Stephens, Alexander H

Stephens, Alexander H

▪ vice president of Confederate States of America
born Feb. 11, 1812, Wilkes County, Ga., U.S.
died March 4, 1883, Atlanta, Ga.
 politician who served as vice president of the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War (1861–65).

      Called “Little Ellick” by his colleagues because he weighed only about 100 pounds, Stephens was admitted to the bar in 1834. Though plagued by infirmities, he rose steadily in politics, serving in the Georgia House of Representatives (1837–41), the state Senate (1842–43), and the U.S. House of Representatives (1843–59). A Whig, he urged the annexation of Texas and supported the Compromise of 1850 and the Kansas–Nebraska Act (1854), both of which attempted to establish criteria for the extension of slavery to U.S. territories. He defended slavery but opposed the dissolution of the Union. When Georgia seceded, however (1861), he followed his state and was shortly elected vice president of the Confederacy.

      Throughout the war Stephens opposed the exercise of extraconstitutional war powers by Confederate president Jefferson Davis lest the freedom for which the South was ostensibly fighting should be destroyed. The policy he advocated was to preserve constitutional government in the South and to strengthen the antiwar party in the North by convincing it that the Lincoln administration had abandoned such government; to the same end he urged, in 1864, the unconditional discharge of Federal prisoners. Stephens headed the Confederate commission to the abortive peace conference at Hampton Roads, Va., in February 1865.

      After the fall of the Confederacy (May 1865), Stephens was confined for five months at Fort Warren, Boston. In 1866 he was elected to the U.S. Senate but was denied his seat because his state had not been properly reconstructed according to the congressional guidelines. He did serve again in the U.S. House of Representatives (1873–82), however, and as governor of Georgia (1882–83). His book A Constitutional View of the Late War Between the States, 2 vol. (1868–70), is perhaps the best statement of the Southern position on state sovereignty and secession.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Stephens, Alexander H(amilton) — (11 feb. 1812, cond. Wilkes, Ga., EE.UU.–4 mar. 1883, Atlanta, Ga). Político estadounidense. Se desempeñó en la Cámara de Representantes (1843–59), donde defendió la esclavitud, pero se opuso a la disolución de la Unión. Cuando Georgia se separó …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Stephens,Alexander Hamilton — Ste·phens (stēʹvənz), Alexander Hamilton. 1812 1883. American politician who was vice president of the Confederacy (1861 1865) under Jefferson Davis. * * * …   Universalium

  • Stephens, Alexander H(amilton) — born Feb. 11, 1812, Wilkes county, Ga., U.S. died March 4, 1883, Atlanta, Ga. U.S. politician. He served in the U.S. House of Representatives (1843–59), where he defended slavery but opposed dissolution of the Union. When Georgia seceded, he was… …   Universalium

  • Alexander Stephens — (* 20. April 1981 in München) ist ein deutsch britischer Rechtsanwalt und Künstler, vor allem bekannt aus den Fernsehsendungen Abenteuer Leben (Kabel 1) und Richter Alexander Hold (Sat 1). Inhaltsverzeichnis …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Alexander Hamilton Stephens — (* 11. Februar 1812 in oder in der Nähe von Crawfordville, Taliaferro County, Georgia; † 4. März 1883 in Atlanta, Georgia) war ein US amerikanischer Politiker und vom 11. Februar 1861 bis zum 11. Mai 1865 …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Alexander H. Stephens — Alexander Hamilton Stephens Alexander Hamilton Stephens (* 11. Februar 1812 in oder in der Nähe von Crawfordsville, Taliafero County, Georgia, Vereinigte Staaten; † 4. März 1883 in Atlanta, Georgia) war ein US amerikanischer Politiker und von… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Alexander Hamilton Stephens — Alexander Stephens Pour les articles homonymes, voir Stephens. Alexandre Stephens Alexander Hamilton Stephens (1812 1883) est un homme poli …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Alexander — Alexander, Christopher Alexander, islas de Alexander, sir Harold * * * (as used in expressions) William Alexander Abbott Agassiz, Alexander (Emmanuel Rodolphe) Alexander, archipiélago Alexander, Harold (Rupert Leofric George) Alexander, 1 conde… …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Alexander Stephens — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Stephens. Alexandre Stephens Alexander Hamilton Stephens (1812 1883) est un homme politique américain de Géorgie. Il fut vice prési …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Alexander Hamilton Stephens — Retrato de Alexander Stephens. Alexander Hamilton Stephens, (11 de febrero de 1812, condado de Wilkes, Georgia 4 de marzo de 1883, Atlanta), fue un político estadounidense. Prestó sevicio en la Cámara de Repres …   Wikipedia Español

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