Benjamin Wade
Benjamin Wade was born in Springfield, Massachusetts, on October 27th 1800. He was from an extremely poor family and worked as a laborer on the Erie Canal. He taught school before studying medicine in Albany (1823-1825) and law in Ohio (1825-1828). In 1828, Wade began work as a lawyer in Jefferson, Ohio.
As a member of the Whig Party, Wade served in the Ohio Senate in 1837. Between 1847 and 1851 Wade was the judge of the third judicial court of Ohio. Wade then joined the Republican Party in 1851 and was elected to the U.S. Senate where he met other anti-slavery figures such as Thaddeus Stevens and Charles Sumner. During the next few years he played an active role in the campaign against the Fugitive Slave Act and the Kansas-Nebraska Act.
Wade was one of the most radical politicians in the United States, supporting votes for women, trade union rights, and equal civil rights for African Americans. He highly criticized capitalism and argued that an economic......
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