John Hickman (congressman)
Encyclopedia
John Hickman was a Republican
, Democratic
and Anti-Lecompton Democratic
member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania
.
. He pursued English and classical studies under private tutors. He began the study of medicine but abandoned it for the study of law. He was admitted to the bar in 1833 and commenced practice in West Chester. He was a delegate to the Democratic convention at Baltimore in 1844
. He served as district attorney for Chester County, Pennsylvania
, in 1845 and 1846.
and Thirty-fifth
Congresses, as an Anti-Lecompton Democrat to the Thirty-sixth
Congress, and as a Republican to the Thirty-seventh
Congress. He served as chairman of the United States House Committee on Revolutionary Pensions
during the Thirty-fifth Congress and the United States House Committee on the Judiciary
during the Thirty-sixth and Thirty-seventh Congresses.
At a political dinner in Philadelphia a week after South Carolina
declared secession from the Union, Hickman made a fiery speech calling for war, reported on the front page of the Philadelphia Inquirer on Dec. 29, 1860:
He declined to be a candidate for renomination in 1862
. He was one of the managers appointed by the House of Representatives in 1862 to conduct the impeachment proceedings against West H. Humphreys, United States judge for the several districts of Tennessee
.
He resumed the practice of law, and served as a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives
in 1869. He died in West Chester. Interment in Oaklands Cemetery near West Chester, Pennsylvania.
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
, Democratic
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
and Anti-Lecompton Democratic
Lecompton Constitution
The Lecompton Constitution was the second of four proposed constitutions for the state of Kansas . The document was written in response to the anti-slavery position of the 1855 Topeka Constitution of James H. Lane and other free-state advocates...
member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
.
Early life
John Hickman was born in West Bradford Township, PennsylvaniaWest Bradford Township, Pennsylvania
West Bradford Township is a township in Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 12,376 at the 2010 census. There are three federal historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places located within West Bradford Township .-Geography:According to the United States...
. He pursued English and classical studies under private tutors. He began the study of medicine but abandoned it for the study of law. He was admitted to the bar in 1833 and commenced practice in West Chester. He was a delegate to the Democratic convention at Baltimore in 1844
1844 Democratic National Convention
In 1844, the Democratic Party held their National Convention in Baltimore. At first, the Democrats were split; the three nominees for the Presidential candidate were:* Martin van Buren, a former president and leader of the dominant Jacksonian faction...
. He served as district attorney for Chester County, Pennsylvania
Chester County, Pennsylvania
-State parks:*French Creek State Park*Marsh Creek State Park*White Clay Creek Preserve-Demographics:As of the 2010 census, the county was 85.5% White, 6.1% Black or African American, 0.2% Native American or Alaskan Native, 3.9% Asian, 0.0% Native Hawaiian, 1.8% were two or more races, and 2.4% were...
, in 1845 and 1846.
United States House of Representatives
Hickman was elected as a Democrat to the Thirty-fourth34th United States Congress
The Thirty-fourth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1855 to March 4, 1857, during the last two years...
and Thirty-fifth
35th United States Congress
The 35th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1857 to March 3, 1859, during the first two years of James...
Congresses, as an Anti-Lecompton Democrat to the Thirty-sixth
36th United States Congress
The Thirty-sixth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1859 to March 4, 1861, during the third and fourth...
Congress, and as a Republican to the Thirty-seventh
37th United States Congress
The Thirty-seventh United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1861 to March 4, 1863, during the first two...
Congress. He served as chairman of the United States House Committee on Revolutionary Pensions
United States House Committee on Revolutionary Pensions
The United States House Committee on Revolutionary Pensions was a U.S. House committee, established on January 10, 1831, that superseded the defunct Committee on Military Pensions to assume jurisdiction over issues related to pensions for service in the American Revolutionary War.In 1867, the...
during the Thirty-fifth Congress and the United States House Committee on the Judiciary
United States House Committee on the Judiciary
The U.S. House Committee on the Judiciary, also called the House Judiciary Committee, is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. It is charged with overseeing the administration of justice within the federal courts, administrative agencies and Federal law enforcement...
during the Thirty-sixth and Thirty-seventh Congresses.
At a political dinner in Philadelphia a week after South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
declared secession from the Union, Hickman made a fiery speech calling for war, reported on the front page of the Philadelphia Inquirer on Dec. 29, 1860:
The time for action has arrived; every man must define his position; there is an eternal conflit between freedom and slaverySlaverySlavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...
; truces which will last cannot be formed between them. . . . You must now make up your minds whether to serve God or BelialBelialBelial is one of the four crown princes of Hell and a demon in the Bible, Jewish apocrypha and Christian apocrypha...
. (Cheers.) . . . For myself I say distinctly — No more compromises. (Long continued applause.) I love the Constitution and the Union, but I will not buy them from an enemy. (Cries of good.) . . . South Carolina is not out of the Union, and by the blessing of Almighty God she never will be out of the Union. (Uproarious cheers.) And if you believe as I do, she never will be out of the Union. (Cheers.) The eighteen millions of the North are not to be put down by the eight millions of the South. The prospect is indeed gloomy. We have a traitor President and a corrupt and rotten Cabinet. But with all the banded seceding States and their traitor friends we will yet save the Union. (Cheers.) . . . The South thinks the North is craven, and our Union-saving merchants encourage that belief. I want to know whether every man is going to purchase a peace or defend the peace. (Cheers.)
He declined to be a candidate for renomination in 1862
United States House election, 1862
Elections to the United States House of Representatives were held in 1862, mostly in November, in the middle of President Abraham Lincoln's first term...
. He was one of the managers appointed by the House of Representatives in 1862 to conduct the impeachment proceedings against West H. Humphreys, United States judge for the several districts of Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
.
He resumed the practice of law, and served as a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
The Pennsylvania House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Pennsylvania General Assembly, the legislature of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. There are 203 members, elected for two year terms from single member districts....
in 1869. He died in West Chester. Interment in Oaklands Cemetery near West Chester, Pennsylvania.