Background
Yates was born on January 18, 1815 in Warsaw, Kentucky, the son of Henry and Millicent (Yates) Yates, whose common grandfather, Michael Yates, hailed from Caroline County, Virginia.
Yates was born on January 18, 1815 in Warsaw, Kentucky, the son of Henry and Millicent (Yates) Yates, whose common grandfather, Michael Yates, hailed from Caroline County, Virginia.
In 1831 the Yates family moved to Sangamon County, Illinois, and Richard was sent to Illinois College at Jacksonville, where in 1835 he received the first graduating diploma issued by that institution. Already known as a boy orator, he spoke at graduation on "The Influence of Free Institutions in Moulding National Character". After studying law at Transylvania University he was admitted to the bar (1837).
Yates began practice at Jacksonville, which remained his home during his whole public career. For three terms (1842-1846, 1848-1850) he was a member of the state legislature. Elected to Congress in 1850 and again in 1852 he had during one of his terms the distinction of being the only Whig member from Illinois. In this period he favored the homestead act, opposed the Kansas-Nebraska bill, supported the movement to establish colleges with federal land grants, and spoke vigorously for extending an official welcome to the Hungarian patriot Kossuth. Having taken an antislavery stand he joined the Republican party and was a member of the national conventions which nominated Lincoln in 1860 and Grant in 1868. As contrasted with that of radical abolitionists, however, his attitude was conservative, resembling Lincoln's. In party conferences looking to the governorship in 1860 N. B. Judd and Leonard Swett were more prominently mentioned than Yates; but his popularity in doubtful counties turned the balance and he became the party choice. He was elected over James C. Allen, Democrat, by a vote of 172, 000 to 159, 000; and served as governor from January 1861 to January 1865.
During the war he was widely known as a vigorous state executive, upholding Lincoln's hand and showing great ardor in the raising of troops and in other complex matters of war administration. At times his zeal outran the efforts of the government at Washington so that he was advised to reduce the number of regiments and discharge excessive recruits. He gave U. S. Grant his first Civil War commission and assignments, putting him in charge of camps for organizing volunteers, giving him staff duty at Springfield, and tendering him the colonelcy of the 21st Regiment of Illinois Volunteers (June 1861). War duties pressed heavily upon him as he attended to military appointments, approved a variety of new army units, called special legislative sessions, recommended emergency laws, visited "the boys" in camp and hospital, reviewed Illinois troops in battle areas, attended to voluminous complaints by soldiers' parents, promoted the raising of bounties, conferred with other governors and with Lincoln, and made hot speeches playing upon war emotions and searing the Democrats. When the Democratic majority in the legislature of 1863 opposed the existing conduct of the war and embarrassed the governor by passing (in the lower house) a resolution urging an armistice and recommending a national convention to restore peace (while at the same time opposing secession and disunion), Yates seized upon a disagreement in the matter of adjournment as the opportunity for exercising his constitutional prerogative of proroguing the Assembly. Overlooking the fact that the Democrats supplied their share of enlistments and otherwise supported the Union, the Republicans stigmatized their opponents as traitors; and the war years became a period of wretched party bitterness in the state. Through all this the governor was personally popular, and his prestige was increased by the success of the war in which Illinois reported over 250, 000 enlistments.
After the war Yates served one term (1865-1871) in the United States Senate. Party regularity marked his course: he favored vindictive measures against the South, voted for President Johnson's conviction in the impeachment proceeding, and supported the prevailing radical Republican program, which he justified with convincing patriotic unction and oratorical flourish. He died suddenly at St. Louis while returning from Arkansas, whither he had gone as federal commissioner to inspect a land-subsidy railroad. He was buried with full honors at Jacksonville.
Oratorical skill and a strikingly handsome appearance were among the rich personal endowments that contributed to Yates's career. His use of liquor sometimes led to over indulgence, and there is record of his lack of sobriety when inaugurated as governor.
Yates was married on July 11, 1839, to Catharine Geers, a native of Lexington, Kentucky. She outlived him by thirty-five years, dying in 1908. They had two daughters and three sons, one of whom, Richard, was governor of the state, 1901-04, and congressman during several terms.