Julius Sterling Morton
J. Sterling Morton | |
---|---|
Governor of Nebraska Territory Acting | |
In office February 24, 1861 – March 6, 1861 | |
Preceded by | Samuel W. Black |
Succeeded by | Algernon Paddock |
In office December 5, 1858 – May 2, 1859 | |
Preceded by | William Alexander Richardson |
Succeeded by | Samuel W. Black |
Personal details | |
Born | Julius Sterling Morton April 22, 1832 Adams, New York, U.S. |
Died | April 27, 1902 Lake Forest, Illinois, U.S. | (aged 70)
Political party | Democratic |
Education | University of Michigan, Ann Arbor (BA) |
Signature | |
Julius Sterling Morton (April 22, 1832 – April 27, 1902) was a Nebraska newspaper editor and politician who served as President
Early life
Morton was born on April 22, 1832, in the town of
In 1850, Morton enrolled in the University of Michigan. In his junior year he attempted to launch a new periodical, the Peninsular Quarterly and University Magazine, which proved short-lived. He was an active member of the Chi Psi fraternity, and opposed an attempt by the faculty to discourage such secret societies.[6]
In May 1854, six weeks before Morton was due to graduate, the university's Board of Regents dismissed the head of the medical department, Dr. J. Adams Allen, a popular faculty member. That evening, Morton, a friend and admirer of Allen's, addressed a mass meeting protesting Allen's dismissal and other seemingly autocratic actions taken by university officials. The following day, Morton was expelled from the university, ostensibly for excessive absences and for general inattention to his duties as a student. His expulsion prompted protests from the student body and across the state. He was readmitted after signing a very conditional document, stating that if the charges against him had been true, then his expulsion would have been justified. The readmission did not last. The university president, Henry Philip Tappan, released a version of his statement from which the conditionals had been removed, making it a straightforward admission of fault. Morton wrote a letter to the Detroit Free Press in which he retracted his original statement, declaring that he had not "...meanly petitioned, implored and besought the Faculty for mercy, for... the Latin-scratched integument of a dead sheep." He was re-expelled and not allowed to graduate with his class. In 1856, under unclear circumstances, he was awarded an honorary Bachelor of Arts degree by Union College of Schenectady, New York; in 1858, the University of Michigan faculty reversed his expulsion and awarded him a diploma.[7]
Nebraska
At the age of 22, in fall 1854, he moved with his bride, Caroline Joy French, to the
Morton moved to Nebraska City shortly after passage of the
In 1860, Morton ran for the office of Delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives from Nebraska. He was originally named the winner by 14 votes and issued a certificate of election by the Governor. But 7 months later and two months after his term began, amid considerable evidence of irregularities in frontier balloting on all sides,[11] the Governor issued a superseding certificate of election to his opponent, the Republican abolitionist Samuel Gordon Daily. When the session of Congress began, it was decided that Daily should be sworn in. Morton contested the outcome, noting that the Governor issued the second certificate in secret, without the concurrence of the Board of Canvassers and without the proper seal. Some said that Daily's certificate was a forgery. The House reviewed the election returns and rejected many votes, mostly for Morton. In the end they found that Daily had won by 150 votes.[12]
Morton built a 30-room mansion. His son, Joy, expanded it to a 52-room mansion that is a look-alike of the White House in what is now
In 1897, Morton planned and began to edit the multi-volume Illustrated History of Nebraska. He also began publishing a weekly periodical, The Conservative[8]. Morton died on April 27, 1902, in Lake Forest, Illinois, where he was seeking medical treatment; his wife, Caroline, had died two decades earlier, in June 1881. The Morton home and estate in Nebraska City are now a state park, the Arbor Lodge State Historical Park and Arboretum.
In 1937, the state of
His son,
His son,
Notes
- ^ "The History of Arbor Day". Retrieved March 25, 2016.
- ^ see The Conservative
- ^ Olson (1942), pp. 3–4.
- ^ Olson (1942), pp. 10–13.
- ^ Olson (1942), p. 15.
- ^ Olson (1942), pp. 20–24.
- ^ Olson (1942), pp. 24–29.
- ^ a b Walter, Katherine. "Nebraska Publishing". Nebraska Newspapers. University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
- ^ Olson (1942), p. 86.
- ^ Olson (1942), pp. 116-132.
- ^ Olson (1942), pp. 101-109.
- ^ Hinds, Asher Crosby (1907). Hinds' Precedents of the House of Representatives of the United States Including References to Provisions of the Constitution, the Laws, and Decisions of the United States Senate · Volume 1.
- ^ "J. Sterling Morton creates Arbor Day". History Nebraska blog. October 31, 2017. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
- ^ "J. Sterling Morton's War on Christmas Trees". History Nebraska blog. December 27, 2017. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
- ^ Albert Keiser, "College Names: Their Origin and Significance", Bookman Associates, (1952). p. 105
References
- Beaty, Sandy (1998). Champion of Arbor Day: J. Sterling Morton. Kansas City, Missouri: Acorn Books.
- Olson, James C. (1942). J. Sterling Morton. Lincoln, Nebraska: Nebraska State Historical Society Foundation.
External links
- The Arbor Day Foundation at www.arborday.org
- Julius Sterling Morton papersNebraska State Historical Society