Roscoe Conkling

Roscoe Conkling
Senator Conkling, c. 1866-68
United States Senator from New York
In office March 4, 1867 – May 16, 1881
Preceded by	Ira Harris
Succeeded by	Elbridge Lapham
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York
In office March 4, 1859 – March 3, 1863
Preceded by	Orsamus Matteson
Succeeded by	Francis Kernan (redistricting)
Constituency	20th district
In office March 4, 1865 – March 3, 1867
Preceded by	Francis Kernan
Succeeded by	Alexander Bailey
Constituency	21st district
Mayor of Utica
In office March 9, 1858 – November 19, 1859
Preceded by	Alrick Hubbell
Succeeded by	Charles Wilson
Oneida County District Attorney
In office April 22, 1850 – December 31, 1850
Preceded by	Calvert Comstock
Succeeded by	Samuel B. Garvin
Personal details
Born	(1829-10-30)October 30, 1829 Albany, New York, U.S.
Died	April 18, 1888(1888-04-18) (aged 58) New York, New York, U.S.
Resting place	Forest Hill Cemetery Utica, New York, U.S.
Political party	Whig (before 1854) Republican (1854–1888)
Spouse	Julia Seymour
Parent(s)	Alfred Conkling Eliza Cockburn
Relatives	Frederick A. Conkling (brother) Alfred Conkling Coxe Sr. (nephew)
Signature

Roscoe Conkling (October 30, 1829 – April 18, 1888) was an American lawyer and Republican politician who represented New York in the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate. He was a leader of the Republican Stalwart faction and a dominant figure in the United States Senate during the 1870s. As senator, his control of patronage at the New York Customs House, one of the busiest commercial ports in the world, made him very powerful. His comity with President Ulysses S. Grant and conflict with Presidents Rutherford B. Hayes and James A. Garfield were defining features of American politics of the 1870s and 1880s.^[1] He also participated, as a member of the Joint Committee on Reconstruction, in the drafting of the landmark Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.

Roscoe's assertions during an 1882 court case effected the important constitutional precedent for interpreting the fourteenth amendment as mandating that corporations should have the same rights as persons. Having declined, that year, his nomination to be a Supreme Court Judge, (as a corporate lawyer, he could command a higher salary) Roscoe represented the Southern Pacific Railroad Company against the State of California. He argued at the Supreme Court that the Southern Railroad Company and its creditors and stockholders should be considered as 'persons' and that the Fourteenth Amendment applied to them and that they were therefore protected from being taxed by the state. Roscoe argued that, when the amendment was drawn up, he had specifically insisted that the word "People" be amended to "persons" and that the committee had, in this way, intentionally endorsed the principle that corporations had the same rights as people.. Since he was the only surviving member of the Joint Committee on Reconstruction which had drafted the Fourteenth Amendment in 1866, his memory of their intentions went unchallenged, although Jill Lepore has argued that, in light of the time that had passed before the matter arose, and in the light of the inspection of the notes of the Committee's deliberations making no mention of any such intention, "much evidence suggests... that Conkling was lying." ^[2]

Conkling publicly led opposition to proposals for civil service reform, which he called "snivel service reform,"^[3] and defended the prerogatives of senators in appointments. His conflict with President Garfield over appointments eventually led to Conkling's resignation in 1881. He ran for reelection in an attempt to display his support from the New York political machine and his power, but lost the special election, during which Garfield was assassinated. Though Conkling never returned to elected office, the assassination elevated Chester A. Arthur, a former New York Collector and Conkling ally, to the presidency. Their relationship was destroyed when Arthur pursued civil service reform, out of his sense of duty to the late President Garfield. Conkling remained active in politics and practiced law in New York City until his death in 1888.^[4]

Conkling turned down two presidential appointments to the United States Supreme Court: first to the position of Chief Justice in 1873^[1] and then as an associate justice in 1882. In 1882, Conkling was confirmed by the Senate but declined to serve, the last person (as of 2025) to have done so.^[4]

Conkling, who was temperate and detested tobacco, was known for his physical condition, maintained through regular exercise and boxing,^[1] an unusual hobby for his time.