Jacob Collamer (January 8, 1792 – November 9, 1865) was an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
politician from
VermontThe State of Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd by land area, , and 45th by total area. It has a population of 621,270, making it the second least-populated state...
.
Jacob Collamer was born in
TroyTroy is a city in New York, U.S., and the county seat of Rensselaer County. As of the 2000 census, the population was 49,170. Troy's motto is Ilium fuit, Troja est, which means "Ilium was, Troy is."...
,
New YorkNew York is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous. The state is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. He graduated from the
University of VermontThe University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, more commonly known as the University of Vermont, is a national public research university and the state of Vermont's land-grant university. Known to many as "UVM," the university has also been named a Public Ivy...
at
BurlingtonBurlington is the largest city in the U.S. state of Vermont and the shire town of Chittenden County. With a population of 38,889 at the 2000 census, the city is the core of one of the nation's smaller metropolitan areas, and is also the smallest U.S. city to be the largest city in its state...
, served in the
War of 1812The War of 1812, between the United States of America and the British Empire , lasted from 1812 to 1815. It was fought chiefly on the Atlantic Ocean and on the land, coasts and waterways of North America.There were several immediate stated causes for the U.S...
, studied law in
St. Albans, VermontPlaces named St. Albans, Vermont:*St. Albans , Vermont, town in Franklin County, Vermont*St. Albans , Vermont, city in Franklin County, Vermont...
, was admitted to the bar in 1813, and served as an officer in a militia unit during the
War of 1812The War of 1812, between the United States of America and the British Empire , lasted from 1812 to 1815. It was fought chiefly on the Atlantic Ocean and on the land, coasts and waterways of North America.There were several immediate stated causes for the U.S...
. In 1816, he moved to
Royalton, VermontRoyalton is a town in Windsor County, Vermont, United States. The population was 2,603 at the 2000 census. It includes the villages of Royalton, South Royalton, and North Royalton...
, to open a law practice. He remained a resident of Royalton for twenty years, where he became partner to Judge
James Emmett BarrettJames Emmett Barrett is a United States federal judge.Barrett was born in Lusk, Wyoming. He received an LL.B. from the University of Wyoming College of Law in 1949. He was in the United States Army from 1942 to 1945. He was in private practice in Lusk, Wyoming from 1949 to 1967...
in a successful law practice, served as register of probate and state’s attorney, represented
RoyaltonRoyalton is a town in Windsor County, Vermont, United States. The population was 2,603 at the 2000 census. It includes the villages of Royalton, South Royalton, and North Royalton...
in the
Vermont House of RepresentativesThe Vermont House of Representatives is the lower house of the Vermont General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Vermont. The House comprises 150 members. Vermont legislative districting divides representing districts into 66 single-member districts and 42 two-member...
for four terms, and from 1833 until 1842 was associate justice of the
Supreme Court of VermontThe Vermont Supreme Court is the highest judicial authority of the U.S. state of Vermont and is one of seven state courts of Vermont.The Court consists of a chief justice and four associate justices; the Court mostly hears appeals of cases that have been decided by other courts...
. Elected to the
United States House of RepresentativesThe United States House of Representatives, commonly referred to as the "House," is the lower house of the bicameral United States Congress, the upper house being the United States Senate. The composition and powers of the House and the Senate are established in Article One of the Constitution...
in 1842 as a Whig, he advocated the
annexation of TexasThe Texas Annexation of 1845 was the voluntary annexation of the Republic of Texas to the United States of America, becoming the twenty-eighth state...
, supported the Mexican-American War and the tariff, and received national recognition for his "Wools and Woolens" speech.
Collamer served as
Postmaster GeneralThe United States Postmaster General is the executive head of the United States Postal Service. The office, in one form or another, is older than both the United States Constitution and the United States Declaration of Independence...
under President
Zachary TaylorZachary Taylor was an American military leader and the 12th President of the United States.Known as "Old Rough and Ready," Taylor had a 40-year military career in the U.S. Army, serving in the War of 1812, Black Hawk War, and Second Seminole War before achieving fame leading U.S...
. He became a circuit court judge in Vermont from 1850 to 1854. In 1855, he was elected to the
SenateThe United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral United States Congress, the lower house being the House of Representatives. The composition and powers of the Senate and the House are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution . Each U.S state is represented by two senators,...
as a conservative, anti-slavery Republican. Throughout his career in Congress, he concentrated on land and tariff issues. He defended his position even when in the minority, as exemplified in his vigorous minority report as a member of the Committee on Territories, chaired by
Stephen A. DouglasStephen Arnold Douglas , son of Stephen Arnold Douglass and Sarah Fisk, was an American politician from the western state of Illinois, and was the Democratic Party nominee for President in 1860. He lost to the Republican Party's candidate, Abraham Lincoln, whom he had defeated two years earlier in...
. He was one of two senators who refused to vote for the Crittenden Amendment, which proposed resubmitting the pro-slavery
Lecompton ConstitutionThe Lecompton Constitution was the second of four proposed constitutions for the state of Kansas . The document was written in response to the anti-slavery position of the 1855 Topeka Constitution of James H. Lane and other free-state advocates...
for
KansasKansas is a state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa tribe, who inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south wind," although this was...
to popular vote. Along with his colleague, James R. Doolittle of
WisconsinWisconsin is one of the fifty U.S. states. Located in the north-central United States, Wisconsin is considered part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the...
, Collamer represented the minority view for the so-called Mason Report (June 1860), prepared by the Senate committee which investigated the
John BrownJohn Brown was an American abolitionist, and folk hero who advocated and practiced armed insurrection as a means to end all slavery...
raid on Harper's Ferry of October 1859. Collamer opposed the Reconstruction Plan of President
Abraham LincolnAbraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through its greatest internal crisis, the American Civil War, preserving the Union and ending slavery...
, advocating congressional control instead. He had received the presidential nomination from Vermont in 1860 but withdrew after the first ballot.
From 1855 to 1862 he was the last president of the Vermont Medical College. Reelected to the Senate in 1861, he served until his death on November 9, 1865, at his home in Woodstock,
VermontThe State of Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd by land area, , and 45th by total area. It has a population of 621,270, making it the second least-populated state...
.
In 1881, the state of
VermontThe State of Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd by land area, , and 45th by total area. It has a population of 621,270, making it the second least-populated state...
donated a marble statue of Collamer to the U.S. Capitol's
National Statuary Hall CollectionThe National Statuary Hall Collection in the United States Capitol comprises statues donated by individual states to honor persons notable in their history...
.
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