Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 14.djvu/49

MORTON. 87 MORTON. MORTON, Levi Parsons (1824—). An Ainciiiaii banker ;iud political leader. He was born at Sliorcliam, Vt., and waa educated at tlie academy in that town. In 1843 he estab- lislied himself in a mercantile business in Han- over, X. 11. In 18.50 he removed to Boston, where he entered the Iianking business, and four years later lie settled in New York City, where he was .successful from the start. In 1803 he founded the banking-house of Levi P. Morton & Co., later Morton, Bliss & Co., which became one of the most successful private banking firms in the country. A London branch, Morton, Rose & Co., was subsequently established. In 1878 Jlorton was elected to Congress as a Republican. From the completion of his term until 1885 he was United States ilinister to France. In 1888 he was the successful candidate for Vice-President on the Republican ticket. From 1894 until 1896 he was Ciovernor of New York. MORTON, :NLuicu.s (1784-1864). An Ameri- can lawyer and politician, born at Freetown, JIass. He graduate<l at Brown University In 1804, and at the Litchfield (Conn.) Law School, was admitted to the bar in 1807, and established himself in the practice of his profession at Taun- ton, Mass., where he remained for the rest of his life. From 1817 until 1821 he was a member of Congress. In 1823 he was a member of the Governor's Council, in 1824 was Lieutenant-Gov- ernor, and in 1825 began a notable career as Jtidge of the Supreme Court. He remained on the bench until 1839, when he was the candi- date of the Deniocaatie Party for Governor, and was elected by one vote over Edward Everett, the Whig nominee, although the Whigs carried the State electoral ticket. In 1840 he failed of re- election. b>it in 1842 was again elected. From 184.5 to 1848 he was Collector of the Port of Boston. In the same year he became a violent opponent of the Democratic policy as to slavery extension, and took a leading part in the organ- ization of the Free-Soil Party, by which he was elected to the State Legislature for one term. Later he identified himself with the Re- publican Party. MORTON, Nathaniel (1613-85). An Ameri- can colonial historian, born of English blood in Leyden. Holland. He came to Plymouth. Mass., in'l023. and dwelt there till his 'death. On the death of his father he was taken into the family of Governor Bradford, whose wife was his mater- nal aunt, and early helped the Governor in pul)- lic business. He was Secretarv of the Colonv from 1645 till his death. In 1669, at the request of the commissioners of the New England colonies, he compiled and ])ublished at Cambridge. JIass., his Xeir Eiiftknid's Memorial, or a Brief Relation of fhe Most Remnrlcahle find Memorable Passages of the Proridenee of God M nnifested to the Plant- ers of Vetr Enfiland. etc., a work which was re- printed in England and several times in the colo- nies, and was the chief autliority for the events of which it treated until tlie discovery in 1855 of Bradforil's tfixtori/ of Plymouth, on which, to- gether with the journals of Winslow, Morton. who had little originality, drew largely. ^Tor- ton also wrote a Si/nnpsis of the Chureh Histoni of Phimonth (1680). and oliituarv poems of the style then in vogue. MORTON, Oliver Perry (1823-77). An American political leader, best known as the 'War Governor' of Indiana. He was born In Salisbury, Wayne County, Ind., August 4, 1823, attended the Vayne County Seminary, spent two years at Miami University, studied law, and in 1847 was admitted to practice. He soon be- came a prominent member of the Indiana bar, and in 1852 was elected circuit judge. He entered politics as a Democrat, but opposition to the Kansas-Nebraska Bill led him on Jlay 2, 1854, to withdraw from the Democratic State conven- tion ; and ultimately he assisted in the formation of the Republican Part}^, to whose first national convention he was a delegate. In 1856 the People's Party, as the Republican Party in Indiana was at first called, nominated him for Governor, but after a close contest he was defeated. Four years later he was elected Lieutenant-Governor, and. upon the Governor's election as United States Senator, Morton became Governor, .January 16, 1861. LIpon the outbreak of the Civil War he threw himself with extraordinary energy and success into the work of raising troops. The election of 1862, however, resulted in the choice of a Democratic Legislature and Democratic State officers, who bitterly opposed the war, and threw obstacles in his way. His task was still further complicated by the presence in the State of a large secret society called the Knights of the Golden Circle ( q.v. ) , which resisted the draft, encouraged de- sertion, and even plotted the assassination of the Governor and the carrying of Indiana otit of the LTnion. But Morton triumphed over all difficulties. He borrowed sufficient money on his own personal responsibility to meet the exigencies of the situation : put down the treasonable asso- ciations and brought the leaders to trial; and he secured the triumph of his party and his own re- election as Governor in 1864. In the opinion of such men as Chase and Stanton his services during this period were greater than those ren- dered by any other of the great 'War Governors.' Shortly after the close of the war, Morton was stricken with paralysis, and was obliged to go to Europe. On his return to the United States, he resumed his duties as Governor. In 1867 he was elected ITnited States Senator, and was re- elected in 1873. In the Senate he became a recognized leader of the Republicans, and. despite his poor health, accomplished a prodigious amount of work, serving on the committees on foreign relations, agriculture, military affairs, private land claims, and privileges and elections. At first an opjwnent of sufl'rage for the freedmen, he ultimately did much to promote the passage of the Fifteenth Amendment. He was one of President Grant's chief advisers, and sustained the Administration in the unsuccessful attempt to carry through the Senate the proposed treaty for the annexation of Santo Domingo. In return for this last service, the English mission was offered to him, but he refu.sed it. In 1873. on the death of Chief Justice Chase, he declined also to become Chief .Tustice of the Supreme Court. At the Re- publican national convention in 1876 he was a strong candidate for the Presidential nomination, and received 124 votes on the first ballot. He subsequently served on the Electoral Commission (q.v.). .t this time his infirmities were such that he required assistance in moving about, and had to be carried from the lobby of the Senate chamber to his carriage. He died at Indianapolis, November 1. 1877. as the result of an attack of paralysis. Morton possessed a powerful intellect.