Solomon Foot

Early life

Foot was born on November 19, 1802, in Cornwall, Vermont. He was the son of Dr. Solomon and Betsey Crossett Foot, and his family lived across the road from William Slade. Foot's father died when he was nine years old, and he worked on local farms to help support his family. He graduated from Middlebury College in 1826 and also received a master's degree from Middlebury.

He was a tutor in Middlebury and Burlington, preceptor of Castleton Academy, and professor of natural philosophy at the Vermont Medical School in Castleton.

While teaching he studied law with attorneys Benjamin F. Langdon and Reuben R. Thrall. Foot attained admission to the bar in 1831, afterwards practicing in Rutland.

Start of career

Foot served in the Vermont House of Representatives in 1833 and was a Delegate to the Vermont State Constitutional Convention in 1836. He served again in the Vermont House from 1836 to 1839 and was Speaker from 1837 to 1839.

He served as Rutland County State's Attorney from 1836 to 1842.

Congressman

Foot was elected to the United States House of Representatives as a Whig in 1842 and served two terms, 1843 to 1847. As a Congressman Foot opposed extending slavery and the Mexican–American War.

He declined renomination in 1846. Returned to the Vermont House of Representatives, Foot was again chosen to serve as Speaker, holding the post from 1847 to 1848.

1848 Whig Convention

Foot was a Delegate to the 1848 Whig National Convention, and was Chairman of the Vermont delegation. Abbott Lawrence of Massachusetts, who had worked diligently to obtain the Presidential nomination for Zachary Taylor, expected to be the Vice Presidential nominee, counting on the support of Thurlow Weed of New York and the southern delegates who had backed Taylor. Northern and border state delegates, who had backed Henry Clay or Daniel Webster for President, threatened to run a northern candidate in opposition to Taylor unless a northerner other than Lawrence—one seen as less willing to allow slavery—was selected for Vice President. They proposed Millard Fillmore of New York.

Other delegates promoted Fillmore because they opposed the efforts of Weed and William H. Seward to control the party in New York, and believed that Weed was working to install Seward as Secretary of State in a Taylor administration. They backed Fillmore for Vice President because in an era when the President, Vice President and cabinet were expected to reflect geographic balance, if Fillmore became Vice President, another New Yorker (Seward) could not be expected to claim a place in the cabinet.

Foot went to the convention as a supporter of Lawrence. Recognizing that the Whigs would likely collapse if Lawrence was nominated and northern delegates left the party, Foot agreed to support Fillmore. Lawrence's support eroded as other northern delegates followed Foot's lead, and on the first ballot, Fillmore had 115 votes and Lawrence 109. Fillmore won the nomination on the second ballot, and the ticket of Taylor and Fillmore went on to win the election.

United States Senator

Foot was elected to the United States Senate as a Whig in 1850. He became a Republican at the party's founding and was reelected to the Senate in 1856 and 1862. He served from March 4, 1851, until his death.

In early 1861 Foot met the Vermont delegates to the Peace Conference which attempted to prevent the start of the American Civil War. At this meeting, he shared with them his view that the conference was a sham by secessionists who hoped to obtain additional time to plan for the withdrawal of their states from the Union.

Foot was also Chairman of the Senate committee responsible for the inauguration of Abraham Lincoln in 1861.

Foot served as the Senate's President pro tempore from 1861 to 1864. Because Vice President Hannibal Hamlin was often absent, Foot usually presided over the Senate during the war, and he was commended for his tact and fairness.

He was Chairman of the Joint Congressional Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds from 1861 until his death. In this capacity, he oversaw completion of construction on the United States Capitol.

Death

Foot died in Washington, D.C., on March 28, 1866. Funeral services were held in the Chamber of the United States Senate. He is interred at Evergreen Cemetery, Rutland, Vermont.

Honors

Foot was a Trustee of Middlebury College and the University of Vermont. He received an honorary LL.D. degree from Middlebury in 1857.

Family

Foot was married in 1839 to Emily Fay of Rutland. They had one daughter, Helen Eliza Foot (1840–1841). Emily died on May 2, 1842.

In 1844, Foot married Mary A. (Hodges) Dana.

Foot's brother Jonathan (born October 31, 1804) graduated from Vermont Medical College in 1829. He settled in Whitby, Ontario, Canada, where he practiced medicine.

Solomon Foot's mother lived with him in Rutland until her death in 1845.

References

Gallery

File:Solomon Foot 1859.jpg|Solomon Foot as a U.S. Senator in 1859 File:Hon._Solomon_Foote,Vermont-NARA-_528671.jpg|Photo by Mathew Brady File:Portrait of the Late Hon. Solomon Foot of VT.jpg|The American Phrenological Journal and Life Illustrated, June 1866.

References

1. Middlebury College, [https://books.google.com/books?id=TapBAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA78 Catalogue of Officers and Students of Middlebury College], 1917, page 78
2. Matthews, Lyman. (1862). "History of the Town of Cornwall, Vermont". Mead and Fuller.
3. (1904). "The Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans". The Typographical Society.
4. George F. Edmunds, [https://books.google.com/books?id=dN9srfG4f9UC&pg=PA5 Addresses Delivered Before The Vermont Historical Society], 1866, page 5
5. The Phrenological Journal and Life Illustrated, [https://books.google.com/books?id=Yn0tAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA166 Solomon Foot: Portrait, Character and Biography], June 1866, page 166
6. Wiley, Edgar J.. (1917). "Catalogue of Officers and Students of Middlebury College". Middlebury, VT.
7. (1912). "Solomon Foot". Encyclopedia, Vermont Biography.
8. "Solomon Foot". The Political Graveyard.
9. Marcus Davis Gilman, [https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_T1I0AAAAMAAJ/page/n37 ''The Bibliography of Vermont''], 1897, page 96
10. (1995). "Biographical Dictionary of the Union: Northern Leaders of the Civil War". Greenwood Press.
11. John J. Duffy, Samuel B. Hand, Ralph H. Orth, editors, [https://books.google.com/books?id=uTBCXqOou0YC&dq=%22solomon+foot%22+oppose+mexican+war&pg=PA129 ''The Vermont Encyclopedia''], 2003, page 129
12. U.S. Government Printing Office, [https://books.google.com/books?id=ffQYc0jqRsEC&dq=%22solomon+foot%22+oppose+slavery&pg=PA59 Proceedings on the Death of Hon. Solomon Foot], 1866, pages 59–60
13. Vermont General Assembly, [https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_4QxQAAAAYAAJ/page/n194 ''Vermont Legislative Directory''], 1886, page 187
14. Michael F. Holt, [https://books.google.com/books?id=5aGyVFn3VnMC&dq=%22solomon+foot%22+whig+fillmore+lawrence&pg=PA329 ''The Rise and Fall of the American Whig Party''], 2003, pages 327–329
15. Alan Brinkley, Davis Dyer, [https://books.google.com/books?id=3djEYV3R7oIC&dq=fillmore+block+seward+cabinet&pg=PA146 ''The American Presidency''], 2004, page 146
16. (1887). "Appleton's Cyclopædia of American Biography". D. Appleton & Company.
17. "Solomon Foot". Govtrack. US Congress.
18. Ernest B. Furgurson, [https://books.google.com/books?id=N1mXdv-bnBYC&dq=%22solomon+foot%22+senator+civil+war&pg=PA38 ''Freedom Rising: Washington in the Civil War''], 2007, page 38
19. The Magazine of History, [https://books.google.com/books?id=ePMOAAAAYAAJ&dq=%22solomon+foot%22+senator+lincoln+inauguration&pg=PA33 ''The Role of Doctors In the Lincoln Administration''], 1922, page 33
20. Byrd, Robert C.. (1993). "The Senate, 1789-1989". U.S. Government Printing Office.
21. Robert C. Byrd, Mary Sharon Hall, [https://books.google.com/books?id=VL4QcQR-W6YC&dq=%22solomon+foot%22+preside+senate&pg=PA244 ''History of the United States Senate, 1789-1989''], Volume 1, page 244
22. The New York Times, [https://books.google.com/books?id=m5I9HWVi8EYC&dq=%22solomon+foot%22+capitol+building&pg=PT307 ''The New York Times: Disunion: Modern Historians Revisit and Reconsider the Civil War''], 2013
23. Guy Gugliotta, [https://books.google.com/books?id=V1gTewpJMn4C&dq=%22solomon+foot%22+capitol+building+construction&pg=PA386 ''Freedom's Cap: The United States Capitol and the Coming of the Civil War''], 2012, page 386
24. Historian of the United States Senate. "Solomon Foot Dies, March 28, 1866". U.S. Senate.
25. "Solomon Foot". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
26. University of Vermont. (1901). "General Catalogue of the University of Vermont". Free Press Association.
27. Middlebury College, [https://archive.org/details/catalogueoffice03collgoog/page/n21 ''Catalogue of the Officers and Alumni of Middlebury College''], 1890, page 60
28. University of Vermont, [https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_FCLOAAAAMAAJ/page/n6 ''General Catalogue of the University of Vermont''], 1901, page 5
29. Fay, Orlin Prentice. (1898). "Fay Genealogy: John Fay of Marlborough and His Descendants". J. B. Savage.
30. Vermont Northeast Kingdom Genealogy, [http://www.nekg-vt.com/news/news-stj-caledonian-deaths.htm Saint Johnsbury Caledonian, Newspaper Death Notices from 1837 to 1850] {{webarchive. link. (December 19, 2013, retrieved December 18, 2013)
31. Emma C. Brewster Jones, [https://books.google.com/books?id=bjU2AAAAMAAJ&dq=%22solomon+foot%22+%22emily+fay%22&pg=PA418 ''The Brewster Genealogy, 1566-1907''], Volume 1, Part 2, 1908, page 418
32. Dawn D. Hance, Rutland Historical Society, [https://books.google.com/books?id=HGwjAQAAMAAJ&q=%22jonathan+foot%22+cornwall+whitby ''Early Families of Rutland, Vermont''], 1990, page 139