Hannibal Hamlin was born in Paris, Massachusetts back in 1809 to Cyrus and Anna. He attended district schools and Hebron Academy. He was admitted to the bar in 1833 where he set up his practice in Hampden, Maine.
In 1835, he began his political career being elected to the Main House of Representatives. He helped facilitate negotiations during the Aroostook War making possible the Webster-Ashburton Treaty. In 1843, he was elected to the United States House of representatives for two terms. He was a Democrat at the start of his political career. A staunch opponent of slavery when the Democratic Party endorsed the repeal of the Missouri Compromise he withdrew from the Democratic Party and joined the newly organized Republican Party which caused a national sensation.
He was nominated by the Republican Party to serve as Vice President of the United States in 1860 on a ticket with former Representative Abraham Lincoln. He is most noted for being the first Republican Vice President to hold the office. Among the other posts, he held was United States Senator, Governor of Maine, and the United States Minister to Spain. His service to this country spanned 50 years. He died while playing cards in Bangor, Maine in 1891, he was 81.
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