biography
| name: |
Stephens, Alexander H(amilton)
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known as Little Ellick
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| sex:
| male
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| lived:
| (1812–83)
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| biography:
| Confederate vice-president, US representative, and governor, born near Crawfordville, Georgia, USA. He was admitted to the bar (1834) and served Georgia in the US House of Representatives (Whig, 1843–53; Democrat, 1853–9), where he opposed the war with Mexico but strongly supported the Compromise of 1850. As more extremist Southerners began to call for secession, he opposed it, but at the same time he defended the institution of slavery. When Georgia seceded, he went along with it and somewhat reluctantly found himself elected vice-president of the Confederate States of America (1861–5). During the Civil War, he often opposed Jefferson Davis's policies, but in the end had little impact on events. He led the Confederate delegation to the unsuccessful peace conference at Hampton Roads, VA (Feb 1865). Imprisoned for five months in Boston Harbor, MA, on returning to Georgia he was elected to the US Senate (1866) but was refused his seat. He then wrote a controversial defence of the Confederate position, A Constitutional View of the Late War Between the States (2 vols, 1868–70). He did return to the US House of Representatives (Democrat, Georgia, 1873–82) and then served briefly as governor of Georgia (1882–3). |
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