Wheeler served as President of the New York Northern Railroad . He was also President of the New York State Constitutional Convention which met from June 1867 to February 1868 . His acceptance speech gave a ringing endorsement for racial equality : " W e owe it to the cause of universal civil liberty , we owe it to the struggling liberalism of the old world , ... that every man within New York , of whatever race or color , or however poor , helpless , or lowly he may be , in virtue of his manhood , is entitled to the full employment of every right appertaining to the most exalted citizenship . " Wheeler was a delegate to the 1876 Republican National Convention , which had nominated Rutherford B. Hayes for President on the seventh ballot
1876 Republican National Convention
1876 Republican National Convention
William A. Wheeler