Alvin Hawkins

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Alvin Hawkins

Alvin Hawkins (born December 2, 1821 in Bath County , Kentucky , † April 27, 1905 ) was an American politician and the 26th governor of the state of Tennessee .

Early years and political advancement

Alvin Hawkins came to Tennessee with his parents as a young boy. He attended Bethel College and studied law like many other later governors. In 1843 he was admitted to the bar. In 1845 he made a first unsuccessful attempt for the Whig Party to be elected to the Tennessee House of Representatives . In the election of 1853 he was more successful and entered parliament. During the presidential campaign in 1860 he supported John Bell , the candidate for the Constitutional Union Party . Then he switched to the Republicans . In the civil war he was on the side of the Union.

In 1862 he was elected to Congress in Washington, DC , but could not take his seat due to the chaotic political conditions in Tennessee. In 1864 he supported Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson in the presidential election. In 1864 and 1865 he was a federal attorney in western Tennessee, which was occupied by Union forces at the time. From 1865 to 1868 he was a judge on the Tennessee Supreme Court ; between 1869 and 1870 he served as the American consul in Havana , Cuba .

Governor of Tennessee

In 1880, the Republican ran for governor of Tennessee. Because the Democrats had fallen out over the question of national debt, he won the victory. Hawkins enacted a law to reduce national debt, but it was rejected as unconstitutional by the state's Supreme Court. So Hawkins, like his two predecessors, failed because of this problem. For the elections of 1882 he sought re-election, but was defeated by his opponent William B. Bate .

After leaving office, he became a lawyer again and dealt with ecclesiastical issues in his Methodist community in Huntingdon . He died on April 27, 1905. Alvin Hawkins was married to Justina Ott, with whom he had two children.

literature

  • Robert Sobel and John Raimo (Eds.): Biographical Directory of the Governors of the United States, 1789-1978 . Volume 4, Meckler Books, Westport 1978.
  • The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography. Vol. 7. James T. White & Company, New York.

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