Godlove S. Orth
Godlove Orth | |
---|---|
United States Ambassador to Austria | |
In office March 9, 1875 – March 10, 1876 | |
President | Ulysses S. Grant |
Preceded by | John Jay II |
Succeeded by | Edward F. Beale |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Indiana's 9th district | |
In office March 4, 1881 – December 16, 1882 | |
Preceded by | Michael D. White |
Succeeded by | Charles T. Doxey |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Indiana's At-Large district | |
In office March 4, 1873 – March 4, 1875 | |
Preceded by | New district |
Succeeded by | District abolished |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Indiana's 7th district | |
In office March 4, 1869 – March 3, 1871 | |
Preceded by | Henry D. Washburn |
Succeeded by | Mahlon D. Manson |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Indiana's 8th district | |
In office March 4, 1863 – March 3, 1869 | |
Preceded by | Albert S. White |
Succeeded by | James N. Tyner |
Personal details | |
Born | Godlove Stein Orth May 22, 1817 Lebanon, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
Died | December 16, 1882 Lafayette, Indiana, U.S | (aged 65)
Resting place | Greenbush Cemetery |
Political party | Republican |
Other political affiliations | Whig Know Nothing |
Education | Pennsylvania College |
Godlove Stein Orth (April 22, 1817 – December 16, 1882) was a
Biography
Of
Early political career
His political career started with public speeches in 1840 supporting
He served in the Indiana Senate from 1843 to 1849, and as acting-Lieutenant Governor of Indiana in 1845.
Congress
He served as a U.S. House representative from Indiana from 1863 to 1871, 1873 to 1875, and from 1879 to 1882.
"Godlove S. Orth is a fat, fluffy, pudgy-cheeked, good-humored old boy, with a volubility co-equal with the necessities of a politician, and a smile that is broad, bewitching, childlike, and bland," the Chicago Times reported in 1876. "He has a good head, well stocked with information and experience, and is no fool."[3] He was, in fact, a politician skilled at political survival, and had to be: as was so often the case with congressmen, local jealousies kept even the most able members from serving more than one or two terms, before some other county in the district demanded the nomination in recognition. Those jealousies and factional feuds nearly prevented his re-election in 1866, and in 1868 he had to fend off a serious challenge from General Lew Wallace. Survival therefore took assiduous cultivation of his constituents. In his district, as he informed another Republican, he kept a list of the top hundred party leaders for each county, and a file on some ten thousand other constituents, "pretty much all the reading Republicans and some Democrats in the District."
When he sent out public documents and books, or speeches from other House members, he would mail them to names on the first list; when he sent pamphlets and his own speeches, it went to the second. Naturally, he had a hearty appreciation of the franking system, as a way of not having to pay the postage costs.[4]
Orth therefore made a reliable second-string leader for the House Republicans in the late 1860s. He stood at the more conservative end of his party during
Despite his history with the Know-Nothings, near the end of his life, Orth stood as one of a small number of congressmen defending racial equality. He condemned the racial discrimination of the first Chinese Exclusion Act (1882), declaring that he would vote against the bill because "I am opposed to all legislation founded on 'race, color, or previous condition of servitude.' We have no such odious laws now upon our statute-book, and no vote of mine shall ever be given to place any there."[6]
Retirement
After his retirement from the House, Orth was appointed
With the ex-Congressman refusing to make a full explanation or convincing denial and with rumors of incriminating letters waiting to be released in what promised to be a hot campaign[clarification needed], Morton withdrew his public support.[citation needed] On August 2, Orth withdrew as candidate for governor, and was replaced by Benjamin Harrison.
Family
Orth was married twice,[2] and had a daughter and two sons.
Death and burial
He died in office in December 1882 in Lafayette, Indiana, just after losing a re-election bid to Thomas B. Ward, and is interred at Greenbush Cemetery in that city.[7]
See also
Notes
- ^ "German ancestry Politicians in Indiana". The Political Graveyard. Retrieved 14 May 2015.
- ^ a b "CONGRESSMAN ORTH'S DEATH.; THE LAST MOMENTS AND CAREER OF A DISTINGUISHED INDIANIAN". The New York Times. 1882-12-18. Retrieved 2009-03-03.
- ^ Chicago Times, March 20, 1876.
- ^ Godlove S. Orth to Daniel D. Pratt, October 27, 1868, Daniel D. Pratt Papers, Indiana State Library.
- ^ Chicago Tribune, January 16, 1871.
- ^ 13 Cong. Rec. 2189
- ^ Robert Kriebel (1990). Old Lafayette volume 2: 1854-1876. Tippecanoe County Historical Association.
References
- United States Congress. "Godlove S. Orth (id: O000106)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved on 2008-10-30
External links
- "Godlove S. Orth". Find a Grave. Retrieved 2008-10-30.