Alexander Hamilton Stephens was born in Crawfordville, Georgia, on February 11th, 1812. After graduating from the University of Georgia he taught in a local school. He studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1834. Stephens joined the Whig Party, and in 1836 he was elected to the Georgia House of Representatives. He served for five years before being elected to the 28th Congress and took his seat in October, 1843. He later joined the Democratic Party and was chairman of the Committee on Territories (1848-50). An advocate of slavery, Stephens campaigned for the Kansas-Nebraska Act. He opposed the election of Abraham Lincoln but argued against immediate secession after the Republican Party victory. On February 8th, 1861, the Confederacy adopted a constitution and within ten days had elected Jefferson Davis as its president and Stephens as vice-president. After the Civil War, Stephens was imprisoned in Fort Warren, Boston, for five months but was eventually pardoned by President Andrew Johnson. After the war, Stephens was elected to the 43rd Congress and served from December, 1873 until his resignation in November, 1882. He was elected as governor of Georgia in 1882 and served until his death in Atlanta, Georgia, on March 4th, 1883.