William Henry Bissell

William Henry Bissell ( born April 25, 1811 in Hartwick, Otsego County, New York, † March 18, 1860 in Springfield, Illinois ) was an American politician and from 1857 to 1860, the eleventh governor of Illinois. He also represented this state of 1849-1855 as a deputy in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Early years and political rise

William Bissell attended the schools of his home and then to 1835 the Philadelphia Medical College. Then he practiced in his homeland and later in Illinois as a doctor. Then he decided to additional studying law at Transylvania University. There he made his law degree in 1844.

Between 1840 and 1842 was a deputy in the Bissell House of Representatives from Illinois. In 1844 he was prosecuting attorney in the Second Judicial District of the State. He actively participated in the Mexican-American War and brought it up to the Colonel. After the end of the war he was elected to the Democratic Party in the U.S. House of Representatives. Between 1849 and 1855, he remained in Washington. After the founding of the Republican Party in 1854 Bissell joined this party, especially because he was an opponent of slavery has always been and thus felt better off with the Republicans. These nominated him for the upcoming 1856 gubernatorial elections. He managed to win the elections of November 4, 1856 47:45 percent of the vote to Democrat William Alexander Richardson.

Governor of Illinois

Bissell took up his new post on January 12, 1857. During his tenure, the budget for prisons has increased. The governor also strove for hospitals for the disabled. Railway construction step forward. Meanwhile, there was a continuous rail link between the Mississippi and the east coast, which ran through Illinois. It was then that a fraud scandal in the administration of the Illinois - Michigan Canal was uncovered and used a commission of inquiry. The population of Illinois was increased to about 1.7 million in 1860. Ten years earlier she had stood at about 851,000.

During his tenure, Bissell moved to pneumonia, where he died in March 1860. Thus he became the first governor of Illinois, who died in office. He was married to Emily James, with whom he had two children.