Charles A. Wickliffe
A politically flexible Kentucky statesman who served as governor, postmaster general, and a Unionist congressman during the Civil War, often defying his own party.
1788–1869 (age 81)·American politician·Birthday: June 8
Biography
Charles A. Wickliffe was a Kentucky lawyer and landowner who embodied the contentious, shifting politics of the antebellum border South. Elected to the statehouse and then as governor, he was a nominal Whig but prized pragmatism over party loyalty, frequently clashing with the party's titan, Henry Clay. His reward for supporting William Henry Harrison was appointment as U.S. Postmaster General, where he oversaw a vast expansion of service and controversial reforms like banning abolitionist literature from the mail in the South. When the Civil War shattered old alliances, Wickliffe, a slaveholder but a staunch Unionist, was elected to Congress as a 'Unionist' opposed to secession. He became a critical voice for the border states in Washington, supporting the war effort while fiercely criticizing Lincoln's emancipation policies. His final public act was as a member of the failed 1869 peace conference seeking to avert war, a fitting capstone to a career spent navigating the impossible middle ground in a nation tearing itself apart.
#1 When Charles Was Born
The biggest hits of 1788
Charles's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1788Born
1793Started school
1801Became a teenager
1804Could drive
1806Could vote
1809Turned 21
1818Turned 30
1828Turned 40
1838Turned 50
1848Turned 60
1858Turned 70
1868Turned 80
President: Andrew Johnson
1869Died at 81
President: Ulysses S. Grant
Key Achievements
- Served as the 11th U.S. Postmaster General from 1841 to 1845, expanding postal routes and services.
- Acted as the 14th Governor of Kentucky from 1839 to 1840, focusing on internal improvements and fiscal policy.
- Represented Kentucky in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1861 to 1863 as a pro-Union voice during the Civil War.
Did You Know?
He was the last surviving member of the cabinet of President William Henry Harrison.
As Postmaster General, he issued the first officially authorized postal card in the United States.
He was appointed by President Andrew Johnson as one of the commissioners to the unsuccessful Hampton Roads Peace Conference in 1865.
“The Union must be preserved, but not by trampling the rights of the sovereign states.”
