biography
pronunciation:
[seemoor]
| sex:
| male
|
| lived:
| (1810–86)
|
| biography:
| US governor, born in Pompey Hill, New York, USA, the brother-in-law of Roscoe Conkling. A protégé of William Marcy and an ‘Albany Regency’ Democrat, he served in the New York Assembly (1842, 1844–5) and gained a reputation for compromise and moderation. As Democratic governor (1853–5), he improved the prison system and opposed prohibition. He worked in business but remained a respected figure in Democratic politics. Elected to a second term as New York's governor (1863–5), he provided the Union army with soldiers and financing even though he was initially opposed to the war and to Lincoln's war powers. He made an unsuccessful run for the Democratic nomination for president in 1868, helped force Boss Tweed from power, and helped his own protégé, Grover Cleveland, become president. |
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