Switch to EncyclopediaClose XJULIAN, GEORGE WASHINGTON: 1817-1899.
"George Washington Julian (May 5, 1817-July 7, 1899), abolitionist leader, son of Isaac
and Rebecca (Hoover) Julian, was born in a log cabin a mile and
a half south of Centerville, Wayne
County, Ind.
His father … was a soldier in the War of 1812
and at one time a member of the Indiana Legislature. His mother, of German descent,
was a Quaker … Isaac Julian died when
George was only six years old, but by hard work and
frugality the widowed mother managed to bring up the family of children.
George attended the common schools, at eighteen taught a
district school, presently studied law, and in 1840 was
admitted to the bar, practicing successively in New Castle, Greenfield, and Centerville. In 1845 he was elected to the state
Legislature as a Whig … About the same time he began to write newspaper
articles attacking slavery. Defeated in 1847 in an attempt
to secure the Whig nomination for state senator, he presently
joined the Free-Soil Party and the next year attended the Buffalo convention that
nominated Van Buren. His activities as an abolitionist had
caused him to be ostracized by many former friends and associates and had even
brought about the dissolution of a law partnership with his brother, but the
political tide presently turned in his favor and in 1848,
having been nominated for Congress by the Free-Soilers, he was elected, with the
assistance of many Democratic votes. As a member of the little group of anti-slavery
men in Congress he vigorously opposed the compromise measures of 1850. Beaten for re-election in that year, he resumed the practice of
law but continued his advocacy of abolition both in speeches and in the press. In
1852 he was nominated for the vice-presidency by the
Free-Soil party and took an active part in the campaign.
"Julian's real opportunity came with the rise of the Republican party, of which
the Free-Soil party had been a forerunner. In 1856 he
participated in the Pittsburgh convention that formally organized the new party, and
was chosen one of the vice-presidents and chairman of the committee on organization.
His earnest fight for human freedom brought reward at last when in 1860 he was elected to Congress. Four times reelected, he
speedily won a prominent place in legislative deliberations, and among the
committees on which he served was the very important committee on the conduct of the
war. He early began to urge the emancipation of slaves as a war measure, advancing
the argument of John Quincy Adams that such a step would be
within the war powers of the president and Congress. As chairman of the committee on
public lands he had an important part in the passage of the celebrated Homestead
Act, a measure he had urged in 1851. Though he thought
Lincoln too slow in some respects and opposed his reconstruction plan,
Julian refused to join in the attempt in 1864 to nominate Chase in Lincoln's stead … He stood
… with the Radicals in their battles with President
Johnson, and in 1867 was one of the
committee of seven appointed by the House to prepare the articles of impeachment
against the President. In 1868 he proposed an amendment to
the Constitution conferring the right of suffrage upon women, a reform he continued
to champion to the end of his life.
"Failing of renomination in 1870, he devoted much of his time to recuperating his broken health
… He had come to be out of sympathy with the influences that dominated
the Republican party nationally and in Indiana, and joined the Liberal Republican movement, presiding during parts of
two days over the Cincinnati convention (1872) that
nominated Horace Greeley. The next year he removed to
Irvington, a suburb of Indianapolis, and for some years was occupied with writing
and championing reform measures. He supported Tilden in the
campaign of 1876, and two million copies of his speech,
'The Gospel of Reform,' were distributed by the Democratic
National Committee. In the years that followed he contributed notable articles on
politics, the public lands, and other subjects to the NORTH AMERICAN
REVIEW and other periodicals… After the election of Cleveland in that year he was appointed surveyor general of New Mexico, a post for which he was particularly fitted. During his administration
(July 1885-September
1889) he brought to light many flagrant frauds in connection with public land
grants … He died at his home in Irvington in the summer of 1899.
"Julian was twice married. His first wife was Anne Elizabeth
Finch of Centerville, who died in November, 1860, a few days
after his election to Congress. His second wife, whom he married Dec. 31, 1863, was Laura
Giddings, daughter of Joshua R. Giddings. She died
in 1884."
Condensed from P. L. H., Dictionary of American Biography,
Vol. X.
- Speech on the Slavery Question May 14, 1850. n.p.,
n.d.
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Evening, November 17, 1865. [Indianapolis,
1865.]
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Close X - Dangers and Duties. Reconstruction and Suffrage.
Cincinnati, 1865.
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Close X - Select Speeches … Delivered in the House of
Representatives of the United States
Since the Beginning of the Rebellion.
Cincinnati, 1867.
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Since the Beginning of the Rebellion" by JULIAN, GEORGE WASHINGTON: 1817-1899. in:
Close X - Speeches on Political Questions. New
York, 1872.
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Close X - Political Recollections. 1840 to 1872.
Chicago, 1884.
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Close X - Later Speeches on Political Questions with Select
Controversial Papers (Edited byGrace Julian Clarke). Indianapolis, 1889.
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Close X - The Rank of Charles Osborn as an Anti-Slavery
Pioneer. Indianapolis, 1891.
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Pioneer" by JULIAN, GEORGE WASHINGTON: 1817-1899. in:
Close X - The Life of Joshua R. Giddings.
Chicago, 1892.
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Close X - President Harrison and Civil Service Reform.
[Indianapolis, 1892.]
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