1. Montgomery Blair was an American politician and lawyer from Maryland.
17 Facts About Montgomery Blair
1. 2.
Montgomery Blair served in the Lincoln administration cabinet as Postmaster-General from 1861 to 1864, during the Civil War.
3.
Montgomery Blair was the son of Francis Preston Blair, elder brother of Francis Preston Blair Jr.
4.
Montgomery Blair graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point.
5.
Montgomery Blair began to practice law in 1839 at St Louis, Missouri, working as a United States district attorney.
6.
Montgomery Blair was United States Solicitor in the Court of Claims and was associated with George T Curtis as counsel for the plaintiff in the Dred Scott v Sandford case in the US Supreme Court in 1857.
7.
Four years after Montgomery Blair switched political parties, President Buchanan removed Montgomery Blair from his position as Solicitor of the United States Court of Claims in 1858.
8.
In 1860, Montgomery Blair took an active part in support of Abraham Lincoln's presidential campaign.
9.
Lincoln expected Montgomery Blair, who advocated taking a firm stance with the southern states, to help balance more conciliatory members of his cabinet.
10.
Montgomery Blair began the sale of money orders by post offices to reduce the mailing of currency to reduce post office robberies.
11.
Montgomery Blair called for the First International Postal Conference, which was held in Paris in 1863 and began the process that led to the Universal Postal Union.
12.
On Scott's behalf, Montgomery Blair argued that the time the black man had spent in the free state of Illinois and in Minnesota, free territory since the Northwest Ordinance of 1787, made him a free man.
13.
Differing from the Republican Party on the Reconstruction policy, Montgomery Blair gave his adherence to the Democratic Party after the Civil War, along with his brother, who was the Democratic vice presidential candidate in 1868.
14.
Montgomery Blair asked the House Investigation Committee chaired by Hiester Clymer to drop the charges against Belknap if the latter resigned office.
15.
In 1882, Montgomery Blair unsuccessfully ran for US Representative from Maryland's sixth district.
16.
In memory of Montgomery Blair, the United States Post Office closed on July 30,1883.
17.
Montgomery Blair's wife was Mary Woodbury, a daughter of Levi Woodbury.