Thompson Campbell

Thompson Campbell

Thompson Campbell (* 1811 in Ireland , †  December 6, 1868 in San Francisco , California ) was an American politician . Between 1851 and 1853 he represented the state of Illinois in the US House of Representatives .

Career

While still a child, Thompson Campbell came from his Irish homeland with his parents to Chester County in Pennsylvania , where he later attended public schools. After completing a law degree, he was admitted to the bar. He moved to Galena , Illinois, where he worked in the mining industry. At the same time he embarked on a political career as a member of the Democratic Party . Between 1843 and 1846 he was Secretary of State of Illinois. In 1847 he was a member of the constitutional convention of his state.

In the congressional election of 1850 Campbell was elected to the United States House of Representatives in Washington, DC , in the sixth constituency of Illinois , where he succeeded Edward Dickinson Baker on March 4, 1851 . Since he was not confirmed in 1852, he could only complete one legislative period in Congress until March 3, 1853 . These were shaped by the discussions about the question of slavery .

In June 1852 Campbell was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in Baltimore , where Franklin Pierce was nominated as a presidential candidate. Between 1853 and 1855 he was the federal government land commissioner for California. Then he returned to Illinois. In 1860 he was a delegate at the Federal Democratic Party Congress in Charleston , who could not agree on a presidential candidate. In the presidential election of that year 1860 he served as one of the electors for John C. Breckinridge .

Then he moved to California for good. Campbell was a Unionist Member of the California State Assembly in 1863 and 1864 . He then became a member of the Republican Party . In June 1864 he took part as a delegate at the Republican National Convention in Baltimore, at which President Abraham Lincoln was nominated for re-election. He died on December 6, 1868 in San Francisco.

Web links

• Thompson Campbell in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)