H. Winter Davis

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Henry Winter Davis
Henry Winter Davis 1859 picture LOC.png
U.S. Representative from Maryland's 3rd Congressional District
From: March 4, 1863 – March 3, 1865
Predecessor Cornelius L. L. Leary
Successor Charles E. Phelps
U.S. Representative from Maryland's 4th Congressional District
From: March 4, 1855 – March 3, 1861
Predecessor William T. Hamilton
Successor Henry May
Information
Party Whig (before 1855)
Know Nothing (1855–61)
Republican (1861–63)
Unconditional Union (1863–65)
Spouse(s) Constance Gardiner[1]
Nancy Morris[1]
Religion Episcopalian[1][2]

Henry Winter Davis (August 16, 1817 – December 30, 1865), also known as H. Winter Davis, was a conservative[3] Whig, Know Nothing, and Republican from Maryland who represented the state's 4th and 3rd congressional districts in the United States House of Representatives during the 1850s and 60s. He was also a leading Radical Republican during the last few years of his career.

Although being a slave owner which was attributed entirely to inheritance, Davis was a staunch and outspoken abolitionist.[4]

Background

Davis was born on August 16, 1817 to Henry Lyon Davis and the former Jane Brown Winter.[1] His father was a clergyman of an Episcopal church, in addition to being the president of St. John's College at one point. Davis' early education began at his home under the direction of his maternal aunt Elizabeth Brown Winter, and he later trained with his father before entering college.[1]

According to a biographical sketch by the Maryland State Archives, Davis was "an earnest member" of the Episcopal church.[1]

Political career

In his early involvement in politics, Davis was active as a member of the Whig Party and adopted nationalist viewpoints.[5] Like many Protestants in Maryland during the 1850s, he held hostile views towards Catholic immigrants, and joined the Know Nothing movement particularly as the Whig Party collapsed from internal divisions.[4][5]

During the 1850s, Davis declined to join the newly formed Republican Party, seeking to be neutral between the North and South as a legislator in what would later be considered a "border state" during the Civil War.[4]

U.S. House, 1855–61

Davis successfully ran for the U.S. House in 1855 as a Know Nothing,[6] and was re-elected in 1857[7] as well as 1859.[8]

During the 1856 presidential election, Davis supported the candidacy of former Whig president Millard Fillmore,[1] who ran as a Know Nothing and ultimately only carried Maryland in the race.

In 1860, the Know Nothing movement began to decline, and Davis maintained an independent streak while also cooperating with the Republican Party.[5] During the presidential election that year, he supported Constitutional Union Party ticket headed by John Bell and Edward Everett,[5] both of whom like Davis were previously Whigs. He also voiced a preference for Abraham Lincoln over Democrat candidates Stephen A. Douglas and John C. Breckinridge.[9]

Davis was censured by the Maryland legislature in February 1860 after voting for Republican William Pennington for Speaker of the House of Representatives.[10] There was also a measure introduced calling for him to resign, though it was rejected.

Running for re-election as an Unconditional Unionist in 1861, Davis was denied a fourth consecutive term by a margin of fifteen percentage points to Independent Unionist Democrat Henry May,[11] a supporter of the Southern cause.[3]

U.S. House, 1863–65

H. Winter Davis LOC picture.png

In 1863, Davis was again elected to the U.S. House, this time successfully as an Unconditional Unionist with no opposition in the general election.[12]

Like most Radical Republicans, Davis frequently criticized the decisions of President Lincoln and his administration.[4] Along with Sen. Benjamin F. Wade of Ohio, Davis introduced the Wade-Davis bill in 1864 that aimed at a forceful post-war Reconstruction policy against the South (which would include disenfranchising Confederates and requiring immediate emancipation) in contrast to President Abraham Lincoln's "ten percent" plan that emphasized reconciliation.[3][13] Although it passed both houses of Congress, Lincoln pocket-vetoed the Wade-Davis bill, and the legislation never became law.

Following Lincoln's refusal to sign the Wade-Davis bill, the two Radical Republicans fiercely excoriated the president in Congress, issuing the Wade-Davis Manifesto[13] affirming the importance of their proposed plan.[4][14] During the 1864 presidential election, Davis initially supported the candidacy of John C. Fremont, who was the GOP's first (and unsuccessful) presidential nominee. Along with Wade, he later supported Lincoln in the general election as a gesture of party unity; the president commented:[4]

“ ...it has seemed to me recently that Winter Davis was growing more sensible to his own true interests and has ceased wasting his time by attacking me. ”

Davis did not run for re-election in 1864, and was succeeded by Unconditional Unionist Charles Edward Phillips.

Last months, death, and interment

Following the conclusion of the Civil War, Davis gave a speech at Warren, Ohio in early July 1865.[15]

In December 1865, Davis suddenly caught an illness and on the 30th that month at the age of only forty-eight.[1] His funeral was attended by a number of congressmen and Cabinet members, and an oration was given on the House floor by Rep. John A. J. Creswell. Davis is interred at Greenmount Cemetery, located in Baltimore.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1871. Baltimore: Past and Present with Biographical Sketches of Its Representative Men. Maryland State Archives. Retrieved November 10, 2021.
  2. ↑ Davis, G to I. The Political Graveyard. Retrieved November 10, 2021.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 May 4, 1999. Henry Winter Davis. Britannica. Retrieved November 10, 2021.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 Henry Winter Davis. American Battlefield Trust. Retrieved November 11, 2021.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Henry Winter Davis. Encyclopedia.com. Retrieved November 10, 2021.
  6. ↑ MD District 4 Race - Nov 06, 1855. Our Campaigns. Retrieved November 10, 2021.
  7. ↑ MD District 4 Race - Nov 03, 1857. Our Campaigns. Retrieved November 10, 2021.
  8. ↑ MD District 4 Race - Nov 08, 1859. Our Campaigns. Retrieved November 10, 2021.
  9. ↑ September 28, 1860. THE POLITICAL CAMPAIGN.; VIEWS OF HON. HENRY WINTER DAVIS. THE DEMOCRACY CASTIGATED. He prefers the Election of Lincoln to that of Douglas or Breekinridge. DOUGLAS AT CINCINNATI. Miscellaneous Political Intelligence, SPEECH OF HENRY WINTER DAVIS. His Views of the Issues of the Campaign-- The Responsibility of the Democracy. The New York Times. Retrieved November 10, 2021.
  10. ↑ February 13, 1860. HOn. H. Winter Davis and his Constituents.; RESOLUTION OF CENSURE--DID GOV. HICKS CONGRATULATE SPEAKER PENNINGTON? The New York Times. Archived version available here. Retrieved November 10, 2021.
  11. ↑ MD District 4 Race - Jun 13, 1861. Our Campaigns. Retrieved November 10, 2021.
  12. ↑ MD District 3 Race - Nov 03, 1863. Our Campaigns. Retrieved November 10, 2021.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 The Wade–Davis Reconstruction Bill. US House of Representatives: History, Art & Archives. Retrieved November 11, 2021.
  14. ↑ August 9, 1864. THE WAR UPON THE PRESIDENT.; Manifesto of Ben. Wade and H. Winter Davis against the President's Proclamation. The New York Times. Archived version available here. Retrieved November 10, 2021.
  15. ↑ July 9, 1865. THE FOURTH OF JULY.; Oration of Hon. H. Winter Davis at Chicago. The Foreign and Domestic Policy of the Government. Speech of Senator Sherman at Warren, Ohio. ORATION OF HON. H. WINTER DAVIS. The New York Times. Archived version available here. Retrieved November 10, 2021.

Further reading

External links

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