Oliver P. Morton

Who was Oliver P. Morton?

Oliver Hazard Perry Throck Morton, commonly known as Oliver P. Morton, was a U.S. Republican Party politician from Indiana. He served as the 14th Governor of Indiana during the American Civil War, and was a stalwart ally of President Abraham Lincoln. During the war, Morton thwarted and neutralized the Democratic-controlled Indiana General Assembly. He exceeded his constitutional authority by calling out the militia without approval, and during the period of legislative suppression he privately financed the state government through unapproved federal and private loans. He was criticized for arresting and detaining political enemies and suspected southern sympathizers. But the famous "War Governor" unquestionably did more to help the war effort than any other man in the state, and earned the lifelong gratitude of former Union soldiers for his support.

During his second term as governor, and after being partially paralyzed by a stroke, he was elected to serve in the U.S. Senate. He was a leader among the Radical Republican reconstructionists, and supported numerous bills designed to reform the former Southern Confederacy. In 1877, during his second term in the senate, Morton suffered a second debilitating stroke that caused a rapid deterioration in his health; he died later that year. He was mourned nationally and his bier was attended by thousands before his burial in Indianapolis's Crown Hill Cemetery.