John Albion Andrew

John Albion Andrew
Carte de visite of Andrew, by James Wallace Black, 19th century
25th Governor of Massachusetts
In office January 3, 1861 – January 4, 1866
Lieutenant	John Z. Goodrich John Nesmith Joel Hayden
Preceded by	Nathaniel P. Banks
Succeeded by	Alexander H. Bullock
Member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives from the 6th Suffolk district
In office January 6, 1858 – January 5, 1859 Serving with George P. Clapp
Preceded by	Countywide district
Succeeded by	Thornton K. Lothrop Martin Brimmer II
Personal details
Born	(1818-05-31)May 31, 1818 Windham, Massachusetts (now Windham, Maine)
Died	October 30, 1867(1867-10-30) (aged 49) Boston, Massachusetts
Political party	Whig (1840–1848) Free Soil (1848–1854) Republican (1854–1867)
Spouse	Eliza Jane Hersey
Children	John F. Andrew
Profession	Lawyer
Signature

John Albion Andrew (May 31, 1818 – October 30, 1867) was an American lawyer and politician from Massachusetts. He was elected in 1860 as the 25th Governor of Massachusetts, serving between 1861 and 1866, and led the state's contributions to the Union cause during the American Civil War (1861–1865). He was a guiding force behind the creation of some of the first African-American units in the United States Army, including the 54th Massachusetts Infantry. He belonged to the Whig, Free Soil, and Republican parties during his career.

Educated at Bowdoin College, Andrew was a radical abolitionist of slavery from an early age, engaged in the legal defense of fugitive slaves against owners seeking their return. He provided legal support to John Brown after his 1859 raid on Harpers Ferry, Virginia, raising his profile and propelling him to the Massachusetts governor's chair. Andrew was a persistent voice criticizing President Abraham Lincoln's conduct of the war, and pressing him to end slavery. By the end of the war, his politics had moderated, and he came to support the Reconstruction policies of Lincoln's successor, Andrew Johnson.

In Massachusetts, Andrew opposed the Know Nothing movement of the 1850s and the state's strict alcohol prohibition laws, and oversaw the state takeover of the Hoosac Tunnel construction project. In 1865, he signed legislation establishing the Massachusetts State Police, the first statewide police force of its type in the nation. He died early of apoplexy at the age of 49.