What do you know about the nation’s 22nd Vice President, Levi Morton, who served alongside Benjamin Harrison?
Levi Morton Facts:
- He was born in the small village of Shoreham, Vermont.
- His father was a New England preacher.
- He worked in a country store and school before discovering his passion for bookkeeping.
- His industriousness was noticed by Boston’s largest importing firm who recruited him.
- Morton got into the business of importing cotton, which fell apart during the Civil War.
- He later started a Wall St. banking firm, Morton, Bliss & Co., which was one of the nation’s richest.
- His generous campaign contributions made him a friend of Ulysses S. Grant & Sen. Roscoe Conkling.
- His wife, Lucy, disliked his “Old Testament name” and preferred to refer to him as “L.P.” instead.
- He once resolved a dispute between the US and Britain over an Alabama territory dispute.
- He lost his initial run for a House seat when opponents painted him as a “Plutocrat” & “Tool of Wall St.”
- He had only lost by a narrow margin, however, and won his second bid in 1878.
- The local paper said he was ”not loquacious” but was an “interesting talker”.
- The paper also said he had “one of the pleasantest expressions, that of the respectful, intelligent listener.”
- He was viewed as a tranquil, congenial and hospitable man who had a nice home for political meetings.
- Morton originally refused the vice presidency when Senate Boss Conkling disapproved.
- On his subsequent ticket with Harrison, he represented “family life and puritan values.”
- He had one child with his first marriage, who died in infancy, but had five daughters by his second wife.
- Morton’s Senate was dubbed “The Millionaire’s Club” with Senators who lobbied for big business.
- He tried to act neutral during his vice presidency, which infuriated Republicans who asked him to resign.
- President Harrison never particularly liked Levi Morton & was upset at his lack of support for the Force Bill.
- In 1894, he won the race for Governor of New York, rather than seeking the presidency.
- It was said Morton was “the safest governor NY ever had,” & that business taught him Conservatism.
- One of his deepest regrets was merging with JP Morgan’s bank and retiring his company name.
- He died in 1920, on his 96th birthday.
