Hannibal Hamlin Quotes
When I cease to harmonize with the majority ... I feel that I ought no longer to hold that respectable position [Senate Commerce Committee chairman.]
The senator had broken with his own party on the issue of slavery in the territories.
Hannibal Hamlin, 1809-1891, U. S. Congressman & U. S. Senator (Democrat, ME), Vice President of the United States, Senate debate, 1856
Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations
In one of the most blatant statements of the arbitrary power of congressional committee chairmen, the chairman of the House Rules Committee blocked an investigation of military procurement even though every other member of the committee wanted to pursue the investigation. The prerogative of the chairman was upheld by the Speaker, and on appeal, by the House as a whole, but by 1924 House rules were amended to diminish the arbitrary power of chairmen.
In 1871 the congressman refused to serve as chairman of a committee to investigate the Ku Klux Klan. Such pandering to the South was common for politicians who had national aspirtation. If the politican served on such a committee, he would have to aknowledge the existance of the murders, torture, and other criminal activity of an organzation that was very popular in the South. Or he would have to cover up the KKK crimes and lose the support of Northerners. So refusing to serve on the committee was the prudent solution.
President Wilson had gone to Paris for peace treaty negotiations. Ex-President Roosevelt was on his deathbed. But even then TR was his politically contentious self.
Hannibal Hamlin was an American attorney and politician from the state of Maine. In a public service career that spanned over 50 years, he served as the 15th vice president of the United States. The first Republican to hold the office, Hamlin served from 1861 to 1865. He is considered among the most influential politicians to have come from Maine.
