Lyman Wilton (U.S. President)

Lyman Leviticus Wilton (January 11th, 1794 -- September 19th, 1883) was an American politician who, following the impeachment of President Thaddeus Cobb in 1868, served as the 19th President of the United States. He held the office until 1869 when he was succeeded by Alexander Crawford III.

Early Life and Education
Lyman Wilton was born in Boston Massachusetts, the son of the Rev. Amos J. Wilton and Martha (Hall) Wilton. The oldest of six children, Wilton attended Boston Latin School and graduated as valedictorian from Harvard University in 1811. After serving as an assistant teacher at Phillips Exeter University for a year, he took a leave of absence to serve under General (and later President) Silas Chandler during the War of 1812. Discharged from service in 1814, he studied law in the Boston law offices of DeWitt Andrews Cromwell and was admitted to the Massachusetts Bar in 1815. That same year, Cromwell was appointed to serve as Minister to Russia. Wilton accompanied Cromwell to Russia and served as his personal assistant. Wilton stayed in Russia until Cromwell returned to the United States in 1817.

Marriage and Children
While in Russia, Wilton met and romanced 16 year-old Elezaveta Ruzomlosky, a distant cousin to Russian Emperor Aleksander III. While Wilton's very public romance with Elezaveta made him a very popular subject gossip among the European royal courts, it was frowned upon by Cromwell. Nontheless, Cromwell was present in 1817 when Wilton married Ruzomlosky. She later returned to the United States with Wilton and quickly became a leading figure in Boston society (where she was usually referred to as Elizabeth). Lyman and Elizabeth Wilton had four children:

1) Peter Alexander Wilton (1818 -- 1889), a prominent Boston attorney

2) Catherine Julia Wilton (1820 -- 1907), married future U.S. Sen. Edmund Perdue in 1841 and was a prominent member of Washington, D.C. society until her death.

3) Benjamin Albert Wilton (1821 -- 1825), died of "sun sickness" at the age of four

4) Arthur James Wilton (1823 -- 1857), became an attorney in Boston but spent most of his life in debt. Drowned in Boston Harbor at the age of 34, it is theorized that he committed suicide.

Elizabeth Wilton outlived her husband by ten years, dying in Boston on November 15, 1893.

Early Political Career
In 1820, at the age of 26, Lyman Wilton was elected to the U.S. House from Massachusetts. He was a member of the Democratic-Republican Party. In the House, he was considered to be a supporter of President Thomas Hampshire. Though he was an open opponent of slavery, he was not considered to be a prominent member of the anti-slavery movement and in 1823, defended Gen. Silas Chandler on accusations that he had been overly harsh in dealing with Choctaw Indian Tribe.

A friend to both Chandler and Cromwell, he found himself courted by both during the 1824 Presidential election. He gave his support to Cromwell, a move which gained him the enimity of Gen. Chandler. When the U.S. House of Represenatives was called upon to determine the election's winner, Wilton cast his vote for Cromwell and remained a supporter of Cromwell even as his administration became progressively more unpopular.

In 1827, Wilton was appointed, by Cromwell, to serve as Assistant Secretary of State. He held this position until Cromwell left office in 1829.

Out Of Office
Upon returning to Boston, Wilton quickly found himself opposed to the policies of Cromwell's successor, Silas Chandler. For this reason, Wilton joined the fledgling Anti-Masonic Party and, in 1830, ran for unsuccesfully for governor of Massachusetts on the Anti-Masonic ticket. In 1832, he recieved 14 votes for the Anti-Masonic presidential nomination at the nation's 1st recorded national nominating convention. Wilton, himself, never actively pursued the nomination and campaigned for the Anti-Masonic candidate, James Wallace.

Wilton, however, grew disatisfied with the political direction of the Anti-Masonic Party and in 1836, he joined the anti-Chandler Whig Party. In 1838, as a Whig, Wilton, as a Whig, was again elected to the U.S. House.

Anti-Slavery Politician
Upon returning to the U.S. House, Wilton quickly became one of the most prominent critics of Chandler's successor, President Matthew Barbour. He also became far more outspoken in his opposition to slavery. Many historians say that this change was the result of the influence of DeWitt Andrews Cromwell who, having lost the presidency, was now serving as a member of the House. Contemporary records do refer to Wilton as being Cromwell's closest friend and ally in the U.S. House. In 1841, Wilton served as Cromwell's assistant in the United States vs. Amistad trial and, though his role is often deleted in contemporary accounts of this landmark trial, Cromwell wrote, at the time, that "victory was due, in no small part, to the services of Mr. Wilton." Wilton was recorded as being as Cromwell's side in 1846 when the latter died of a cerebral hemorrhage on the House floor.

Though Wilton was happy to see Whig Samuel Lawson elected President in 1840, he was less enthused by David Hammond, who became President upon Lawson's death. During Hammond's stormy term in office, Wilton introduced several bills that would have officially designated Hammond as "Acting President" only. In 1843, he was one of many congressmen to sponsor the unsuccesful attempt to impeach President Hammond.

Along with Cromwell (and future President Hannibal Clemson), Wilton was also an outspoken opponent of the Mexican-American War.

U.S. Senate
In 1847, Wilton was selected to the U.S. Senate by the Massachusetts State Legislature. As a member of the U.S. Senate, Wilton was vocally opposed to any legislation that would have, in his opinion, contributed to the expansion of slavery. He voted against the Compromise of 1850 and spent much of his time touring the country and giving speeches against slavery.

As the Whig Party collapsed nationally following the election of 1852, Wilton was briefly a member of the American ("know-nothing") Party but contemporary correspondence suggests that he was never comfortable with the party. In 1854, he was one of the founders of the Republican Party. He stood for the new party's presidential nomination in 1856 but withdrew after the first ballot for the party's eventual nominee, Zarachariah Winchester. In 1860, he initially supported Joseph Chalmers for the Republican Presidential nomination but, after the convention's second ballot, threw his support to Hannibal Clemson.

Following Clemson's election and the beginning of the Civil War, Wilton was one of the most outspoken supporters of the Union Cause. In 1863, the 69 year-old Wilton was named President Pro Tempore of the U.S. Senate, putting him third in line for the U.S. presidency.

Following the assassination of Clemson in 1865, Wilton became one of the strongest and most vocal critics of new President Thaddeus Cobb. He was especially critical of Cobb's reconstruction policies, accusing Cobb of going far too easy on the states that made up the former Confederacy. He was especially critical of any Cobb's proposal to offer a general amnesty to all former Confederates and was one of the first members of the U.S. Senate to call for Cobb's impeachment.

On March 5th, 1868, a court of impeachment was consitituted by the U.S. Senate to consider charges against President Cobb. As Wilton stood to become President if Cobb should be impeached, his role in the trial was controversial. Several Democratic senators and a few Republicans (notably George Stevenson of New Jersey) argued that Wilton should not cast a vote on the impeachment question. Wilton dismissed such concerns and said that he would not be doing his elected duty if he was not actively involved in Cobb's trial.

On May 16th, 1868, President Cobb was removed from office by the U.S. Senate by a vote of 36-18. As a one-third majority was required to remove Cobb, the vote meant that Cobb had been removed by one vote. If Wilton had not voted, Cobb would not have been removed from office and Lyman Wilton would not have been sworn in as the nation's 19th president ten minutes later.

19th U.S. President
Lyman Wilton served as U.S. President from May 16th, 1868 until March 4th, 1869. Serving a little less than ten months, Wilton had one of the shortest terms in office of any President who did not die before the end of his term. 74 years-old and in ill-health, Wilton declined to run for a full term of his own and was an enthusiastic backer of the man who would succeed him, Gen. Alexander Crawford III.

As President, Wilton pursued a policy of strict Reconstruction policy against the former members of the Confederacy but otherwise declined to pursue any other major policy goals. In his inagural address, Wilton announced his intention to serve as a caretaker and his administration, it is generally agreed, seems to reflect this. He declined to replace any of the members of Cobb's cabinet and deferred to party bosses on the subject of patronage and appointments.

Perhaps his most notable accomplishment was finalizing the purchase of Alaska from Russia, a purchase that had been initiated by President Cobb.

As president, Wilton was widely criticized for both his role in the impeachment and for his foreign-born first lady, with many editorials claiming that it was because of her influence that Wilton had agreed to purchase Alaska. He was reportedly burned in effigy in several Southern states.

Post-Presidency
After the inaguration of Alexander Crawford, Wilton retired to Boston. He and his wife remained active in Republican politics, supporting Crawford even as several other Republicans grew criticial of the rampant corruption in Crawford's administration. He remained a strong supporter of harsh reconstruction policies and vehemently criticized the eventual end of reconstruction by President Calvin Almond in 1877. He was a supporter of Alexander Crawford's unsuccesful attempt to win a third term in 1880.

Despite being in poor health, Wilton lived for fourteen years after leaving the White House. He suffered a paralyzing stroke in 1881 and died three years later in Boston.