John Weiss Forney
| John Weiss Forney | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Clerk of the United States House of Representatives | |
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In office 1 December 1851 – 3 February 1856 |
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| Preceded by | Richard M. Young |
| Succeeded by | William Cullom |
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In office 3 February 1860 – 3 July 1861 |
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| Preceded by | James C. Allen |
| Succeeded by | Emerson Etheridge |
| Secretary of the United States Senate | |
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In office 15 July 1861 – 4 June 1868 |
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| Preceded by | Asbury Dickins |
| Succeeded by | George C. Gorham |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
September 30, 1817 Lancaster, Pennsylvania |
| Died | December 9, 1881 (aged 64) |
| Political party | Republican |
| Signature |  |
John Weiss Forney (30 September 1817 – 9 December 1881) was an American journalist and politician. He was Clerk of the United States House of Representatives 1851-1856 and 1860-1861. He was Secretary of the United States Senate 1861-1868.
He was born at Lancaster, Pennsylvania and at the age of 16 entered the printing office of the Lancaster Journal. Four years later he purchased the Lancaster Intelligencer, and in 1840 he became proprietor of the Journal and combined the two papers under the name of the Intelligencer and Journal. In 1845 President James K. Polk appointed him deputy surveyor of the port of Philadelphia, and he disposed of the Intelligencer and Journal, and purchased a half interest in the Pennsylvanian, a Democratic paper of great influence, which under his editorial control attained a national importance.
From 1851 to 1855 he was Clerk of the United States House of Representatives, and, while continuing to write for the Pennsylvanian, he edited the Union, the organ of the Northern Democrats. While Clerk, it became Forney's duty to preside during a protracted struggle for the speakership in 1855, which resulted in the election of Nathaniel P. Banks. His tact as presiding officer won the applause of all parties.
In 1855 he headed the Pennsylvania delegation to the Democratic National Convention at Cincinnati, and was instrumental in securing the nomination of Pennsylvania's candidate, James Buchanan. He conducted Buchanan's successful campaign for the presidency, and Buchanan would have given him a cabinet office if the appointment had been more popular in the South. In January 1857, Buchanan's influence was not strong enough to win Forney a seat in the United States Senate, which went instead to Simon Cameron. In August 1857, Forney established the Philadelphia Press, an independent Democratic newspaper.
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