Benjamin Harvey Hill
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Benjamin Harvey Hill (September 14, 1823 – August 16, 1882) was a U.S. Representative, U.S. senator and a Confederate senator from the state of Georgia.
Hill was born September 14, 1823 in Hillsboro, Georgia in Jasper County. He attended the University of Georgia (UGA) in Athens, Georgia, and graduated in 1844 with first honors. He was then swiftly admitted to the Georgia bar later in 1844. He married Caroline E. Holt in Athens, GA in 1845.
His political life was full, and he ran under the aegis of a remarkable number of parties. He was elected to the state legislature of Georgia in 1851 as a member of the Whig Party. He then supported Millard Filmore running on the Know-Nothing ticket in 1856, and was an elector for that party in the Electoral College. In 1859, we was elected to the state senate as a Unionist. In 1860, he was again an elector, this time for John Bell and the Unionist party. He was a member of the Georgia secession convention on January 16, 1861, and spoke publicly against the dissolution of the Union there. However, he did later vote for secession. As the Confederate government was formed, he became a member of the Confederate Provisional Congress and was subsequently elected to the Confederate States Senate, a term which he held throughout its existence.
At one point in the Senate, Hill and fellow Sen. William Lowndes Yancey had to be separated by other members of that body after a bloody scuffle on the floor.[1]
At the end of the Civil War, he was arrested by the Union and confined in Fort Lafayette from May until July in 1865.
Unlike many Confederate politicians, he had a long and distinguished career as a "reconstructed" Southerner and U.S. politician. He spoke out passionately against Radical Reconstruction and in the summer of 1867 made a series of speeches in Atlanta, the most famous being the Davis House speech of July 16, 1867, denouncing the Reconstruction Acts of 1867. His courage and eloquence enhanced his regional fame and won him national recognition. In 1875 he was elected to the U. S. House of Representatives where he quickly won a reputation as a spokesman for the South. He was elected to the U.S. Senate on Jan. 26, 1877.
He served as a member of the U. S. House of Representatives from May 5, 1875 - March 3, 1877, and then as a member of the U. S. Senate from March 4, 1877, until his death August 16, 1882. His obituary was in the Atlanta Constitution, August 17, 1882, on the front page. He is buried in historic Oakland Cemetery in Atlanta, GA.
There is a 50 ft (15.2 m) statue of Hill inside the Georgia State Capitol in Atlanta, Georgia, as well as a larger than life portrait in the Capitol Rotunda.
| Preceded by none |
Representative to the Provisional Confederate Congress from Georgia 1861 |
Succeeded by none |
| Preceded by Hiram Parks Bell |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Georgia's 9th congressional district May 5, 1875 - March 3, 1877 |
Succeeded by Hiram Parks Bell |
| Preceded by Thomas M. Norwood |
United States Senator (Class 2) from Georgia March 4, 1877 - August 16, 1882 Served alongside: John B. Gordon, Joseph E. Brown |
Succeeded by Middleton P. Barrow |
[edit] References
- ^ [1]Ferguson, Stuart, "The Zealotry of the Convert: Slavery's Firebrand Defender," book review of Eric H. Walther's William Lowndes Yancey and the Coming of the Civil War, in The Wall Street Journal July 8, 2006; page P9; accessed on July 14, 2006
- This article incorporates facts obtained from the public domain Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
- Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
[edit] External links
| Confederate States Senators |  |
|---|---|
| Alabama: Clay • Jemison • Walker • Yancey • Arkansas: Garland • R. Johnson • Mitchel • Florida: Baker • Maxwell • Georgia: Hill • H. Johnson • Lewis • Kentucky: Burnett • Simms • Louisiana: Semmes • Sparrow • Mississippi: Brown • Phelan • Watson • Missouri: Clark • W. Johnson • Peyton • Vest • North Carolina: Davis • Dortch • Graham • Reade • South Carolina: Barnwell • Orr • Tennessee: Haynes • Henry • Texas: Oldham • Wigfall • Virginia: Caperton • Hunter • Preston |
Categories: 1823 births | 1882 deaths | Confederate States Senators | Deputies and delegates of the Provisional Confederate Congress | Georgia State Senators | Members of the Georgia House of Representatives | Members of the United States House of Representatives from Georgia | United States Senators from Georgia | University of Georgia alumni | People of Georgia (U.S. state) in the American Civil War
