John Fox "Bowie Knife" Potter (May 11, 1817May 18, 1899) was an American lawyer, Radical Republican politician, and Wisconsin pioneer. He served three terms in the U.S. House of Representatives, representing Wisconsin's 1st congressional district from 1857 to 1863. During the 37th U.S. Congress, he served as chair of the House Committee on Public Lands and helped shepherd the passage of the Homestead Act of 1862. In that same term, he was also chair of the House Select Committee on Loyalty of Federal Employees, which attempted to root out Confederate sympathizers from government; his activities in that role led to significant acrimony with Secretary of War Simon Cameron.
Potter earned his nickname ("Bowie Knife" Potter) because he demanded to use the bowie knife as his weapon when he was challenged to a duel in 1860 by Virginia U.S. representative Roger A. Pryor; the duel never ultimately took place, but the affair was widely covered by political newspapers around the country, turning Potter into an abolitionist celebrity for standing up to southern threats. Subsequently, at the 1860 Republican National Convention, Potter was presented with a giant six-foot-long folding knife to commemorate the event; Potter's monster knife is now in the collections of the Wisconsin Historical Society.
Earlier in his career, he served one term in the Wisconsin State Assembly during the 1856 term. As a legislator, he led the investigation into corruption in the administration of Democratic governor William A. Barstow, and—in the same term—played a pivotal role in facilitating the massive La Crosse and Milwaukee Railroad bribery scandal which tainted dozens of Wisconsin legislators and Republican governor Coles Bashford. He also served several years as probate judge of Walworth County, and served as American consul general at Montreal after leaving Congress (1864–1866).Appleton's Cyclopedia, vol. VI p. 90
Potter was one of the first settlers in the town of East Troy, Wisconsin, and one of the first lawyers admitted to practice law in the Wisconsin Territory; he is the namesake of Potter Lake, Wisconsin.
John Fox Potter's father, John Potter, and uncle, Barrett Potter, were both prominent lawyers and elected officials in Maine.
Early life John Fox Potter was born in Augusta, Massachusetts (now Augusta, Maine), in May 1817. He received his collegiate education at Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire, then studied law in his father's law office. At age 19, he ventured out to see the new western territories of the United States. He first visited Chicago in 1836, then explored the Michigan Territory—where his uncle had settled—and the Wisconsin Territory in 1837. After returning to Maine, Potter concluded to settle in Wisconsin.
He returned to Wisconsin in the spring of 1838, and claimed a plot of land on the north shore of the lake that would soon after be named for him (Potter Lake). He was one of the first settlers in what is now the town of East Troy, in Walworth County. He built a log cabin there—later replaced by a larger house; this homestead remained his primary residence for the rest of his life.
Pioneer life in Wisconsin Potter was admitted to practice law in the Wisconsin Territory in 1839 and became the first lawyer working in what is now the town of East Troy; he was the only lawyer in that area until 1843. In 1839, Potter was also appointed the first postmaster at East Troy, serving in that role for two years. During those early years, he also became active in the nascent temperance movement in Wisconsin.
In 1841, Potter was selected by the Council of the Wisconsin Territory (upper legislative chamber) to serve as a transcribing clerk for the second session of the 3rd Wisconsin Territorial Assembly. The following spring, he was appointed probate judge for Walworth County by Governor Henry Dodge; he ultimately served in that role until 1847. Also in 1842, the town of Troy—which then also included the territory of the present town of East Troy—held its first formal town meeting, and Potter was one of 70 landowning men in attendance and eligible to vote.
Early political career During his early years in Wisconsin, Potter was active in the Whig Party, and he served as a delegate to the 1852 Whig National Convention. In 1854, outrage among anti-slavery partisans led to the establishment of the Republican Party, absorbing much of the old Whig organization. Potter was an active participant in the 1854 caucuses and conventions of the new Republican Party of Wisconsin. He also became involved in the excited abolishionist activism in Wisconsin surrounding the controversial Ableman v. Booth case, and circulated a fiery petition calling for the resignation of Wisconsin U.S. district court judge Andrew G. Miller.
In the fall of 1855, Potter was elected to the state central committee of the Republican Party of Wisconsin, and a few months later he was elected to represent northeast Walworth County in the Wisconsin State Assembly for the 9th Wisconsin Legislature. Wisconsin was roiled by corruption scandals in the mid-1850s, and in the 1856 legislative term, Potter was appointed to head a special investigative committee to audit several state offices and school land sales taking place under the previous governor, William A. Barstow. The investigation continued through the summer of 1856, and ultimately reported significant fraud and self-dealing, suggesting that the total loss for the state university fund amounted to more than $3 million (about $114 million adjusted for inflation). During that same term, however, Potter also played a critical role in one of the biggest scandals in Wisconsin's history—he wrote the final version of the bill which authorized state land grants to the La Crosse and Milwaukee Railroad. It would be revealed roughly a year later that railroad boss Byron Kilbourn bought the passage of this bill by bribing dozens of legislators and state officials, including the governor. Despite his central role in the passage of the legislation, the investigation later showed that Potter was one of only five legislators to vote for the bill who did not accept a bribe.
After the end of the regular legislative session, in March 1856, Potter had also been elected to another term as probate judge in Walworth County. In June, he attended the Republican state convention and was also elected to serve as a delegate to the 1856 Republican National Convention in Philadelphia. At the national convention in June, Potter was named as Wisconsin's representative on the national platform and resolutions committee.
Years in congress (1856–1863)
Also happening in the summer of 1856, the influential Milwaukee Republican newspaper the Daily Free Democrat began pushing for Potter's nomination for U.S. House of Representatives in Wisconsin's 1st congressional district. Going into the Republican nominating convention, Potter's chief rivals for the nomination were abolitionist leader Edward D. Holton and Racine district attorney William P. Lyon. At the convention in Racine, however, Potter was easily nominated on the first ballot.
In the 1856 general election, Potter faced Jackson Hadley, a Democratic Party stalwart—he was the incumbent Milwaukee city council president and a state senator representing the north half of Milwaukee County. In the 1850s, Wisconsin's 1st congressional district comprised Kenosha, Milwaukee, Racine, Walworth, and Waukesha counties. Milwaukee's large Democratic majority generally kept the district in the control of the Democratic Party, but significant divisions had emerged in the Democratic Party of Wisconsin, exacerbated by the corruption charges in the Barstow administration; Hadley was seen as a close ally of Barstow, and faced significant opposition from the anti-Barstow faction. But Potter's campaign was not without its own problems, as he was quoted making radical statements in support of secession as a tool to abolish slavery. Potter narrowly prevailed in the general election, taking 50.6% of the vote, as Democratic presidential candidate James Buchanan narrowly carried the district in presidential popular vote.
Shortly after the election, Governor Coles Bashford named Potter as one of three commissioners to revise and update the statutes to reflect the recent session's legislation, but Potter declined the appointment due to his other responsibilities.
Potter ran for re-election in 1858, and had the quick support of most of the Republican newspapers of his district; he was unanimously renominated at the Republican convention in September. His opponent in the 1858 general election was the prominent Democratic newspaper publisher Beriah Brown, who had only recently relocated to the 1st congressional district; his nomination was somewhat accidental, occurring after a long and contentious nominating convention. The division in the Wisconsin Democratic Party continued in 1858, and was exacerbated further by northern Democratic anger with the presidential administration of Democrat James Buchanan. Brown identified as an anti-Barstow and anti-Buchanan Democrat, but he was also one of the largest recipients of the La Crosse and Milwaukee Railroad bribes, having received $52,000 worth of railroad bonds (about $2 million adjusted for inflation). The 1858 election was a Republican wave, and Potter had the best election of his career, receiving 56% of the vote and winning his second term.
Kansas Early in the 35th Congress, amidst the ongoing civil unrest in the Kansas Territory, Potter made a tour of the territory to highlight the complaints of anti-slavery residents who claimed they were being disenfranchised in elections; he also accused the territory governor, Robert J. Walker, of acquiescing to the disenfranchisement scheme. The Kansas issue remained a major disagreement in Congress, animating much of the belligerence seen during this term. Potter—like many abolitionist politicians—pledged to never vote for the admission of another slave state to the Union.
Brawl on the House floor (1858)
This era, in the run-up to the American Civil War, was also notorious for physical violence in Washington between pro-slavery and anti-slavery members of Congress, and Potter was involved in a major altercation in the House chamber during his first term, on February 5, 1858. The fight began over a passing statement between Galusha A. Grow, a Republican, and Laurence M. Keitt, a Democrat, with Keitt attacking and attempting to choke Grow. In the scuffle, Grow's head smacked into the face of Reuben Davis of Mississippi, which provoked his colleague William Barksdale to try to step in. Seeing the disturbance, several dozen Republicans jumped into the fray; the event occurred less than two years after the caning of Charles Sumner and several of the Republicans believed this was an orchestrated attack on one of their members.
Potter was described as "leap[ing] into the midst of the fight by the side of Grow" and "striking at everyone whom he supposed implicated in the assault." William Barksdale—not seeing who hit him—retaliated against Elihu B. Washburne of Illinois, which provoked his brother, Cadwallader C. Washburn of Wisconsin. Lucius Q. C. Lamar, of Mississippi, stepped in to support Barksdale, and Potter then rejoined the fight on behalf of his colleague from Wisconsin. In the confusion, Potter grabbed at Barksdale's hair and tore off his wig. Finally, peacemakers managed to separate the belligerent factions, and, after a cooling-down, they all expressed regret over the apparent misunderstanding. Partisans in Wisconsin, however, celebrated Potter and Washburn for their roles in the melee. Barksdale and Potter were reconciled as colleagues, but Barksdale ultimately volunteered for the Confederate Army and was killed at the Battle of Gettysburg.
Slave ownership controversy (1860)