Elihu B. Washburne

Elihu Washburne
United States Minister to France
In office March 23, 1869 – September 5, 1877
President	Ulysses S. Grant Rutherford B. Hayes
Preceded by	John Dix
Succeeded by	Edward F. Noyes
25th United States Secretary of State
In office March 5, 1869 – March 16, 1869
President	Ulysses S. Grant
Preceded by	William H. Seward
Succeeded by	Hamilton Fish
Dean of the United States House of Representatives
In office March 4, 1863 – March 6, 1869
Preceded by	John S. Phelps
Succeeded by	Henry L. Dawes
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Illinois
In office March 4, 1853 – March 6, 1869
Preceded by	William Bissell
Succeeded by	Horatio C. Burchard
Constituency	1st district (1853–63) 3rd district (1863–69)
Personal details
Born	Elihu Benjamin Washburne (1816-09-23)September 23, 1816 Livermore, Massachusetts (now Maine), U.S.
Died	October 22, 1887(1887-10-22) (aged 71) Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Resting place	Greenwood Cemetery, Galena, Illinois
Political party	Whig (before 1856) Republican (1856–1887)
Spouse	Adele Gratiot
Children	7, including Hempstead
Education	Maine Wesleyan Seminary Harvard University
Signature

Elihu Benjamin Washburne (September 23, 1816 – October 22, 1887) was an American politician and diplomat. A member of the Washburn family, which played a prominent role in the early formation of the United States Republican Party, he served as a congressman from Illinois before and during the American Civil War. He was a political ally of President Abraham Lincoln and General (later President) Ulysses S. Grant. During Grant's administration, Washburne was the 25th United States Secretary of State briefly in 1869, and was the United States Minister to France from 1869 to 1877.

In his youth, when his family became destitute, Washburne left home in Maine at the age of 14, to support himself and further his education. After working for newspapers in Maine and studying law, Washburne passed the bar and moved to Galena, Illinois, where he became a partner in a successful law firm. Washburne was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1852 and served from 1853 to 1869, which included the American Civil War and the first part of Reconstruction. While advocating Lincoln's war policy, Washburne sponsored an up-and-coming Grant; they were acquainted because Grant had moved to Galena shortly before the war to work in his father's leather goods business. Washburne advocated for Grant's promotions in the Union Army, and protected him from critics in Washington and in the field. Washburne was Grant's advocate in Congress throughout the war, and their friendship and association lasted through Grant's two terms as president.

As a leader of the Radical Republicans, Washburne opposed the Reconstruction policies of President Andrew Johnson and supported African American suffrage and civil rights. Washburne was appointed United States Secretary of State in 1869 by President Grant, out of respect for his championship of Grant's career during the Civil War, and to give Washburne diplomatic clout after being appointed minister to France. Washburne's tenure as Secretary of State lasted for only eleven days, but he served in France for eight years, where he became known for diplomatic integrity and his humanitarian support of Americans, other neutrals, and Germans in France during the Franco-Prussian War. For his efforts, he received formal praise from governments in both France and Germany. Washburne's friendship with Grant ended after the contentious 1880 Republican convention, when Washburne was a candidate for president. He did not garner wide support, but Grant had been the front runner for an unprecedented third term, and was disappointed when the party eventually turned to dark horse James A. Garfield. In retirement, Washburne published a biography of anti-slavery politician Edward Coles, and a memoir of his own diplomatic career in France.