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Matthew Hale Carpenter

Matthew Hale Carpenter
Matthew H. Carpenter - Brady-Handy.jpg
President pro tempore of the U.S. Senate
In office
March 12, 1873 – January 4, 1875
Preceded by Henry B. Anthony
Succeeded by Henry B. Anthony
United States Senator
from Wisconsin
In office
March 4, 1879 – February 24, 1881
Preceded by Timothy O. Howe
Succeeded by Angus Cameron
In office
March 4, 1869 – March 3, 1875
Preceded by James R. Doolittle
Succeeded by Angus Cameron
Personal details
Born (1824-12-22)December 22, 1824
Moretown, Vermont
Died February 24, 1881(1881-02-24) (aged 56)
Washington, D.C.
Resting place Forest Home Cemetery, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Political party Republican
Spouse(s) Caroline Dillingham Carpenter (m. 1855)
Relations Paul Dillingham (father in law)
William P. Dillingham (brother in law)
Children 2
Education Studied law with Paul Dillingham and Rufus Choate
Alma mater United States Military Academy (attended)
Profession Attorney

Matthew Hale Carpenter (born Decatur Merritt Hammond Carpenter; December 22, 1824 – February 24, 1881) was an American attorney and U.S. Senator representing the state of Wisconsin. He served in the Senate from 1869 to 1875 and again from 1879 to 1881. Recognized as an authority on constitutional law, he made some of the most important legal arguments of 19th-century America. Carpenter presented cases before the U. S. Supreme Court involving such matters as states' rights and regulation of corporations.

Originally a Democrat, he evolved into a Republican during the Civil War, and helped perpetuate the Wisconsin party's political machinery. His sustained support for President Ulysses S. Grant's administration despite allegations of corruption lost him the backing of reformers, and his legal arguments in favor of Democratic candidate Samuel J. Tilden in the disputed presidential election of 1876 outraged many Republicans. A gifted orator, he was dubbed "the Webster of the West."

Carpenter was born in Moretown, Vermont in the Mad River Valley of the Green Mountain range. His pioneering forebears were English, and came to America soon after the Pilgrims. His grandfather Cephas Carpenter (1770–1860) helped establish Moretown, owned a store, served as a colonel in the militia and took part in the War of 1812. Cephas Carpenter served in local office including justice of the peace, and though not a member of the bar, possessed wisdom and eloquence that led to a career as an advocate in the local courts.


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