Sunbury American. [volume] (Sunbury, Pa.) 1848-1879, 1861-06-15
8iugrapbital Sksttg.
From the New American CyclopDdis.
BIOGRAPHY OF SENATOR DOU-
GLAS.

| BIOGRAPHY OF SENATOR DOU-
GLAS.
SrEPHEH ARNOLD DOUGLAS was born a,
Brandon, Rutland county. Vt, April 2S
1873 His father was native Of the State
Of New York, aud a physician OF considerable
reputation. he died suddenly o: apoplexy
when his son Stephen Arnold was bot little
more than two months old. The widow, with
her infant and daughter only eighteen
months older, retired to farm which she had
inherited conjointly with an unmarried bro
ther. At the age OF fifteen her con, who had
received o good common school education
desired to prepare for college but his family
proving unable to bear the requisite expense
be left the farm, determined to earn bis own
living, and engaged himself ss an apprentice
to the trade of cabinet making. OF which be
worked q year and half, partly OF Middle.
bury and partly at Brandon, when his health
became so impaired with the severity Of the
| labor that he abandoned the occupation
altogether.
| He has often, since, said that the bappiest
days Of his life were passed 10 the workshop.
| He now entered the Academy at Brandon as
| q student, aud remained there year. His
mother, about this time, was married to Mr..
| Granger, of Ontario county, n. Y, to whose
son her daughter had been married. Young
Douglas removed with bis mother to Canaan.
daigua and entered as a student the academy
| of that place, 10 which he continued till 1888.
He studied law in the office of the Messrs.
Hubbell, at the same time that be pursued
his academical course, having fnally adopted
that as his profession.
10 the Spring of 1888, he went to the West
10 search of an eligible location in which to
establish himself as lawyer. At Cleveland
he was detained the whole summer by severe
illness, after his recovery from which, he went
to Cincinnati, st. Louis. and Jacksonville, III.
AT Jacksonville, he found his funds reduced
to>27t cents, and accordingly walked to VIM
chester, little town sixteen miles distant,
where he hoped to get employment as a
teacher. He found there q large crowd as.
sembled to attend the auction sale Of o de-
ceased trader. The auctioneer was without
clerk to keep the account OF the sale, and
perceiving that Mr.. Douglas, who stood
among the spectators, looked like man who
could write and keep accounts, requested him
to serve iu the capacity. MIR. Douglas con.
sented, aud acted as clerk during the three
days of the sale, receiving for bis services Sc
With this capital in hand be promptly
opened school, and obtained forty pupils,
whom be taught for three months at So q
quarter, devoting his leisure to the study Of
some law books which he had borrowed in
Jacksonville, and on Saturday afternoons
practising in petty cases before the Justice of
Peace OF the town.
In March, 1884, be opened an Office and
began practice in the higher Courts, for
which. after examination, be had obtained
license from the Judges of the Supreme
Court. lie was remarkably successful at the
bar, as may be inferred from the fact that
within year from his admission, while not
yet twenty-five years of age, he was elected
by the Legislature Attorney General of the
State. This Office he resigned in December,
1885, in consequence Of having been elected
to the Legislature by the Democrats of Nor.
gan county. He took his seat in the House
of Representatives, the youngest member of
that body, In 1887 he was appointed by
President Van Buren Register of the Land.
Office at Springfield, H., q post which he
resigned 10 1889.
10 November, 1884, Mr.. Douglas received
the Democratic nomination for Congress,
although he was under twenty. FIVE years of
age, and consequently ineligible. He, how.
ever, attained the requisite age before the day
OF election, which was the first Monday 10
August. 1888. His Congressional district
was then the most populous one in the United
States, and the canvass was conducted with
extraordinary zeal and energy. Upwards of
36 6OO0 votes were cast, and the Wing cand.
date was declared to be elected by q majority
OF five only. A number of ballots sufficient
to have changed the result were rejected by
the canvassers, because the name Of Mr.
Douglas was incorrectly spelled. After this
defeat, which under the circumstances was
claimed by his friends as victory, MIR. Dou.
glas devoted himself exclusively to his pro.
fession until $40, when be entered into the
famous Presidential campaign sof that year
with 80 much ardor that be traversed the
State in all directions for seven months, and
addressed more than two hundred political
gatherings. To bis exertions was sscrbed
the adheIen,e of Illinois at that election to
the Democratic party.
10 December, lS40, Mr. Douglas was ap.
pointed Secretary of State of Illinois, lu
February, l64l, be was elected by the Legis-
lature Judge OF the Supreme Court, which
oihce he resigned in le43, to accept the
Democratic nomination for Congress, which
was urged upon him against bis known wishes,
on the ground that be was the only Democrat
who could be elected After a spirited
canvass Mr.. Douglas was chosen by upward
OF 400 majority. He was reelected in 1874
by majority OF 1900 and again 10 1886 By
nearly 800 majority. He did not, however,
take his seat uoder the last election, having,
ia the meantime, been chosen to the Senate
OF the United States for six years from
March 4, ls47.
In the House of Representatives, Mr.
Douglas was prominent among those who, 10
the Oregon controversy with Great Britain,
maintained that our title to the whole of
Oregon up to lat. 81 deg. 40 miu. was "clear
aud unquestionable." He declared that "he
rever would, now or hereafter, yield up one
inch OF Oregon, either to Great Britain or
any other Government" He advocated the
policy OF giving notice to terminate the joint
occupation of establishing a Territorial
Government over Oregon, protected by
sufficient military force and of putting the
country at once in state of preparation, so
that il war should result from the assertion
OF our just rights, we might drive "Grsat
Britain and the last vestiges of Royal au.
thority from the Continent of North A america,
and make the United States an ocean bound
Republic"
He denied the right of the Federal Gov.
ernment to prosecute a system Of internal
improvements in the States, though be main.
tanned the coustitutionality and expedency
l.. L.