Thomas Ford (politician)

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Thomas Ford
8^th Governor of Illinois
In office December 8, 1842 – December 9, 1846
Lieutenant(s)	Stinson Anderson
Preceded by	Thomas Carlin
Succeeded by	Augustus C. French

Born	December 5, 1800 Uniontown, Pennsylvania
Died	November 3, 1850 Peoria, Illinois
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Frances Hambaugh
Profession	Law

Thomas Ford (December 5, 1800 - November 3, 1850) was a Democrat and governor of Illinois from 1842 to 1846 remembered largely for the Illinois Mormon War. He is also the author of A History of Illinois (Chicago, 1854), published posthumously about the state from its founding in 1818 until 1847.

1 Early life
2 Governorship
3 Illinois Mormon War
4 Death and Beyond
5 References
6 External links

[edit] Early life

Ford was born in Uniontown, Fayette County, Pennsylvania. He was the first governor to grow up in Illinois. His widowed mother took him and his siblings west in hopes of crossing the Mississippi River in 1804 to buy cheap land. At St. Louis she was told about the Louisiana Purchase and that land was no longer cheap there because it now belonged to America. So she settled in Illinois instead.

Ford was the half-brother to George Forquer, who later became the state's attorney general. The two would eventually share a law office together, and Forquer aided Ford in his early years as a lawyer and judge. But, he took a brief time away from the law to become a spy against Black Hawk shortly before the Black Hawk War in 1832. He was the state's attorney in Western Illinois, then was elected as a state court judge in the north in 1836. He later served as a municipal judge in Chicago, before becoming a state court judge again. This led to his joining the Supreme Court of Illinois as an associate justice, 1841-42. He was very interested in politics and bragged that he attended every session of the state legislature from 1825-1847.

Ford married Frances Hambaugh in 1828 and had five children by her, but his personal life was never calm. He was accused of taking "stimulants" as governor, suggesting that it might have harmed his career, but there is no definitive evidence of drug abuse. His wife died of cancer in 1850 at the age of 38, and he followed her in death three weeks later from tuberculosis. Of his three daughters, two were said to have died young.^{[citation needed]} His two sons were both lynched as outlaws in Kansas in the 1870s, one dying under mysterious circumstances.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Governorship

Ford's rise in the judiciary led to his election as governor in 1842, becoming one of the most controversial politicians in the nation's history. He worked hard to repair the fiscally irresponsible Internal Improvements Act that built expensive bridges, canals, roads and highways, often in places where few people or communities existed. This bill was passed years earlier with the aid of a previous state representative, Abraham Lincoln, and Ford's actions helped turn the economic crisis around, although the debt for the Act would not be paid off until 1882. Ford also worked to build the Illinois and Michigan Canal, which greatly improved the state's finances.

[edit] Illinois Mormon War

His tenure as governor is best remembered for the "Illinois Mormon War", particularly his dealings with the Mormon city of Nauvoo, Hancock County, Illinois, and with the assassination of their leader, Joseph Smith, Jr in 1844.^{[citation needed]}

Ford wrote extensively of his dealings with the Mormon community, and was especially critical of their religion. He called Smith "the most successful impostor in modern times," and said he hoped that the increasingly popular Mormonism would not replace traditional Christianity, which in turn would make him out to be a modern-day Pontius Pilate. Ford took some steps to impede the anti-Mormons, but with little results. The conflict grew heated, with hundreds on both sides being driven from their homes, and mobs that eventually employed several thousands of people.

At one point, Ford encouraged Joseph and his brother, Hyrum Smith, to go to Carthage, the county seat, to face criminal charges in the destruction of the newspaper, the Nauvoo Expositor. Once there, the Smiths were charged with treason, and Ford abandoned them to be guarded by the Carthage Greys, an anti-Mormon militia that helped murder them on June 27, 1844.

Ford denied being responsible. However, two men later gave affidavits suggesting Ford knew of the plot and could have approved of it. He was later claimed to have said, "it's all nonsense; you will have to drive the Mormons out yet." This is exactly what happened. Several residents of Hancock County, and many residents from several surrounding counties, met and decided on a plan of action that later forced the Mormon retreat into Utah, led by Brigham Young, by 1846.

While Ford opposed the Mormons, he also claimed to oppose the anti-Mormon faction that eventually drove them from the state. Ford defended his meek actions during the crisis, saying hated minorities are never safe from hostile majorities. He said, "Men engaged in unpopular projects expect more protection from the laws than the laws are able to furnish in the face of popular excitement." He believed that a politicized militia and court system, as well as weak powers granted him by state law, prevented him from doing more to stop the Illinois Mormon War. His criticisms lead to a constitutional convention in 1847, which empowered future governors over state affairs.

[edit] Death and Beyond

Ford died in Peoria, Peoria County, Illinois. Interment was at Springdale Cemetery, Peoria. Ford County, Illinois is named for him.

[edit] References

This article incorporates facts obtained from The Political Graveyard.
Ford, Thomas, A History of Illinois (Chicago: S.C. Griggs & Co. 1854). See this partial transcription.
Ford, Thomas, A History of Illinois (1995 edition with introduction by Rodney O. Davis. Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press. 1995).