Roscoe Conkling Quotes
I cannot compete with the grave.
Conkling the boss of New York politics had designs on the Presidency. However, when the President was assassinated, the murderer claimed to have acted in favor of the Conkling political views as Vice President Chester Arthur was a Conkling political soldier. Although Conkling had nothing to do with the assassination, he left politics and returned to private law practice. He also refused an appointment to the Supreme Court.
Roscoe Conkling, 1829-1888, U. S. Congressman & U.S. Senator (Republican, NY), Ressponse when asked to re-enter politics
Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations
Roscoe Conkling was a lawyer and politician from New York who served both as a member of the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate. He was the leader of the Stalwart faction of the Republican Party, the first Republican senator from New York to be elected for three terms, and the last person to turn down a U.S. Supreme Court appointment after he had already been confirmed to the post. While in the House, Conkling served as bodyguard for Representative Thaddeus Stevens, a sharp-tongued anti-slavery representative, and fully supported the Republican war effort. Conkling, who was temperate and detested tobacco, was known for his physical condition, maintained through regular exercise and boxing, an unusual devotion for his time. Conkling was elected to the Senate in 1867 as a leading Radical, who supported the rights of African Americans during Reconstruction.
