Jacob Benton

Jacob Benton

Jacob Benton (born August 19, 1814 in Waterford , Caledonia County , Vermont , †  September 29, 1892 in Lancaster , New Hampshire) was an American politician . Between 1867 and 1871 he represented the state of New Hampshire in the US House of Representatives .

Career

Jacob Benton attended the public schools of his home country and then until 1839 the Burr and Burton Seminary in Manchester (Vermont). He then worked as a teacher himself for a few years. In 1842 he moved to Lancaster, New Hampshire. After studying law and being admitted to the bar in 1843, he began to work in this profession in his new hometown.

From 1854, Benton was also politically active. He became a member of the Republican Party founded that year . Between 1854 and 1856 he was an MP in the New Hampshire House of Representatives . In 1860 he took part as a delegate at the Republican National Convention in Chicago , on which Abraham Lincoln was nominated as the party's presidential candidate. During the Civil War , Benton commanded a volunteer unit out of New Hampshire as Brigadier General .

In 1866 Benton was elected to the US House of Representatives in Washington in the third district of New Hampshire , where he succeeded James W. Patterson on March 4, 1867 . After a re-election in 1868, he was able to complete two terms in Congress until March 3, 1871 . It was during this time that his party's dispute with President Andrew Johnson over the post-civil war reconstruction . This dispute led to the impeachment proceedings against the president, ultimately unsuccessful . The 14th Amendment was also passed during Benton's time in Congress .

In 1870, Benton turned down another candidacy for Congress. As a result, he worked again as a lawyer. He died on September 29, 1892 in Lancaster and was buried there.

Web links

• Jacob Benton in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)

• Jacob Benton in the database of Find a Grave (English)