Hannibal Hamlin

Hannibal Hamlin was an American attorney and statesman who served as the 15th Vice President of the United States from 1861 to 1865 under President Abraham Lincoln during the American Civil War. A former member of the Democratic Party, his strong anti-slavery convictions led him to help found the Republican Party in Maine. Prior to his vice presidency, Hamlin had a distinguished political career representing Maine in both the U.S. House and the U.S. Senate, and served briefly as Governor of Maine.

Early Life and Education

Hannibal Hamlin was born in Paris, then part of Massachusetts, to parents Anna Livermore and Cyrus Hamlin. He worked on the family farm and attended local schools, including the Hebron Academy, before studying law in the offices of Samuel C. Fessenden and later Samuel E. Smith. He was admitted to the Maine bar in 1833 and began his legal practice in Hampden, quickly establishing a reputation as a skilled attorney. His early political interests were shaped by the Jacksonian democracy of the era, aligning him with the Democratic Party.

Career

Hamlin's political career began with election to the Maine House of Representatives in 1836, and he later served in the Maine Senate. He was elected as a Democrat to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1842, serving two terms where he supported the Polk administration on issues like the Mexican–American War but grew increasingly opposed to the expansion of slavery. Elected to the U.S. Senate in 1848, his break with the Democratic Party over the Kansas–Nebraska Act and the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 became final, leading him to join the nascent Republican Party in 1856. He served as Governor of Maine for a few weeks in 1857 before resigning to return to the Senate as a Republican, where he became a prominent voice against the Slave Power.

Vice Presidency

In 1860, the Republican National Convention selected Hamlin as the running mate for Abraham Lincoln, balancing the ticket geographically and appealing to former Democrats and anti-slavery radicals. As Vice President during the American Civil War, he presided over the Senate and supported Lincoln's war policies, including the Emancipation Proclamation and the recruitment of Black troops. However, he was largely excluded from Lincoln's inner circle and major decisions like the formation of the National Union Party in 1864, which resulted in his replacement on the ticket by Andrew Johnson, a War Democrat from Tennessee.

Later Life and Legacy

After his term as Vice President, Hamlin served as Collector of the Port of Boston before returning to the U.S. Senate from 1869 to 1881, where he advocated for Reconstruction and civil rights legislation. He later served as United States Ambassador to Spain from 1881 to 1882 under President Chester A. Arthur. Hamlin is remembered as a principled politician whose defection from the Democratic Party underscored the deep national divide over slavery, and as a steadfast supporter of the Union cause. His legacy is honored in places like Hamlin, Maine and Hamlin County, South Dakota.

Personal Life

Hamlin married his first wife, Sarah Jane Emery, in 1833; they had four children, including son Charles Hamlin who served in the Union Army. After Sarah's death in 1855, he married her half-sister, Ellen Vesta Emery, in 1856, with whom he had two more children. A devoted family man, he maintained a home in Bangor and a farm in Hampden. An avid hunter and fisherman, he was also a founder of the Bangor Historical Society. He died in Bangor in 1891 and is interred at Mount Hope Cemetery.

Category:1809 births Category:1891 deaths Category:Vice presidents of the United States Category:United States senators from Maine Category:Republican Party vice presidents of the United States