Unidentified Artist
Description
Born Taliaferro County, GeorgiaAlexander H. Stephens was a powerful advocate for southern interests throughout his tenure in Congress (1843–59). Both a Unionist and a steadfast defender of slavery, Stephens endorsed the Compromise of 1850 and was instrumental in winning approval of the Kansas–Nebraska Act. When the Democratic Party split during the 1860 presidential campaign, he supported Stephen Douglas rather than fellow southerner John C. Breckinridge. In the wake of Abraham Lincoln’s victory, Stephens counseled against a headlong rush toward secession. However, when delegates from the southern states convened in Montgomery, Alabama, in February 1861 to form the Confederacy, Stephens accepted its vice presidency.
Image
Quarter Plate Daguerreotype
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
Record Contributed By
National Portrait GalleryRecord Harvested From
Smithsonian InstitutionKeywords
- Alexander Hamilton Stephens
- Cased Object
- Communications
- Confederate States Of America
- Confederate Vice President
- Congressmen
- Georgia
- Government
- Governor
- Governors
- Law And Law Enforcement
- Lawyer
- Lawyers
- Legislators
- Male
- Men
- Newspaper
- Newspapers
- Politics
- Politics And Government
- Portrait
- Portraits
- Publisher
- State Legislator
- Stephens, Alexander Hamilton
- Us Congressman
Related Content
