William Pitt Fessenden (October 16, 1806 – September 8, 1869) was an American politician from the U.S. state of Maine. Fessenden was a Whig (later a Republican) and member of the Fessenden political family. He served in the United States House of Representatives and Senate before becoming Secretary of the Treasury under President Abraham Lincoln during the American Civil War. A lawyer, he was a leading antislavery Whig in Maine; in Congress, he fought the Slave Power (the plantation owners who controlled southern states). He built an antislavery coalition in the state legislature that elected him to the US Senate; it became Maines Republican organization. In the Senate, Fessenden played a central role in the debates on Kansas, denouncing the expansion of slavery. He led Radical Republicans in attacking Democrats Stephen Douglas, Franklin Pierce, and James Buchanan. Fessendens speeches were read widely, influencing Republicans such as Abraham Lincoln and building support for Lincolns 1860 Republican presidential nomination. During the war, Senator Fessenden helped shape the Unions taxation and financial policies. He moderated his earlier radicalism, and supported Lincoln against the Radicals, becoming Lincolns Treasury Secretary. See Atchinson, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad history; See Col. Charles Fessenden Morse, Col. Charles Francis Adams, and Kansas City Stockyard history. See Russell and Co and opium trader histories. President Abraham Lincoln appointed Fessenden United States Secretary of the Treasury upon Salmon P. Chases resignation.
Posted on: Wed, 12 Mar 2014 04:01:10 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015