William A. Wheeler
Encyclopedia
William Almon Wheeler was a Representative
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...

 from New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

 and the 19th Vice President of the United States
Vice President of the United States
The Vice President of the United States is the holder of a public office created by the United States Constitution. The Vice President, together with the President of the United States, is indirectly elected by the people, through the Electoral College, to a four-year term...

 (1877–1881).

Early life and career

Wheeler was born in Malone, New York
Malone (village), New York
-Notable natives:Notable natives include:*William Almon Wheeler served as Vice President of the United States under Rutherford Hayes. Is buried at Morningside Cemetery in Malone....

, and attended Franklin Academy and the University of Vermont
University of Vermont
The University of Vermont comprises seven undergraduate schools, an honors college, a graduate college, and a college of medicine. The Honors College does not offer its own degrees; students in the Honors College concurrently enroll in one of the university's seven undergraduate colleges or...

, although monetary concerns forced him to drop out without graduating. He was admitted to the bar in 1845, practiced law in Malone, and served as district attorney
District attorney
In many jurisdictions in the United States, a District Attorney is an elected or appointed government official who represents the government in the prosecution of criminal offenses. The district attorney is the highest officeholder in the jurisdiction's legal department and supervises a staff of...

 for Franklin County from 1846 to 1849. He became a member of the New York State Assembly
New York State Assembly
The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature. The Assembly is composed of 150 members representing an equal number of districts, with each district having an average population of 128,652...

 in 1850 and 1851 and member of the state Senate from 1858 to 1860. He was elected as a Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

 to the Thirty-seventh United States Congress (March 4, 1861 – March 4, 1863). He was President of the New York State Constitutional Convention of 1867-68, and was elected to the Forty-first and to the three succeeding Congresses (March 4, 1869 – March 4, 1877).
Wheeler was also President of the New York Northern Railroad.

When Congress voted a pay raise in 1873 and made it retroactive for five years, Wheeler not only voted against the raise, but returned his salary adjustment to the Treasury department.

Wheeler's reputation for honesty was celebrated by Allan Nevins in his introduction to John F. Kennedy's Profiles in Courage. Roscoe Conkling
Roscoe Conkling
Roscoe Conkling was a politician from New York who served both as a member of the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate. He was the leader of the Stalwart faction of the Republican Party and the last person to refuse a U.S. Supreme Court appointment after he had...

, a Senator and a political boss offered "Wheeler, if you will act with us, there is nothing in the gift of the State of New York to which you may not reasonably aspire." Wheeler declined with "Mr. Conkling, there is nothing in the gift of the State of New York which will compensate me for the forfeiture of my self-respect."
(John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....

, Profiles in Courage
Profiles in Courage
Profiles in Courage is a 1955 Pulitzer Prize-winning biography describing acts of bravery and integrity by eight United States Senators throughout the Senate's history. The book profiles senators who crossed party lines and/or defied the public opinion of their constituents to do what they felt was...

(New York, 1956), p. xiv.)

Wheeler did serve as president of the New York State Constitutional Convention of June 1867. His acceptance speech gave a ringing endorsement for racial equality:

"[W]e owe it to the cause of universal civil liberty, we owe it to the struggling liberalism of the old world,...that every man within [New York], of whatever race or color, or however poor, helpless, or lowly he may be, in virtue of his manhood, is entitled to the full employment of every right appertaining to the most exalted citizenship."

Election of 1876

Wheeler was a delegate to the Republican convention in 1876, which had just nominated Rutherford B. Hayes
Rutherford B. Hayes
Rutherford Birchard Hayes was the 19th President of the United States . As president, he oversaw the end of Reconstruction and the United States' entry into the Second Industrial Revolution...

 on the seventh ballot.

The convention was recessed for dinner, and as a sop to Roscoe Conkling
Roscoe Conkling
Roscoe Conkling was a politician from New York who served both as a member of the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate. He was the leader of the Stalwart faction of the Republican Party and the last person to refuse a U.S. Supreme Court appointment after he had...

, the party bosses announced that they would let the New York delegation pick the candidate for Vice President. So some of the delegation were discussing the matter and they were stymied. They could not think of anyone who they would want to stick with the position. Then one of them began to giggle. "What about Wheeler?" he chuckled. Soon everyone was having a hearty laugh, including Wheeler, and the next morning he was, much to everyone's surprise, nominated by acclamation. He won the nomination with 366 votes to the 89 for his nearest rival Frederick T. Frelinghuysen
Frederick T. Frelinghuysen
Frederick Theodore Frelinghuysen was a member of the United States Senate representing New Jersey and a United States Secretary of State.-Early life and education:...

, who later served on the Electoral Commission
Electoral Commission (United States)
The Electoral Commission was a temporary body created by Congress to resolve the disputed United States presidential election of 1876. It consisted of 15 members. The election was contested by the Democratic ticket, Samuel J. Tilden and Thomas A. Hendricks, and the Republican ticket, Rutherford B....

.

Governor Hayes, when he heard of what had happened, remarked: "I am ashamed to say: Who is Wheeler?" This guilty admission reflects more on Hayes' ignorance of national politics than on Wheeler's political fame.

Vice Presidency

He was inaugurated in March 1877 and served until March 1881.

Since Wheeler was a recent widower, his wife having died three months before he took the oath of office, he was a frequent guest at the White House's alcohol-free luncheons. As Vice President, Wheeler presided over the Senate. According to Hayes, Wheeler "was one of the few Vice Presidents who were on cordial terms, intimate and friendly, with the President. Our family were heartily fond of him."

Hayes had long announced he wouldn't run for a second term, and Wheeler wasn't put forward for the 1880 nomination.

Retirement

When his term was over, he retired from public life and active business pursuits because of ill health, and died in Malone, New York
Malone (town), New York
Malone is a town in Franklin County, New York, United States. The population was 14,545 at the 2010 census.The Town of Malone contains a village called Malone, which is the county seat. The town is an interior town, centrally located in the county....

. He was interred in Morningside Cemetery, Malone.

External links

  • William A. Wheeler at Find A Grave
    Find A Grave
    Find a Grave is a commercial website providing free access and input to an online database of cemetery records. It was founded in 1998 as a DBA and incorporated in 2000.-History:...


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