Civil War
After his arrival in Dubuque, Allison took a prominent part in the politics of the nascent Republican Party. Allison was a delegate to the 1860 Republican National Convention in Chicago, which nominated Abraham Lincoln for President of the United States.
During the subsequent Civil War, he was on the staff of Iowa Governor Samuel J. Kirkwood, who ordered him to help the state raise regiments for the war. He personally helped raise four regiments. He was given the rank of lieutenant colonel during the war, although it was unlikely he actually served in uniform.
In 1862, in the midst of the war, Allison was elected to the United States House of Representatives as the representative of Iowa's newly-created 3rd congressional district. As a congressman and member of the House Ways and Means Committee, he pushed for higher tariffs.
Read more about this topic: William B. Allison
Famous quotes related to civil war:
“At Hayes’ General Store, west of the cemetery, hangs an old army rifle, used by a discouraged Civil War veteran to end his earthly troubles. The grocer took the rifle as payment ‘on account.’”
—Administration for the State of Con, U.S. public relief program (1935-1943)
“We have heard all of our lives how, after the Civil War was over, the South went back to straighten itself out and make a living again. It was for many years a voiceless part of the government. The balance of power moved away from it—to the north and the east. The problems of the north and the east became the big problem of the country and nobody paid much attention to the economic unbalance the South had left as its only choice.”
—Lyndon Baines Johnson (1908–1973)