Thomas L. Harris

Thomas L. Harris

Thomas Langrell Harris (born October 29, 1816 in Norwich , Connecticut , †  November 24, 1858 in Springfield , Illinois ) was an American politician . Between 1849 and 1858 he twice represented the state of Illinois in the US House of Representatives .

Career

Thomas Harris enjoyed a good education and then studied at Washington College , now Trinity College , in Hartford . After studying law and being admitted to the bar in 1842, he began to work in this profession in Petersburg (Illinois). In 1845 he became a school council in Menard County there . During the Mexican-American War he set up a company that he himself commanded. In the course of the war he rose to major. For his military services he was honored by the State of Illinois with an award of bravery. Politically, Harris was a member of the Democratic Party . While still in the military, he was elected to the Illinois Senate in 1846 .

In the congressional elections of 1848 Harris was elected to the US House of Representatives in Washington, DC in the seventh constituency of Illinois , where he succeeded future US President Abraham Lincoln on March 4, 1849 . Since he was not confirmed in 1850, he was initially only able to complete one legislative period in Congress until March 3, 1851 . This was shaped by the discussions about the question of slavery . Harris was a staunch opponent of the expansion of this institution.

In 1852, Thomas Harris did not run for Congress. Two years later, however, he was elected to the House of Representatives in the sixth district of his state, where he replaced Richard Yates on March 4, 1855 . After being re-elected, he could remain in the US House of Representatives until his death on November 24, 1858. From 1855 to 1857 he was chairman of the Department of Navy's Expenditures Control Committee. From 1857 he headed the election committee. At the time of his death, Harris had already been elected to Congress for another term. He died of malaria .

Web links

• Thomas L. Harris in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)

• Thomas L. Harris in the database of Find a Grave (English)