George Washington Julian

George Washington Julian was a political leader defined by his moral convictions who advocated for abolition, equal rights, and land reform during a period marked by slavery, Civil War, monopolies, and discrimination against blacks, immigrants, and women. As a U.S. Representative from 1849 to 1851, he supported legislation providing abolition and equal access to public lands. A long-time Centerville resident, he served as an attorney in notable fugitive slave cases in the 1850s. As a U.S. Representative from 1861 to 1871, he demanded recognition of slavery as the cause of the Civil War and promoted the rights of black freedmen; he proposed constitutional amendments granting suffrage regardless of race or sex, “equally, without any distinction or discrimination.”

Centerville, Indiana · United States