William Wheeler

William Almon Wheeler was a New York lawyer, state legislator, congressman, and Republican vice president who served under Rutherford B. Hayes. Unlike several of the vice presidents surrounding him, Wheeler never became president and spent most of his career in Congress rather than in the executive branch. He served five terms in the U.S. House across two periods before becoming Hayes's running mate in the disputed presidential election of 1876.

Wheeler was born in Malone, New York, on June 30, 1819. He attended Franklin Academy in Malone and the University of Vermont, studied law, and was admitted to the New York bar in 1845. He subsequently established a legal practice in Malone. He married Mary King in 1845, and the couple remained together until his death.

His political career began in local and state government. Wheeler served as district attorney of Franklin County from 1846 to 1849, entered the New York State Assembly in 1850, and served in the state senate from 1858 to 1860. He was elected to the U.S. House in 1860 and served during the Civil War. After leaving Congress briefly, he returned in 1869 and remained there until 1877.

In Congress, Wheeler chaired the Committee on Expenditures in the War Department during the Civil War and later chaired the House Committee on Commerce. In 1876, Republicans selected him as Rutherford B. Hayes's vice-presidential running mate. Hayes and Wheeler ultimately received the electoral votes necessary to take office after Congress resolved the disputed returns from the 1876 election. Wheeler served as vice president from 1877 through 1881.

Wheeler retired from public life after completing his term as vice president. His health had deteriorated, and he also withdrew from active business pursuits. He returned to Malone, New York, where he spent his remaining years. He died there on June 4, 1887, at the age of sixty-seven.

Wheeler's legacy is primarily that of a long-serving congressional Republican who reached the vice presidency after decades of state and federal public service. His career also places him directly within the political controversies surrounding the 1876 presidential election and the beginning of Hayes's administration. Unlike Andrew Johnson and Chester A. Arthur, however, Wheeler did not succeed to the presidency.