Edmund G. Ross
Edmund Gibson Ross | |
---|---|
Governor of New Mexico Territory | |
In office May 5, 1885 – May 14, 1889 | |
Appointed by | Grover Cleveland |
Preceded by | Lionel Allen Sheldon |
Succeeded by | L. Bradford Prince |
Personal details | |
Born | 11th Kansas Volunteer Cavalry Regiment | December 7, 1826
Battles/wars | American Civil War |
Edmund Gibson Ross (December 7, 1826 – May 8, 1907) was a politician who represented Kansas after the American Civil War and was later governor of the New Mexico Territory. His vote against convicting President Andrew Johnson of "high crimes and misdemeanors" allowed Johnson to stay in office by the margin of one vote. As the seventh of seven Republican U.S. Senators to break with his party, he proved to be the person whose decision would result in conviction or acquittal. When he chose the latter, the vote of 35–19 in favor of Johnson's conviction failed to reach the required two-thirds vote. Ross lost his bid for re-election two years later.
Early life
Ross was born in
Early career
An opponent of slavery, during the 1850s dispute over whether to admit Kansas to the union as a free state or a slave state, Ross moved to
Military service
A supporter of the
United States Senator
After the war, Ross returned to Kansas to continue his newspaper career and was editor of the Kansas Tribune from 1865 to 1866. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection to the term which began on March 4, 1871. During his Senate service, Ross served as chairman of the Committee on Enrolled Bills (Fortieth Congress) and the Committee on Engrossed Bills (Forty-first Congress).
Andrew Johnson impeachment
Ross is best known for casting the decisive vote which acquitted
Edmund G. Ross is one of eight U.S. Senators featured in Profiles in Courage, the 1956 Pulitzer Prize-winning history co-written by then-Senator John F. Kennedy in commemoration of past acts of political courage in Congress.
Later career
Upon retirement from the Senate, Ross went back into the newspaper business briefly, launching a publication in Coffeyville, Kansas.[6] He left the Republican Party after 1872 and was affiliated with the Democrats.[1] In 1880, he ran unsuccessfully for governor of Kansas. A trip to New Mexico in 1882 had a positive effect on his health and he moved there permanently.[1] He studied law and passed the bar, afterwards practicing in Albuquerque and beginning work on a history of the Johnson impeachment.[1]
From 1885 to 1889, Ross served as governor of New Mexico Territory, appointed by President Grover Cleveland.[1] He served as secretary of the New Mexico Bureau of Immigration from 1894 to 1896. In 1896, he published his book History of the Impeachment of Andrew Johnson.[7] Time caused Kansans to look on Ross more favorably with respect to his role in the Johnson impeachment. In 1907, General Hugh Cameron of Lawrence visited Ross in New Mexico and brought testimonials from many citizens of Kansas.[1]
Death
Ross died in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on May 8, 1907. He was interred at Fairview Memorial Park Cemetery in Albuquerque.[8]
Family
In 1848, Ross married Fannie Lathrop (1827–1899) in Sandusky, Ohio.[1] Their children included Lillian, Arthur, Pitt, Flynt, Edmundie, Kay and Fannie.
Footnotes
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Cade, Leslie A. (1991). "Biographical Note, Edmund G. Ross". Edmund G. Ross Collection, Manuscript Collection No. 491. Topeka: Kansas Historical Society. Retrieved August 18, 2019.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-8263-5374-0 – via Google Books.
- ISBN 978-0-8262-1806-3. See the discussion at pp. 292–299.
- ^ Thomas Ewing Jr. to Ross, July 16, 1894, Thomas Ewing Jr. Papers, Kansas State Historical Society.
- ASIN B0027G6X7E.
- ^ Ross, Edmund G. – KS-Cyclopedia – 1912 Archived June 24, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Ross, Edmund G. (1896). History of the Impeachment of Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, by the House of Representatives, and his trial by the Senate for high crimes and misdemeanors in office, 1868. Santa Fe, New Mexico: New Mexican Printing Co. p. 1 – via HathiTrust.
- ISBN 978-1936744657. Archived from the originalon July 21, 2018. Retrieved July 21, 2018.
Further reading
- Bumgardner, Edward (1949). The Life of Edmund G. Ross. The Fielding-Turner Press, Kansas City, Missouri. [ISBN missing]
- Lamar, Howard R. "Edmund G. Ross as Governor of New Mexico Territory." New Mexico Historical Review 36#3 (1961): 177+
- Roske, Ralph J. "The Seven Martyrs?." American Historical Review 64#2 (1959): 323–330. in JSTOR
- Ruddy Richard A. (2013). Edmund G. Ross: Soldier, Senator, Abolitionist online review
External links
- United States Congress. "Edmund G. Ross (id: R000445)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved on 2009-03-18
- Works by Edmund Gibson Ross at Project Gutenberg
- Works by or about Edmund G. Ross at Internet Archive
- Works by Edmund G. Ross at LibriVox (public domain audiobooks)
- Andrew Johnson: Saved by a Scoundrel
- Edmund G. Ross at Find a Grave