US Congressman, US Senator. He was born in Bethany, Pennsylvania, and was educated locally and at an academy in Aurora, New York, he studied law and in 1839 passed his bar examinations in Pennsylvania. Gradually his interests shifted from the law to politics. In 1844 he was elected to the first of 3 consecutive terms in the United States House of Representatives, first as a Jacksonian Democrat and, from 1848, as a Free-Soiler and Republican. His greatest contribution to national politics was the Wilmot Proviso, which he presented to Congress in 1846, calling for slavery to be prohibited in any territory gained as fruits of the Mexican War. Passed by the House but voted down in the Senate, the proviso was finally passed on June 19, 1862, to forbid slavery in all United States territories. By then he had been out of Congress for a decade, having accepted a district judgeship in Pennsylvania. He supported Abraham Lincoln in the 1860 election, and was a member of the peace convention of 1861, held in Washington D.C., it was an effort to devise means to prevent the impending war. He turned down a cabinet appointment in favor of completing Simon Cameron's Senate term due to Cameron becoming Secretary of War. Forced to resign by a Democratic majority in Pennsylvania's state legislature, he accepted a judgeship in the court of claims offered by President Lincoln. He died at his home in Towanda, Pennsylvania.

US Congressman, US Senator. He was born in Bethany, Pennsylvania, and was educated locally and at an academy in Aurora, New York, he studied law and in 1839 passed his bar examinations in Pennsylvania. Gradually his interests shifted from the law to politics. In 1844 he was elected to the first of 3 consecutive terms in the United States House of Representatives, first as a Jacksonian Democrat and, from 1848, as a Free-Soiler and Republican. His greatest contribution to national politics was the Wilmot Proviso, which he presented to Congress in 1846, calling for slavery to be prohibited in any territory gained as fruits of the Mexican War. Passed by the House but voted down in the Senate, the proviso was finally passed on June 19, 1862, to forbid slavery in all United States territories. By then he had been out of Congress for a decade, having accepted a district judgeship in Pennsylvania. He supported Abraham Lincoln in the 1860 election, and was a member of the peace convention of 1861, held in Washington D.C., it was an effort to devise means to prevent the impending war. He turned down a cabinet appointment in favor of completing Simon Cameron's Senate term due to Cameron becoming Secretary of War. Forced to resign by a Democratic majority in Pennsylvania's state legislature, he accepted a judgeship in the court of claims offered by President Lincoln. He died at his home in Towanda, Pennsylvania.

Bio by: Ugaalltheway