John S. Carlile

John Snyder Carlile ( born December 16, 1817 in Winchester, Virginia; † October 24, 1878 in Clarksburg, West Virginia ) was an American politician who represented the state of Virginia in both houses of Congress.

Lawyer and politician

Up to the age of 14 John Carlile was taught at home by his mother; after that he worked as a salesman in a store. He subsequently studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1840 and began in Beverly in today's West Virginia to practice as a lawyer. His political career began as a member of the Democratic Party, for which he took part in 1850 as a delegate to the Constitutional Convention of Virginia; He also sat from 1847 to 1851 in the state Senate.

1854 joined Carlile at the recently founded Know-Nothing Party, for the first time he belonged to the House of Representatives of the United States between March 4th 1855 and March 3, 1857. In the following discussion about the secession of Virginia Carlile belonged to the faction that remained loyal to the Union and was opposed to secession. He also agreed to the secession convention in 1861, where he participated as a delegate of Harrison County, with "No".

In the American Civil War

In June of the same year Carlile spoke out at a meeting of secession opponents in Wheeling this week brought against a separation of the Unionist set part of Virginia; Rather, he argued for the Congress should recognize the state government formed in Wheeling as the only legitimate representative of the interests of Virginia. On June 13, he presented to this Convention, a document entitled "A Declaration of the People of Virginia ," was called in the rebuilding of the government.

1861 Carlile was also elected a second time as a Unionist to the U.S. House of Representatives. He remained there but only from 4 to 13 July, before moving within the Congress in the Senate, where he served until March 3, 1865. There he took the view that they do not involve the uprising of states, but by individuals to the rebellion in the south. Moreover, he said the Congress from the right to take action with respect to slavery in this context; Carlile was himself slaveholders. He met several times with U.S. President Abraham Lincoln to get support from him.

Ultimately Carlile could not enforce its political demands; include the creation of West Virginia, he was unable to prevent. After the war he retired from politics and returned home to devote himself again to his legal profession.