Citizen Memorial: Benjamin Franklin Wade - Feeding Hills, MA

Benjamin Franklin Wade

Feeding Hills, MA

N 42° 04.510 W 072° 39.151

Short Description: 

A monument honoring the man who was one vote away from becoming President of the United States, Benjamin Franklin Wade, is tuck away in Wade Park, a small neighborhood park on Franklin Street, in Feeding Hills, MA.

Long Description:

A small, neglected plaque reveals an unusual bit of history about the man who was one vote away from becoming President of the United States. The plaque is inscribed:

IN HONOR OF

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN WADE

BORN OCTOBER 27, 1800

IN FEEDING HILLS

PRESIDENT PRO TEMP

UNITED STATES SENATE

DIED MARCH 2, 1878

IN JEFFERSON, OHIO

Benjamin Franklin Wade was born in Feeding Hills, MA, moved to Jefferson, Ohio, studied law, and was admitted to the bar in 1828. He became the senator from Ohio in 1851 and rose to become the President Pro Tempore of the senate as a Radical Republican.  After the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln,  Vice President Andrew Johnson became President. That meant that Benjamin Franklin Wade was next in line to become President, since there was no Vice President. . 

When  President Andrew Johnson was impeached by the House of Representatives in 1868,  a trial was held in the senate. If Johnson was convicted Wade would then become President. Even though most senators thought Johnson was guilty, the vote to convict Johnson failed by one vote. Many senators considered Wade as being too radical.