born Oct. 12, 1813, Colchester, Conn., U.S.
died June 25, 1896, Chicago, Ill.
U.S. politician.
He was elected to the U.S. Senate from Illinois in 1855. Originally a Democrat, he switched to the Republican Party to support its antislavery policies. In 1864, as chairman of the Senate judiciary committee, he helped draft the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, which prohibited slavery. Though a Radical Republican , he voted to acquit Pres. Andrew Johnson of impeachment charges. After retiring from politics to resume his law practice (1873), he returned to the Democratic Party and served as counsel for Samuel Tilden in the disputed 1876 election.