United States Senator. He moved with his parents to Ohio in 1821, worked as a laborer on the Erie Canal, and taught school before first studying medicine and then law. He was admitted to the bar in 1828 and practiced in Jefferson, Ohio. He served as prosecuting attorney of Ashtabula County (1835 to 1837), a member of the Ohio State Senate (1837 to 1838, 1841 to 1842), and a state court judge (1847 to 1851).
In 1850, Wade was elected as a Whig to the U.S. Senate, serving until 1869. During his three terms, he was an outspoken advocate for women's suffrage, trade union rights, abolishment of chattel slavery, and civil and political equality for African Americans. He was an early leader of the Republican Party after its founding in 1856 and became prominent among what were called the "Radical Republicans." During the Civil War, he chaired the Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War and was a frequent critic of Abraham Lincoln, criticizing both what he considered Lincoln's too-lenient plans for Reconstruction, as well as Lincoln's initial reluctance to recruit Black soldiers. He helped lead the impeachment and Senate trial of President Andrew Johnson in 1868. As the then-President pro tempore of the Senate, Wade would have succeeded Johnson as President had Johnson been removed from office. However, Wade's loss of support from more moderate elements within his own party led in part to Johnson's acquittal.
An unsuccessful candidate for re-nomination in 1868, he later served as a government director of the Northern Pacific Railroad and as a member of the Santo Domingo Commission in 1871, which studied the feasibility of purchasing that territory (now known as the Dominican Republic).
United States Senator. He moved with his parents to Ohio in 1821, worked as a laborer on the Erie Canal, and taught school before first studying medicine and then law. He was admitted to the bar in 1828 and practiced in Jefferson, Ohio. He served as prosecuting attorney of Ashtabula County (1835 to 1837), a member of the Ohio State Senate (1837 to 1838, 1841 to 1842), and a state court judge (1847 to 1851).
In 1850, Wade was elected as a Whig to the U.S. Senate, serving until 1869. During his three terms, he was an outspoken advocate for women's suffrage, trade union rights, abolishment of chattel slavery, and civil and political equality for African Americans. He was an early leader of the Republican Party after its founding in 1856 and became prominent among what were called the "Radical Republicans." During the Civil War, he chaired the Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War and was a frequent critic of Abraham Lincoln, criticizing both what he considered Lincoln's too-lenient plans for Reconstruction, as well as Lincoln's initial reluctance to recruit Black soldiers. He helped lead the impeachment and Senate trial of President Andrew Johnson in 1868. As the then-President pro tempore of the Senate, Wade would have succeeded Johnson as President had Johnson been removed from office. However, Wade's loss of support from more moderate elements within his own party led in part to Johnson's acquittal.
An unsuccessful candidate for re-nomination in 1868, he later served as a government director of the Northern Pacific Railroad and as a member of the Santo Domingo Commission in 1871, which studied the feasibility of purchasing that territory (now known as the Dominican Republic).
Bio by: Jeffry Burden
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