April 8: 17th Amendment

On this date in History .... April 8, 1913:

The 17^th amendment was passed, allowing voters to cast direct votes for U.S. senators, who were previously selected by state legislators. 

The founding fathers were not confident of the “common man’s” ability to elect senators so they decided the politicians of each state, who were deemed smarter and more informed, would elect the senators.   

Each state elected two senators for a six-year term.  But as political corruption, special interests and political machines moved into state politics, the elected senators were viewed as nothing but puppets.  When one party or another dominated the state for lengthy periods of time, some open senate seats went unfilled for months and years.

The "Oregon System" was tried.  In Oregon, a primary was held to get the voters' choice and then the legislature would pledge candidates based on the voters' preference.  However an investigation into corruption of this system in Illinois caused the realization that a constitutional amendment was needed to put the vote into the voters' hands and keep local politics (i.e. local corruption) out of it.

The 17^th Amendment put the power of selection into the hands of the “common man”.  

August 4: Gov. Oliver P. Morton

On this date in History .... August 4, 1823:  

Gov. Oliver Morton
Photo courtesy of
www.nps.gov

Oliver Perry Throck Morton is born in Salisbury (Wayne County) Indiana. (Salisbury no longer exists but was located between Richmond and Centerville on the east side of the state.)  The family name of “Throckmorton” was shortened to “Morton” but the males in the family carried the “Throck” name as a middle name.  

Morton was the first Indiana-born governor and served as the “war-time governor” of Indiana for six years (Jan. 16, 1861–Jan. 23, 1867) and strongly supported the Union during the Civil War. He began his political career as a Democrat but was thrown out of the party because of his anti-slavery stance.  As governor, he raised men and money for the Union army, and successfully suppressed Indiana's Confederate sympathizers.

“Morton immediately dissolved the General Assembly and announced his intent to administer the state without its representatives. As the state approached bankruptcy, Morton successfully solicited the donation and loan of millions of dollars in private money that were then used to fund the government. He continued to harass and suppress the activities of his political opponents whom he occasionally accused of treason. 

It is thought that because of his scrupulous honesty during this period of one-man rule he was able to escape post-war retribution for his actions. He was reelected governor in 1864 and served until his appointment to the U.S. Senate in 1867. “  

 quote source: http://www.nps.gov/resources/person.htm?id=103

During his early tenure as governor, Morton believed that war was inevitable and began to prepare the state for it. He appointed men to cabinet positions who were well known to be against any compromise with the southern states. He established a state arsenal and employed seven hundred men to produce ammunition and weapons without legislative permission and made many other preparations for the war to come.

When open war finally broke out on April 12, 1861, he telegraphed President Abraham Lincoln three days later to announce that he already had 10,000 soldiers underarms ready to suppress the rebellion.

“In 1865, when Morton had a paralytic stroke and went to Europe for treatment, the President entrusted him with a confidential mission to Napoleon III concerning the withdrawal of the French troops from Mexico.”  (quote source: http://www.nndb.com/people/209/000050059/

In 1867, he was elected to the U.S. Senate where he served until his death in 1877.

Oliver P. Morton Home, Centerville Indiana.
For more photos, explore this link:
http://www.hmdb.org/Marker.asp?Marker=264 

July 22: Daniel Webster

On this date in History ... July 22, 1850:  

Arguably the Senate's most famous member—Daniel Webster the statesman, the orator, the lawyer, the senator, the man who spent more than two decades of leading debates and stirring crowds to tears in the Senate chamber --- resigned his (Mass.) Senate seat to become Secretary of State, a post he held until his death just two years later. 

One of the not so famous things Webster was noted for was to introduce legislation to produce pre-paid adhesive postage stamps for the U.S. Post Office, the first of which were issued in 1847.