Henry M. Rice

Henry Mower Rice (November 29, 1816January 15, 1894) was a fur trader, commissioner and one of the first United States Senators from Minnesota.

 Early life 

Henry Rice was born on November 29, 1816, in Waitsfield, Vermont. His parents were Edmund Rice and Ellen Durkee Rice. He went to school in Detroit and Kalamazoo, Michigan. He became a sutler at Fort Atkinson, Iowa. In 1847 he negotiated a treaty with the Winnebago and Chippewa Native American tribes. In 1848 he settled in St. Paul, Minnesota. He helped negotiate the Treaty of Traverse des Sioux in 1851. This opened up parts of Minnesota west of the Mississippi River to white settlers. In 1856 Rice, as a territorial delegate, worked hard to secure Congressional land grants for the railroads in Minnesota.William E. Lass, Minnesota: A History (New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 1998), p. 139

Political career

Rice lobbied for the bill to establish Minnesota Territory. He was the delegate to the 33rd and 34th Congresses from March 4, 1853 to March 4, 1857. His work on the Minnesota Enabling Act, passed by Congress on Feb. 26, 1857, facilitated Minnesota's statehood.

In 1858 Rice was elected as a Democrat to the United States Senate. He served from Minnesota's admittance on May 11, 1858 to March 4, 1863 in the 35th, 36th, and 37th Congresses and was not a candidate for re-election. He supported John C. Breckinridge for president in 1860.Allan G. Bogue, The Earnest Men: Republicans of the Civil War Senate (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2009), p. 43

Rice also served as a member of the board of regents of the University of Minnesota from 1851 to 1859.Andrew R Dodge, Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1774-2005 (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 2005), p. 1804 Rice was president of the Minnesota Historical Society. In 1865 he ran for Governor of Minnesota, but lost the election. From 1878 to 1884 he was the treasurer of Ramsey County, Minnesota. As a United States Commissioner during 1887 – 1888, he continued to negotiate treaties with the Indians. He died on January 15, 1894, while on a visit to San Antonio, Texas.

Legacy
In 1916, the state of Minnesota donated a marble statue of Rice to the National Statuary Hall Collection at the United States Capitol. Rice County, Minnesota is named for him. His brother Edmund Rice served in the U.S. House of Representatives. Rice Park in St. Paul, Minnesota is named for him.

References

Category:1816 births
Category:1894 deaths
Category:Democratic Party (United States) politicians
Category:United States senators from Minnesota
Category:People from Kalamazoo, Michigan
Category:Politicians from Michigan
Category:Fur traders