John T. Stuart

John Todd Stuart (* November 10, 1807 in Lexington, Kentucky, † November 23, 1885 in Springfield, Illinois ) was an American politician. Between 1839 and 1843, and again from 1863 to 1865, he represented the state of Illinois in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Career

John Todd Stuart was a cousin of Mary Todd Lincoln, the wife of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln. Until 1826, he visited the Centre College in Danville. After a subsequent law degree in 1828 and its recent approval as a lawyer in Springfield, he began to work in this profession, where he ran a Law Firm along with Abraham Lincoln. In 1832 he took as a major part in the Black Hawk War. At the same time he embarked on a political career. From 1832 to 1836 he was a member of the House of Representatives from Illinois. Mid-1830s he became a member of the Whig party. In 1836 he ran unsuccessfully for Congress yet.

In the congressional elections of 1838, Stuart was but then in the third electoral district of Illinois in the U.S. House of Representatives in Washington DC chosen, where he became the successor of William L. May on March 4, 1839. After a re-election he was able to complete in Congress until March 3, 1843 two legislative sessions. The time from 1841 was determined by the tensions between President John Tyler and the Whigs. It was also at that time already been discussed about a possible annexation of the independent Republic of Texas since 1836 by Mexico. In 1842, Stuart decided not to another candidacy.

Between 1848 and 1852 he was a member of the Illinois Senate. In 1860, he ran unsuccessfully as a Unionist for the office of Governor of Illinois. Later he became a member of the Democratic Party. In the elections of 1862 was Stuart as their candidate in the eighth district of the State of re-elected to Congress, where he Philip B. Fouke replaced on March 4, 1863. Until March 3, 1863, he graduated from another legislative session, which was shaped by the events of the Civil War.

After the end of his time in the U.S. House of Representatives John Stuart practiced as a lawyer again. He died on November 23, 1885 in Springfield.