Orlando Bell Ficklin (December 16, 1808 – May 5, 1886) was a

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

from

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 ...

Early life and education

Born in

Scott County, Kentucky Scott County is a county located in the central part of the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the population was 57,155. Scott County is part of the Lexington–Fayette, Kentucky Metropolitan Statistical Area. History Native Amer ...

, Ficklin attended the common schools. He was graduated from Transylvania Law School,

Lexington, Kentucky Lexington is a city in Kentucky, United States that is the county seat of Fayette County, Kentucky, Fayette County. By population, it is the List of cities in Kentucky, second-largest city in Kentucky and List of United States cities by popul ...

, in 1830. He 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 1830 and commenced practice in

Mount Carmel, Illinois Mount Carmel is a city in and the county seat of Wabash County, Illinois, United States. At the time of the 2010 census, the population was 7,284, and it is the largest city in the county. The next largest town in Wabash County is Allendale, po ...

. He served in the

Black Hawk War The Black Hawk War was a conflict between the United States and Native Americans led by Black Hawk, a Sauk leader. The war erupted after Black Hawk and a group of Sauks, Meskwakis (Fox), and Kickapoos, known as the "British Band", crosse ...

as quartermaster in 1832. He served as colonel of the militia of Wabash County in 1833.

Political career

In 1835, Ficklin became

state's attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a loc ...

for the Wabash circuit. He also served as member of the

Illinois House of Representatives The Illinois House of Representatives is the lower house of the Illinois General Assembly. The body was created by the first Illinois Constitution adopted in 1818. The House under the current constitution as amended in 1980 consists of 118 re ...

in 1835, 1838, and 1842. He moved to

Charleston, Illinois Charleston is a city in, and the county seat of, Coles County, Illinois, United States. The population was 17,286, as of the 2020 census. The city is home to Eastern Illinois University and has close ties with its neighbor, Mattoon. Both are p ...

in 1837. Ficklin was elected 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 Twenty-eighth, Twenty-ninth, and Thirtieth Congresses (March 4, 1843 – March 3, 1849). He served as chairman of the Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds (Twenty-ninth Congress).

Matson slave case

Although Ficklin worked as co-counsel with

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 ...

on many cases, in possibly their most famous case, they were on opposite sides. In 1847, Ficklin, his friend

Charles H. Constable Charles H. Constable (July 17, 1817 – October 9, 1865) was an American attorney, Illinois State Senator, judge, and real estate entrepreneur. He was raised in Maryland and graduated from the University of Virginia with a degree in Law. Aft ...

and Usher Linder represented slaves who ran away while in Illinois and believed that they were free, arguing that the

Northwest Ordinance The Northwest Ordinance (formally An Ordinance for the Government of the Territory of the United States, North-West of the River Ohio and also known as the Ordinance of 1787), enacted July 13, 1787, was an organic act of the Congress of the Co ...

forbade slavery in Illinois.

defended Robert Matson, a Kentucky slave owner who brought the slaves from his Kentucky plantation to work on land he owned in Illinois. Lincoln invoked the right of transit, which allowed slave holders to take their slaves temporarily into free territory, stressing that Matson did not intend the slaves to remain permanently in Illinois. The judge in Coles County ruled for Ficklin's clients and against Lincoln, and the slaves were set free. Illinois and other free states adopted a principle "once free, always free."

Environmental Perspective

Ficklin argued passionately that the federal government must develop the land, cultivating prairie even if such destroyed the native flowers, and wild deer: :''Unless the government shall grant head rights ... prairies, with their gorgeous growth of flowers, their green carpeting, their lovely lawns and gentle slopes will for centuries continue to be the home of wild deer and wolf, their stillness will be undisturbed by the jocund song of the farmer, and their deep and fertile soil unbroken by the plowshare. Something must be done to remedy this evil.''

Return to Congress

Voters returned Ficklin to Congress in 1850, and he served in the Thirty-second Congress (March 4, 1851 – March 3, 1853). During that session, Ficklin was chairman of the Committee on District of Columbia (Thirty-second Congress). He resumed the practice of law in Charleston. He served as delegate to the Democratic National Convention in

1856 Events January–March * January 8 – Borax deposits are discovered in large quantities by John Veatch in California. * January 23 – American paddle steamer SS ''Pacific'' leaves Liverpool (England) for a transatlantic voyag ...

1860 Events January–March * January 2 – The discovery of a hypothetical planet Vulcan is announced at a meeting of the French Academy of Sciences in Paris, France. * January 10 – The Pemberton Mill in Lawrence, Massachusett ...

, and

1864 Events January–March * January 13 – American songwriter Stephen Foster ("Oh! Susanna", "Old Folks at Home") dies aged 37 in New York City, leaving a scrap of paper reading "Dear friends and gentle hearts". His parlor song " ...

. In the summer of 1864, Ficklin led a delegation to Washington to secure the release of 15 Coles County men arrested by military authorities for rioting. He requested they be returned to civilian authorities for indictment and trial, and the President granted his request about a week before the November election.

After Lincoln's Presidency

Although a Democrat in an area known for its Copperhead leanings, Ficklin eulogized Lincoln as a statesman and deplored his death. Ficklin served as delegate to the State constitutional convention in 1869 and 1870. He again served in the Illinois House of Representatives in 1878.

Death and legacy

Ficklin died in

, and was interred in Mound Cemetery.

References

* *

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ficklin, Orlando Bell 1808 births 1886 deaths Democratic Party members of the Illinois House of Representatives People from Charleston, Illinois Quartermasters American militia officers Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Illinois 19th-century American politicians People from Scott County, Kentucky Military personnel from Illinois