William Alexander Richardson

William Alexander Richardson
United States Senator from Illinois
In office January 12, 1863 – March 3, 1865
Preceded by	Orville H. Browning
Succeeded by	Richard Yates
5th Governor of Nebraska Territory
In office January 12, 1858 – December 5, 1858
President	James Buchanan
Preceded by	Thomas B. Cuming
Succeeded by	Julius Sterling Morton
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Illinois's 5th district
In office March 4, 1861 – January 12, 1863
Preceded by	Isaac N. Morris
Succeeded by	Owen Lovejoy
In office December 6, 1847 – August 25, 1856
Preceded by	Stephen A. Douglas
Succeeded by	Jacob C. Davis
12th Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives
In office December 5, 1842 – December 2, 1844
Preceded by	Samuel Hackleton
Succeeded by	Newton Cloud
Member of the Illinois Senate
In office 1838-1842
Member of the Illinois House of Representatives
In office 1836–1838 1844–1846
Personal details
Born	(1811-01-16)January 16, 1811 Lexington, Kentucky, US
Died	December 27, 1875(1875-12-27) (aged 64) Quincy, Illinois, US
Political party	Democratic
Alma mater	Centre College Transylvania University
Profession	Politician, Lawyer
Military service
Branch/service	United States Army
Rank	Major
Battles/wars	Mexican–American War

William Alexander Richardson (January 16, 1811 – December 27, 1875) was a prominent Illinois Democratic politician before and during the American Civil War. A protege of Stephen Douglas Richardson was an ardent proponent of Jacksonian Democracy, Popular sovereignty, and Strict constructionism. During the American Civil War he initially supported the conflict, but soon became a member of the Copperhead wing of the Democratic party and a bitter critic of President Abraham Lincoln.

Born near Lexington, Kentucky, Richardson came from a distinguished family. His maternal great-grandfather was a veteran of the American Revolutionary War participating in the Battle of Kings Mountain. His maternal grandfather fought in the War of 1812 and was killed in the Battle of Frenchtown.^[1] Richardson attended Transylvania University, and then proceeded to teach school and study law. He passed the bar exam in 1831 and started his practice in Shelbyville, Illinois. He served as an officer during the Black Hawk War whose soldiers remembered the "stern coarseness" of his leadership.^[2] He was an attorney for the state from 1834 to 1835, and was elected representative to the state house, serving from 1836 to 1838. During this term Richardson served alongside Stephen Douglas and Abraham Lincoln.^[3]

In 1837 he supported Lincoln in making Springfield the capital of Illinois, after the charter for Vandalia expired.^[4] Richardson was a supporter of President Andrew Jackson against the Second Bank of the United States. At the state level he supported a bill that would make bank directors and stockholders responsible for redemption notes that citizens had with the state.^[5] When Governor Joseph Duncan defended the Bank, Richardson and other Democrats introduced a resolution calling such claims "contrary to the assertions of the patriot and statesmen, General Jackson."^[6]

He was narrowly elected to the state senate in 1838 by only seven votes which almost led to a duel between Richardson and his opponent's campaign managers.^[7] He served to 1842 deciding against reelection. Richardson returned to the house again from 1844 to 1846, briefly serving as speaker of the lower house during his last term. He was a presidential elector in 1844 for successful Democratic nominee James K. Polk.

When the Mexican-American War broke out, Richardson raised a company of volunteers who then chose him as their captain in the U.S. Army. Initially under John J. Hardin's command, Richardson's regiment was later placed under General Zachary Taylor and by the end of the war Richardson was promoted to lieutenant-colonel.^[8] A strong defender of the war one of his first actions in congress was introducing an unsuccessful resolution calling the conflict "just and necessary".^[9] When his term of service expired in July 1847, he moved to Quincy, Illinois, and then was elected a U.S. congressman to the 30th Congress to fill Stephen A. Douglas's seat. He was then reelected to the 31st, 32nd, 33rd, and 34th Congresses for the same seat (1847 to 1856).

During his time in the House of Representatives, he was the chairman of the Committee on Territories (32nd–33rd Congresses). In congress, Richardson was a loyal protege of Stephen Douglas. During the crisis of 1850, Richardson supported all five parts of the Compromise of 1850. Afterword, when confronted in Illinois about the unpopular Fugitive Slave Act, Richardson said that while he personally opposed the law he supported it in order to ensure the admission of California.^[10] That year he won reelection defeating Orville H. Browning.^[11] During the crisis Richardson lamented the rise of secessionist sentiment:

There is a bad state of things here, and, as little as it is thought about, I fear this Union is in danger... It is appalling to hear gentlemen, Members of Congress sworn to support the Constitution, talk and talk earnestly for a dissolution of the Union.^[12]

After the 1852 Presidential election, Richardson took a leading role in the House in supporting Douglas's policies on the Kansas and Nebraska territories. His initial bill introduced on February 2, 1853, contained no mention of slavery and was supported by representatives Willard P. Hall and Joshua Giddings.^[13] When Douglas brought forth the Kansas–Nebraska Act, Richardson acted as his "manger" for the bill in the house and was instrumental in securing its passage.^[14] Richardson's role in the Kansas-Nebraska debate made him a national figure and in the 1854 House elections he was the only supporter of the Kansas-Nebraska Act to be reelected by a wider majority.^[15]

During the Speaker election after the midterm elections, Richardson was the choice for Speaker of the House of pro-Nebraska Democrats.^[16][17] On the first ballot Richardson won the most votes, with his closest opponent Lewis D. Campbell twenty votes behind, but fell short of the majority needed to be speaker.^[18] As balloting went on anti-Nebraska forces began consolidate around Nathaniel P. Banks of the American(Know Nothing) party.^[19] On January 10, 1856, Southern Know Nothings in an attempt to embarrass Richardson and stall for time sent the leading candidates (Richardson, Banks, and Henry Mills Fuller) a questionnaire on the issues of slavery in the District of Columbia and the territories, the Fugitive Slave Law, nativism, and racial equality.^[20] Richardson responded that the Constitution and the Fugitive slave act applied to the territories. While "hedging" on the question of constitutionality of the Wilmot Proviso, he also asserted that the constitution did not carry slavery into the territories. He opposed the abolition of slavery in the District, asserted the superiority of Whites over Blacks, and condemned nativism.^[21] Richardson's stance on the Wilmot Proviso undermined his position with Southern Democrats and three South Carolina reps abandoned him on the next ballot which was the 108th.^[22] Under pressure from President Franklin Pierce for a resolution to the stalemate in the house, Democrats replaced Richardson with James Lawrence Orr. Ultimately Banks was elected as speaker.^[23]

Richardson was the Democratic nominee for governor in the 1856 Illinois gubernatorial election. He resigned in August 1856 to run for Governor of Illinois, narrowly losing to fellow representative, and first nominee of the newly established Republican Party, William H. Bissell. Richardson carried most of south Illinois while Bissell won most of north Illinois. Bissell won by 4,697 votes, a margin of just under 2%.^[24]

After being defeated, Richardson was appointed by President James Buchanan as the Governor of the Nebraska Territory for most of 1858. Richardson resigned near the end of the year, remaining loyal to his political mentor, Stephen A. Douglas.

He was a delegate to 1860 Democratic National Convention from Illinois. He then came back to Washington D.C. as a member of the 37th Congress in 1861. In 1863, he was elected to fill Stephen Douglas's old seat in the United States Senate, defeating incumbent Republican Orville Browning. He was not renominated in 1865 and spent the rest of his life engaged in newspaper work.

He died on December 27, 1875, in Quincy, Illinois, where he is buried.

Richardson County, Nebraska, is named after him.

1. "Richardson, William Alexander". The Political Graveyard. Retrieved January 10, 2006.
2. "Richardson, William Alexander". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved January 10, 2006.

•  This article incorporates public domain material from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress

• Harrington, Fred Harvey. “‘The First Northern Victory.’” The Journal of Southern History 5, no. 2 (1939): 186–205. online.
• Holt, Robert D. “The Political Career of William A. Richardson.” Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society (1908–1984) 26, no. 3 (1933): 222–69. online.
• Potter, David M. The Impending Crisis, 1848–1861 (1976), Pulitzer Prize-winning scholarly history.
• Shawn Hale. “A Copperhead in Quincy Goes to Washington: Senator William A. Richardson.” Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society (1998–) 109, no. 2 (2016): 180–205. online.