John P. Sanderson
| John Phillip Sanderson | |
|---|---|
| Born |
February 13, 1818 East Hanover, Pennsylvania |
| Died | October 14, 1864 (aged 46) St. Louis, Missouri |
| Place of burial | Ferncliff Cemetery, Springfield, Ohio |
| Allegiance |
 United States of AmericaUnion |
| Service/branch |
 United States ArmyUnion Army |
| Years of service | 1861-1864 |
| Rank |
 Colonel
|
| Unit | 15th U.S. Infantry |
| Commands held | 13th U.S. Infantry |
| Battles/wars | |
| Relations | George K. Sanderson |
John Phillip Sanderson (February 13, 1818 – October 14, 1864) was a soldier, influential politician, lawyer, author, newspaper editor, and member of the Pennsylvania General Assembly. He is probably most well known for his exposé of the secret political organization known as the Knights of the Golden Circle, which led to its demise.
Sanderson was admitted to the bar in 1839. He practiced law in Philadelphia from about 1848-1861.
Sanderson was the author of Views and Opinions of American Statesmen on Foreign Immigration (Philadelphia, 1843), and Republican Landmarks (1850). He edited & published the weekly Demokratischer Whig starting in 1843, and the Anti-Masonic weekly, Der Libanon Demokrat from 1844 to 1848. He was then the editor of the Philadelphia Daily News from 1848 to 1856.
Sanderson was elected to the Pennsylvania State House of Representatives in 1845 and to the Pennsylvania State Senate in 1847. He was the state chairman of the Know-Nothing Party, when it renamed itself the American Party in 1855.
Hopes that the Pennsylvania fusion ticket would prevent Buchanan's victory, were dashed when John P. Sanderson, the Know-Nothing Party's state chairman, announced that the original slate of the American Party electors would remain in the field, thereby diluting the strength of the "Union" fusionist ticket. Former president Millard Fillmore's "Know-Nothing" candidacy helping James Buchanan to defeat John C. Frémont, the first Republican candidate in the United States presidential election, 1856.
Sanderson was one of the Pennsylvania delegates to the 1860 Republican National Convention at Chicago. He was one of Simon Cameron's confidential advisers. Sanderson, in conference with Judge David Davis, who most prominently represented the Lincoln interest, came to a practical agreement on the night before the balloting that Pennsylvania's vote after a complimentary ballot for Cameron be cast for Lincoln, and that Lincoln should give Cameron a cabinet position. The casting of Pennsylvania's vote for Abraham Lincoln on the second ballot was one of the facts that contributed most toward Lincoln's nomination for the United States presidential election, 1860.
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