Thomas A. Hendricks

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Thomas A. Hendricks
Thomas A. Hendricks' signature

Thomas Andrews Hendricks (born September 7, 1819 in Zanesville , Ohio , †  November 25, 1885 in Indianapolis , Indiana ) was an American politician . He represented the state of Indiana in both houses of Congress and was also its 16th  governor before becoming the 21st  Vice President of the United States under President Grover Cleveland .

Early years

Hendricks was born in Muskingum County , Ohio, and moved to Indiana with his parents in 1820, where his uncle, William Hendricks , was governor from 1822 to 1825 . He attended Hanover College in Hanover and studied in Chambersburg ( Pennsylvania ) Jura. After his admission to the bar in 1843, he practiced in Shelbyville in his new profession.

politics

State Parliamentarians and Congressmen

Hendricks' political career began in 1848 with his election to the Indiana House of Representatives . In 1850 he was a delegate to a meeting to revise the constitution of this state. Then Hendricks was elected to the US House of Representatives as a member of the Democratic Party . He stayed there between 1851 and 1855 and was a member of several committees. His re-election in 1854 failed. Between 1855 and 1859 he was federal commissioner for the state-owned land in Washington, DC ( Commissioner of the General Land Office ). In 1860 he ran unsuccessfully for the post of governor of Indiana : He was defeated by Republican Henry Smith Lane with 48:52 percent of the vote. In the same year he moved to Indianapolis and practiced as a lawyer. Hendricks was a US Senator from March 4, 1863 to March 3, 1869 .

In 1868 he ran again unsuccessfully for the post of governor of Indiana; this time the deficit on Republican Conrad Baker was less than 1,000 votes. Four years later he succeeded in making the leap to the office of governor when he in turn prevailed with just over 1,100 votes ahead of Thomas M. Browne .

Indiana Governor

After winning the election, Hendricks was able to take up his new office on January 13, 1873. During his four-year tenure, he had to deal with labor unrest in Logansport and Clay Counties. A prohibition law was enacted, but it was invalidated two years later. Otherwise, Hendricks' tenure as governor was uneventful.

Vice President of the USA

In 1876 , Hendricks applied unsuccessfully for the office of Vice President: He and presidential candidate Samuel J. Tilden lost extremely narrowly to the Republicans Rutherford B. Hayes and William A. Wheeler . In 1884 he was nominated again as running mate of Grover Cleveland as a vice-presidential candidate. After the election victory in November 1884 against the Republicans James G. Blaine and John A. Logan , he was sworn in as the new US Vice President on March 4, 1885. However, Hendricks died on November 25, 1885 during his tenure. The office remained vacant for the remainder of the term of office, as no successor could be nominated before the next election.

He is the only Vice President ever to be depicted on a US banknote ($ 10 note from 1886). Hendricks was married to Eliza Morgan and the couple had one child.

literature

  • Jules Witcover: The American Vice Presidency: From Irrelevance to Power. Smithsonian Books, Washington, D. C. 2014, ISBN 978-1-5883-4471-7 , pp. 197-203 (= 21. Thomas A. Hendricks of Indiana ).

Web links

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personal data
SURNAME Hendricks, Thomas A.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Hendricks, Thomas Andrews (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American politician, 21st Vice President of the USA
DATE OF BIRTH September 7, 1819
PLACE OF BIRTH near Zanesville , Ohio
DATE OF DEATH November 25, 1885
Place of death Indianapolis , Indiana