Nathaniel Littlefield

Nathaniel Littlefield, 1870

Nathaniel Swett Littlefield (born September 20, 1804 in Wells , York County , Massachusetts , †  August 15, 1882 in Bridgton , Maine ) was an American politician . Between 1841 and 1851 he twice represented the state of Maine in the US House of Representatives .

Career

Nathaniel Littlefield was born in 1804 in Wells, which at that time still belonged to Massachusetts and has been part of the then founded state of Maine since 1820. He attended the public schools in his home country. After a subsequent law degree and his admission to the bar in 1827, he began to practice in Bridgton in his new profession. Between 1827 and 1841 he was also a postman in this town. He also held a few other offices in this city, where he was also a councilor.

Politically, Littlefield was a member of the Democratic Party . He served as Secretary to the Maine Senate from 1831 to 1832, a member of which he was from 1837 to 1839. In 1838 he was President of this Chamber. In the congressional elections of 1840 Littlefield was then elected to the United States House of Representatives in Washington, DC in the fifth constituency of Maine , where he succeeded Virgil D. Parris on March 4, 1841 . After a re-election in 1842, he was able to complete two terms in Congress until March 3, 1843 . This time was overshadowed by the clashes between US President John Tyler and Henry Clay and his Whig Party . In addition, a possible admission of the independent Republic of Texas since 1836 to the United States was discussed.

Between 1843 and 1848 Littlefield returned to his private business. In the congressional elections of 1848 he was then elected to Congress for the second district. There he took over from Asa Clapp on March 4, 1849 . Since he waived re-election in 1850, he could only spend one more term in the US House of Representatives until March 3, 1851. During this time he was chairman of the Agriculture Committee. In 1854 Littlefield was an MP in the Maine House of Representatives . In 1866 he took part as a delegate at the National Union Convention in Philadelphia . Then he withdrew from politics. Nathaniel Littlefield died on August 15, 1882 in Bridgton and was buried there.

Web links

• Nathaniel Littlefield in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)

• Nathaniel Littlefield in the database of Find a Grave (English)