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 in St Louis, Missouri.
6.
Montgomery Blair served as US District Attorney from 1839 to 1843 and later as judge of the court of common pleas from 1843 to 1849.
7.
Montgomery Blair moved to Maryland in 1852 and devoted himself to the practice of law, principally in the Supreme Court of the United States.
8.
Montgomery Blair was United States Solicitor in the Court of Claims from 1855 to 1858.
9.
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.
10.
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.
11.
In 1860, Montgomery Blair took an active part in support of Abraham Lincoln's presidential campaign.
12.
Lincoln expected Montgomery Blair, who advocated taking a firm stance with the southern states, to help balance more conciliatory members of his cabinet.
13.
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.
14.
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, Francis Preston Montgomery Blair Jr.
15.
Montgomery Blair asked the House Investigation Committee chaired by Hiester Clymer to drop the charges against Belknap if the latter resigned office.
16.
In 1882, Montgomery Blair unsuccessfully ran for US Representative from Maryland's sixth district.
17.
In memory of Montgomery Blair, the United States Post Office closed on July 30,1883.