Daniel Wolsey Voorhees | |
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United States Senator from Indiana |
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In office November 6, 1877 – March 3, 1897 |
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Preceded by | Oliver H.P. Morton |
Succeeded by | Charles W. Fairbanks |
Member of the U. S. House of Representatives from Indiana's 6th district | |
In office March 4, 1869 – March 3, 1873 |
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Preceded by | John Coburn |
Succeeded by | Morton C. Hunter |
Member of the U. S. House of Representatives from Indiana's 7th district | |
In office March 4, 1861 – February 23, 1866 |
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Preceded by | John G. Davis |
Succeeded by | Henry D. Washburn |
Personal details | |
Born |
Liberty Township, Ohio |
September 26, 1827
Died | April 10, 1897 Washington, D.C. |
(aged 69)
Political party | Democratic |
Daniel Wolsey Voorhees (September 26, 1827 – April 10, 1897) was a lawyer and United States Senator from Indiana, who was leader of the Democratic party and an anti-war Copperhead during the American Civil War.
He was born in Liberty Township, Butler County, Ohio, of Dutch and Irish descent. He was the son of Stephen Pieter Voorhees and Rachel Elliott. During his infancy his parents moved to Fountain County, Indiana, near Veedersburg. He graduated at Indiana Asbury University (now DePauw University), Greencastle, Indiana, in 1849; was admitted to the bar in 1850, and began to practice in Covington, Indiana, whence in 1857 he moved again to Terre Haute.
In 1858-61 he was U.S. district-attorney for Indiana; in 1861-66 and in 1869-73 he was a Democratic representative in Congress; and in 1877-97 he was a member of the U.S. Senate. During the American Civil War he was an anti-war Copperhead and enemies alleged him as affiliated with the Knights of the Golden Circle, which—as it was more an imaginary organization than one of any substance—seems quite unlikely. In any case, he was not so radical as Clement Vallandigham and others.
Historian Kenneth Stampp has captured the Copperhead spirit in his depiction of Voorhees of Indiana: