Samuel Jackson Randall (October 10, 1828April 13, 1890) was an American politician from Pennsylvania who represented the Queen Village, Society Hill, and Northern Liberties neighborhoods of Philadelphia from 1863 to 1890 and served as the 29th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1876 to 1881. He was a contender for the Democratic Party nomination for President of the United States in 1880 and 1884.
Born in Philadelphia to a family active in Whig politics, Randall shifted to the Democratic Party after the Whigs' demise. His rise in politics began in the 1850s with election to the Philadelphia Common Council and then to the Pennsylvania State Senate for the 1st district. Randall served in a Union cavalry unit in the American Civil War before winning a seat in the federal House of Representatives in 1862. He was re-elected every two years thereafter until his death. The representative of an industrial region, Randall became known as a staunch defender of protective tariffs designed to assist domestic producers of manufactured goods. While often siding with Republicans on tariff issues, he differed with them in his resistance to Reconstruction and the growth of federal power.
Randall's support for smaller, less centralized government raised his profile among House Democrats, and they elevated him to Speaker in 1876. He held that post until the Democrats lost control of the House in 1881, and was considered a possible nominee for president in 1880 and 1884. Randall's support for high tariffs began to alienate him from most Democrats, and when that party regained control of the House in 1883, he was denied another term as Speaker. Randall continued to serve in Congress as chair of the Appropriations Committee. He remained a respected party leader but gradually lost influence as the Democrats became more firmly wedded to free trade. Worsening health also curtailed his power until his death in 1890.
Early life and family
Randall was born on October 10, 1828, in Philadelphia, the eldest son of Josiah and Ann Worrell Randall. Three younger brothers soon followed: William, Robert, and Henry. Josiah Randall was a leading Philadelphia lawyer who had served in the state legislature in the 1820s. Randall's paternal grandfather, Matthew Randall, was a judge on the Pennsylvania Courts of Common Pleas and county prothonotary in that city in the early 19th century. His maternal grandfather, Joseph Worrell, was also a prominent citizen, active in politics for the Democratic Party during Thomas Jefferson's presidency. Josiah Randall was a Whig in politics, but drifted into the Democratic fold after the Whig Party dissolved in the 1850s.
When Randall was born, the family lived at Seventh and Walnut Streets in what is now Center City Philadelphia. Randall was educated at the University Academy, a school affiliated with the University of Pennsylvania. On completing school at age 17, he did not follow his father into the law, but instead took a job as a bookkeeper with a local silk merchant. Shortly thereafter, he started a coal delivery business and, at age 21, became a partner in a scrap iron business named Earp and Randall.
Two years later, in 1851, Randall married Fannie Agnes Ward, the daughter of Aaron and Mary Watson Ward of Sing Sing, New York. Randall's new father-in-law was a major general in the New York militia and had served in Congress as a Jacksonian Democrat for several terms between 1825 and 1843. Randall and Fannie went on to have three children: Ann, Susan, and Samuel Josiah.
Local politics and military service
In 1851, Randall assisted his father in the election campaign for a local judge. The judge, a Whig, was elected despite considerable opposition from a candidate of the nativist American Party (commonly called the "Know-Nothing Party"). The strength of this group, combined with the Whigs' declining fortunes, led Samuel Randall to call himself an "American Whig" when he ran for Philadelphia Common Council the following year. He was elected, holding office for four one-year terms from 1852 to 1856. The period was one of significant change in Philadelphia's governance, as all of Philadelphia County's townships and boroughs were consolidated into one city in 1854.
As the Whig Party fell apart, Randall and his family became Democrats. Josiah Randall was friendly with James Buchanan, a Pennsylvania Democrat then serving as the United States' envoy in Great Britain. Both Randall and his father attended the Democratic National Convention in 1856 to work for Buchanan's nomination for president, which was successful. When, in 1858, a vacancy occurred in Randall's state Senate district, he ran for election (as a Democrat) for the remainder of the term, and was elected. Still only 30 years old, Randall had risen rapidly in politics. Much of his term in the state Senate was spent dealing with the incorporation of street railway companies, which he believed would benefit his district. Randall also supported legislation to reduce the power of banks, a policy that he would continue to advocate for his entire political career. In 1860, he ran for election to a full term in the state Senate while his brother Robert ran for a seat in the state House of Representatives. Ignoring their father's advice that it meant "too much Randall on the ticket", both brothers were unsuccessful.
In 1861, the Civil War began as eleven Southern states seceded from the Union to form the Confederate States of America. Randall joined the First Troop Philadelphia City Cavalry in May of that year as a private. The unit was stationed in central Pennsylvania and eastern Virginia during Randall's 90-day enlistment, but saw no action during that time. In 1863, he re-joined the unit, this time being elected captain. The First Troop was sent back to central Pennsylvania during the Gettysburg campaign that summer, when Confederate forces under Robert E. Lee invaded Pennsylvania. He served as provost marshal at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania in the days before the battle there, and had the same role at Columbia, Pennsylvania during the battle, but did not see combat. As historian Albert V. House explained, "[h]is military career was respectable, but far from arduous, most of his duties being routine reconnoitering which seldom led him under fire."
House of Representatives Election to the House
In 1862, before rejoining his cavalry unit, Randall was elected to the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania's 1st congressional district. The city had been gerrymandered by a Republican legislature to create four solidly Republican districts, with the result that as many Democrats as possible were lumped into the 1st district. Gaining the Democratic nomination was, thus, tantamount to election; Randall defeated former mayor Richard Vaux for their party's endorsement and won easily over his Republican opponent, Edward G. Webb. He won with the help of William "Squire" McMullen, the Democratic boss of the fourth ward, who would remain a lifelong Randall ally.
Under the congressional calendar of the 1860s, members of the 38th United States Congress, elected in November 1862, did not begin their work until December 1863. Randall arrived that month, after being discharged from his cavalry unit, to join a Congress dominated by Republicans. As a member of the minority, Randall had little opportunity to author legislation, but quickly became known as a hard-working and conscientious member. James G. Blaine, a Republican also first elected in 1862, later characterized Randall as "a strong partisan, with many elements of leadership. He... never neglects his public duties, and never forgets the interests of the Democratic Party."
Randall was known as a friend to the manufacturers in his district, especially as it concerned protective tariffs. Despite being in the minority, Randall spoke often in defense of his constituents' interests. As House described him, With his party continually in the minority, Randall gained experience in the functioning of the House, but his tenure left little evidence in the statute book. He attracted little attention, but kept his constituents happy and was repeatedly reelected.
War and Reconstruction
When the 38th Congress convened in December 1863, the Civil War was approaching its end. Randall was a War Democrat, sometimes siding with his Republican colleagues to support measures in pursuit of victory over the Confederates. When a bill was proposed to allow President Abraham Lincoln to promote Ulysses S. Grant to lieutenant general, Randall voted in favor, unlike most in his party. He voted with the majority of Democrats, however, to oppose allowing black men to serve in the Union Army.
When it came to political plans for the post-war nation, he was strictly opposed to most Republican-proposed measures. Republicans proposed the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution in 1865, which would abolish slavery, and Randall spoke against it. Claiming opposition to slavery, Randall said his objections stemmed instead from a belief that the amendment was "a beginning of changes in the Constitution and the forerunner of usurpation". After Andrew Johnson became president following Lincoln's assassination, Randall came to support Johnson's policies for Reconstruction of the defeated South, which were more lenient than those of the Republican majority in Congress. In 1867, the Republicans proposed requiring an ironclad oath from all Southerners wishing to vote, hold office, or practice law in federal courts, making them swear they had never borne arms against the United States. Randall led a 16-hour filibuster against the measure; in spite of his efforts, it passed.
Randall began to gain prominence in the small Democratic caucus by opposing Reconstruction measures. His delaying tactics against fellow Pennsylvanian Thaddeus Stevens's military Reconstruction bill in February 1867 kept the bill from being considered for two weeks—long enough to prevent it from being voted on until the next session. He likewise spoke against what would become the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution. Although he opposed the amendment, Randall did favor the idea behind part of it: section 4, which guarantees that Congress may not repudiate the federal debt, nor may it assume debts of the Confederacy, nor debt that the individual Confederate states incurred during the rebellion. Many Republicans claimed that if the Democrats were to regain power, they would do exactly that, repudiating federal debt and assuming that of the rebels. Despite disagreement on other facets of Reconstruction, Randall stood firmly with the Republicans (and most Northern Democrats) on the debt.
As impeachment proceedings began against President Johnson, Randall became one of his leading defenders in the House. Once the House determined to impeach Johnson, Randall worked to direct the investigation to the Judiciary Committee, rather than a special committee convened for the purpose, which he believed would be stacked with pro-impeachment members. His efforts were unsuccessful, as were his speeches in favor of the president: Johnson was impeached by a vote of 128 to 47. Johnson was not convicted after his Senate trial, and Randall remained on good terms with him after the president left office.
Financial legislation