Thomas Carlin

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Thomas Carlin

Thomas Carlin (born July 18, 1789 in Frankfort , Kentucky , † February 14, 1852 in Carrollton , Illinois ) was an American politician and from 1838 to 1842 the 7th Governor of Illinois.

Early years and political career

Thomas Carlin acquired his school knowledge himself. All his life he showed great interest in literature and he was very adaptive. He served as a soldier in both the British-American War of 1812 and the Black Hawk War of the early 1830s. His political career began with his election to the Illinois House of Representatives . There he completed two legislative terms. He was also twice elected to the State Senate. In 1834 he was appointed by President Andrew Jackson to head the Treasury (Receiver of Public Monies) in Quiny, Illinois. He held this office until 1838. In that year he was nominated by his Democratic Party for the office of governor and then also elected.

Illinois Governor

Carlin began his four-year term on December 7, 1838. During his tenure, the judiciary was reformed. The Supreme Court was expanded to include five additional judges. On February 15, 1842, the first train reached Springfield . This marked the beginning of the railroad age in Illinois. Carlin promoted the further expansion of the Illinois-Michigan Canal. The Mormons who immigrated to Illinois founded the city of Nauvoo in 1839 , which already had 12,000 inhabitants in 1845, and which was then the largest city in the state. Also in 1839, the last remaining Indians were expelled from Illinois. In 1840, the population of Illinois had grown from 157,500 in 1830 to over 476,000.

Another résumé

After his term in office, Carlin could not be directly re-elected under the constitution. Therefore, he resigned on December 8, 1842 from his office. After a brief stint in the State House of Representatives, Carlin retired to his farm in Carrollton, where he died in 1852. He was married to Rebecca Hewitt, with whom he had 13 children.

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