Alexander Hamilton
Stephens was born on February 11, 1812
near Crawfordsville, Georgia.
He attended local schools, and graduated from Franklin
College in 1832 when he was 20
years old. In 1834 he was admitted to the bar. His private practice was
short-lived, however, as he became very active in the political scene. He
aligned with the Whigs, and served in the Georgia
state house from 1834 to 1841. As Stephens gained political momentum, he was
elected to the Georgia
state senate in 1842. He served as a U.S. Representative from Georgia
for sixteen years, from 1843 to 1859. By 1860, the Whig Party disintegrated,
and Stephens joined the Democratic Party to support Stephen Douglas in his
attempt to gain the Presidency against Abraham Lincoln. But Lincoln
was elected, and Alexander Stephens faced a dilemma. Many of his Southern
compatriots favored secession from the Union. Stephens
believed strongly in the U.S. Constitution and tried to keep Georgia
from breaking with the Union. But as Georgia's
path to secession became clear, Stephens acquiesced to the prevailing
sentiments in his state and in 1861 he was elected Vice President of the
Confederacy. He held the position of Vice President until 1865. He spent five
months in a Union prison at the end of the war, and was released in October of
1865. Stephens returned to Georgia
and again became active in state politics. He served again in Congress after
the end of the Reconstruction Period until 1882, and then in 1882 he took
office as Governor of the state of Georgia.
During his term as governor, he became ill, and Alexander Hamilton Stephens
died in Savannah on March 4, 1883.
Alexander Stephens was a
moderating voice in the shaping of the Confederacy. He believed that the
Constitution of the United States
was powerful and workable through interpretation and modification, even for the
Southern states. But he was also a compromiser and a statesman, and when the
establishment of the Confederacy was inevitable, he served as a thoughtful,
moderate leader. He was an accomplished orator and a writer as well as a
Constitutional scholar. He kept journals and wrote in detail about his
experiences and how this turbulent time in history was shaped by the beliefs
and passions of his peers. Many of his works are out of print and hard to find
now, but we found the following at Amazon.com. Click to order History of the United States, by Alexander Stephens.
Stephens also kept a journal when he was imprisoned at the end of the Civil
War, and it is available for purchase. Click to order Recollections of Alexander H. Stephens: His Diary Kept When a
Prisoner at Fort Warren, Boston Harbour, 1865. For the history buff who
would like to understand the thinking of the delegates to the convention that
created the Confederacy, we recommend 'A Government of Our Own': The Making of the Confederacy,
by William C. Davis. Davis is a
prize-winning author and Civil War historian, and this book chronicles four
decisive months in 1861, presenting the unique story of the birth of a nation
within a nation. It examines the leaders of the Confederacy--from those who
wanted war to those who wanted reconciliation--and their struggle to form a
southern nation.