By Ken Wyatt
Generations have come and gone since Austin Blair served as Michigan’s great Civil War governor from 1861-65. He once was a towering figure in Michigan history. But even great historic figures wane in the knowledge of successive generations.
A few days ago, Jack Dempsey paid a visit to Jackson, home of Austin Blair, to launch an academic-historic rescue operation. It took place at Jackson’s Ella Sharp Museum as a presentation on a new book he edited and helped produce for the Michigan Civil War Association: “Radical of Radicals: Austin Blair – Civil War Governor – In HIs Own Words!”
An audience of about 25 heard the presentation, followed by a Q&A with Maurice Imhoff, president of the Jackson County Michigan Historical Society. After that, audience members asked questions. All who attended entered the lecture hall with a base of knowledge about Blair.
But for all who are unfamiliar – just who was Austin Blair and why is this book needed?
In his opening remarks, Dempsey gave the book some context. He is former president of the Michigan Historical Commission and Michigan Civil War Sesquicentennial Committee. These days he is working with the Civil War Association to produce a series of books on Michigan’s role in the Civil War. A major project is to design and erect a monument to Michigan units’ participation in the crucial Battle of Antietam.
This Austin Blair book is the first of two to be published on our Civil War governor. This one contains an account of his early years and two sections from speeches he made from 1845-1860 and the period of his gubernatorial years, 1861-65.
In his talk at the museum and before launching into a summary of the governor’s life, Dempsey used a curious line to characterize him: “The man and the hour have met.”
He went on to explain that the original line was spoken by William L. Yancey, the “fire-eater” from Alabama, of Jefferson Davis when he was inaugurated president of the Confederate States of America. As Dempsey put it, the words proved far better suited to Blair than to the ill-fated leader of the confederacy.
Dempsey’s biographical summary of Blair only hit high points, especially those of interest to the people of Jackson. A chronology is also contained in the book. some of it summarized below:
-1818, Blair was born on Feb. 18 in Tompkins County, New York State.
-1839, he graduated from Union College in Schenectady.
-1841, he first arrived in Jackson, Michigan, where he set up a law practice.
-1845, he was elected as a Whig Party candidate to the Michigan House of Representatives.
-1852, he was elected Jackson County prosecutor.
Those early Michigan years drew Blair steadily into a role as an anti-slavery spokesman. The term “radical” described him well. As Dempsey pointed out, Blair not only supported the abolition of slavery, he also pressed for voting rights for black men and then for women’s suffrage. In those times, each of those positions was supported only by those far ahead of their times – hence, the word radical.
In 1854, Blair became involved in what was known as the “fusion” movement – a gathering of anti-slavery people from the Whigs, Free Soil and Liberty parties – and yes, from the Democratic Party as well.
He hosted a conference in Jackson on Feb. 21 that led to other gatherings and the mass meeting “Under the Oaks” event on July 6, when the Republican Party was founded. In November, he was elected to the State Senate and chosen as majority leader.
By the time the Republican National Convention was held in May of 1860, Blair led Michigan’s delegates, initially championing William Seward as the state’s favored presidential nominee. When Seward fell short in the voting, Blair delivered an eloquent speech giving Michigan’s support to Abraham Lincoln of Illinois.
Within the next month, Republicans chose Blair as their candidate for governor. He was elected on Nov. 6 by a large majority of voters.
The rest, you could say, is the history that warrants the book. After Blair took office in early 1861, and Lincoln took the oath as president, secession followed. Blair quickly became one of the president’s most loyal and supportive governors, responding quickly to the president’s appeals for troops to deal with the southern states’ secession.
Dempsey showed a series of slides featuring one-liners from the book. Here are a couple that illustrate the hard line with which he approached his gubernatorial duties:
– “Secession is revolution, and revolution, in the overt act, is treason, and must be treated as such.”
– “The people of the state of Michigan would never be satisfied with a result short of the Star-Spangled Banner waving over the whole area of the United States of America, and no matter howsoever great the sacrifice, this end must be achieved.”
During the Q&A session, Dempsey shed some light on one contrast between Blair and Lincoln. Both men had dealt with railroad interests – but from different vantage points. As Dempsey pointed out, Lincoln represented railroads in his work as an attorney. Blair, however, sided with those Jackson County farmers who had been caught up in the great railroad conspiracy trial of 1850.
Much of the problem stemmed from the lack of a general railroad law that required railroads to fence in their lines to prevent livestock from wandering onto the tracks. When elected to the State Senate in 1856, Blair introduced a bill, which successfully required railroad companies to install fences.
Dempsey also spoke of the governor’s Jackson home, which stood where Mercy Hospital later was built, and where the Jackson County Medical Care Facility now stands.
The new Austin book was available at Dempsey’s Ella Sharp visit on a pre-publication basis. It was published this week and is available from Amazon online at Radical of Radicals: Austin Blair: Civil War Governor—In His Own Words (Michigan in the Civil War): Dempsey, Jack, Michigan Civil War Association: 9781965278550: Amazon.com: Books.
