Thomas Holliday Hicks
| Thomas Holliday Hicks | |
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United States Senator from Maryland |
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In office December 29, 1862 – February 14, 1865 |
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| Preceded by | James A. Pearce |
| Succeeded by | John A. J. Creswell |
| 31st Governor of Maryland | |
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In office January 13, 1858 – January 8, 1862 |
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| Preceded by | Thomas W. Ligon |
| Succeeded by | Augustus Bradford |
| Maryland House of Delegates | |
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In office 1829 – 1830, 1836 |
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| Personal details | |
| Born |
September 2, 1798 East New Market, Maryland, United States |
| Died | February 14, 1865 (aged 66) Washington, D.C., United States |
| Political party |
Democratic (1830–1835) Whig (1835–1854) American (1854–1860) Constitutional Union (1860–1862) Republican (1862–1865) |
| Spouse(s) | Married three times —Ann Thompson, Leah A. Raleigh, Jane Eliza McNamara Wilcox |
| Children | five children |
| Religion | Methodist |
| National Governors Association, Governor's Information, Maryland Governor Thomas Holliday Hicks | |
Thomas Holliday Hicks (September 2, 1798 – February 14, 1865) was a politician in the divided border-state of Maryland during the American Civil War. As governor, opposing the Democrats, his views accurately reflected the conflicting local loyalties. He was pro-slavery but anti-secession. Under pressure to call the General Assembly into special session, he held it in the pro-Union town of Frederick, where he was able to keep the state from seceding.
In December 1862, Hicks was appointed to the U.S. Senate, where he endorsed Lincoln's re-election in 1864, but died soon afterwards.
Born in 1798 near East New Market, Maryland, Hicks began his political career as a Democrat when he was elected town constable and then, in 1824, elected Sheriff of Dorchester County. Later, he switched to the Whig Party and was elected to the House of Delegates in 1830 and re-elected in 1836.
In 1837, the legislature elected him a member of the Governor's Council, the last to be chosen before that body was abolished. In 1838, he was appointed Register of Wills for Dorchester County. He stayed in that job until his election as governor.
In 1857, as the Whig Party disintegrated, Hicks joined the Native American Party, more commonly known as the Know-Nothing Party. As such, in 1858, he ran for governor and defeated Democrat John Charles Groome by 8,700 votes. The election, however, was notable for fraud, open intimidation of voters, and unprecedented violence. Hicks was one of the oldest men to become governor.
In his gubernatorial inaugural address, Hicks criticized the numbers of foreign immigrants coming to America and warned that they would "change the national character".
Hicks opposed abolitionists and supported slave owners. He denounced “[t]he attacks of fanatical and misguided persons against property in slaves" and added that slave owners had a right under the "[United States] Constitution to recover their property." Hicks belatedly supported the Union of the states and sought to prevent Maryland from seceding and joining the Confederacy. This would have isolated Washington, D.C. in confederate territory.
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Wikipedia