Francis Preston Blair

Francis P. Blair
Francis P. Blair, Sr. in the late 1870s.
Born	Francis Preston Blair, Sr. (1791-04-12)April 12, 1791 Abingdon, Virginia, U.S.
Died	October 18, 1876(1876-10-18) (aged 85) Silver Spring, Maryland, U.S.
Nationality	American
Alma mater	Transylvania University
Occupation	Journalist, politician
Years active	1830–1849
Known for	Founder of the Republican Party
Notable work	Hampton Roads Conference (1865)
Political party	Democratic (1830–1848; 1865–1876) Free Soil (1848–1854) Republican (1854–1865)
Spouse(s)	Eliza Violet Gist (1812–1876; his death)
Children	Montgomery James Elizabeth Francis, Jr.
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Francis Preston Blair, Sr. (April 12, 1791 – October 18, 1876) was an American journalist, newspaper editor, and influential figure in national politics advising several U.S. presidents across the party lines.

Blair was an early member of the Democratic Party, and a strong supporter of President Andrew Jackson, having helped him win Kentucky in the 1828 presidential election. From 1831 to 1845, Blair worked as Editor-in-Chief of the Washington Globe, which served as the primary propaganda instrument for the Democratic Party, and was largely successful. Blair was an influential advisor to President Jackson, and served prominently in a group of unofficial advisors and assistants to Jackson known as the "Kitchen Cabinet".

Blair, despite being a slaveholder from Kentucky, eventually came to oppose the expansion of slavery. He supported the Free-Soil Party ticket of Martin Van Buren and Charles Francis Adams in the 1848 presidential election. In 1854, in opposition to the Kansas-Nebraska Act, he left the Democratic Party and helped found the Republican Party. Blair served as an advisor to President Abraham Lincoln during the American Civil War. In 1861, he was sent by Lincoln to offer command of a large Union army to Colonel Robert E. Lee, who declined, and instead joined the Confederacy. Blair also helped organize the Hampton Roads Conference of 1865, a failed attempt to end the war.

After the Union victory, Blair became disillusioned with Radical Reconstruction, a policy promoted by many members of the Republican Party. He eventually left the party and rejoined the Democrats. His son, Francis Preston Blair Jr., was the party's nominee for vice president on a losing ticket in the 1868 election. Blair died in 1876 at age 85.