American Civil War: Governor of Massachusetts John Albion Andrew receives permission from the Secretary of War to raise a militia organization for men of African descent.
John Albion Andrew (May 31, 1818 October 30, 1867) was an American lawyer and politician from Massachusetts. He was elected in 1860 as the 25th Governor of Massachusetts, serving between 1861 and 1866, and led the state's contributions to the Union cause during the American Civil War (1861-1865). He was a guiding force behind the creation of some of the first African-American units in the United States Army, including the 54th Massachusetts Infantry.
Educated at Bowdoin College, Andrew was a radical abolitionist of slavery from an early age, engaged in the legal defense of fugitive slaves against owners seeking their return. He provided legal support to John Brown after his 1859 raid on Harpers Ferry, Virginia, raising his profile and propelling him to the Massachusetts governor's chair. Andrew was a persistent voice criticizing 16th President Abraham Lincoln's conduct of the war, and pressing him to end slavery. By the end of the war, his politics had moderated, and he came to support Lincoln's former Vice President, a War Democrat, now 17th President Andrew Johnson's Reconstruction agenda.
In Massachusetts, Andrew opposed the Know Nothing movement of the 1850s and the state's strict alcohol prohibition laws, and oversaw the state takeover of the Hoosac Tunnel construction project. In 1865, he signed legislation establishing the Massachusetts State Police, the first statewide police force of its type in the nation. He died early of apoplexy at the age of 49.
The governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is the chief executive officer of the government of Massachusetts. The governor is the head of the state cabinet and is the commander-in-chief of the commonwealth's military forces.
Massachusetts has a republican system of government, akin to a presidential system, where the governor acts as the head of government while having a distinct role from that of the legislative branch. The governor has far reaching political obligations ranging from ceremonial to political. While being the chief representative of Massachusetts as a U.S. state, the governor also is in charge of the cabinet, signs bills into law, and has veto power. The governor is also a member of the Massachusetts Governor's Council, a popularly elected council with eight members who provide advice and consent on certain legal matters and appointments.Beginning with the Massachusetts Bay Company in 1629, the role of Governor has changed throughout its history in terms of powers and selection. The modern form of the position was created in the 1780 constitution, which called for the position of a "supreme executive magistrate".Governors are elected every four years during state elections on the first Tuesday of November after the 1st, the most recent being in 2018. Elected governors are then inaugurated on the first Thursday of the following January after the 1st. There are no term limits restricting how long a governor may serve. The longest-serving Massachusetts Governor is Michael Dukakis, who served 12 years from 1975-1979; 1983-1991.
The current governor is Charlie Baker, a Republican.