Editing William Allen (governor)

{{Short description|American politician (1803–1879)}}
{{Infobox officeholder
|name                =William Allen
|image               =William Allen governor - Brady-Handy.jpg
|state3               =[[Ohio]]
|district3            =[[Ohio's 7th congressional district|7th]]
|term_start3          =March 4, 1833
|term_end3            =March 3, 1835
|predecessor3         =[[Samuel Finley Vinton]]
|successor3           =[[William K. Bond]]
|order2              =[[United States Senator]]<br/>from [[Ohio]]
|term_start2         =March 4, 1837
|term_end2           =March 3, 1849
|predecessor2        =[[Thomas Ewing]]
|successor2          =[[Salmon P. Chase]]
|order1              =31st [[Governor of Ohio]]
|term_start1         =January 12, 1874
|term_end1           =January 10, 1876
|lieutenant1         =[[Alphonso Hart]]
|predecessor1        =[[Edward Follansbee Noyes|Edward F. Noyes]]
|successor1          =[[Rutherford B. Hayes]]
|birth_date          ={{Birth-date|December 18|December 18 or 27, 1803}} 
|birth_place         =[[Edenton, North Carolina]]
|death_date          = {{Death date and age|1879|07|11|1803|12|18}}
|death_place         = Fruit Hill, [[Chillicothe, Ohio]]
|nationality         =
|party               =[[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]
|spouse              = Effie McArthur
|relations           =
|children            =
|restingplace           = [[Grandview Cemetery, Chillicothe]]
|alma_mater          =
|occupation          =
|profession          =
|religion            =
|signature           =
|website             =
|footnotes           =
}}
'''William Allen''' (December 18 or 27, 1803 – July 11, 1879) was an American lawyer and politician who served as a [[United States Democratic Party|Democratic]] [[United States House of Representatives|Representative]], [[United States Senate|Senator]] and 31st [[governor of Ohio]].

==Early life and family==
Allen was born in [[Edenton, North Carolina]]. His father was [https://ncpedia.org/biography/allen-nathaniel Nathanial Allen (1755–1805)]. His mother was Fanny Coulston, an enslaved woman who was either owned by his father or had been his mistress. Upon the death of his mother, he and his brother Frances Allen William moved to [[Lynchburg, Virginia]]. In 1819, he moved to live with his sister in [[Chillicothe, Ohio]].

His father made the following arrangements in his will.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/1903559:9061 | title= Join Ancestry®| website=[[Ancestry.com]] }}</ref> 
"I give and devise that part of lot # 5 in the new plan of the town of Edenton joining the lots wheron I now dwell and as far as the same is at present under fence with all the improvements thereon to Fanny Coulston her heirs and assigns forever. I also give and bequeath unto the said Fanny Coulston her heirs and assigns such part of my household and kitchen furniture as my executors hereinafter named, shall judge reasonable and necessary, due regard being paid to the situation of my estate and the interest of her children. I give and bequeath unto my three natural sons, Francis, Bonaparte, and William begotten on the body of the said Fanny Coulston, all my wearing apparel, including whatever remains or that left to me by my deceased Uncle Joseph Hewes , Esquire, to be equally divided among them share and share alike. Before the signing and the execution of the above Will, I do hereby declare it to be my further will and desire that the aforesaid Fanny Caulston shall have the use and labor of my negro woman named Penny for and during the term of three years."

Allen and his sister Mary Granberry Allen lived in Chillicothe together. His sister married Reverend Pleasant Thurman, and their son, [[Allen G. Thurman]], followed in his uncle's footsteps, becoming a lawyer and politician.

Allen attended Chillicothe Academy before studying law with [[Edward King (Ohio politician)|Colonel Edward King]]. He was [[Admission to the bar in the United States|admitted to the bar]] in Ohio at age 21.<ref name=OHC>{{Ohio History Central|132|William Allen|access-date=August 5, 2012}}</ref> He began his career as a politician in the Democratic Party at a young age.<ref name=ryan>{{cite book |title=A History of Ohio with Biographical Sketches of her Governors and the Ordinance of 1787| first=Daniel J |last=Ryan |year=1888 |author-link=Daniel J. Ryan|publisher=A H Smythe |location=Columbus, Ohio|pages=190–191|chapter=William Allen |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=M6YTAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA190}}</ref>

==Career==
[[File:Fruit Hill.png|left|thumb|200px|Fruit Hill (home of [[Duncan McArthur|McArthur]] and Allen]]

Allen served as [[United States Representative]] from [[Ohio]] from 1833 to 1835, losing his bid for re-election.

=== Senate ===
He served as [[United States Senator]] from Ohio from 1837 to 1849, losing a bid for a third term in 1848.

While in the Senate, Allen was one of a group of Western Democrat [[expansionism|expansionists]] who asserted that the U.S. had a valid claim to the entire [[Oregon boundary dispute|Oregon Country]], which was an issue during the [[U.S. presidential election, 1844|1844 U.S. presidential election]].  He suggested that the United States should be prepared to go to war with the [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|United Kingdom]] to annex the entire Oregon Country up to [[Russian America|Russian-owned Alaska]] at [[Parallel 54°40′ north|latitude 54°40′N]].  This position ultimately produced the slogan "[[Fifty-Four Forty or Fight!]]," coined in 1846 by opponents of such a policy (not, as popularly believed, a slogan in the 1844 Presidential campaign).<ref>{{cite web| url= http://www.aoc.gov/cc/art/nsh/allen_w.cfm|title= William Allen|publisher= Architect of the Capital |access-date=August 5, 2012}}</ref> Allen supported "popular sovereignty" and the presidential candidacy of fellow-Democrat [[Lewis Cass]] in [[1848 United States presidential election|1848]].<ref name=OHC/>

In 1849, Allen retired to his farm, "Fruit Hill", which had belonged to his father-in-law, and fellow Ohio Governor, [[Duncan McArthur]],<ref name=ryan/> near [[Chillicothe, Ohio]]. Allen identified himself as a "[[Peace Democrat]]" by [[Opposition to the American Civil War|opposing]] the [[American Civil War]].<ref name=OHC/>

=== Governorship ===
Allen did not return to public service for nearly a quarter century until he served as [[governor of Ohio]] from 1874 to 1876. He unsuccessfully sought a second two-year term in an 1875 election.

Allen was noted for his loud voice. A friend asked Senator [[Benjamin Tappan]] if a fellow Ohioan was still in Washington. Tappan replied, "No, he left yesterday and is probably by this time in [[Cumberland, Maryland]], but if you will go to Bill Allen and tell him to raise that window and call him, he will come back."<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Hunter |first1=W.H. |year=1898 |title=The Pathfinders of Jefferson County |journal=[[Ohio Archaeological and Historical Publications]] |volume=VI |page=226 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VIQUAAAAYAAJ&q=Allen&pg=PA226}}</ref>

==Death and burial ==
At the close of his administration, he retired to private life at Fruit Hill, where he died in 1879.<ref>{{cite book | title=Che-le-co-the, glimpses of yesterday: a souvenir of the hundredth anniversary of the founding of Chillicothe, Ohio April 1896 | publisher=Knickerbocker Press, New York |year=1896 |location=Chillicothe |last1=Renick |first1=L W |first2=M D |last2=Fullerton | first3=M P |last3=Nipgen |page=[https://archive.org/details/chelecotheglimps00reni/page/76 76] |url=https://archive.org/details/chelecotheglimps00reni}}</ref> Allen is buried at [[Grandview Cemetery, Chillicothe]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.graveaddiction.com/grandview.html|title=Grandview Cemetery|publisher=Grandview Cemetery|access-date=July 29, 2012|archive-date=November 18, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121118055749/http://www.graveaddiction.com/grandview.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Legacy==
[[Allen County, Kansas]], is named for William Allen.<ref>{{cite web| url= http://www.epodunk.com/cgi-bin/genInfo.php?locIndex=4418|title= Profile for Allen County, Kansas, KS|publisher= ePodunk |access-date=August 5, 2012}}</ref>

In 1887, Ohio donated a [[Statue of William Allen|statue of Allen]] to the [[National Statuary Hall Collection]], which was exhibited in the [[National Statuary Hall]] of the [[United States Capitol|U.S. Capitol]]. The statue was sculpted by [[Charles H. Niehaus]].<ref>[http://www.aoc.gov/cc/art/nsh/ The National Statuary Hall Collection]</ref>  In 2010, the [[Ohio Historical Society]] held a statewide poll on the suitability of Allen as a distinguished representative of the state. The poll found that many Ohioans objected to Allen. On August 26, the Ohio National Statuary Committee voted to replace Allen's statue with a statue of Ohio-born inventor [[Thomas Edison]]. The [[Ohio General Assembly]] agreed to replace the statue in part because "Allen’s pro-slavery position and outspoken criticism of President [[Abraham Lincoln]] during the [[American Civil War|Civil War]] make him a poor representative for Ohio in the U.S. Capitol."<ref>[http://www.legacyforohio.org/ Legacy for Ohio]</ref> However, lack of funding for the Edison statue delayed replacement of the Allen statue.<ref>"Inventive fundraising is called for Edison's statue." Columbus ''Dispatch'', January 13, 2013, Page 2B</ref> The Edison statue was completed in spring 2015, and was installed on September 20, 2016.<ref>"Ohioans can visit statue before it heads to D.C." Columbus ''Dispatch'', May 20, 2015, Page 9B</ref> The statue of Allen was relocated to the Ross County Heritage Center in Chillicothe.<ref>[http://www.chillicothegazette.com/story/news/local/2016/09/22/heritage-center-gets-historic-statue/90828218/ "Heritage Center gets historic statue" Chillicothe ''Gazette'', September 23, 2016, Page A1]</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{CongBio|A000150}}
* [http://www.aoc.gov/capitol-hill/national-statuary-hall-collection/william-allen National Statuary Hall Collection: William Allen] at ''[[Architect of the Capitol]]''
* {{Ohio History Central|132}}
* {{Cite Appletons'|wstitle=Allen, William (statesman)|year=1900 |short=x}}
* {{cite BDA1906 |wstitle= Allen, William (governor of Ohio) |volume= 1 |page= 91 |short=1}}

{{Navboxes
| title = Offices, and distinctions
| list1 =
{{S-start}}
{{S-par|us-hs}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Samuel Finley Vinton]]}} 
{{s-ttl|title=[[List of United States Representatives from Ohio|U.S. Representative from Ohio,<br/>7th District]]|years=1833–1835}} 
{{s-aft|after=[[William K. Bond]]}}
{{S-par|us-sen}}
{{U.S. Senator box|state=Ohio|class=3|before=[[Thomas Ewing]]|after=[[Salmon P. Chase]]|alongside=[[Thomas Morris (Ohio politician)|Thomas Morris]], [[Benjamin Tappan]], [[Thomas Corwin]]|years=1837–1849}}
{{S-off}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Edward Follansbee Noyes|Edward F. Noyes]]}} 
{{s-ttl|title=[[List of Governors of Ohio|Governor of Ohio]]|years=1874–1876}} 
{{s-aft|after=[[Rutherford B. Hayes]]}}
{{s-ppo}}
{{s-bef|before=[[George Wythe McCook]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]] [[Ohio gubernatorial elections|nominee]] for [[Governor of Ohio]]|years=[[1873 Ohio gubernatorial election|1873]], [[1875 Ohio gubernatorial election|1875]]}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Richard M. Bishop]]}}
{{S-end}}
}}

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== External links ==

{{commons category}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Allen, William}}
[[Category:1803 births]]
[[Category:1879 deaths]]
[[Category:Burials at Grandview Cemetery (Chillicothe, Ohio)]]
[[Category:Democratic Party governors of Ohio]]
[[Category:Politicians from Chillicothe, Ohio]]
[[Category:People of Ohio in the American Civil War]]
[[Category:Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Ohio]]
[[Category:Democratic Party United States senators from Ohio]]
[[Category:Jacksonian members of the United States House of Representatives from Ohio]]
[[Category:Chairmen of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations]]
[[Category:Copperheads (politics)]]
[[Category:People from Edenton, North Carolina]]
[[Category:19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives]]
[[Category:19th-century United States senators]]