ravaged by a major fire which destroyed Tremont House in addition to a sizable number of other buildings. Woodworth's two inaugural addresses displayed consistent attention to several issues central to the development of Chicago. He voiced concern over the city's deficit financial position and in his second term shored up the finances through new loans. He requested additional funding for the Fire Department, the employment of physicians in the city's hospitals, repairs and improvements to the city's roads, waterways and wharfing facilities, the city jail, the city cemetery and the Chicago Public School system. In 1850, as Mayor, he presided over a meeting of anti-slavery citizens who voted a resolution to declare their "utter abhorrence at all compromises that permitted the further extension of human slavery; condemning a compromise scheme attributed to Douglas by the press." His tenure ended on March 12, 1850, when he was succeeded in office by James Curtiss. U.S. House of Representatives In Illinois, the Whigs eventually became the Republican Party. Woodworth held anti-slavery views, and the short-lived fusion Independent Democratic party he headed in Chicago merged with the Whigs to form the Illinois GOP . Woodworth did not stand for re-election in 1850 and returned briefly to private life as a banker in Chicago, but returned to public service in 1853, serving as the Water Commissioner, until his election to the United States Congress in the elections of 1854. He served one term as the Representative of the Second District of Illinois in the 34th United States Congress from 1855 to 1857 and there served as a member of the Republican Party. At the end of his term in Congress, Woodworth did not stand for re-election, stated that he sought "a release from public cares," and returned to private life in Chicago for the second time in his life as a banker. Later business career Finance and banking became a growth industry in its own right in the city's continued rapid expansion as a major Midwest trading center. The status of Chicago as a financial center was challenged in the 1850s as there were many "runs on banks" and several outright bank failures. Merchants & Mechanics Bank of Chicago After his consecutive terms as Mayor of Chicago, Woodworth served as President of the Merchants & Mechanics Bank of Chicago. His appointment to the bank is noteworthy as commentators of the day ascribed the bank's return