OHIO STATE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND
HISTORICAL
SOCIETY
REVIEWS, NOTES AND COMMENTS
BY THE EDITOR
A LIFE OF WILLIAM ALLEN
William Allen, A Study in Western
Democracy. By Reginald
C. McGrane (Columbus, Ohio: The Ohio
State Archaeolog-
ical and Historical Society, 1925. 279 p.)
William Allen was one of those political
luminaries who never
quite attained the brilliance of a star
of the first magnitude in
the political firmament of his state and
nation. Very nearly, but
never quite, achieving the coveted
heights of national greatness,
Allen nevertheless was so important a
factor in the political life
of his time that no apology need be made
for such a detailed and
extended record of his life as Dr.
McGrane has produced.
From the early years of the century,
when as a youth of 16 he
walked across the Blue Ridge and tramped
into Chillicothe, to
his last political venture in the late
1870's, Allen was the fiery and
sometimes brilliant exponent of western
democracy and its many
shibboleths. Here is the dominant theme
of his long and inter-
esting career, and it is never
forgotten, even for a moment, as
Dr. McGrane's narrative carries us
swiftly along through the
political events of half a century.
It was at the close of Jackson's first
administration that young
Allen first tossed his hat into the
political ring. After one of
those rough and tumble campaigns so
characteristic of the fron-
tier of Jackson's time, Allen entered
Congress as the spokesman
of the Seventh Ohio District, and
delivered himself of just two
speeches, one dealing with the
Ohio-Michigan boundary dispute,
and the other a typical western swashbuckler's harangue
on the
French claims. Defeated for reelection
to the lower house, he
was sent to the upper by an Ohio
legislature which had insured
(611)
612 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
a slight Democratic majority by a
skillful gerrymander. Allen
entered the United States Senate just in
time to make his maiden
speech on the Subtreasury Bill. During
his second term as Dem-
ocratic Senator from Ohio, he rose to
the important chairman-
ship of the foreign relations committee.
But so extreme was this
champion of western expansion that he
resigned his chairman-
ship when he discovered that President
Polk was disposed to com-
promise the Oregon boundary controversy
with England. With
thirteen other
"irreconcilables", who believed in America's mani-
fest destiny to expand, especially at
the expense of Great Britain.
Allen tried to prevent the ratification
of the Oregon settlement of
1846. Needless to add, he found it easy
to support the Mexican
War.
By 1848, Allen had acquired enough of a
national standing to
be considered a presidential
possibility, at least of the "dark
horse" variety, but his defeat in
Ohio by Chase for reelection to
the Senate temporarily forced his
retirement from the political
arena.
The rising sectional controversies of the 1850's over
slavery revealed Allen at first as an
opponent of the Kansas-
Nebraska bill, but striving hard to
remain a loyal party man. In
1861, he favored a war to preserve the
Union, but not an aboli-
tionists' war. It was the Emancipation
Proclamation and the
extraordinary "war powers" of
President Lincoln, and their in-
evitable encroachment upon the
constitutional guarantees of indi-
vidual freedom which soon induced Allen
to join the Ohio "Peace
Democracy". In 1863, he stumped the
state for Vallandigham.
From the close of the Civil War to 1872,
Allen was more or
less in retirement, enjoying the bucolic
pleasures of Fruit Hill,
near Chillicothe. The rise of new
economic issues, particularly
currency inflation, and the widespread
demand for reform which
followed the many scandals of Grant's
administration, sent the
leader of the Ohio Democracy, Allen G.
Thurman, on a new pil-
grimage to Fruit Hill farm, to persuade
his venerable uncle, now
seventy years of age, to enter the lists
for the governorship, on
a platform pledged to "earnest and
inexorable economy". "Rise
up William Allen" rose to the
occasion. The discussion of the
complicated details of Ohio politics in
the 1870's; the interesting
relations between Allen who accepted
greenbackism in spite of his
record as a hard money man forty years
earlier, and Thurman,
who tried to talk to both sides of the
Alleghanies at once on this
troublesome issue; and the forces at
work in the famous Allen-
Hayes campaign of 1875, are set forth in
great detail in what is
Reviews, Notes and Comments 613
perhaps the best part of the book. It
was not until after the
campaign of 1876, when he received 56
votes for president in the
Democratic convention, and declined
second place on the Green-
back ticket, that Allen finally retired
from politics.
Dr. McGrane has done a most creditable
piece of work. He
has made ample use of newspapers,
documents and manuscript
material in the Library of Congress, as
well as a private collec-
tion of Allen materials at Chillicothe,
and the private letter-books
of Allen G. Thurman. A number of charts,
showing the political
complexion of the Ohio counties from
1869 to 1877 have been
included. Errors are few and are mostly
slips of the proof-
reader. The original of the Blair
letter, quoted on p. 136-137, is
almost illegible in places and mistakes
are certainly to be ex-
cused. However, there is part of one
sentence in the author's
version of the letter which is entirely
without meaning. The
implication that Medary and Allen parted
company over the Ne-
braska bill (p. 138) is hardly correct.
They had been at odds
for some years before, and some of the
Allen faction had been
largely responsible for Medary's failure
to secure a cabinet ap-
pointment under Pierce. By way of
general criticism, it seems
to the reviewer that not enough space
has been devoted to Allen's
career in the period from 1849 to 1854.
Although he himself
was in partial retirement, his friends
were certainly very active
on his behalf, and while the Allen
papers may reveal little of
importance during this period, certainly
the Ohio newspapers are
not so barren. In an account which
devotes fifteen pages to a
discussion of the Independent Treasury,
surely more space might
have been given to Ohio politics of the
early 1850's,--the era of
Young America versus "old
fogyism", the new constitution, tri-
umphant locofocoism and violent
factional quarrels over the spoils
of office. In short, wasn't Allen
perhaps a little more important
during this period than his biographer
indicates?
But these are minor criticisms. Dr.
McGrane's biography of
Allen is a valuable addition to the
literature of western history.
By students of Ohio history it will be
recognized at once as one
of the few worth-while studies of a most
important period in the
history of the state. The Ohio Archaeological and Historical
Society is to be congratulated for
sponsoring this publication.
The book is very readable, and is the
result of careful and pains-
taking research.
CARL WITTKE,
The Ohio State University.
614 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications
HISTORY OF AKRON
A Centennial History of Akron 1825-1925, published
under the
auspices of the General Committee of the
City's First Cen-
tennial Celebration, July 19-23, 1925,
and the editorial direc-
tion of the Historical Committee, Oscar
E. Olin, LL. D.,
Mr. J. M. (Ada E.) Allen and Edwin W.
Brouse; Man-
aging Editor, James A. Braden.
This book presents the remarkable
progress of the city of
Akron from its humble beginning one
hundred years ago to the
present time. It is one of the best city
histories that has come
to our notice. It is absolutely free
from advertising features
and contains a wealth of material on the
institutions and indus-
tries of Akron. It opens with a general
history of the city cov-
ering 122 pages followed by
thirty-three special articles by citi-
zens of Akron who are qualified to write
with authority on the
chapters assigned them. The volume
includes 666 neatly printed
pages of small octavo size. No one
interested in the growth and
commanding importance of this industrial
city can afford to be
without it. It is published at a very
moderate price without any
thought of profit and deserves a place
in every public library of
Ohio. It has an ample table of contents
that the average reader
will find a sufficient guide to the
chapters of the book but it de-
serves and should have had in addition a
carefully prepared index.
BROOKS AND BURLINGAME
Among the papers left by Governor James
E. Campbell re-
lating to the challenge of Anson
Burlingame by Preston S. Brooks,
is a copy of a communication published
in the New York Tribune
of July 28, 1856. This is signed by
Lewis D. Campbell and sets
forth fully the circumstances of the
challenge and Burlingame's
acceptance of the same. The letter
places Burlingame in a favor-
able light and was evidently intended to
show conclusively that
it was no fault of his that the parties
did not meet at the Clifton
House in Canada opposite the Niagara
Falls to settle their "dif-
ferences". In a future issue of the
QUARTERLY we will publish
the communication in full.
Reviews, Notes and Comments 615
Judged impartially at this distance, it
looks a little as though
neither Brooks nor Burlingame was eager
to fight a duel. Of
course each naturally desired the public
to think that he was not
lacking in courage to meet the other in
mortal combat. While it
would doubtless have been dangerous for
Brooks to travel through
the hostile North direct to Canada, had
the public been advised of
his going, a journey to the point
designated seems not to have
presented any unsurmountable difficulty.
The contribution by
Governor Campbell shows pretty clearly
that Burlingame was
not eager to fight the duel.
While Brooks was sustained and
"vindicated" by the South
that probably did not fully satisfy his
conscience. His attack
upon Sumner when the latter was seated
at his desk and could
not defend himself, certainly did not
reflect favorably upon the
courage of Brooks. In a speech in the
House of Representatives
shortly after the assault, Brooks
publicly admitted that he took
advantage of Sumner while the latter was
seated, because he
knew that he would not have been able to
measure strength with
the Senator from Massachusetts if the
latter had been face to
face with him on his feet. Reflection
upon his rash act and the
storm of indignation that it had aroused
against him and his state
probably preyed upon the mind of Brooks
and shortened his life.
Burlingame doubtless realized that a
duel, even if he should
win and "kill his man", would
in the end bring no glory to him
or his cause.
In this connection it is interesting to
remember that Lewis
D. Campbell was an uncle of the late
Governor James E. Camp-
bell. He was an eminent political leader
of his time and worthy
of a monograph by some writer of Ohio
history.
DEDICATION OF MEMORIAL WING
The Memorial Wing to the Museum and
Library building of
the Ohio State Archaeological and
Historical Society is rapidly
nearing completion. The bronze statue of
the Marching Sol-
dier at the north entrance has for some
time been in position.
The bronze tablets in the memorial room
have been cast and will
soon be shipped to Columbus.
Arrangements are in progress to
616 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
have this wing dedicated April 6, 1926,
the anniversary of the
date on which the United States entered
the World War.
The new wing presents a very dignified
appearance at the
main entrance to the University grounds.
It will almost double
the capacity of the Museum and Library
building of the So-
ciety and will afford much needed space
for exhibits which have
long been stored away awaiting room for
satisfactory display.