An Evolution on Abolition: The Growth of George P. Webster

Some people continue to grow throughout their lives, even in adulthood, including in attitudes and perspectives. Such change is often so subtle that it goes unnoticed, but for some public figures, it is very visible.

One such example in the Civil War era is that of George Parmelee Webster. (Not the Colonel George P. Webster who died at Perryville.)

Webster, a Connecticut native, was a 49er, a lawyer, and, as secession arrived, a prominent Union supporter in Campbell County, Kentucky, making speeches and attending Union meetings throughout the area. He soon won a spot in the Kentucky legislature but resigned it to accept a position as an assistant quartermaster of U.S. Volunteers, for which he was stationed in nearby Covington, giving him opportunity to deliver other local addresses on occasion. This variety of experiences took part in the first half of his life, establishing his pattern of movement and a willingness to try something new that he kept for the rest of his years. His whole story is one of my favorites but is much too long to share here. One piece of his story, however, intrigues me - how his views of a controversial issue of the time changed during the war.

Newspaper stories describe a scuffle involving him in Newport on November 9, 1856, which, not coincidentally, was Election Day.

Webster had previously been a member of the Know-Nothing Party, but by the time of this election had become a Democrat, a change that did not sit well with his former colleagues.

As he went to vote, some nearby Know-Nothings yelled slurs at him, calling him various names. He feared for his safety and tried to back away, but someone struck him from behind while another rioter fired gunshots, though missing everyone. More insults and threats then came his way. Tension was high.

At one point, one of his antagonists loudly cheered for Republican Presidential candidate John C. Fremont in Webster’s direction. He intended it as a joke, but Webster (a supporter of Stephen A. Douglas) was in no laughing mood, responding: “That’s right. G_d D__n you; hallo for the man you like best. You are all d____d Abolitionists, and if you were in Ohio you would vote for Fremont!”

This mess eventually calmed down with no injuries (or even arrests) occurring other than perhaps some hurt feelings. Webster’s role in this fracas showed his opinion of abolitionists at that time.

After the Civil War had raged for half a year, Webster, a fervent pro-Union man and a frequent speaker at public meetings since the dawn of the secession crisis, spoke again at a gathering in Newport on October 6, 1861.

Abolition was a part of this discussion, but this time, instead of using that word as a slur against its supporters, he simply, “denied that the present war is waged for the extermination of slavery, but for the maintenance of the Union and the Constitution.”

This was not a radical change but actually showed that Webster now held a view similar to President Abraham Lincoln’s administration. That he spoke civilly on this subject on this occasion demonstrates a change in his approach since 1856. Had he used this opportunity to condemn abolitionists, as in 1856, the newspaper would have noted that, but it made no such critique.

In the next two-and-a-half years, he made his larger shift on this topic. On February 8, 1864, he appeared at an abolition meeting in Newport, at which he and another speaker, local abolitionist and lawyer Ira Root, “made strong anti-slavery speeches.” Both men were “in favor of the enlistment of negro soldiers in Kentucky.” 

Abolition was still not a popular idea in the slave state of Kentucky, but the use of African American troops was at least equally as controversial if not more so. Making such remarks in a public setting showed moral courage on Webster’s part and signaled how his attitude toward abolition had evolved drastically in the past eight years.

Following the war, he moved to St. Louis briefly, then headed to New York, where he later won a spot in that state’s legislature. At some time, maybe even before the war ended, he officially became a Republican, but just before 1890, he reverted back to being a Democrat and joined the infamous Tammany Hall organization.

He never achieved fame nor glory during his busy life, but he never stopped looking for new ventures to attempt and vocations to pursue. His life was among the most interesting stories of Campbell County in the Civil War that I've uncovered, but the growth he showed in regard to his perspective on abolition stands out as a noteworthy nugget from his life.