Everything about John T Towers totally explained
John Thomas Towers (
1811-
1857) was Superintendent of printing at the
U.S. Capitol and
Mayor of Washington City,
District of Columbia, from
1854 to
1856.
Towers was born in
Alexandria, Virginia in
1811 to parents who had recently arrived in
Virginia from
Bingham, England. He was trained as a printer, joined the Columbia Typographical Society in
1834, and maintained several book and printing shops in Washington until
1852 when
President Millard Fillmore appointed him superintendent of printing at the U.S. Capitol. (The position was the forerunner of the modern
Government Printing Office.)
Towers became involved in politics in the
1830s, publishing a journal called the
Whig Standard. He was subsequently elected to the Common Council in
1842, where he served for four years until election to the Board of
Aldermen in
1846.
With the collapse of the Whig Party in
1852, Towers joined the
Know-Nothing movement, the
political party defined by its opposition to rights for immigrants and
Roman Catholics. Banking on his strength as a member of city government and his reputation as a printer, the Know-Nothings put Towers up for mayor against incumbent
John Walker Maury in 1854. The Know Nothings peaked all across America that year, electing mayors in most of its most important cities; Towers was no exception, sweeping into office.
Towers' accomplishment was largely limited to developing plans for an infirmary and workhouse on the Marine reservation in
Southeast Washington. At the time, the city was steadily growing from a small rural village to a busy metropolis, but Towers and his fellow government officials were unused to the changes and were not sure how to govern the changing city. He continually, but without success, petitioned
Congress to fund and provide for the nation's capital.
Towers didn't seek reelection in
1856. He died one year after leaving office and was interred in
Congressional Cemetery.
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