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Roscoe Conkling
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{{short description|American politician (1829β1888)}} {{for multi|the Missouri judge|Roscoe P. Conkling|the New York lawyer|Roscoe Seely Conkling}} {{Infobox officeholder |name = Roscoe Conkling |image = Roscoe Conkling c. 1868 (cropped).jpg |caption = Senator Conkling, {{circa|1866-68}} |jr/sr = United States Senator |state = [[New York (state)|New York]] |term_start = March 4, 1867 |term_end = May 16, 1881 |predecessor = [[Ira Harris]] |successor = [[Elbridge G. Lapham|Elbridge Lapham]] |office1 = Member of the<br />[[U.S. House of Representatives]]<br />from [[New York (state)|New York]] |constituency1= {{ushr|NY|20|20th district}} |term_start1 = March 4, 1859 |term_end1 = March 3, 1863 |predecessor1 = [[Orsamus B. Matteson|Orsamus Matteson]] |successor1 = [[Francis Kernan]] (redistricting) |constituency2= {{ushr|NY|21|21st district}} |term_start2 = March 4, 1865 |term_end2 = March 3, 1867 |predecessor2 = [[Francis Kernan]] |successor2 = [[Alexander H. Bailey|Alexander Bailey]] |office3 = [[List of mayors of Utica, New York|Mayor of Utica]] |term_start3 = March 9, 1858 |term_end3 = November 19, 1859 |predecessor3 = [[Alrick Hubbell]] |successor3 = Charles Wilson |office4 = [[Oneida County, New York|Oneida County]] District Attorney |term_start4 = April 22, 1850 |term_end4 = December 31, 1850 |predecessor4 = Calvert Comstock |successor4 = [[Samuel B. Garvin]] |birth_date = {{birth date|1829|10|30}} |birth_place = [[Albany, New York]], U.S. |death_date = {{death date and age|1888|4|18|1829|10|30}} |death_place = [[New York, New York]], U.S. |resting_place = [[Forest Hill Cemetery (Utica, New York)|Forest Hill Cemetery]]<br />[[Utica, New York]], U.S. |party = [[Whig Party (United States)|Whig]] (before 1854)<br />[[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] (1854β1888) |parents = [[Alfred Conkling]]<br />Eliza Cockburn |spouse = Julia Seymour |children = |relatives = [[Frederick A. Conkling]] (brother)<br />[[Alfred Conkling Coxe Sr.]] (nephew) |signature = Roscoe Conkling signature.svg }} '''Roscoe Conkling''' (October 30, 1829{{spaced ndash}}April 18, 1888) was an American lawyer and [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] politician who represented [[New York (state)|New York]] in the [[United States House of Representatives]] and the [[United States Senate]]. He was a leader of the Republican [[Stalwart (politics)|Stalwart]] faction and a dominant figure in the United States Senate during the 1870s. As senator, his control of [[patronage]] at the [[United States Custom House (New York City)|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.{{sfn|Paxson|p=346}} 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]]. Conkling publicly led opposition to proposals for civil service reform, which he called "[[snivel service reform]],"<ref>Truesdale, Dorothy S. (October 1940). [https://www.libraryweb.org/~rochhist/v2_1940/v2i4.pdf Rochester Views The Third Term 1880], p. 3. ''Rochester History''. Retrieved March 12, 2022.</ref> and defended the prerogatives of senators in appointments. His conflict with President Garfield over appointments eventually led to [[1881 United States Senate special elections in New York|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 [[Assassination of James A. Garfield|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.{{sfn|Paxson|p=347}} Conkling turned down two presidential appointments to the [[United States Supreme Court]]: first to the position of Chief Justice in 1873{{sfn|Paxson|p=346}} 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 {{CURRENTYEAR}}) to have done so.{{sfn|Paxson|p=347}} Conkling, who was [[Temperance movement|temperate]] and detested [[tobacco]], was known for his physical condition, maintained through regular exercise and [[boxing]],{{sfn|Paxson|p=346}} an unusual hobby for his time.
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