Lewis & Clark College

Hill, Benjamin H.

Benjamin Harvey Hill was a U.S. Representative, U.S. senator and a Confederate senator from the state of Georgia. attended the University of Georgia (UGA) in Athens, Georgia where he was a member of the Demosthenian Literary Society and graduated in 1844 with first honors. He was admitted to the Georgia bar later in 1844. He married Caroline E. Holt in Athens, Georgia in 1845.Hill's arguments related to the conservative belief that disunion would ultimately lead to the abolition of slavery and the downfall of Southern society. Unlike many Confederate politicians, Hill had a long and distinguished career as a "reconstructed" Southerner and U.S. politician. He ultimately became a Democrat after the Civil War ended. He spoke out passionately against Radical Reconstruction and in the summer of 1867 made a series of speeches in Atlanta, the most famous being the Davis House speech of July 16, 1867, denouncing the Reconstruction Acts of 1867. His courage and eloquence enhanced his regional fame and won him national recognition.In 1875 he was elected to the U. S. House of Representatives, serving from May 5, 1875 - March 3, 1877. He quickly won a reputation as a spokesman for the South. He was later elected by the Georgia legislature to the U.S. Senate on January 26, 1877, as Reconstruction was ending. He served in the U.S. Senate from March 4, 1877, until his death on August 16, 1882.

Politicians

1877

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Nineteenth Century Political Party Photograph Collection