Joseph A. Wright

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Joseph A. Wright : biography

April 17, 1810 – May 11, 1867

The Washington Monument was under construction during Wright’s term. A strong supporter of the Union, Wright had a block sent for the monument with the inscription, "Indiana knows no East, no West, no North, no South; nothing but Union". The stone eventually found its way into the monument where it remains today.Woollen, p. 100 Wright left office popular with the public, but at odds with the leadership of his party. His position on banking had cost him much of their support, and he was especially denounced by Jesse D. Bright for his support of the Union over states-rights.Woollen, p. 101

Early life

Family and education

Joseph Albert Wright was born in Washington, Pennsylvania on April 17, 1810 the son of John and Rachel Seaman Wright. He moved with his family to Bloomington, Indiana in 1820, where he attended public school. His father was a bricklayer, and worked as one of the laborers who built the first halls of Indiana State Seminary (now Indiana University). He was the brother of future Iowa Senator George G. Wright. His father died when he was fourteen, and his family become impoverished. Wright worked as a janitor, bell ringer, and occasional bricklayer, in order to pay for his schooling and provide income for his family.Gugin, p. 112

Living in Bloomington, he was able to attended the seminary while living at home, making the education affordable for him. Many of his classmates were from wealthier families, and he earned money by selling them nuts and fruits he picked in the forest around his home. Wright received a classical education, learning Greek and Latin. He graduated in 1828 and decided to become a lawyer. He studied law in the office of Craven Hester, one of southern Indiana’s leading judges and political figures, and was admitted to the bar in 1829. He then moved to Rockville were he opened a law practice where he met Louisa Cook, the daughter of a wealthy local farmer. She was an ardent Methodist who converted Wright before the couple married on November 30, 1831. The couple had a son, but Louisa’s poor health and several bouts with malaria prevented her from having more children, leading them to adopt a daughter in 1832. Wright became very active in the Methodist Church and an outspoken advocate of Sunday School and religious study in public schools.Woollen, p. 94–95Gugin, p. 113 Much of his early support came from the church and many of his campaign rallies were held in Methodist churches.Woolen, p. 102

State legislator

Through his law office, Wright became a friend of state representative William Perkins Bryant. In 1832, Bryant moved to Kentucky, leaving his seat vacant, and urged Wright to take it. With his support, Wright was elected and served as Park County’s representative to the Indiana House of Representatives, serving a one year term. During the term he supported the charter for the Bank of Indiana, an unpopular act in his district, and he was defeated in his reelection bid. In 1836, supporting internal improvements, he ran again and was elected to serve a second term; it was during the height of the state’s internal improvement craze and he voted for the implementing act.Gugin, p. 114

He left the General Assembly to become the prosecuting attorney of the Indiana 1st circuit in 1838, but found he did not like the constant traveling and resigned the following year. He ran for the Indiana State Senate in 1839. The campaign was hard fought, occurring in the same year that the Indiana Territory’s popular former governor, William Henry Harrison, became President of the United States.Woollen, 96 Wright ran against Whig candidate Edward W. McGaughty, in a "bitter and strenuous" campaign. In one of his opponents tracts, Wright was referred to as the "Infidel Dog who dares to open his God-deyfing lips" against Harrison. Wright narrowly won the election by 171 votes.Indiana Magazine of History, p. 151 The election caused a great deal of personal animosity between Wright and the Whig party.Indiana Magazine of History, p. 152

Congressman

After the 1840 legislative session, Wright reopened his law office with a new partner, congressman Tilghman A. Howard, a friend of the governor and President Andrew Jackson. At Tilghman’s suggestion he ran for Congress in 1843 in his Whig dominated district and won election narrowly, by only three votes. In Congress he opposed the expansion of slavery, but opposed abolition in favor of colonization and gradual emancipation. He was defeated in his 1845 reelection campaign by 171 votes. He ran again in 1847, but was again defeated in a close election. His popularity in a Whig district further helped his standing in the party. He had been a supporter of the independence of the Republic of Texas while in Congress and was appointed by President James Polk to serve as the United States Commissioner to Texas in 1845, a diplomatic post he held throughout the Mexican-American War until the annexation of Texas.Gugin, p. 115

In 1849, Wright backed Whitcomb in his failed bid for the United States Senate against pro-slavery state Democrat leader Jesse D. Bright. Wright considered Bright to be his greatest foe, and on every occasion possible attempted to thwart his political success. For his loyalty, Whitcomb guaranteed Wright’s nomination for governor in the state’s 1849 Democrat Convention where Whitcomb presided. The state party had a major divide on the slavery issue and the internal improvement projects. Whitcomb tried to accommodate both side by taking the anti-slavery position and the anti-internal-improvement position.