author
Daniel W. (Daniel Wheelwright) Gooch
1820–1891
A Massachusetts lawyer and congressman, he wrote forceful speeches and reports during the turbulent years around the Civil War. His surviving works show a writer deeply engaged with slavery, constitutional questions, and the politics of his time.
1 Audiobook
Reports of the Committee on the Conduct of the War Fort Pillow Massacre. Returned Prisoners.
by United States. Congress. Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War, Daniel W. (Daniel Wheelwright) Gooch, B. F. (Benjamin Franklin) Wade
About the author
Born in Wells, Maine, in 1820, he studied at Phillips Academy and graduated from Dartmouth College before building a law practice in Boston. He went on to serve Massachusetts in the U.S. House of Representatives, and his public career placed him close to some of the central debates of mid-19th-century America.
As an author, he is best remembered for political speeches, congressional writings, and public documents rather than for literary fiction or poetry. Works associated with his name include writings on the Dred Scott decision, the organization of the territories, and reports connected to the conduct of the Civil War, reflecting his strong involvement in antislavery and Union-era politics.
For readers coming to him through historical texts, his appeal lies in that direct connection to the era itself: his writing offers the voice of a working politician and lawyer responding in real time to the great national arguments of the 1850s and 1860s.