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Among the Thinkers and Writers of Dixie
ALEXANDER HAMILTON STEPHENS.
HAT so many celebrities have risen from
the ranks of the maimed, the halt,
the mute, and the blind is one of the
most conspicuous facts confronting the
student of biography. To those unfam
iliar with the stories of the masters,
such a statement may seem overstrong;
and yet to establish the truth of these
T
.—■—words, it is only necessary to glance for
a moment at a few beacon lights of history. In ev
ery department of human endeavor, the frail and
afflicted have marched in the van.
Among the poets of all ages, Homer and Milton
stand supreme yet both gToped their way through
the shadows, to the shimmering summits of fame.
Among the subtlest masters of harmony, Beethoven
towers sublime; still the matchless strains of his
Moonlight Sonata fell in silence on his muffled car.
In the temple of eloquence, Demosthenes sits en
shrined as a god; yet in youth he struggled with a
stammering tongue, and shambled about with a
stooping form. Among the novelists, Scott and
Hawthorne reign unchallenged as chiefs; still the
latter lay flat of his back for a season, and the for
mer hobbled from the cradle to the grave.
These are only a hint of the hundreds that might
be called to mind; for the literary annals of the
South alone shimmer with radiant examples, the
story of the pigmy of “Liberty Hall” constituting
a brilliant chapter. In a paper of such modest pro
portions, to be sure, only an outline of his life can
be given; still the following sketch, in spite of its
brevity, will suffice to demonstrate what a dauntless
soul may hope to achieve in defiance of a shattered
constitution.
Alexander Hampton Stephens, the jurist, the
statesman, the orator, the author, was born near
the town of Crawfordville, Ga., Feb. 11, 1812. Dur
ing Colonial days, his father’s family resided in
the Provi.ee of Pennsylvania; but after the close
of the Revolution, a part of the household passed to
the South, settling in the Empire State. Os his im
mediate family, little is told in the briefer biogra
phies of Stephens. It is known, however, that he lost
his mother at a very early age and that he was only
fourteen when his father passed away.
Thus deprived of both of his parents while yet
in his tender teens, and cursed with a fragile consti
tution from his birth to the day of his death, the
penniless lad faced a frowning future; but, inspired
by the consciousness of innate power, he boldly en
tered the lists of life, determined to do or to die.
Realizing that his sphere of activity was limited
to the intellectual arena, the invincible cripple re
solved to develop his mind to its utmost capac
ity. Before the death of his father, he had ac
quired a knowledge of the minor branches, and the
remaining years of his preparatory course, he passed
in the classes of Professor Webster, an efficient in
structor of Washington, Ga. Conscious of the fire
of genius burning in the soul of the boy, the benev
olent scholar fanned the flames into an ardent glow.
Mr. Stephens always tenderly cherished the memory
of the kind hearted teacher, and evinced his appre
ciation by adopting as his own middle name that
of Professor Webster.
At sixteen he entered the Freshman class of
Franklin College, now the University of Georgia,
and remained a student of the institution till 1832,
graduating with special distinction at the early age
of twenty. At Franklin his standing as a model stu
dent was not confined to his mental achievements,
as some may possibly suppose; for, in spite of their
splendor, they scarcely surpassed his record in point
of deportment.
When he entered college, in fact, it was his pur
pose to prepare himself for a Presbyterian minis
ter but before graduating, he gave up the.idea of
assuming the clerical role, and as soon as he was
able, refunded to his friends all the money ad
vanced by them to defray his expenses at school.
In order to do this, he taught for a while in the
family of Dr. LeConte, of Madison, Qa., the father
By DAVID E. GUYTON.
The Golden Age for September 27, 1906.
of John and Joseph LeConte, the distinguished sci
entists of the University of California.
While teaching in Madison, the young professor
fell madly in love with one of his pupils, a beautiful
girl of sixteen summers; but, being afflicted and
having no wealth, he considered it criminal to woo
her for his wife, and so closely did he cling to his
convictions of honor that he never revealed the se
cret of his heart till the closing years of his life.
Perhaps it was wisdom, perhaps it was folly, per
haps it was tragedy—God knows. He went to
his grave without ever having known the bliss of a
woman’s love, and late in the evening of life,
he declared that no other romance had ever startled
the silence of his soul.
Tn spite of the pathos of this episode and the
stress of his duties as instructor, Mr. Stephens, hav
ing fully made up his mind to enter the legal
arena, continued to cultivate the friendship ofl
books, and so diligently pursued the study of
Blackstone, that, after having read for only two
months he stood such a brilliant examination as to
elicit the heartiest commendations from his emi
nent examiners, William H. Crawford and Joseph
H. Lumpkin, two of the most distinguished jurists
during their day and time. From the very first the
youthful attorney impressed his friends with his
legal ability, and in the course of a year or two
built up a lucrative practice.
As his income increased, he laid it away till the
pile had assumed respectable proportions. He then
bought a beautiful home in Crawfordville, chris
tened it “Liberty Hall,” collected a library of the
choicest books, dispensed hospitality with a lavish
hand, and in spite of the absence of a wife in the
home, lived the life of a Southern lord in the midst
of an army of admirers and friends.
Endowed with the gift of dazzling the minds
of the multitude and blessed with the boon
of inimitable eloquence, Mr. Stephens im
mediately plunged into politics, being elected
to the State Legislature in 1836. Among
the solons, he distinguished himself by his brilliant
oratory, and proved himself a progressive statesman
by advocating the construction of railroads, the
chartering of a college for the education of women
and a number of other important enterprises. As
a result of his earnest appeal in behalf of the wom
anhood of Georgia, Wesleyan Female College was
finally established at Macon, which enjoys the dis
tinction of being the first chartered female college
of the world.
In 1843, the young legislator was elected to a seat
in Congress, and remained a member of the Nation
al Assembly till 1859. On the floor of the House,
he continued to triumph just as he had done in the
State Legislature, and speedily became recognized
as one of the ablest debaters in Washington, es
pecially on points pertaining to the National Consti
tution. Excepting his strenuous opposition to the
annexation of Texas, he always stoutly championed
the cause of the Southern people. Tn common with
his colleague, Hon. Robt. Toombs, he was largely
instrumental in bringing about the ultimate adop
tion of the Compromise Measure of 1850 and also
the final disposition of the famous Kansas-Nebras
ka Bill of 1854.
Like Calhoun, he believed in the doctrine of
States Rights; but, like Clay, he was willing to
submit to injustice in order to preserve the Union.
Tn the House, he did what he could to avert the
inevitable clash between the sections but when he
realized that adjustment was impossible, and that a
civil insurrection was eminent, he resigned his seat
and returned to Georgia determined to do his ut
most to roll back the onrushing breakers of se
cession.
At the head of the cohorts of Stephen A. Douglas,
he flung down the gauntlet to the followers of
Breckenridge, headed by Robt. Toombs. A mem
orable campaign followed—perhaps the most mem
orable in the history of the state. Both leaders,
bent on victory, fought to the very last ditch; but
in spite of the eloquence of Stephens, the Crackers
gave the vote to the blue grass chief, and secession
became rampant. The election of Lincoln broad
ened the breach; yet the pigmy still hoped on. In
November, 1860, he delivered the speech of his life,
a final appeal to the State Legislature in behalf of
the threatened Union. The effort was greeted with
cheers even from the advocates of secession, and
was widely circulated throughout the nation; it
came too late, however, for the spirit of strife was
in the air, and Georgia was deaf to his plea.
Grieved at her course, but loyal to her still, the
Unionist cast in his lot with his land, and the
following year accepted the position of Vice Pres
ident of the Southern Confederacy. In a little
while differences arose between him and Mr. Davis;
and he, therefore, nlayed but a minor part in the
affairs of the administration. Still, just as he had
striven to avert the rupture, he was active in his
efforts to bring about peace, and in 1865, was a
conspicuous figure in the conference of Hampton
Roads.
After the surrender at Appomattox, he was cap
tured and imprisoned at Fort Warren, in Boston
harbor, but was released in the following October,
and returned to the Southern States.
The issue had resulted about as he had anticipat
ed; yet he did not indulge in sneers at the fallen,
but went to work to bind up he wounds he had
tried in vain to prevent. He admonished his coun
trymen to accept with fortitude the terrors of re
construction, conscious that a brighter day would
dawn to banish the shadows from the sunny land.
As time began to bring comparative order out
of chaos, he set about the task of recording the
deeds of the sombre, yet glorious sixties. His
initial volume, entitled “War Between the States,”
appeared in 1867; a*nd a second volume in 1870,
completed the elaborate work. In point of style,
this treatise has been subjected to adverse criti
cism because of its coloquial character; but in re
spect to matter, it is generally considered the ablest
presentation of the States Rights doctrine ever pro
duced by man. Owing to its logical nature, it will
never, of course, appeal to the masses; still, it will
always remain as a classic book of reference on
questions pertaining to the Civil War. Gratified
with the success of his earliest effort in the field of
literature, the indefatigable worker, despite his
feeble health, soon followed up this triumph with
the publication of his History of the United States.
This volume, being written for use in schools, is,
naturally, of slight literary significance; and yet it
is a step in the right direction; for, if the South ev
er hopes for its children to hallow the traditions of
their noble sires, it must not depend upon the schol
ars of the North to prepare the text for their boys
and girls. The last elaborate effort of Stephens
wasjiis “Pictorial History of the United States,”
the least successful, perhaps, of all his publications.
Besides ihese valuable contributions to the liter
ature of the South, he established a paper in Atlan
ta, and called it “The Atlanta Shn.” The pur
pose of the journal, it is said, was to defeat Horace
Greeley for President. What part it really played
in the result of the political fight is, of course, a
matter of conjecture; it is known, however, that the
perilous venture proved a financial failure.
Although unsuccessful in the role of an editor,
he again achieved distinction in National politics,
returning to Congress in 1873 and remaining in the
House till 1882. His service to his section during
these years was of a very salient character; for,
like Lamar of Mississippi, he made it his mission
to heal up the scars of the sixties. Ambitious to
attain the utmost good in reach of a Southern
statesman, he was twice a candidate for Senatorial
honors; but, in spite of his fitness for the coveted
place, he never secured a seat in the upper chamber
of the National Assembly.
While the people of Georgia denied to him the
full realization of his political dreams, they bright
ened the closing years of his life by electing him
Governor of the State. He assumed the duties of
chief executive in January, 1883, and immediately
began an administration prolific of promises of
peace and prosperity; but on March 4, his dauntless
spirit broke through its frail prison-bars, and softly
stole away through the darkness back to the shadow
land.
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