Benjamin Franklin Hallett (December 2, 1797 – September 30, 1862) was a Massachusetts lawyer and

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa * Botswana Democratic Party * Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *De ...

activist, most notable as the first chairman of the

Democratic National Committee The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is the governing body of the United States Democratic Party. The committee coordinates strategy to support Democratic Party candidates throughout the country for local, state, and national office, as well ...

. Benjamin Franklin Hallett was born in

Barnstable, Massachusetts The Town of Barnstable ( ) is a town in the U.S. state of Massachusetts and the county seat of Barnstable County. Barnstable is the largest community, both in land area and population, on Cape Cod, and is one of thirteen Massachusetts municipalit ...

. After graduating from

Brown University Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Provide ...

in 1816, he studied law and began a journalistic career in

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, Rhode Island. He soon moved to

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- most p ...

, where he began with the ''Boston Advocate'', shifting to the ''Boston Daily Advertiser'' in 1827. At that time he espoused the views of the

Anti-Masonic Party The Anti-Masonic Party was the earliest third party in the United States. Formally a single-issue party, it strongly opposed Freemasonry, but later aspired to become a major party by expanding its platform to take positions on other issues. Afte ...

, but when that particular group went out of fashion he switched to the

as an enemy of

Henry Clay Henry Clay Sr. (April 12, 1777June 29, 1852) was an American attorney and statesman who represented Kentucky in both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives. He was the seventh House speaker as well as the ninth secretary of state, al ...

. He joined and became a prominent member of the Suffolk County, Massachusetts

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Political career

As a candidate for Congress in 1844 and 1848 he was defeated both times by Whig Robert C. Winthrop. In the latter race

Charles Sumner Charles Sumner (January 6, 1811March 11, 1874) was an American statesman and United States Senator from Massachusetts. As an academic lawyer and a powerful orator, Sumner was the leader of the anti-slavery forces in the state and a leader of th ...

was also a candidate, representing the Free-Soil Party. In 1848 he became, for four years, the first Chairman of the

. In March 1853, President

Franklin Pierce Franklin Pierce (November 23, 1804October 8, 1869) was the 14th president of the United States, serving from 1853 to 1857. He was a northern Democrat who believed that the abolitionist movement was a fundamental threat to the nation's unit ...

appointed Hallett to succeed

George Lunt George Lunt (December 31, 1803 – May 17, 1885) was an American editor, lawyer, author, and politician. George's ancestor, Henry Lunt, was one of the original settlers of Newbury (1635). His grandfather's exploits with John Paul Jones were ...

for a four-year term as

United States District Attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal c ...

for the District of Massachusetts. At the

1856 Democratic National Convention The 1856 Democratic National Convention was a presidential nominating convention that met from June 2 to June 6 in Cincinnati, Ohio. It was held to nominate the Democratic Party's candidates for president and vice president in the 1856 election ...

, Hallett was chairman of the Platform Committee.

Role in the splintering of the 1860 Democratic Convention

In 1860 he was chosen as a delegate, but skipped the

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina, the county seat of Charleston County, and the principal city in the Charleston–North Charleston metropolitan area. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint ...

, meeting (the convention, scheduled April 23-May 3, 1860, coincided with the death of Hallett's wife, Laura Smith Larned, of bilious fever, on May 3, 1860). Trying to regain the seat he had vacated, the convention at

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voted 138 to 112 to deny Hallett the seat. He then joined the walk-out Convention that nominated John C. Breckinridge and

Joseph Lane Joseph "Joe" Lane (December 14, 1801 – April 19, 1881) was an American politician and soldier. He was a state legislator representing Evansville, Indiana, and then served in the Mexican–American War, becoming a general. President James K. P ...

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hallett, Benjamin 1797 births 1862 deaths Brown University alumni Massachusetts lawyers Democratic National Committee chairs People from Barnstable, Massachusetts Anti-Masonic Party politicians from Massachusetts Massachusetts Democrats United States Attorneys for the District of Massachusetts 19th-century American lawyers