Contributed by Maine State Archives
Description
Francis Ormond Jonathan Smith (1806-1876) was editor of Portland's Eastern Argus, the state's most influential Democratic newspaper. He ignored the views of the party's leading men and supported Andrew Jackson for President. gaining many enemies in the process.
Smith served in the Maine House in 1830, but lost his bid for reelection. He began publication of the Augusta Age at the state's new capitol in 1831 and in September was elected to the Senate.
Serving as president of the Senate in 1832, Smith was elected to Congress in 1833 and reelected in 1834 and 1836. Smith devoted most of the 1840s and 1850s to the promotion of Samuel F.B. Morse's magnetic telegraph, an enterprise in which he made a fortune.
The successful negotiation of the Webster-Ashburton Treaty of 1842 to settle Maine's northern boundary was, in part, made possible by his skillful manipulation of public opinion in Maine.
During the Civil War he served two terms in the Maine House. Having broken with the Lincoln administration over the issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation, he became notorious as a southern sympathizer and "copperhead."
About This Item
- Title: F.O.J. Smith, Portland, 1832
- Creation Date: circa 1860
- Subject Date: circa 1832
- Location: Augusta, Kennebec County, ME
- Media: Carte de visite
- Dimensions: 7.6 cm x 5 cm
- Local Code: S8-145
- Object Type: Image
Cross Reference Searches
Standardized Subject Headings
- Smith, Francis O. J. (Francis Ormond Jonathan), 1806-1876--Portrait photographs
- Legislators--Maine
- Lawyers--Maine
- Maine. Legislature. Senate
- Editors--Maine
- Eastern Argus (Newspaper)
People
For more information about this item, contact:
Maine State Archives84 State House Station, Augusta, ME 04333-0084
(207) 287-5790
Website
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