George Washington Hopkins

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George Washington Hopkins (born February 22, 1804 in Goochland County , Virginia , †  March 1, 1861 in Richmond , Virginia) was an American politician . Between 1835 and 1859 he represented the state of Virginia in the US House of Representatives twice .

Career

George Hopkins attended the public schools in his home country and then taught himself as a teacher. After studying law and being admitted to the bar in 1834, he began to work in this profession in Lebanon . At the same time he embarked on a political career as a member of the Democratic Party . He served in the Virginia House of Representatives from 1833 to 1835 .

In the congressional elections of 1834 Hopkins was elected to the United States House of Representatives in Washington, DC in the seventh constituency of Virginia , where he succeeded James Garland on March 4, 1835 . After five re-elections in different constituencies, he was able to complete six legislative terms in Congress by March 3, 1847 . In the meantime he represented the Conservative Party before returning to the Democrats. From 1843 he was chairman of the Postal Committee. The period from 1841 was marked by tension between President John Tyler and the Whigs . In addition, a possible annexation of the Republic of Texas , which has been independent of Mexico since 1836, was already being discussed. Since 1845, the work of Congress has also been shaped by the events of the Mexican-American War .

In 1846, Hopkins declined to run again. From 1847 to 1849 he was the successor of Abraham Rencher as the American envoy to Portugal . He then belonged again to the Virginia House of Representatives from 1850 to 1851 and was speaker of this chamber. At the same time he was a delegate to a meeting to revise the state constitution. He then served as a judge. In the congressional elections of 1856 Hopkins was re-elected to Congress in the 13th constituency of his state, where he served a final term between March 4, 1857 and March 3, 1859 as the successor to Fayette McMullen . During this time he was chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee. In 1858 he renounced another candidacy.

After his tenure in the US House of Representatives, Hopkins practiced as a lawyer in Abingdon . He was also a member of the Virginia State Parliament from 1859 until his death on March 1, 1861.

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