Daniel Stevens Dickinson (September 11, 1800April 12, 1866) was an American politician and lawyer, most notable as 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 1844 to 1851.

Biography

Born in

Goshen, Connecticut Goshen is a town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 3,150 at the 2020 census. Geography Goshen is in central Litchfield County and is bordered to the east by the city of Torrington. According to the United State ...

, he moved with his parents to

Guilford Guildford is a town in Surrey, England. It gives its name to the Borough of Guildford, the Diocese of Guildford and the Parliamentary constituency of Guildford. Guildford, Guilford, or Gildford may also refer to: Places Australia * Guildfor ...

Chenango County, New York Chenango County is a County (United States), county located in the south-central section U.S. state of New York (state), New York. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 47,220. Its county seat is Norwich, New York ...

, in 1806. He attended the

common schools A common school was a public school in the United States during the 19th century. Horace Mann (1796–1859) was a strong advocate for public education and the common school. In 1837, the state of Massachusetts appointed Mann as the first secretary o ...

, was apprenticed to a clothier, and taught school at

Wheatland, New York Wheatland is a town in Monroe County, New York, United States. The population was 4,775 at the 2010 census. The town is home to Genesee Country Village and Museum. Geography and geology The town of Wheatland is located in the southwest part of M ...

from 1821 on. In 1822, he married Lydia Knapp. He also engaged in land surveying, studied law, and was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

in 1828. He commenced practice in Guilford, and served as

Postmaster A postmaster is the head of an individual post office, responsible for all postal activities in a specific post office. When a postmaster is responsible for an entire mail distribution organization (usually sponsored by a national government), ...

of Guilford from 1827 to 1832. He moved to

Binghamton, New York Binghamton () is a city in the U.S. state of New York, and serves as the county seat of Broome County. Surrounded by rolling hills, it lies in the state's Southern Tier region near the Pennsylvania border, in a bowl-shaped valley at the conflue ...

and served as its first Village President in 1834. He was a member of the

New York State Senate The New York State Senate is the upper house of the New York State Legislature; the New York State Assembly is its lower house. Its members are elected to two-year terms; there are no term limits. There are 63 seats in the Senate. Partisan com ...

(6th D.) from 1837 to 1840, sitting in the 60th, 61st, 62nd and

63rd New York State Legislature The 63rd New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 7 to May 14, 1840, during the second year of William H. Seward's governorship, in Albany. Background Under the prov ...

s. He was

Lieutenant Governor of New York The lieutenant governor of New York is a constitutional office in the executive branch of the Government of the State of New York. It is the second highest-ranking official in state government. The lieutenant governor is elected on a ticket wit ...

from 1843 to 1844. In

1844 In the Philippines, it was the only leap year with 365 days, as December 31 was skipped when 1845 began after December 30. Events January–March * January 15 – The University of Notre Dame, based in the city of the same name, receives ...

, he was a

presidential elector The United States Electoral College is the group of presidential electors required by the Constitution to form every four years for the sole purpose of appointing the president and vice president. Each state and the District of Columbia appo ...

, voting for

James K. Polk James Knox Polk (November 2, 1795 – June 15, 1849) was the 11th president of the United States, serving from 1845 to 1849. He previously was the 13th speaker of the House of Representatives (1835–1839) and ninth governor of Tennessee (183 ...

and

George M. Dallas George Mifflin Dallas (July 10, 1792 – December 31, 1864) was an American politician and diplomat who served as mayor of Philadelphia from 1828 to 1829, the 11th vice president of the United States from 1845 to 1849, and U.S. Minister to the ...

. In 1844 he was appointed as 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 ...

to the

U.S. Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of

Nathaniel P. Tallmadge Nathaniel Pitcher Tallmadge (February 8, 1795November 2, 1864) was an American lawyer and politician. He served two terms as United States Senator from New York (1833–1844) and was the 3rd Governor of the Wisconsin Territory (1844– ...

, and was subsequently elected to a full term, holding office from November 30, 1844, to March 3, 1851. He was Chairman of the

United States Senate Committee on Finance The United States Senate Committee on Finance (or, less formally, Senate Finance Committee) is a standing committee of the United States Senate. The Committee concerns itself with matters relating to taxation and other revenue measures generall ...

(1849–1850), a member of the Committee on Manufactures ( Twenty-ninth and

Thirtieth United States Congress The 30th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1847, ...

es), and a member of the Committee on Private Land Claims (

Thirty-first United States Congress The 31st United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1849, ...

). As a senator and after, Dickinson was the leader of the conservative Hunker faction of the New York Democratic Party, and would eventually become leader of the "Hards" who opposed reconciliation with the more radical Barnburner faction which had left the party in 1848 to join the

Free Soilers The Free Soil Party was a short-lived coalition political party in the United States active from 1848 to 1854, when it merged into the Republican Party. The party was largely focused on the single issue of opposing the expansion of slavery into ...

. Dickinson resumed the practice of law in 1851. He was delegate to the

1852 Democratic National Convention The 1852 Democratic National Convention was a presidential nominating convention that met from June 1 to June 5 in Baltimore, Maryland. It was held to nominate the Democratic Party's candidates for president and vice president in the 1852 electio ...

. In 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 unity ...

appointed him as

Collector of the Port of New York The Collector of Customs at the Port of New York, most often referred to as Collector of the Port of New York, was a federal officer who was in charge of the collection of import duties on foreign goods that entered the United States by ship at t ...

, but he declined to take office. In 1860, he supported

John C. Breckinridge John Cabell Breckinridge (January 16, 1821 – May 17, 1875) was an American lawyer, politician, and soldier. He represented Kentucky in both houses of Congress and became the 14th and youngest-ever vice president of the United States. Serving ...

for President. He supported the Union during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

. He was elected

New York State Attorney General The attorney general of New York is the chief legal officer of the U.S. state of New York and head of the Department of Law of the state government. The office has been in existence in some form since 1626, under the Dutch colonial government of ...

in November 1861 on a ticket nominated by the Independent People's state convention (

War Democrats War Democrats in American politics of the 1860s were members of the Democratic Party who supported the Union and rejected the policies of the Copperheads (or Peace Democrats). The War Democrats demanded a more aggressive policy toward the Con ...

), and endorsed by the Republicans. He was appointed United States Commissioner for the final settlement of the

Hudson Bay Hudson Bay ( crj, text=ᐐᓂᐯᒄ, translit=Wînipekw; crl, text=ᐐᓂᐹᒄ, translit=Wînipâkw; iu, text=ᑲᖏᖅᓱᐊᓗᒃ ᐃᓗᐊ, translit=Kangiqsualuk ilua or iu, text=ᑕᓯᐅᔭᕐᔪᐊᖅ, translit=Tasiujarjuaq; french: b ...

and

Puget Sound Puget Sound ( ) is a sound of the Pacific Northwest, an inlet of the Pacific Ocean, and part of the Salish Sea. It is located along the northwestern coast of the U.S. state of Washington. It is a complex estuarine system of interconnected ma ...

agricultural claims in 1864. Dickinson was considered as a possible vice presidential candidate when

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...

ran for reelection in 1864 and desired a pro-war Democrat on the Republican ticket to demonstrate support for his war policy, but the nomination went to

Andrew Johnson Andrew Johnson (December 29, 1808July 31, 1875) was the 17th president of the United States, serving from 1865 to 1869. He assumed the presidency as he was vice president at the time of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Johnson was a Dem ...

. Dickinson supported Lincoln's reelection, and was appointed

United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York The United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York is the chief federal law enforcement officer in eight New York counties: New York (Manhattan), Bronx, Westchester, Putnam, Rockland, Orange, Dutchess and Sullivan. Establishe ...

in 1865, an office in which he served until his death. He died in New York City, and was buried at the Spring Forest Cemetery in Binghamton.

Legacy

Daniel S. Dickinson is the namesake of the village of

Port Dickinson, New York Port Dickinson is a village in Broome County, New York, United States. The population was 1,641 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Binghamton Metropolitan Statistical Area. The village lies within the town of Dickinson and is north of Bingham ...

(and the encompassing town),

Dickinson County, Iowa Dickinson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Iowa. As of the 2020 census, the population was 17,703. The county seat is Spirit Lake. The county was organized in 1857 and is named in honor of Daniel S. Dickinson, a U.S. Senator f ...

, and

Dickinson County, Kansas Dickinson County (county code DK) is a county in Central Kansas. As of the 2020 census, the county population was 18,402. Its county seat and most populous city is Abilene. The county was named in honor of Daniel S. Dickinson. History Early ...

. His great-granddaughter

Tracy Dickinson Mygatt Tracy Dickinson Mygatt (March 12, 1885 – November 22, 1973) was an American writer and pacifist, co-founder with Frances M. Witherspoon of the War Resisters League, and longtime officer of the Campaign for World Government. Early life and e ...

was a Socialist playwright and pacifist. A bronze statue of Dickinson by Allen George Newman was erected in front of the

Broome County Courthouse Broome County Courthouse is a historic courthouse located at Binghamton in Broome County, New York. It is a massive -story structure, built on a raised foundation, in the form of a Latin Cross and topped with an elegant copper dome. Originally c ...

in 1924.

Notes

References

Retrieved on 2009-04-07
Mr. Lincoln and New York: Daniel S. DickinsonObit in ''NYT''
on April 14, 1866 (with a few incorrect dates)

at Office of the NYSAG

Biography

Legacy

Notes

References

External links