln on war and emancipation policies. As Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee throughout the Civil War, he pushed tariff and tax policies to… Abraham Lincoln’s White House >

Owen Lovejoy (1811-1864) Congregational minister and Congressman from Illinois (Republican, 1856-64), Owen Lovejoy died in March 1864. His support of emancipation infuriated Lincoln’s more conservative backers in Illinois, but in Congress, he supported President Lincoln’s moderate policies. Lovejoy was described by President Lincoln as the… Abraham Lincoln’s White House >

James H. Lane (1814-1866) James H. Lane, known as “Bloody Jim” and “Grim Chieftain,” was a Senator from Kansas (Republican, 1861-66). He participated in the defense of Washington after the fall of Fort Sumter in 1861—coordinating protection of the White House with David Hunter and Cassius M. Clay. Presidential aide John Hay recalled in his […]

George W. Julian (1817-1899) Galusha George W. Julian, Congressman from Indiana (Free Soil, 1849-51 and Republican, 1861-71), was the leading House member of Committee on the Conduct of the War. Although he differed with the President on the speed of his… Abraham Lincoln’s White House >

Galusha A. Grow (1823-1907) Galusha A. Grow was a Congressman from Pennsylvania (Democrat, Republican, 1851-63, 1894-1903). Grow succeeded his legal mentor, David Wilmot, in Congress at age 27. He had a strong will and weak health; he was an… Abraham Lincoln’s White House >

Stephen A. Douglas (1813-1861) Known as “Little,” Stephen A. Douglas was an Illinois Senator (1847-61, Democrat) and the leading proponent of “popular sovereignty” as the solution to slavery in U.S. territories. Douglas ran for President as candidate of… Abraham Lincoln’s White House >

Schuyler Colfax (1823-1875) Schuyler “Smiler” Colfax was a Congressman from Indiana (Republican, 1855-69) and Speaker of the House of Representatives from 1863-1869. A Whig and a Know-Nothing before he joined the Republicans, he became more radical on slavery and reconstruction as he grew older. In 1858 he was suspiciously… Abraham Lincoln’s White House >