21213 - Hannibal Hamlin; Vice President, U.S.A. 1861-1865 [LC-DIG-cwpbh-01213 ]
Hannibal Hamlin was born less than six months after Lincoln. While Hamlin forever remains in his shadow, that wouldn’t have seemed likely early on. Born in Maine in 1809, he was descended from a prominent northern family that had originally arrived in America in 1639, as part of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. His grandfather had been the Attorney General of Maine and his Great Uncle, a U.S. Senator.
Hamlin entered politics at the age of 27 when he was elected to the Maine House of Representatives. He ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. House of Representatives in 1840, but was elected in 1842. Hamlin served from 1843-1847 in the U.S. House of Representatives before being elected to fill a vacancy in the Senate. After serving nearly 10 years in the Senate, he was elected to serve as Governor of Maine in 1856. Hamlin only served for a month before returning to the Senate for four more years until he became Vice President.
Originally a Democrat, he was a lifelong opponent of slavery and was opposed to the Compromise of 1850 and the Kansas Nebraska Act. Finally in 1856, he could no longer support the Democrat’s increasingly pro-slavery position and joined the Republican Party, which had just recently been formed. His switch caused a national sensation that the Republicans used in 1860 to nominate him for Vice President. Hamlin did not meet Lincoln till after the election. The two formed a good working relationship. However, Hamlin never became close with Lincoln, possibly because of a dislike that had formed between him and Mary Lincoln.
While he had served well as Vice President, the Republican Party decided to join forces with the “War Democrats” who supported Lincoln and had stayed loyal to the Union. To avoid being considered either “Republican” or “Democrat” they took the name “Union Party” with Lincoln at the helm and Andrew Johnson (a Democrat) as Vice President.
During the Civil War two of Hamlin’s children, Charles and Cyrus became Union generals and led a brigade of freed blacks. Hamlin’s son Charles and his daughter Sarah were at Ford’s Theatre the night of Lincoln’s assassination. Hamlin returned to Maine in 1865, but soon yearned for the return to politics. In 1868 he ran again for Senate and served from 1869-1881. At this point he was having heart problems and decided to retire. James Garfield, however, asked him to serve as minister to Spain, which he did for two more years before finally retiring. He died in 1891, playing cards at a local men’s club.
![21213 - Hannibal Hamlin; Vice President, U.S.A. 1861-1865 [LC-DIG-cwpbh-01213 ]](/img/s/v-10/p1466043600-3.jpg)