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Free-Soil party

(Encyclopedia)Free-Soil party, in U.S. history, political party that came into existence in 1847–48 chiefly because of rising opposition to the extension of slavery into any of the territories newly acquired from...

Julian, George Washington

(Encyclopedia)Julian, George Washington jo͞olˈyən [key], 1817–99, American abolitionist, U.S. Representative from Indiana (1849–51, 1861–71), b. Wayne co., Ind. Elected to the Indiana legislature as a Whig...

Liberty party

(Encyclopedia)Liberty party, in U.S. history, an antislavery political organization founded in 1840. It was formed by those abolitionists, under the leadership of James G. Birney and Gerrit Smith, who repudiated Wi...

Wilmot, David

(Encyclopedia)Wilmot, David, 1814–68, American legislator, b. Bethany, Pa. As a Democratic Congressman (1845–51) he became widely known as the author of the famous Wilmot Proviso, which helped build up sectiona...

Hale, John Parker

(Encyclopedia)Hale, John Parker, 1806–73, American politician, b. Rochester, N.H. He practiced law at Dover, N.H., and had remarkable success with juries. He was U.S. district attorney (1834–41) and a member of...

Brown, Benjamin Gratz

(Encyclopedia)Brown, Benjamin Gratz, 1826–85, U.S. Senator (1863–67) and governor of Missouri (1871–73), b. Lexington, Ky. An able lawyer in St. Louis, Brown was a leader in the Free-Soil movement in Missouri...

Andrew, John Albion

(Encyclopedia)Andrew, John Albion, 1818–67, Civil War governor of Massachusetts (1861–66), b. Windham, Maine. He practiced law in Boston, but his antislavery sympathies drew him into politics. He was one of the...

Walker, Amasa

(Encyclopedia)Walker, Amasa, 1799–1875, American economist, b. Woodstock, Conn. He became a merchant in Boston but retired from business in 1840. He lectured (1842–48) on political economy at Oberlin College, w...

Gray, Horace

(Encyclopedia)Gray, Horace, 1828–1902, American jurist, associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (1881–1902), b. Boston. At first a reporter (1854–61) to the Massachusetts supreme court, he later entered i...

Hunkers

(Encyclopedia)Hunkers, conservative faction of the Democratic party in New York state in the 1840s, so named because they were supposed to “hanker” or “hunker” after office. In opposition to them stood the ...