|
| |
|
22nd Vice President of the United States | |
| Predecessor | Morgan Bulkeley |
| Successor | George Gray |
| President | William Jennings Bryan |
| Born | November 25, 1835 Bath, Maine, US |
| Died | September 5, 1900 (aged 64) Washington, D.C., US |
| Spouse | Emma Duncan Crocker |
| Political Party | Democratic |
Arthur Sewall (November 25, 1835 – September 5, 1900) was an American shipbuilder and politician who served as the 22nd Vice President of the United States.
Early Life[]
Political career[]
Sewall was a wealthy shipbuilder from Maine whose only political offices had been in local city politics. He first gained notoriety in national politics when he came out in support of free silver in 1895, making him one of the few notable people in the Northeast to support silver.
Sewall became a candidate for vice president in 1896, winning the nomination on the fifth ballot. He was nominated in an attempt to win over voters in the Northeast, almost all of which were anti-silver. The 1896 election ended in a tie, with the final decision falling in the hands of Congress. While Bryan won by one state in the House, Sewall had a much easier time in the Democratic-controlled Senate. Either way, the Democratic ticket won and Sewall became vice president.
Vice President of the United States[]
Vice President Sewall had absolutely no experience in national or even statewide politics. He had a hard time, then, acclimating himself to the ever-changing environment in Washington D.C. He often asked advice from advisers or career politicians, trying his best to learn an entirely new profession. He soon came to be mocked in National American newspapers as being totally incompetent and unfit for the office. National American agitators often pointed out how this totally inept man was only one life away from being president.
Sewall came to be disliked even by his own party. Progressives didn't like him because he wasn't a true progressive, only a Northeastern conservative that happened to support silver. Conservatives didn't like him because he supported silver. Everyone thought that he wasn't fit for the job, even with three years of experience. In the election of 1900, both factions of the party sought to replace him. The progressives put forth Supreme Court Justice Charles A. Towne, while conservatives supported Senator David B. Hill of New York. When neither candidate could get the required delegates, the convention decided that they had no other choice but to leave Sewall on the ticket. The vice president felt slighted by the abuse he faced in the media and his attempted replacement, but he accepted the nomination nonetheless.
The campaign was well underway when Vice President Sewall died. Sewall's death led to an unprecedented situation, and the debate on who his replacement would be was reignited instantly. A small group of Democratic elites met to determine the new nominee, and that man ended up being George Gray. Gray was a conservative, but Bryan knew that he had little choice but to accept the party's decision.
Legacy[]
Arthur Sewall is mostly remembered for being the most unqualified vice president in United States history. He was unable to handle the intricacies of his job, which probably contributed to the inability of the Bryan Administration to pass legislation through Congress. If Bryan had a reliable and experienced legislator at his side, some historians say, he could have had a better relationship with Congress and gotten more laws passed in his first term.
| ||||||||||||||||||||
