Butler turned down the governorship of the Nebraska Territory in 1855.

Politically, Butler was a moderate.
 Although a slaveholder, he was opposed to the extension of slavery and favored gradual legal emancipation.
 He stood firmly for the preservation of the Union and was a Union Democrat during the Civil War.

He was present at the peace conference of 1861, a gathering of political leaders that met in Washington, D.C. in an attempt to avert the impending American Civil War.

Butler also authored a volume of poetry entitled The Boatman's Horn, and Other Poems.
Butler turned down the governorship of the Nebraska Territory in 1855.
Politically, Butler was a moderate.  Although a slaveholder, he was opposed to the extension of slavery and favored gradual legal emancipation.  He stood firmly for the preservation of the Union and was a Union Democrat during the Civil War.
He was present at the peace conference of 1861, a gathering of political leaders that met in Washington, D.C. in an attempt to avert the impending American Civil War.
Butler also authored a volume of poetry entitled The Boatman's Horn, and Other Poems.
William Orlando Butler