Benjamin Fitzpatrick (June 30, 1802 – November 21, 1869) was the 11th

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

of the U.S. state of

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

and a

United States Senator The United States Senate is the Upper house, upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives being the Lower house, lower chamber. Together they compose the national Bica ...

from that state. He was a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

Early life

Born in

Greene County, Georgia Greene County is a county located in the east central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 18,915. The county seat is Greensboro. The county was created on February 3, 1786, and is named for Nathanael ...

, Fitzpatrick was orphaned at the age of seven, and was taken by his sister (Celia Fitzpatrick Baldwin) to

in 1815. Fitzpatrick helped his brothers manage land they owned on the

Alabama River The Alabama River, in the U.S. state of Alabama, is formed by the Tallapoosa and Coosa rivers, which unite about north of Montgomery, near the town of Wetumpka. The river flows west to Selma, then southwest until, about from Mobile, it un ...

and served as deputy under the first sheriff of Autauga County. He worked in the law office of Nimrod E. Benson before he was admitted to the bar. Fitzpatrick studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1821, commencing practice in

Montgomery, Alabama Montgomery is the capital city of the U.S. state of Alabama and the county seat of Montgomery County. Named for the Irish soldier Richard Montgomery, it stands beside the Alabama River, on the coastal Plain of the Gulf of Mexico. In the 202 ...

. Fitzpatrick served as solicitor of the Montgomery circuit from 1822 to 1823 but moved to his plantation in Autauga County in 1829. He engaged in

planting Sowing is the process of planting seeds. An area or object that has had seeds planted in it will be described as a sowed or sown area. Plants which are usually sown Among the major field crops, oats, wheat, and rye are sown, grasses and leg ...

Governor of Alabama and Senator for Alabama

Fitzpatrick became Governor of Alabama in 1841 and served until 1845. Later, he was appointed as a

to the US Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the death of

Dixon H. Lewis Dixon Hall Lewis (August 10, 1802 – October 25, 1848) was an American politician who served as a United States House of Representatives, Representative and a United States Senate, Senator from Alabama. Life and career Lewis was born on Bo ...

, and served from November 25, 1848, to November 30, 1849, when a successor was elected. He was again appointed on January 14, 1853, and elected on December 12, 1853 to the Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of William R. King, who had been elected

Vice President of the United States The vice president of the United States (VPOTUS) is the second-highest officer in the executive branch of the U.S. federal government, after the president of the United States, and ranks first in the presidential line of succession. The vice ...

, and served from January 14, 1853, to March 3, 1855. He served in that Congress as Chairman of the Committee on Printing and the Committee on Engrossed Bills. He was elected to the Senate again to fill the vacancy caused by the failure of the legislature to elect his own successor on November 26, 1855. In that role, he served several times as

President pro tempore of the Senate A president pro tempore or speaker pro tempore is a constitutionally recognized officer of a legislative body who presides over the chamber in the absence of the normal presiding officer. The phrase ''pro tempore'' is Latin "for the time being". ...

Failure of state banks

The country was plagued by economic depression as a result of the

Panic of 1837 The Panic of 1837 was a financial crisis in the United States that touched off a major depression, which lasted until the mid-1840s. Profits, prices, and wages went down, westward expansion was stalled, unemployment went up, and pessimism abound ...

. Fitzpatrick's predecessor as Governor,

Arthur P. Bagby Arthur Pendleton Bagby (1794 – September 21, 1858) was a slave owner and the tenth Governor of the U.S. state of Alabama from 1837 to 1841. Born in Louisa County, Virginia, in 1794, he studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1819, practic ...

, introduced measures to assist the state banks, but the state legislature rejected most of the measures. All of the state banks were closed by Fitzpatrick.

Vice Presidential nomination

In 1860, Fitzpatrick was nominated for Vice President of the United States by the wing of the Democratic Party that had nominated

Stephen A. Douglas Stephen Arnold Douglas (April 23, 1813 – June 3, 1861) was an American politician and lawyer from Illinois. A senator, he was one of two nominees of the badly split Democratic Party for president in the 1860 presidential election, which wa ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

for president. However, he refused the nomination, and

Herschel V. Johnson Herschel Vespasian Johnson (September 18, 1812August 16, 1880) was an American politician. He was the 41st Governor of Georgia from 1853 to 1857 and the vice presidential nominee of the Douglas wing of the Democratic Party in the 1860 U.S. pre ...

of Georgia was ultimately nominated. Fitzpatrick withdrew from the Senate on January 21, 1861, following the

secession Secession is the withdrawal of a group from a larger entity, especially a political entity, but also from any organization, union or military alliance. Some of the most famous and significant secessions have been: the former Soviet republics le ...

of his home state.

Confederacy

Fitzpatrick did not take a particularly active role in the politics of the Confederacy although he served as president of the constitutional convention of Alabama in 1865.

Death

He died on his plantation near

Wetumpka, Alabama Wetumpka () is a city in and the county seat of Elmore County, Alabama, Elmore County, Alabama, United States. At the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 7,220. In the early 21st century Elmore County became one of the f ...

, on November 21, 1869, aged 67.

References

External links

* , - , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Fitzpatrick, Benjamin 1802 births 1869 deaths Democratic Party (United States) vice presidential nominees Democratic Party governors of Alabama Democratic Party United States senators from Alabama Governors of Alabama People from Greene County, Georgia Politicians from Montgomery, Alabama Presidents pro tempore of the United States Senate 1860 United States vice-presidential candidates 19th-century American politicians