Edwin D. Morgan
Papers, 1833-1883
SC11818

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Biographical Note:

Edwin Denison Morgan, "merchant in politics," was born in Washington, Berkshire County, Massachusetts on February 8, 1811, the son of Jasper and Catherine Morgan. The family removed to Windsor, Connecticut, where he received most of his preliminary education. His career in business began in 1824, when he was hired as a clerk in his uncle's grocery store at Hartford, Connecticut. By 1832 he was his uncle's partner, while making his first venture into politics, having been elected to the Hartford city council. Desiring a wider sphere of activity, he removed to New York City in 1836, where, in partnership with Morris Earle and A.D. Pomeroy, he established a wholesale grocery firm. The firm was dissolved by the end of 1837. Thence, he began business on his own account with expanded interests in the importation of coffee, tea, sugar, and spices.

In 1843, he organized E.D. Morgan & Company, an import house, in partnership with George D. Morgan, his cousin, and Frederick Avery, who left the firm a year later and was replaced by J.T. Terry. Solon Humphreys was taken in as a full partner in 1854 after working several years as an agent in St. Louis, Missouri. Largely through his connections, the firm became the principal agent for Missouri securities. Nearly two-thirds of the bonds issued by the State of Missouri from 1835-1860, plus a large share of securities of St. Louis, were sold through the house of Morgan - in all perhaps thirty million dollars worth. All the while the firm maintained its wholesale grocery trade.

Meanwhile, in 1849, Morgan ventured into politics again when he was elected a member of the New York City Board of Assistant Aldermen, which acknowledged his leadership abilities by appointing him as the presiding officer. Here he made a name for himself as an able administrator as chairman of the Sanitary Committee during the cholera epidemic of 1848. The Sanitary Committee, over strong public opposition, commandeered the public school buildings as emergency hospitals, staffed with physicians and pharmacists and helped rid the city of the disease within six months.

In 1850 he was elected to the first of two terms in the New York State Senate, where his most notable accomplishment was to help secure the passage of legislation in 1853 that authorized the formation of the New York Central Railroad Company by consolidating several short lines. Morgan withheld his vote to minimize conflict of interest charges since he had large stock holdings in some of the lines involved. Some of the individuals whom Morgan worked closely with in the consolidation movement included Russell Sage, Erastus Corning and John V.L. Pruyn. In addition to his interest in the New York Central, he was president of the Hudson River Railroad Company, another financially troubled operation that was turned into a profitable enterprise largely through his endeavors.

Edwin Morgan began his political career as a member of the Whig Party, but after it declined, he switched to the newly formed Republican Party in 1855. This decision had probably influenced his two closest political allies, Thurlow Weed and William H. Seward, to do the same. Because of his administrative abilities Morgan was named chairman of the New York State Republican Committee, which oversaw the party's financial and fundraising activities. Within a year, he also assumed the position of chairman of the Republican National Committee. This made him the chief fund-raiser for the presidential campaign of Charles C. Fremont. Although Fremont did not win, Morgan's stature with the party was not diminished.

In 1860, his fund-raising efforts were more successful with the election of Abraham Lincoln. Among Morgan's letters is one from Lincoln urging Morgan to concentrate as much campaign money as possible in Indiana and Pennsylvania, the two states most needed to ensure a victory in 1860. Morgan remained as chairman of the National Republican Committee through 1866, where he greatly assisted in the re-election of Abraham Lincoln in 1864 and the election of Ulysses S. Grant in 1868.

In 1858 Morgan was chosen by Thurlow Weed to be the Republican candidate for governor of New York. At first, the odds seemed against him, but his ability to conduct a successful campaign coupled with the rising tide of Republicanism, won him a plurality of over seventeen thousand votes. In office Morgan did not act as a mere satellite of Weed's as demonstrated by his vetoes of the Washington Market Bill and the New York City Street Railway Bill. There is no evidence that Weed exerted pressure on Morgan for the passage of these bills or other legislation, as well as in matters of patronage. His first term was also noted for his successes in improving the state's credit, strengthening its canal system, and making prisons, insurance companies, and charities more effective. These accomplishments, along with divided Democratic opposition, resulted in his re-election by a large plurality. His second administration was largely devoted to military matters with the outbreak of Civil War. As commander-in-chief of the New York State Militia, he responded to President Lincoln's call for volunteers to serve on behalf of the Union Army by enrolling and equipping 320,000 men. Here again, his keen administrative abilities were demonstrated, having accomplished the task quickly and efficiently, without the kind of scandals that marred governments of most other Union states who were forced into making hasty war preparations.

Governor Morgan declined the opportunity to run for a third term in 1862, as he had decided to seek the United States Senate seat being vacated by Preston King. He was successful in this endeavor with the help of Thurlow Week and a Republican Party majority in the New York State Legislature. His Senate career was not characterized by oratorical display, but by diligent work, both in the committee room and on the floor. However, he never became a leader in the Senate as he had in the Executive Chamber. For example, he played no significant role in financial policy in spite of his successful career in business and finance. His votes generally reflected the interests of conservative Eastern merchants and bankers, with the exception of high tariff legislation, since it would hurt his own business. As for his position on other matters, Morgan never really found a comfortable niche or aligned consistently with a power block in the Senate.

He was perceived as being too conservative by the Radical Republican bloc even though he supported much of their agenda including civil rights legislation and voting for the impeachment of President Andrew Johnson. On the other hand, his support of the Radical Republican agenda alienated him from the conservatives. In 1869 he was defeated for re-election after a bitter contest with ex-Governor Reuben Eaton Fenton.

Following his defeat, Morgan immersed himself in business, society and politics. In business he gave less time to the wholesale groceries than he had a score of years earlier when he had entered public life. Terry and Humphreys continued to oversee this realm. In addition, the firm's brokerage and securities business had greatly expanded, to the point that it was comparable to the wholesale grocery business. Morgan was also involved in the management of a financially troubled railroad again when, in 1872, he was named to the board of directors of the Erie Railroad. The gross mismanagement and plundering of assets by Daniel Drew and Jay Gould had made the attainment of profit an impossible task.

In politics Morgan served again as chairman of the Republican National Committee from 1872 to 1876. The committee's principal responsibility was the re-election of U.S. Grant. During these years Morgan was known as an advocate for sound currency and civil service reform. In 1876 he was again nominated for governor, but the machine element of his party, headed by Roscoe Conkling, was dissatisfied with him, while the Democratic ticket had a New Yorker, Samuel J. Tilden as its presidential candidate. Thus Morgan was defeated by Lucius Robinson. When his old friend Chester A. Arthur succeeded to the presidency in 1881, he nominated Morgan for Secretary of the Treasury. Although he was confirmed unanimously by the Senate, he refused the position. The last few years of his life were devoted to philanthropic endeavors and patronage of the fine arts. He died in his New York City home on February 14, 1883.

Description of Papers:

The preceding biographical sketch clearly reveals Edwin D. Morgan's long and varied career as the "merchant in politics." It is this role that is so vividly depicted in his personal papers, which constitute a rich vein of material for the study of mid-nineteenth century American history. Among the major events that are well documented in these papers are the formation of the Republican Party, New York State military policy during Civil War, and the turbulent politics of the post-war reconstruction. The arrangement of these papers is according to four series as follows: correspondence, financial papers, political papers, and scrapbooks.

The Correspondence Series, comprising the largest and most significant part of Morgan's papers, covering all phases of his career in business, government service, and politics, was created roughly between 1833 and 1883. It contains a considerable amount of frank discussion regarding political issues and governmental affairs. Considering the list of political and business notables with whom he corresponded, researchers have a collection of high research potential. Included among Morgan's correspondents are Chester A. Arthur, John J. Astor, Salmon P. Chase, Roscoe Conkling, Erastus Corning, John A. Dix, Hamilton Fish, James A. Garfield, Jay Gould, U.S. Grant, Horace Greeley, Rutherford B. Hayes, Abraham Lincoln, William H. Seward, Horatio Seymour, Edwin M. Stanton, Charles Sumner, Cornelius and William Vanderbilt, and Thurlow Weed. The letters of these and other important correspondents are mostly in a subseries of special name files that were created by removing items from the chronological, alphabetical, and letterbook files. It should be noted here that the alphabetical files consist of letters received during his last session as U.S. Senator, 1867-1868, from constituents and lobbyists regarding legislation and government policies. The letterbook files were created from disbound scrapbooks that contained letters relating to the commercial activities of Morgan & Company, railroad investments, and political affairs of the Republican Party. Some of the letters have been transferred to the personal name files. An index to most of Edwin D. Morgan's incoming letters is available.

As for Morgan's outgoing letters, they are found in 60 volumes of lettercopy books, 1843-1882. Political and business matters are the predominant topics of these letters. The length and depth of discussions in his own letters are in stark contrast to those written by his correspondents, for Morgan tended to be brief and to the point. The arrangement of these volumes is generally in chronological order with certain gaps and overlaps in the dates. Also included are special sequences, such as those relating to business affairs of Sheppard & Morgan, 1855-1857, and those of his personal confidant, David F. Merritt, 1866-1881.

The Financial Papers Series comprises ten cubic feet (24 boxes) containing account ledgers, journals, invoices, stock certificates, and legal documents, generated roughly from 1839 to 1882. These records, concerned primarily with his personal finances, reveal that Morgan was indeed quite wealthy, but more importantly, the sources of his income, and how it was expended or invested. His income was derived from Edwin D. Morgan & Co. (E.D.M.), a wholesale grocery distributor, and numerous investments in banks, insurance, railroads and real estate. On the other hand, major expenditures that yielded no monetary return were for Republican Party campaigns, philanthropic endeavors on behalf of artists, educational institutions, and charitable organizations, as well as the many goods and services required to maintain a luxurious lifestyle.

The most comprehensive sources of this information are the journals. Designated as "D," "E" and "F," they provide monthly entries summarizing cash receipts and disbursements from 1856 to 1883. These are posted to a ledger that organizes the same information by name of account. A daily chronicle of E.D.M.'s credits and debits are found in cash books, 1859-1873 and 1879-1883, that contained detailed entries which are valuable for documenting his affluent lifestyle. Similarly E.D.M.'s checkbooks, 1865-1883, contain memoranda of expenditures for goods and services. Also included among his bookkeeping records are bill books, ca.1858-1875, that provide a record of when bills were received and the date of payment. Ancillary papers in this series include invoices, 1835-1843 and 1859-1883, noting the receipt of payment for various purchases he had made, certificates for securities he held in railroads, insurance companies and banks. Lastly there is an assortment of legal documents relating to the estate of Morgan and members of his family.

The Politics and Government Series is comprised mostly of papers generated during Morgan's second term as governor, 1861-1862, when, as commander-in-chief of the New York Militia, he was responsible for enrolling and equipping soldiers for the Union Army. Principal kinds of records here include the contracts, vouchers, and related papers showing the state's procedure for entering into agreements and making payments to various private firms that supplied clothing, weapons, ammunition, and other rations to troops being assembled at Albany, Elmira, and New York City. (In addition, there are abstracts of accounts and vouchers submitted to the United States Government for reimbursement of payroll and supply expenditures). Other papers concerning military affairs include official correspondence, memoranda and reports from various state and Federal agencies; Morgan's decision on requests for exemptions from military service; general and garrison court martials at Fort Hamilton, and coast and harbor defense plans.

The portion of this series relating to his Senate career consists mainly of committee meeting announcements and public document mailing lists, which have informational value only. As for his activities on behalf of the Republican Party, these papers contain campaign circulars and memoranda on the receipt and distribution of campaign funds. Along with relevant correspondence, these papers provide a valuable record on the formation of the Republican Party and its quick rise to prominence that made it a viable political force in the United States.

Lastly, the Morgan Papers contain a series of scrapbooks (10 volumes) that present a narrative of his career in state and federal government. They are valuable for the many contemporary accounts of politics during the mid-nineteenth century, especially the formation of the Republican Party in New York, and military policies during the Civil War.

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