Alexander
Hamilton Stephens was born in Crawfordville, Georgia, on 11th February,
1812. After graduating from the University of Georgia he taught in
a local school. He studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1834.
Stephens joined the Whig Party and in 1836
he was elected to the Georgia House of Representatives. He served
for five years before being elected to the 28th Congress and took
his seat in October, 1843. He later joined the Democratic
Party and was chairman of the Committee on Territories (1848-50).
Stephens was a strong opponent of the Mexican
War and was highly critical of President James
Polk during this conflict.
An advocate of slavery, Stephens campaigned
for the Kansas-Nebraska Act. He opposed
the election of Abraham Lincoln but argued
against immediate secession after the Republican
Party victory. Lincoln wrote a letter to Stephens pointing out:
"You think slavery is right and ought to be extended; while we
think it is wrong and ought to be restricted. That I suppose is the
rub. It certainly is the only substantial difference between us."
Over the next couple of months seven states seceded from the Union:
South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana
and Texas. Representatives from these seven states quickly established
a new political organization, the Confederate States of America. On
8th February the Confederacy adopted a constitution and within ten
days had elected Jefferson Davis as its
president and Stephens as vice-president.
During the American Civil War Stephens
did not enjoy a good relationship with Davis and later described him
as "a weak timid aspirant for military domination". Stephens
favoured peace negotiations whereas the president wanted to fight
until the bitter end. Stephens made several attempts to talk with
Abraham Lincoln about bringing the war
to an end. Horace Greeley, editor of
the New York Tribune,
accused him of prolonging the war to satisfy his personal ambition.
Others on the right, such as Clement
Vallandigham, claimed that Lincoln was waging a "wicked war
in order to free the slaves".
After the war Stephens was imprisoned in Fort Warren, Boston,
for five months but was eventually pardoned by President Andrew
Johnson. After the war Stephens wrote a two-volume book on the
conflict: Constitutional View of the Late War Between the States
(1868).
Alexander Hamilton Stephens was elected to the 43rd Congress and served
from December, 1873 until his resignation in November, 1882. Elected
as governor of Georgia in 1882, he served until his death in Atlanta,
Georgia, on 4th March, 1883.
(1)
Abraham Lincoln was a great admirer of
Alexander Stephens during the early part of his career. He expressed
his views in a letter to his friend, William
Herndon (2nd February, 1848)
I just take up my pen to say, that Mr. Stephens of Georgia, a little
slim, pale-faced, consumptive man, with a voice like Logan's has just
concluded the very best speech, of an hour's length, I ever heard.
(2)
Abraham Lincoln, letter to Alexander
Stephens (November, 1860)
You think slavery is right and ought to be extended; while we
think it is wrong and ought to be restricted. That I suppose is the
rub. It certainly is the only substantial difference between us.
(3)
Alexander Stephens, Constitutional View of the Late War Between
the States (1868)
I do not think that he (Abraham Johnson) intended to overthrow
the institutions of the country. I do not think he understood them
or the tendencies of his acts upon them. The Union with him in sentiment,
rose to the sublimity of a religious mysticism, while his ideas of
its structure and formation in logic, rested upon nothing but sophism.
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