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Topic Pages contain an overview, definitions, biographies, related topics, images, plus links to relevant articles and other content provided by your library. Topic Page: Evarts, William Maxwell (1818 - 1901)

Definition: Evarts from Merriam-Webster's Collegiate(R) Dictionary

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William Maxwell Evarts 1818–1901 Am. lawyer & statesman

Summary Article: Evarts, William Maxwell
from The Columbia Encyclopedia

(ĕv'Әrts), 1818–1901, American lawyer and statesman, b. Boston; grandson of Roger Sherman. After attending Harvard Law School he began (1841) to practice law in New York City, where, with Charles E. Butler, he formed (1843) a firm that became one of the best known in the country. Evarts was government counsel in the abortive trial of Jefferson Davis for treason and later eloquently defended President Andrew Johnson in the impeachment proceedings. He was one of the counsel for the United States in the Geneva arbitration proceedings (1871–72) on the Alabama claims, and in 1877, as Republican counsel before the electoral commission, he argued the claims of Rutherford B. Hayes to the presidency. He was U.S. Attorney General under Johnson (1868–69) and Secretary of State under Hayes (1877–81). Confronted in the latter capacity with the activity of French interests in constructing an isthmian canal, he stated forcefully that any canal must remain under American control, thus formulating a policy subsequently maintained in American foreign relations. He was U.S. Senator from New York from 1885 to 1891, a period marked by failing eyesight, which resulted in total blindness for the last 11 years of his life.

  • See Dyer, B. , The Public Career of William M. Evarts (1933, repr. 1969);.
  • biography by C. L. Barrows (1941).
"Evarts, William Maxwell." In The Columbia Encyclopedia, by Paul Lagasse, and Columbia University. 8th ed. Columbia University Press, 2018. https://search.credoreference.com/content/topic/evarts_william_maxwell_1818_1901
Evarts, William Maxwell. (2018). In P. Lagasse & Columbia University, The Columbia encyclopedia. (8th ed.). [Online]. New York: Columbia University Press. Available from: https://search.credoreference.com/content/topic/evarts_william_maxwell_1818_1901 [Accessed 20 October 2018].
"Evarts, William Maxwell." The Columbia Encyclopedia, Paul Lagasse, and Columbia University, Columbia University Press, 8th edition, 2018. Credo Reference, https://search.credoreference.com/content/topic/evarts_william_maxwell_1818_1901. Accessed 20 Oct. 2018.
The Columbia Encyclopedia, © Columbia University Press 2018