David Tod (21 February 1805-13 November 1868) was the Republican Governor of Ohio from 13 January 1862 to 11 January 1864, succeeding William Dennison Jr. and preceding John Brough.
Biography[]
David Tod was born in Youngstown, Ohio in 1805, the son of jurist George Tod. He became a lawyer in 1827 and went on to become a railroad industrialist in the Mahoning Valley, and he served in the state Senate from 1838 to 1840 as a Democrat. He ran for Governor in 1844 and 1846 on a strongly anti-national bank platform, but he lost both elections and instead served as Minister to Brazil from 1847 to 1851. Tod presided over the 1860 Democratic National Convention in Baltimore, but he joined the Republican Party in 1861 due to his support for the Union during the American Civil War. He went on to serve as Governor of Ohio from 1862 to 1864, and he was nicknamed "the soldier's friend" for his ability to deal with the emotional aftermath of the Battle of Shiloh (where Ohio had suffered 2,000 casualties); however, he failed to fill Ohio's federally mandated quota of 74,000 troops due to increasing Copperhead sentiment in his state, and he advocated for conscription. He was unable to secure renomination in 1863, losing it to War Democrat John Brough, and he turned down nomination to the post of Secretary of the Treasury due to his failing health. He died in 1868.