Ohio History Journal

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THOMAS CORWIN AND THE CONSERVATIVE REPUBLICAN

THOMAS CORWIN AND THE CONSERVATIVE REPUBLICAN

REACTION, 1858-1861

by DARYL PENDERGRAFT

Assistant Professor of History, Iowa State Teachers College

By the year 1858, it had become apparent to many of the

leaders of the young Republican party that the party's future success

required a stronger appeal to the conservative elements of the

North. The taint of radicalism that was attached to the new party

was plainly frightening many of the property-owning class and

others with more moderate views into the Douglas camp. Unless

this trend could be stopped, there was real danger that the election

of 1860 might be thrown into the house of representatives and con-

ceivably result in the election to the presidency of an undesirable

candidate. A widespread campaign to soothe the fears of the north-

ern conservatives was clearly in order. Furthermore, in due time,

the cumulative effect of such incidents as John Brown's raid and

of the publication of Helper's Impending Crisis, both of which the

Republicans were accused of having endorsed, led more and more

people to brand that party as an organization of extremists and

made more necessary a conservative appeal. Even after the election

of 1860 many in the party felt the need of continuing the denial of

radicalism in the hope of arranging a compromise between the

extremists of both North and South.1

As a spokesman to the conservatives, Thomas Corwin was the

logical choice of the Ohio Republicans. Throughout his long career

as a congressman, governor of Ohio, United States Senator, and

secretary of the treasury, he had been known as a Henry Clay Whig.

During the Jacksonian administration he had been one of the lead-

ing champions of the Bank of the United States and had become a

well-known advocate of a high protective tariff and internal im-

provements at federal expense. As an antislavery leader he opposed

the annexation of Texas and received so much notoriety for his

efforts to end the Mexican War that he was frequently mentioned

 

1 William E. Dodd, "The Fight for the Northwest," in American Historical

Review, XVI (1911), 774-789.