Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page.

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. 7