# Benjamin Harvey Hill

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American politician (1823–1882)

Benjamin Harvey Hill United States Senator from Georgia In office March 4, 1877 – August 16, 1882 Preceded by Thomas M. Norwood Succeeded by Middleton P. Barrow Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Georgia's 9th district In office May 5, 1875 – March 3, 1877 Preceded by Hiram Parks Bell Succeeded by Hiram Parks Bell Confederate States Senator from Georgia In office February 18, 1862 – May 10, 1865 Preceded by Constituency established Succeeded by Constituency abolished Deputy to the C.S. Congress from Georgia In office February 8, 1861 – February 17, 1862 Preceded by Constituency established Succeeded by Constituency abolished Personal details Born (1823-09-14)September 14, 1823 Jasper County, Georgia, U.S. Died August 16, 1882(1882-08-16) (aged 58) Gurley, Alabama, U.S. Party Democratic Other political affiliations Whig (Before 1855) American (1855–1859) Constitutional Union (1859–1861) Alma mater University of Georgia Signature

**Benjamin Harvey Hill** (September 14, 1823 – August 16, 1882) was a politician whose "flamboyant opposition" to [Congressional Reconstruction](/source/Congressional_Reconstruction) is credited with helping inaugurate Georgia's [Ku Klux Klan](/source/Ku_Klux_Klan). His famous "brush arbor speech" in Atlanta on July 23, 1868, called for the use of violence against the governor, the legislature, and freed people.[1][2] His career spanned state and national politics, and the Civil War. He served in the Georgia legislature in both houses. Although he initially opposed secession and was elected as a Unionist in 1860, he nonetheless voted to secede in that year, and represented Georgia as a [Confederate senator](/source/Confederate_senator) during the conflict.[3]

After the war and near the end of the [Reconstruction era](/source/Reconstruction_era), Hill was elected in 1874 to the [United States House of Representatives](/source/United_States_House_of_Representatives), and in 1877 as a [U.S. senator](/source/United_States_Senate) from Georgia. He served in the Senate until his death in 1882.

## Early life

Hill was born September 14, 1823, in [Hillsboro, Georgia](/source/Hillsboro%2C_Georgia), in [Jasper County](/source/Jasper_County%2C_Georgia). He was of [Welsh](/source/Welsh_American) and [Irish American](/source/Ireland) ancestry.[4] He attended the [University of Georgia](/source/University_of_Georgia) in [Athens, Georgia](/source/Athens%2C_Georgia), where he was a member of the [Demosthenian Literary Society](/source/Demosthenian_Literary_Society). He graduated in 1844 with first honors. He was admitted to the Georgia bar later in 1844. He married Caroline E. Holt in [Athens, Georgia](/source/Athens%2C_Georgia) in 1845.

## Early career

Hill's home, [Bellevue](/source/Bellevue_(LaGrange%2C_Georgia))

As a politician, Hill was affiliated with a number of parties, reflecting the volatile politics before and after the [American Civil War](/source/American_Civil_War). He was elected to the state legislature of Georgia in 1851 as a member of the [Whig Party](/source/Whig_Party_(United_States)). He supported [Millard Fillmore](/source/Millard_Fillmore) running on the [Know-Nothing](/source/Know-Nothing) ticket in 1856, and was an elector for that party in the [Electoral College](/source/Electoral_College_(United_States)). In 1857, he ran for governor of Georgia unsuccessfully against the [Democratic](/source/Democratic_Party_(United_States)) nominee [Joseph E. Brown](/source/Joseph_E._Brown). In 1859, he was elected to the state senate as a [Unionist](/source/Union_(American_Civil_War)). In 1860, he was again an elector, this time for [John Bell](/source/John_Bell_(Tennessee_politician)) and the [Unionist](/source/Union_(American_Civil_War)) party.

Hill was known as "the peerless orator" for his skill in delivering speeches,[5] and he was the only non-Democratic member of the [Georgia secession convention](/source/Ordinance_of_Secession) on January 16, 1861. He spoke publicly against the dissolution of the [Union](/source/Union_(American_Civil_War)), along with [Alexander Stephens](/source/Alexander_Stephens), a former opponent. Following Stephens' highly regarded argument, based on a conservative reading of the Constitution, Hill struck a more pragmatic tone.

His arguments related to the conservative belief that disunion would ultimately lead to the abolition of [slavery](/source/Slavery_in_the_United_States) and the downfall of Southern society. He quoted [Henry Ward Beecher](/source/Henry_Ward_Beecher), a Northern [abolitionist](/source/Abolitionism_in_the_United_States), who enthusiastically supported the dissolution of the Union as a means to end slavery, and described the anti-slavery [Republican Party](/source/Republican_Party_(United_States)) as a "disunionist" party, in contrast to the "Union men and Southern men" participating in the convention. Acknowledging the need to respond to the threat of Lincoln's election, Hill argued that his fellow Georgians should continue to resist Lincoln democratically within the bounds of the Constitution. He compared this course to [George Washington](/source/George_Washington), "so cool, so brave, and so thoughtful." He argued that the Northern states would eventually follow the British course of rising abolitionist thought, followed by acceptance again of slavery due to economic necessity. But he allowed that the South should prepare for secession and war if it should become necessary.[6]

Hill was elected as a Unionist,[7] but voted for secession in 1860, becoming a political ally of Confederate President [Jefferson Davis](/source/Jefferson_Davis). When the [Confederate government](/source/Confederate_States_of_America) was formed, Hill joined the [Confederate Provisional Congress](/source/Confederate_Provisional_Congress). He was subsequently elected by the Georgia legislature to the [Confederate States Senate](/source/Confederate_States_Senate), a term which he held throughout its existence.

In 1863, a debate between Hill and Senator [William Lowndes Yancey](/source/William_Lowndes_Yancey) of Alabama, a Davis critic, over a bill intended to create the Confederate Supreme Court erupted into physical violence when Hill struck Yancey in the head with a glass inkstand, knocking Yancey over a desk and onto the floor of the Senate. The attack was kept secret for months, and in the ensuing investigation it was Yancey, not Hill, who was censured.[8][9] Yancey left Congress before adjournment to recover from the injury, and his health deteriorated rapidly over the next months before he died on July 27, 1863, of kidney disease.[9][10]

At the end of the [Civil War](/source/American_Civil_War), Hill was arrested as a Confederate official by the Union and confined in [Fort Lafayette](/source/Fort_Lafayette) from May until July 1865.

## Later career

In 1867, Hill wrote a series of attacks on Reconstruction in the [Augusta Chronicle](/source/Augusta_Chronicle) that he called "Notes on the Situation" that his son Ben Hill Jr. later noted were filled with "severe and bitter invective" [4] against Congressional Reconstruction and the presence of Black voters in particular. On July 31, 1871, after Black legislators were ejected from the Georgia House of Delegates, the Klan had frightened away most Black voters in Georgia, and [Georgia was readmitted to the Union](/source/Georgia_during_Reconstruction), Hill became a spokesman for what he called a "New South." In 1874, Hill was elected to the U. S. House of Representatives, serving from May 5, 1875 - March 3, 1877. He was later elected by the Georgia legislature to the U.S. Senate on January 26, 1877. He served in the U.S. Senate from March 4, 1877, until his death on August 16, 1882. His obituary was featured on the front page of the *[Atlanta Constitution](/source/Atlanta_Constitution)* on August 17, 1882.[11]

## Death

Hill is buried in historic [Oakland Cemetery](/source/Oakland_Cemetery_(Atlanta)) in Atlanta, Georgia.

[Statue of Benjamin Harvey Hill](/source/Statue_of_Benjamin_Harvey_Hill), now located inside the [Georgia State Capitol](/source/Georgia_State_Capitol)

## Legacy and honors

- A life-size [statue of Benjamin Harvey Hill](/source/Statue_of_Benjamin_Harvey_Hill) looking down from atop a similarly sized plinth was installed inside the [Georgia State Capitol](/source/Georgia_State_Capitol) in [Atlanta, Georgia](/source/Atlanta%2C_Georgia).

- A larger than life portrait of Hill hangs in the Capitol Rotunda.

- [Ben Hill County, Georgia](/source/Ben_Hill_County%2C_Georgia), founded in 1906, was named in his honor.[12]

## See also

- [List of signers of the Georgia Ordinance of Secession](/source/List_of_signers_of_the_Georgia_Ordinance_of_Secession)

- [List of members of the United States Congress who died in office (1790–1899)](/source/List_of_members_of_the_United_States_Congress_who_died_in_office_(1790%E2%80%931899))

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-ironconfed_1-0)** Nelson, Scott (1999). [*Iron Confederacies: Southern Railways, Klan Violence, and Reconstruction*](https://books.google.com/books?id=vE_qCQAAQBAJ). UNC Press. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-8078-2476-3](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-8078-2476-3).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** Huffman, Frank Jackson (1974). *Old South, New South: Continuity and Change in a Georgia county, 1850-1880* (PhD thesis). Yale University.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** *The National Cyclopedia of American Biography*. Vol. X. New York: James T. White & Co. 1900. p. 194.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Hillspeeches_4-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Hillspeeches_4-1) Hill, Benjamin H. Jr. (1891). [*Senator Benjamin H. Hill of Georgia: His Life, Speeches and Writings*](https://archive.org/details/senatorbenjamin00hillgoog/page/n20/mode/1up). Atlanta, Georgia: H. C. Hudgins & Co. p. 11. Retrieved April 21, 2022 – via Internet Archive.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** Candler, Allen Daniel (1909). [*The Confederate records of the State of Georgia, Volume 1*](https://books.google.com/books?id=D3QOAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA757). Atlanta, GA: C. P. Byrd publishing. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1147068887](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1147068887). Retrieved July 22, 2013

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** Freehling, William W., and Craig M. Simpson, *Secession Debated: Georgia's Showdown in 1860*, New York: Oxford University Press, 1992.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** [*The Civil War: The First Year Told by Those Who Lived It*](https://archive.org/details/civilwarfirstyea0000unse/page/14). The Library of America. 2011. pp. [14](https://archive.org/details/civilwarfirstyea0000unse/page/14). [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1-59853-088-9](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-59853-088-9).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** Walther, Eric H. (2006). *William Lowndes Yancey: The Coming of the Civil War*. pp. 358–66. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [9780739480304](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9780739480304).

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Steve_Humphrey_1978._p._303_9-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Steve_Humphrey_1978._p._303_9-1) "That D----d Brownlow", Steve Humphrey. Appalachian Consortium Press, 1978. p. 303.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** [Walther 2006](#CITEREFWalther2006), pp. 366–371.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** ["Ben Hill Dead"](https://www.newspapers.com/clip/100188206/ben-hill-dead-part-1/). *[Atlanta Constitution](/source/Atlanta_Constitution)*. August 17, 1882. p. 1. Retrieved April 21, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-12)** Krakow, Kenneth K. (1975). [*Georgia Place-Names: Their History and Origins*](http://www.kenkrakow.com/gpn/b.pdf) (PDF). Macon, GA: Winship Press. p. 16. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-915430-00-2](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-915430-00-2).

## External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to [Benjamin Harvey Hill](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Benjamin_Harvey_Hill).

Wikiquote has quotations related to ***[Benjamin Harvey Hill](https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Special:Search/Benjamin_Harvey_Hill)***.

- United States Congress. ["Benjamin Harvey Hill (id: H000587)"](http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=H000587). *[Biographical Directory of the United States Congress](/source/Biographical_Directory_of_the_United_States_Congress)*.

- Morgan, Chad (December 9, 2013). ["Benjamin Hill"](https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/history-archaeology/benjamin-hill-1823-1882/). *[New Georgia Encyclopedia](/source/New_Georgia_Encyclopedia)*. Retrieved January 13, 2022.

- [Birthplace of Benjamin Harvey Hill](http://georgiainfo.galileo.usg.edu/topics/historical_markers/county/jasper/birthplace-of-benjamin-harvey-hill) historical marker

Offices and distinctions Party political offices Preceded by Garnett Andrews Know Nothing nominee for Governor of Georgia 1857 Succeeded by None Political offices Preceded by Constituency established Deputy in the C.S. Congress from Georgia February 8, 1861 – February 17, 1862 Succeeded by Constituency abolished Confederate States Senate Preceded by Constituency established Confederate States Senator (Class 3) from Georgia February 18, 1862 – May 10, 1865 Served alongside: John Wood Lewis, Sr., Herschel Vespasian Johnson Succeeded by Constituency abolished U.S. House of Representatives Preceded by Hiram Parks Bell Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Georgia's 9th congressional district 1875–1877 Succeeded by Hiram Parks Bell U.S. Senate Preceded by Thomas M. Norwood United States Senator (Class 2) from Georgia 1877–1882 Served alongside: John Gordon, Joseph E. Brown Succeeded by Middleton P. Barrow

Articles related to Benjamin Harvey Hill v t e Signatories of the Provisional Constitution of the Confederate States President of the Congress Howell Cobb South Carolina Robert Barnwell Rhett R. W. Barnwell James Chesnut, Jr. C. G. Memminger Wm. Porcher Miles Laurence M. Keitt William W. Boyce Tho. J. Withers Georgia R. Toombs Francis S. Bartow Martin J. Crawford E. A. Nisbet Benjamin H. Hill Augustus R. Wright Thos. R. R. Cobb A. H. Kenan Alexander H. Stephens Florida Jackson Morton Jas. B. Owens J. Patton Anderson Alabama Richard W. Walker Robt. H. Smith Colin J. McRae Jno. Gill Shorter William Parish Chilton Stephen F. Hale David P. Lewis Tho. Fearn J. L. M. Curry Mississippi W. P. Harris Alexander M. Clayton W. S. Wilson James T. Harrison Walker Brooke William S. Barry J. A. P. Campbell Louisiana John Perkins, Jr. Alex. de Clouet C. M. Conrad Duncan F. Kenner Edward Sparrow Henry Marshall Texas Thomas N. Waul Williamson S. Oldham John Gregg John H. Reagan W. B. Ochiltree John Hemphill Louis T. Wigfall Category Commons v t e Signatories of the Confederate States Constitution President of the Congress Howell Cobb South Carolina Robert Barnwell Rhett C. G. Memminger Wm. Porcher Miles James Chesnut Jr. R. W. Barnwell William W. Boyce Laurence Keitt T. J. Withers Georgia R. Toombs Francis S. Bartow Martin J. Crawford Alexander H. Stephens Benjamin H. Hill Thos. R. R. Cobb E. A. Nisbet Augustus R. Wright A. H. Kenan Florida Jackson Morton J. Patton Anderson Jas. B. Owens Alabama Richard W. Walker Robt. H. Smith Colin J. McRae William P. Chilton Stephen F. Hale David P. Lewis Tho. Fearn Jno. Gill Shorter J. L. M. Curry Mississippi Alexander M. Clayton James T. Harrison William S. Barry W. S. Wilson Walker Brooke W. P. Harris J. A. P. Campbell Louisiana John Perkins Jr. Alex. de Clouet C. M. Conrad Duncan F. Kenner Henry Marshall Edward Sparrow Texas John Hemphill Thomas N. Waul John H. Reagan Williamson S. Oldham Louis T. Wigfall John Gregg William Beck Ochiltree Category Commons v t e United States senators from Georgia Class 2 Few Jackson Walton Tattnall Baldwin Jones Crawford Bulloch Bibb Troup Forsyth Walker Ware Cobb Prince Troup King Lumpkin Berrien Charlton Toombs H. Miller Norwood B. Hill Barrow A. Colquitt Walsh Bacon West Hardwick Harris Cohen Russell Gambrell Nunn Cleland Chambliss Perdue Ossoff Class 3 Gunn Jackson Milledge Tait Elliott Berrien Forsyth Cuthbert W. Colquitt Johnson Dawson Iverson J. Hill Gordon Brown Gordon Clay Terrell Smith Watson Felton George Talmadge Mattingly Fowler Coverdell Z. Miller Isakson Loeffler Warnock v t e Confederate States senators Class 1 Baker (Fla.) Clark (Mo.) Clay (Ala.) Davis (N.C.) Graham (N.C.) H. Johnson (Ga.) R. Johnson (Ark.) Lewis (Ga.) Phelan (Miss.) Reade (N.C.) Simms (Ky.) Vest (Mo.) Walker (Ala.) Watson (Miss.) Class 2 Barnwell (S.C.) Brown (Miss.) Caperton (Va.) Dortch (N.C.) Henry (Tenn.) W. Johnson (Mo.) Maxwell (Fla.) Peyton (Mo.) Preston (Va.) Semmes (La.) Wigfall (Tex.) Class 3 Burnett (Ky.) Garland (Ark.) Haynes (Tenn.) Hill (Ga.) Hunter (Va.) Jemison (Ala.) Mitchel (Ark.) Oldham (Tex.) Orr (S.C.) Sparrow (La.) Yancey (Ala.) Category Commons

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