Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1892, volume 3).djvu/87

Rh Carolina from 1799 to 1804, improving the finan- cial system of the state; was governor of South Carolina in 1804-'6, and secretary of the U. S. navy in 1809-13, in the first administration of James Madison. His policy was to keep our frig- ates in port to prevent their capture in the war of 1812-'14, and the first of our great victories, gained by Hull in the " Constitution," was won in spite of Hamilton's mandate, "to remain in Boston until further orders ! "

HAMILTON, Thomas, English author, b. in 1789 ; d. in Pisa, Italy, 7 Dec, 1842. He entered the English army and became captain of the 29th regiment, but, after serving through the peninsu- lar and American wars, devoted himself to litera- ture and became a contributor to " Blackwood's Magazine." Besides a few other works, he wrote " Men and Manners in America " (2 vols., London, 1833 ; Boston, 1834 ; enlarged ed., London, 1843). This work was highly commended by English crit- ics for its impartiality and value as an authority, but it was condemned in this country for its "spirit of unjust depreciation."

HAMILTON, William Tiffany, senator, b. in Washington county, Md., 8 Sept., 1820 ; d. in Ha- ferstown, Md., 26 Oct., 1888. He was educated at efferson college, Pa., studied law, and began to prac- tise in Hagerstown, Md. He was a representative in congress from 1849 till 1855, having been chosen as a Democrat, and from 1869 till 1875 was U. S. senator. He was governor of Maryland in 1880-'4.

HAMLIN, Hannibal, statesman, b. in Paris, Oxford co., Me., 27 Aug., 1809. He was prepared for a collegiate education, but was compelled by the death of his father to take charge of the home- farm until he was of age. He learned printing, studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1833, and practised in Hampden, Penobscot co., until 1848. He was a member of the legislature from 1836 till 1840, and again in 1847, and was speaker of the lower branch in 1837-'9 and 1840. In 1840 he received the Democratic nomina- tion for member of congress, and, dur- ing the exciting Har- rison campaign, held joint discussions with his competitor, being the first to introduce that practice into Maine. In 1842 he was elected as a Democrat to congress, and re- elected in 1844. He was chosen to the U. S. senate for four years in 1848, to fill the vacancy occasioned by the death of John Fairfield, and was re-elected in 1851, but resigned in 1857 to be inaugurated gov- ernor, having been elected to that office as a Re- Eublican. Less than a month afterward, on 20 Feb., e resigned the governorship, as he had again been chosen U. S. senator for the full term of six years. He served until January, 1861, when he resigned, having been elected vice-president on the ticket with Abraham Lincoln. He presided over the sen- ate from 4 March, 1861, till 3 March, 1865. In the latter year he was appointed collector of the port of Boston, but resigned in 1866. From 1861 till 1865 he had also acted as regent of the Smithsoni- an institution, and was reappointed in 1870, con- tinuing to act for the following twelve years, dur- ing which time he became dean of the board. He £Cj?. /&> ^<£2-z-»-'W^-c-**_ was again elected and re-elected to the U. S. senate, serving from 4 March, 1869, till 3 March, 1881. In June of that year he was named minister to Spain, but gave up the office the year following and returned to this country. He received the degree of LL. D. from Colby university, then Waterville college, of which institution he was trustee for over twenty years. Senator Hamlin, although a Democrat, was an original anti-slavery man, and so strong were his convictions that they finally led to his separation from that party. Among the significant incidents of his long career of nearly fifty years may be mentioned the fact that, in the temporary and involuntary absence of David Wil- mot from the house of representatives, during the session of the 29th congress, at the critical moment when the measure, since known as " the Wilmot proviso," had to be presented or the opportunity irrevocably lost, Mr. Hamlin, while his anti-slavery friends were in the greatest confusion and per- plexity, seeing that only a second's delay would be fatal, offered the bill and secured its passage by a vote of 115 to 106. In common, however, with Abraham Lincoln, Mr. Hamlin strove simply to pre- vent the extension of slavery into new territory, and did not seek to secure its abolition. In a speech in the U. S. senate, 12 June, 1856, in which he gave his reasons for changing his party allegiance, he thus referred to the Democratic convention then recently held at Cincinnati : " The convention has actually incorporated into the platform of the Democratic party that doctrine which, only a few years ago, met with nothing but ridicule and con- tempt here and elsewhere, namely, that the flag of the Federal Union, under the constitution of the United States, carries slavery wherever it floats. If this baleful principle be true, then that national ode, which inspires us always as on a battle-field, should be re-written by Drake, and should read :

When he had been elected vice-president on the ticket with Mr. Lincoln, he accepted an invitation to meet the latter at Chicago, and, calling on the president-elect, found him in a room alone. Mr. Lincoln arose, and, coming toward his guest, said abruptly : " Have we ever been introduced to each other, Mr. Hamlin ? " " No, sir, I think not," was the reply. " That also is my impression," continued Mr. Lincoln ; " but I remember distinctly while I was in congress to have heard you make a speech in the senate. I was very much struck with that speech, senator — particularly struck with it — and for the reason that it was filled, chock up, with the very best kind of anti-slavery doctrine." " Well, now," replied Hamlin, laughing, " that is very singular, for my one and first recollection of yourself is of having heard you make a speech in the house — a speech that was so full of good humor and sharp points that I, together with others of your auditors, was convulsed with laughter." The acquaintance, thus cordially begun, ripened into a close friendship, and it is affirmed that during all the years of trial, war, and bloodshed that followed, Abraham Lincoln continued to repose the utmost confidence in his friend and official associate. — Hannibal's cousin, Cyrus, educator, b. in Water- ford, Me., 5 Jan.. 1811, was graduated at Bowdoin in 1834, and at the Congregational theological seminary, Bangor, Me., in 1837. He was a missionary oi the American board in Turkey in 1837-'60, and in the latter year became president of Robert college, Constantinople, which he succeeded in organ-