James Hutchinson Woodworth

Woodworth ran for mayor as an Independent Democrat during a period when the national political parties, the Whigs and the Democrats, experienced great upheaval. His Mayoral campaign represented a stunning blow to the Democratic party of Chicago, unseating the Democratic Party's Mayor, James Curtiss; it would take the Democrats and Curtiss two full election cycles to regain the Mayoral office. The short lived Independent Democrats of Chicago is an early example of a successful large city "fusion party."[8]

Woodworth was sworn-in as mayor on March 14, 1848.[9]

As mayor, Woodworth presided over the opening of the Illinois and Michigan Canal on April 16, 1848. Woodworth was instrumental in opening Chicago to all major railroads.[10] His political opponents had preferred restricting the railroads' access to Chicago; the more liberal policy adopted by Woodworth, which permitted each railroad to have its own terminal in addition to access, enhanced the position of Chicago as a central trading location for the entire Midwest. He also facilitated the installation of telegraph lines to the west; on January 15, 1848, the first telegraph message to be received in Chicago was sent from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and received in Chicago, Illinois. By 1849, Woodworth's pro-commerce policies had established Chicago as an outfitting center for gold seekers heading west to seek their fortunes. During his terms the city's population grew to 20,000. By the end of his two mayoral terms Chicago had been transformed from a bustling frontier trading town to one of the major centers of commerce in the Midwest with a major stake in the opening of the West to the entire country.

During Woodworth's terms as Mayor, Chicago was challenged by a series of disasters. The first disaster was an outbreak of cholera; Woodworth responded to the cholera epidemic by building a municipal sewer system.[11] On March 12, 1849 there was a great flood caused by excess ice on the waterways. On July 21, 1849, Chicago was ravaged by a major fire which destroyed Tremont House in addition to a sizable number of other buildings.[12][13]

Woodworth's two inaugural addresses displayed consistent attention to several issues central to the development of Chicago. He voiced concern over the city's deficit financial position and in his second term shored up the finances through new loans. He requested additional funding for the Fire Department, the employment of physicians in the city's hospitals, repairs and improvements to the city's roads, waterways and wharfing facilities, the city jail, the city cemetery and the Chicago Public School system.

In 1850, as Mayor, he presided over a meeting of anti-slavery citizens who voted a resolution to declare their "utter abhorrence at all compromises that permitted the further extension of human slavery; condemning a compromise scheme attributed to Douglas by the press."[14]

His tenure ended on March 12, 1850, when he was succeeded in office by James Curtiss.[15]

In Illinois, the Whigs eventually became the Republican Party. Woodworth held anti-slavery views, and the short-lived fusion Independent Democratic party he headed in Chicago merged with the Whigs to form the Illinois GOP . Woodworth did not stand for re-election in 1850 and returned briefly to private life as a banker in Chicago, but returned to public service in 1853, serving as the Water Commissioner,[5] until his election to the United States Congress in the elections of 1854. He served one term as the Representative of the Second District of Illinois in the 34th United States Congress from 1855 to 1857 and there served as a member of the Republican Party. At the end of his term in Congress, Woodworth did not stand for re-election, stated that he sought "a release from public cares," and returned to private life in Chicago for the second time in his life as a banker.

After his consecutive terms as Mayor of Chicago, Woodworth served as President of the Merchants & Mechanics Bank of Chicago. His appointment to the bank is noteworthy as commentators of the day ascribed the bank's return to health, and even vigorous success, during a time of banking crisis, to Woodworth's character and the benefits of his great many personal business relationships in the Chicago trading community. He buttressed the bank's finances at one point in 1852 by taking a $50,000 loan from his father-in-law Walter Booth, the one time Mayor of Paris, Illinois. Booth's loan to the bank was secured by the "current worth of the owners of the Merchants' Bank."[16] His tenure at this bank ended in 1855 when he took his seat in Congress.

After his term in Congress, he returned to banking in Chicago and became the President of the Treasury Bank of Chicago. During the Civil War Woodworth remained a private citizen and, as can be verified by his public record, held neither elected political office nor military position. Woodworth accepted a part-time appointment from Illinois Governor Richard Yates to oversee federal financial transfers to the state during the Civil War as a member of the Board of Auditors of War Claims, known also as the Commissioners of the War Fund.[17] The War Fund and the Board of Army Auditors were authorized under a special session of the Illinois General Assembly.[18] This was a role Woodworth played while principally occupied at the Treasury Bank of Chicago. He continued as President of this bank until his death.

Mayor Woodworth did not serve in the military during the Civil War; and, by the time of the war, had returned permanently to commerce as a banker. Nonetheless he had accepted a civilian war time appointment on the Board of Auditors of War Claims from Governor Yates, a Republican. As a banker, Woodworth worked at the forefront of Municipal Finance to develop Chicago's infrastructure, including one of the largest military prisons for captured Confederate troops. His strict anti-slavery views stemmed from the perspective that the economic future of Chicago as a great metropolitan center was best advanced where all residents were free and able to seek a role in the commerce of the city; this popular metropolitan perspective on slavery contrasted with the agrarian perspective popular in the Confederate states where slavery was considered a necessary aspect of the farming economy.

Despite his own limited education, Woodworth showed a keen interest in education as Mayor seeking funding for the public schools of the city. Later, as a leading banker in Chicago, Woodworth dedicated much of this time to the creation of Chicago's first university, now known as "Old" Chicago University. His partner in this endeavor was Stephen A. Douglas, possibly the most prominent Democrat of his era, Woodworth was a founding trustee of Chicago University and later served at its treasurer. Chicago University was the precursor to the University of Chicago and to Northwestern University's School of Law. As university trustee, and its treasurer, he was credited with financially sustaining the university during its early years when its finances were precarious. The financial failure of Chicago University was linked to Mayor Woodworth's untimely death. A bankruptcy reorganization following his death allowed the books, land and some buildings of Chicago University to re-emerge as the new University of Chicago. As part of that reorganization, the law school of Chicago University, Chicago's first law school, became the Law School of Northwestern University.

Woodworth presided over several events that cemented Chicago's position in the nation's economy. As Mayor he pushed aside various municipal factions that opposed the presence of railroads in the city center, to allow all railroads serving Chicago to be served by a central railroad station; this permitted efficient transfer of cargo between the various railroads. Woodworth assured the position of Chicago as a trading center by supporting the Illinois and Michigan Canal, and strengthening the Chicago waterways and wharfing systems against flooding and inclement winter weather. Chicago's transportation system became unique in the midwest as railroad and water traffic met in a central city location. The first telegraph message was received in Chicago when Woodworth was mayor, and the first commodity futures contracts began trading on Chicago exchanges at this time. As a private banker, Woodworth's successful bank positioned Chicago as a central national banking center, well before the USA established the current national system of Federal Reserve banks, and during a period where bank failures were frequent.

Chicago's population grew dramatically during Woodworth's tenure are Mayor and during the periods where he was active in commerce. He presided over the opening of Bridgeport, Chicago, the new residential area of Chicago that has been home to several Chicago Mayors.

Woodworth was a contemporary, and friend, of Abraham Lincoln. Woodworth permitted his Independent Democrat party of Chicago to join with the Whig Party of Illinois to form the Illinois Republicans. This gave the Illinois GOP the depth in voters, financial support, and a strong base in Chicago, needed to support Lincoln's ascendance to the Presidency. Although he was not one of the 12 Chicago pallbearers, Woodworth did serve as a member of Chicago's Committee of One Hundred, which marched in the funeral cortege of Abraham Lincoln during its passage through Chicago, on its way to Springfield, Illinois.[19]

He also served as a founding trustee of the Chicago Astronomical Society, an appointment made under the Society's act of incorporation passed by the Illinois General Assembly; a full copy of the act of incorporation can be found on the Society's website.[20]

In more recent years, his grandson, John Woodworth Leslie, was instrumental in saving a virgin prairie preserve near Chicago to serve as an historical reminder of how the region appeared when Woodworth was mayor. That prairie preserve is known as the "James Woodworth Prairie Preserve," or the "Woodworth prairie." It is located off Milwaukee Avenue in Glenview, Illinois. The University of Illinois at Chicago and its Department of Biological Sciences oversee the prairie. The prairie covers "5 acres... of original tallgrass prairie... [and]... the only natural area owned by the University of Illinois at Chicago.... [The Woodworth prairie] serves the community by providing an opportunity to experience prairie plants and animals that are now rare... [and it provides] a challenge to understand how communities can be preserved."[21]