John Winston: Difference between revisions
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
(2nd pass) |
No edit summary |
||
| Line 3: | Line 3: | ||
He was a son of William and Mary Cooper Winston of [[Tuscumbia]]. He was educated in private schools and attended Cumberland College in Nashville, Tennessee. He married his first cousin, Mary Agnes Walker on [[August 7]], [[1832]] and settled on a plantation in Sumter County in [[1835]]. They had one daughter, Mary Agnes, before she died in [[1842]]. | He was a son of William and Mary Cooper Winston of [[Tuscumbia]]. He was educated in private schools and attended Cumberland College in Nashville, Tennessee. He married his first cousin, Mary Agnes Walker on [[August 7]], [[1832]] and settled on a plantation in Sumter County in [[1835]]. They had one daughter, Mary Agnes, before she died in [[1842]]. | ||
Winston was elected to the [[Alabama House of Representatives]] in [[1840]] and [[1842]], and to the [[Alabama State Senate]] in [[1843]] and became a | Winston was elected to the [[Alabama House of Representatives]] in [[1840]] and [[1842]], and to the [[Alabama State Senate]] in [[1843]] and became a leader of the more moderate States' Rights supporters in the [[Alabama Democratic Party]]. By [[1844]] he was operating a successful cotton commission firm in Mobile and reinvested the profits in additional cotton plantations in Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas and Texas. | ||
Winston remarried, to Mary W. Longwood. He discovered in [[1847]] that she had been unfaithful to him with their family doctor, Sidney Perry. Winston shot Perry to death, but county magistrates ruled the shooting a "justifiable homicide". The couple were divorced in [[1850]]. | Winston remarried, to Mary W. Longwood. He discovered in [[1847]] that she had been unfaithful to him with their family doctor, Sidney Perry. Winston shot Perry to death, but county magistrates ruled the shooting a "justifiable homicide". The couple were divorced in [[1850]]. | ||
He | Winston urged members of the Alabama delegation to the [[1848]] Democratic Convention in Baltimore not to walk out after [[William Yancey|William Lowndes Yancey]]'s "Alabama Platform" was rejected. He led the state's Southern Democrats through a crisis in [[1850]] when Northern party members formed an alliance with Whigs to oppose Secession. His efforts made him the party's nominee for the [[1853 general election|1853 gubernatorial election]], which he won without opposition after the Whig candidate dropped out. | ||
Winston was sent to Washington D.C. in January [[1867]], having been elected to represent Alabama in the U.S. Senate, but was prevented from taking his seat due to [[Reconstruction]]. | Winston was sent to Washington D.C. in January [[1867]], having been elected to represent Alabama in the U.S. Senate, but was prevented from taking his seat due to [[Reconstruction]]. | ||
| Line 13: | Line 13: | ||
Winston died in December 1871 in Mobile and is buried in a family cemetery near Gainesville in Sumter County. | Winston died in December 1871 in Mobile and is buried in a family cemetery near Gainesville in Sumter County. | ||
<!-- | <!--In his inaugural address in December 1853, Winston outlined his states' rights philosophy. Like a good Jacksonian Democrat, he deplored the use of state funds—what he would call the people's money—to assist private corporations in banking and transportation. Whatever economic benefits might result from state-supported development were more than offset, in Winston's mind, by the corrupting influence of corporate power and the dangers that it posed to the individual liberties of the people. Nonetheless, proponents of state aid, a loosely organized group centered in Tennessee Valley and eastern hill counties that stood to benefit most from projected routes for railroads, were confident that the governor would not defy the expressed will of the legislature if aid bills were passed. Previous Alabama governors had been reluctant to veto legislation and generally had done so only on technical, constitutional grounds. When differences emerged over policy issues, governors had usually deferred to the legislature. Thus, the state-aid men were genuinely surprised when Winston vetoed nearly all of the railroad bills they pushed through the legislature. | ||
In his inaugural address in December 1853, Winston outlined his states' rights philosophy. Like a good Jacksonian Democrat, he deplored the use of state funds—what he would call the people's money—to assist private corporations in banking and transportation. Whatever economic benefits might result from state-supported development were more than offset, in Winston's mind, by the corrupting influence of corporate power and the dangers that it posed to the individual liberties of the people. Nonetheless, proponents of state aid, a loosely organized group centered in Tennessee Valley and eastern hill counties that stood to benefit most from projected routes for railroads, were confident that the governor would not defy the expressed will of the legislature if aid bills were passed. Previous Alabama governors had been reluctant to veto legislation and generally had done so only on technical, constitutional grounds. When differences emerged over policy issues, governors had usually deferred to the legislature. Thus, the state-aid men were genuinely surprised when Winston vetoed nearly all of the railroad bills they pushed through the legislature. | |||
Alexander Beaufort Meek (1814-1865) was a journalist, poet, Alexander Beaufort MeekThe most significant legislation to pass during Winston's first term was the Education Act of 1854, which began state aid for free public schools. Sponsored by Mobile representative Alexander B. Meek and fashioned after Mobile County's school system, the act provided for the state to divide $100,000 a year among the counties and allowed counties to collect real estate and personal property taxes for educational purposes. The act also created a state superintendent of education and was later amended to establish county superintendents. The state's timing was unfortunate, and little progress was made before the Civil War began. | Alexander Beaufort Meek (1814-1865) was a journalist, poet, Alexander Beaufort MeekThe most significant legislation to pass during Winston's first term was the Education Act of 1854, which began state aid for free public schools. Sponsored by Mobile representative Alexander B. Meek and fashioned after Mobile County's school system, the act provided for the state to divide $100,000 a year among the counties and allowed counties to collect real estate and personal property taxes for educational purposes. The act also created a state superintendent of education and was later amended to establish county superintendents. The state's timing was unfortunate, and little progress was made before the Civil War began. | ||
| Line 33: | Line 31: | ||
[[Category:1812 births]] | [[Category:1812 births]] | ||
[[Category:1871 deaths]] | [[Category:1871 deaths]] | ||
[[Category: | [[Category:Alabama governors]] | ||
Revision as of 16:37, 28 January 2014
John Anthony Winston (born September 4, 1812 in Madison County; died December 21, 1871 in Mobile) was the 15th Governor of Alabama, from 1853 to 1857, and the first to have been born in the state.
He was a son of William and Mary Cooper Winston of Tuscumbia. He was educated in private schools and attended Cumberland College in Nashville, Tennessee. He married his first cousin, Mary Agnes Walker on August 7, 1832 and settled on a plantation in Sumter County in 1835. They had one daughter, Mary Agnes, before she died in 1842.
Winston was elected to the Alabama House of Representatives in 1840 and 1842, and to the Alabama State Senate in 1843 and became a leader of the more moderate States' Rights supporters in the Alabama Democratic Party. By 1844 he was operating a successful cotton commission firm in Mobile and reinvested the profits in additional cotton plantations in Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas and Texas.
Winston remarried, to Mary W. Longwood. He discovered in 1847 that she had been unfaithful to him with their family doctor, Sidney Perry. Winston shot Perry to death, but county magistrates ruled the shooting a "justifiable homicide". The couple were divorced in 1850.
Winston urged members of the Alabama delegation to the 1848 Democratic Convention in Baltimore not to walk out after William Lowndes Yancey's "Alabama Platform" was rejected. He led the state's Southern Democrats through a crisis in 1850 when Northern party members formed an alliance with Whigs to oppose Secession. His efforts made him the party's nominee for the 1853 gubernatorial election, which he won without opposition after the Whig candidate dropped out.
Winston was sent to Washington D.C. in January 1867, having been elected to represent Alabama in the U.S. Senate, but was prevented from taking his seat due to Reconstruction.
Winston died in December 1871 in Mobile and is buried in a family cemetery near Gainesville in Sumter County.