Description: As a young man, Stephen A. Douglas (1813-1861) taught school in Ohio. While he served in the House and in the Senate as a representative from Illinois, Douglas played an important role in settling tensions between Northerners and Southerners over slavery prior to the outbreak of the Civil War. He is perhaps best known for his political battles with Abraham Lincoln in both 1858 and again in 1860. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL04113
Subjects: Abolitionists; Politicians; United States. Congress. House; United States. Congress. Senate
Places: Illinois
 

Description: Photograph showing Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown in 1975, the year he started his political career as a state representative in the Ohio House. At the time, he was the youngest person elected to that body. Born in Mansfield, Ohio, in 1952, Brown later settled in Lorain. Following his tenure as a state representative (1974-1982), he went on to serve as Ohio Secretary of State (1982-1990), in the U.S. House of Representatives (1992-2006), and as a U.S. Senator (2006-current). In his long political career, he has only lost one race, for re-election as Secretary of State in 1990. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: P339_B02F03_Brown1975_01
Subjects: Legislators--Ohio; Democratic Party; Politicians; Ohio Government; United States. Congress. House; United States. Congress. Senate;
Places: Mansfield (Ohio); Richland County (Ohio); Lorain (Ohio); Lorain County (Ohio)
 

Description: Photograph showing Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown during his 1982 campaign for Ohio Secretary of State. He would go on to defeat Republican Virgil Brown in the general election later that year. Born in Mansfield, Ohio, in 1952, Brown later settled in Lorain. He began his political career by winning election as a state representative in the Ohio House in 1974. At the time, he was the youngest person elected to that body. Following his tenure as a state representative (1974-1982), he went on to serve as Ohio Secretary of State (1982-1990), in the U.S. House of Representatives (1992-2006), and as a U.S. Senator (2006-current). In his long political career, he has only lost one race, for re-election as Secretary of State in 1990. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: P339_B02F03_Brown1982_01
Subjects: Legislators--Ohio; Democratic Party; Politicians; Ohio Government; United States. Congress. House; United States. Congress. Senate;
Places: Mansfield (Ohio); Richland County (Ohio); Lorain (Ohio); Lorain County (Ohio)
 

Description: This engraved portrait depicts William Allen, who served as the 31st governor of Ohio from 1874-1876. He also served in the United States House of Representatives from 1833-1835 and as a United States Senator from 1837-1849. This illustration appears in the "Historical Collections of Ohio," published by Henry Howe in 1907. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL04207
Subjects: Governors--Ohio; Ohio History--State and Local Government; United States. Congress. House; United States. Congress. Senate
Places: Chillicothe (Ohio); Ross County (Ohio)
 

Description: Photograph showing Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown in 1975, the year he started his political career as a state representative in the Ohio House. At the time, he was the youngest person elected to that body. Born in Mansfield, Ohio, in 1952, Brown later settled in Lorain. Following his tenure as a state representative (1974-1982), he went on to serve as Ohio Secretary of State (1982-1990), in the U.S. House of Representatives (1992-2006), and as a U.S. Senator (2006-current). In his long political career, he has only lost one race, for re-election as Secretary of State in 1990. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: P339_B02F03_Brown1975_02
Subjects: Legislators--Ohio; Democratic Party; Politicians; Ohio Government; United States. Congress. House; United States. Congress. Senate;
Places: Mansfield (Ohio); Richland County (Ohio); Lorain (Ohio); Lorain County (Ohio)
 

Description: Featured in the "Centennial History of Coshocton County, Ohio" by William J. Bahmer, this is a portrait of Major Thomas J. Platt. Platt was born on December 16, 1840, in Coshocton County, Ohio. His father, Thomas Platt Sr., served in Company I of the 69th Ohio Volunteer Infantry (O.V.I.) Regiment. Platt served during the Civil War in Company F of the 17th O.V.I. and Company D of the 2nd O.V.I., and by 1863 was appointed Major. On June 20, 1867, Platt married Ella C. Sanger. Throughout his adulthood, he had many business ventures, but retired to West Lafayette where he was one of the organizers of the West Lafayette Bank and became its president. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL05991
Subjects: Ohio History--Presidents and Politics; Republican Party; United States. Congress. House; United States. Congress. Senate
 

Description: William Moore McCulloch was a civil-rights activist and member of the United States House of Representatives from Ohio in the mid-twentieth century. He was instrumental in crafting and passing several key pieces of legislation in the 1960s to ensure equal rights for all Americans, including the 1964 Civil Rights Act, the 1965 Voting Rights Act, and the 1968 Fair Housing Act. William McCulloch was born near Holmesville, Ohio, in Holmes County, on November 24, 1901. He received an undergraduate degree from the College of Wooster. In 1925, McCulloch earned a law degree from The Ohio State University and was admitted to the Ohio bar. He practiced law for a period in Jacksonville, Florida, where he saw firsthand the unconstitutionality of segregation practices in the region. In 1928, McCulloch moved back to Ohio and established a law practice with George Barry in Piqua. McCulloch became active in politics. A member of the Republican Party, he was elected to the Ohio House of Representatives in 1932. During his tenure, McCulloch rose to important leadership positions, serving as House Minority Leader from 1936-1939, and as Speaker of the House from 1939-1944. He was the first House member to serve three consecutive terms as Speaker. A constitutional lawyer, McCulloch showed his passion for equal rights early in his career and supported the local NAACP chapter in its drive to end segregated seating in local restaurants. One of the earliest sit-ins in the area was held at the Union Bus Terminal lunch counter and marked the beginning of the end for segregated accommodations in the Piqua area. This was bold stance to take in a rural, white, middle-class, and conservative stronghold where the black population was a mere 2.7 percent at the time. During World War II, McCulloch served in the U.S. military from December 26, 1943 to October 12, 1945. At age 40 he resigned as Speaker of the House and enlisted in the U.S. Army, serving overseas in Europe. He resumed his political career after the war. In a special election held on November 4, 1947, voters of Ohio's 4th District elected McCulloch to represent them in the United States House of Representatives, filling a vacancy created by the resignation of Robert F. Jones. McCulloch went on to represent western Ohio in the House in twelve succeeding Congresses through January 3, 1973. He was popular and respected within his district, and his constituents reelected him by margins of 65 to 70 percent throughout his tenure. Although a political conservative, McCulloch is remembered as a champion of civil rights. Early in his tenure as Representative of Ohio’s 4th District, he played a key role in President Eisenhower’s 1957 and 1960 civil rights bills. As the ranking Republican member of the House Judiciary Committee in the early 1960s, he introduced civil rights legislation in the House, and his bipartisan support for the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was instrumental in the adoption of that legislation. McCulloch went on to play key roles in the 1965 Voting Rights Act and the 1968 Fair Housing Act. He fought another major battle in 1969-1970 by defending the renewal of certain temporary provisions in the 1965 Voting Rights Act during the Nixon administration. Directed at Southern states with a history of discriminatory voting practices, a strong provision in the legislation demanded that these states obtain clearance through the Justice Department before making any changes that would affect the voting process. He continued to champion equal rights and to protect the landmark legislation of the 1960s until his retirement in 1972. McCulloch died in Washington, D.C., on February 22, 1980. He is buried at Arlington National Cemetery. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL07025
Subjects: Legislators--Ohio; Ohio History--State and Local Government; Politicians; Ohio General Assembly House of Representatives; Civil rights; United States. Congress. House; Miami County (Ohio); Veterans
Places: Miami County (Ohio)
 

Description: James Ashley was a prominent politician, newspaper editor, and businessman during the nineteenth century. He was born on November 24, 1822, near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In 1851, Ashley settled in Toledo, Ohio, where he became active in local politics and helped organize the Republican Party in the community. In 1858, he served as the chairman of the Ohio Republican Convention. That same year, he was elected to the United States House of Representatives. Ashley served in the United States Congress from 1859 to 1869, during which time he introduced the first constitutional amendment to abolish slavery and initiated impeachment proceedings against President Andrew Johnson. After leaving Congress, Ashley served as the territorial governor of Montana, and the president of the Toledo, Ann Arbor & Northern Railroad. James Ashley died in Alma, Michigan, on September 16, 1896. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL04208
Subjects: Politicians; United States. Congress. House; Newspaper editors; Ohio History--State and Local Government
Places: Toledo (Ohio); Lucas County (Ohio)
 

Description: Photograph of the Joshua Reed Giddings Law Office, a National Historic Landmark in Jefferson, Ohio. Giddings (1795-1864) was a prominent abolitionist as well as a member of the U.S. Congress. The office was constructed adjacent to his home, the porch of which can be seen on the left-hand side of the image. The text of the historical marker reads "Joshua Reed Giddings here wrote the Republican party's first national platform, adopted at Philadelphia, June 17th, 1856. Member of Congress 1838-1858. In 1842 he defied the Atherton Gag Rule, prohibiting discussion of slavery on the floor. Censured by the House, given no opportunity for defense, he resigned. His overwhelming re-election five weeks later, and renewed defiance, restored Constitutional freedom of speech in our American Congress. Pioneer, soldier, author, patriot and statesman, a founder of the National Republican Party." The structure is alternately identified as the Law Office of Wade & Jefferson. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL00311
Subjects: Ashtabula County (Ohio); Abolitionists -- Ohio; Law offices--Ohio; United States. Congress. House; National Register of Historic Places
Places: Jefferson (Ohio); Ashtabula County (Ohio)
 

Description: The outside of the Sherman Home in Lancaster, Ohio. This is where John Sherman (1823-1900) was raised. Sherman is best known as a man who would serve in the senate for over ten years. Sherman at first held a few other jobs before getting into the world of politics, working both as an engineer and an attorney. Before he went on to serve in the senate, he served for a number of years as a representative in Congress. During his time in politics he would support at first the Whig Party, which favored more power for the central government as opposed to the states. After the demise of the Whig party, he became an avid supporter of Republican party policies and was so passionate about the cause of preserving the Union he considered abandoning politics at least for a time and fight the Confederacy. In the end, he abandoned this idea and devoted his time to pushing for his favored policies in Congress. He continued to serve in the senate and hold his own during the turbulent time of Reconstruction. Sherman usually came off as a moderate voice in the time of increasing conflict between the Senate and the President over how to bring the United States back together. He was not afraid to criticize both and advocated for a moderate approach. Sherman left the Senate for a period to become a cabinet official, returning to the Senate upon his leaving the cabinet. While he was once again serving in the senate, he formulated and would give his name to the Sherman Anti-Trust Act, which made it possible for business monopolies to be dismantled. He would continue to serve in the Senate until a few years before his death, leaving in 1897, and dying three years later in 1900. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL06775
Subjects: Sherman, John, 1823-1900; United States. Congress. Senate; United States. Congress. House; Civil War
Places: Lancaster (Ohio); Fairfield County (Ohio); Ohio
 

Description: Photograph of Joseph Warren Keifer (1836-1932) an Army officer and politician from Clark County, Ohio, 1881-1883. After enlisting in the Union Army in April 1861, Keifer was commissioned major of the 3rd Ohio Volunteer Infantry. He was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and then Colonel of the 110th Ohio Volunteer Infantry. By the end of the war Keifer held the rank of Major General. After the Civil War Keifer went into politics, serving in the Ohio State Senate in 1868 and 1869. He was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1876 and served three terms, including holding the position of Speaker of the House from 1881-1883. Keifer returned to the Army, serving as a Major General during the Spanish-American War. After the war, he was elected to three more terms in Congress from 1905-1911. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL03922
Subjects: Clark County (Ohio); Ohio History--Military Ohio; United States. Congress. House
Places: Washington (D.C.); Clark County (Ohio)
 

Description: Portrait of Thomas L. Hamer and the unveiling of the Hamer Monument. Thomas Hamer was an Ohio Congressman, US Congressman and a soldier. He volunteered for the Mexican-American War. After contracting yellow fever while in Mexico, he died in 1846. He was buried in Georgetown, Brown County, Ohio View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL06854
Subjects: Politicians; Mexican-American War, 1898; Soldiers; United States. Congress. House
Places: Georgetown (Ohio); Brown County (Ohio)