Roscoe Conkling

Roscoe Conkling
Senator Conkling, c. 1866-68
United States Senator
from New York
In office
March 4, 1867 – May 16, 1881
Preceded byIra Harris
Succeeded byElbridge Lapham
Member of the
U.S. House of Representatives
from New York
In office
March 4, 1859 – March 3, 1863
Preceded byOrsamus Matteson
Succeeded byFrancis Kernan (redistricting)
Constituency20th district
In office
March 4, 1865 – March 3, 1867
Preceded byFrancis Kernan
Succeeded byAlexander Bailey
Constituency21st district
Mayor of Utica
In office
March 9, 1858 – November 19, 1859
Preceded byAlrick Hubbell
Succeeded byCharles Wilson
Oneida County District Attorney
In office
April 22, 1850 – December 31, 1850
Preceded byCalvert Comstock
Succeeded bySamuel B. Garvin
Personal details
Born(1829-10-30)October 30, 1829
Albany, New York, U.S.
DiedApril 18, 1888(1888-04-18) (aged 58)
New York, New York, U.S.
Resting placeForest Hill Cemetery
Utica, New York, U.S.
Political partyWhig (before 1854)
Republican (1854–1888)
SpouseJulia Seymour
Parent(s)Alfred Conkling
Eliza Cockburn
RelativesFrederick A. Conkling (brother)
Alfred Conkling Coxe Sr. (nephew)
Signature

Roscoe Conkling (October 30, 1829 – April 18, 1888) was an American lawyer and Republican politician who represented New York in the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate. He was a leader of the Republican Stalwart faction and a dominant figure in the United States Senate during the 1870s. As senator, his control of patronage at the New York Customs House, one of the busiest commercial ports in the world, made him very powerful. His comity with President Ulysses S. Grant and conflict with Presidents Rutherford B. Hayes and James A. Garfield were defining features of American politics of the 1870s and 1880s.[1] He also participated, as a member of the Joint Committee on Reconstruction, in the drafting of the landmark Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.

Conkling publicly led opposition to proposals for civil service reform, which he called "snivel service reform,"[2] and defended the prerogatives of senators in appointments. His conflict with President Garfield over appointments eventually led to Conkling's resignation in 1881. He ran for re-election to his seat in an attempt to display his support from the New York political machine and his power, but lost the special election, during which Garfield was assassinated. Though Conkling never returned to elected office, the assassination elevated Chester A. Arthur, a former New York Collector and Conkling ally, to the presidency. Their relationship was destroyed when Arthur pursued civil service reform, out of his sense of duty to the late President Garfield. Conkling remained active in politics and practiced law in New York City until his death in 1888.[3]

Conkling turned down two presidential appointments to the United States Supreme Court: first to the position of Chief Justice in 1873[1] and then as an associate justice in 1882. In 1882, Conkling was confirmed by the Senate but declined to serve, the last person (as of 2024) to have done so.[3]

Conkling, who was temperate and detested tobacco, was known for his physical condition, maintained through regular exercise and boxing,[1] an unusual devotion for his time.

  1. ^ a b c Paxson, p. 346.
  2. ^ Truesdale, Dorothy S. (October 1940). Rochester Views The Third Term 1880, p. 3. Rochester History. Retrieved March 12, 2022.
  3. ^ a b Paxson, p. 347.