Alexander Long

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Alexander Long (December 24, 1816 – November 28, 1886) was a Democratic United States Congressman who was born in Greenville, Pennsylvania on December 24, 1816. Before entering politics he studied and practiced law in Cincinnati, Ohio. In 1848-49 he was a member of the Ohio State House of Representatives and was in the U.S. House of Representatives as a Democrat from Ohio (38th Congress) on March 4, 1863 until March 3, 1865.

He is best known for his opposition to the Civil War and being in favor of recognizing the independence of the Confederacy. A speech he made in Congress on April 8, 1864 expressed these views which was denounced by several Congressmen including Speaker of the House Schuyler Colfax. On April 9, 1864 he was censured by Congress for "treasonable utterances".

He made an unsuccessful bid for reelection to the 39th Congress and left politics to resume his law practice in Cincinnati. He died on November 28, 1886 and is interred in Spring Grove Cemetery in Cincinnati.

[edit] References

• Harlan, Louis R., ed. “The Autobiography of Alexander Long", Bulletin of the Historical and Philosophical Society of Ohio 19 (April 1961): 99-127.