Hill, Benjamin Harvey

Hill, Benjamin Harvey, 1823–82, American statesman, b. Jasper co., Ga. A highly successful lawyer and Whig politician, he supported the Whig-Democratic alliance that carried Georgia in favor of the Compromise of 1850. Hill opposed secession but accepted his state's decision and in the Civil War sat in the Confederate Senate, where he was a loyal supporter of President Jefferson Davis. In Congress after 1875 he was a leading orator for the Southern cause and rewon the popularity he lost in the Reconstruction days for his submission to radical Republican policies. He was elected U.S. Senator in 1877.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

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