"[3] The incident received considerable press, and Potter's friends afterward often accompanied him when on Washington's streets, lest he be accosted again to test his mettle.

He was considered one of the "Radical Republicans" due to his support for African-American civil rights and the belief that not only should slavery not be allowed to expand, but that it should be banned in states where it currently existed.

[5] As relations with the southern states deteriorated and the Civil War eventually began in earnest, Potter was appointed to serve as the head of the House's "Committee on Loyalty of Federal employees", which sought to root out Confederate sympathizers in the government.

The tumultuous relationship between Potter and the War Department was alleviated when Cameron was replaced by Edwin Stanton on January 20th, 1862.

During the campaign, his son Alfred C. Potter had enlisted in the 28th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment in August 1862 as a sergeant, but would be mustered out the following April, and began receiving a pension in 1896.

The Lincoln administration then appointed Potter as Consul General of the United States in the British-controlled Province of Canada from 1863 to 1866.