Chauncey L. Knapp
Chauncey Langdon Knapp | |
---|---|
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Massachusetts's 8th district | |
In office March 4, 1855 – March 3, 1859 | |
Preceded by | Tappan Wentworth |
Succeeded by | Charles R. Train |
Secretary of State of Vermont | |
In office 1836–1841 | |
Governor | Silas H. Jennison |
Preceded by | Timothy Merrill |
Succeeded by | James McMillan Shafter |
Personal details | |
Born | |
Spouse | Fanny Carter |
Profession | Newspaper editor |
Chauncey Langdon Knapp (February 26, 1809 – May 31, 1898) was an American newspaperman and politician who served two terms as a U.S. Representative from Massachusetts from 1855 to 1859.
Biography
Chauncey Langdon Knapp was born in Berlin, Vermont, February 26, 1809. He was trained as a printer, and became a newspaperman in Montpelier. For a number of years, he was co-proprietor and editor of the State Journal, Vermont's main Anti-Masonic Party newspaper.[1] Interested in politics, he served as Secretary of State of Vermont from 1836 to 1843.
Career
In 1843, he visited
Congress
In 1854, Knapp ran as an anti-slavery candidate and was elected to the United States House of Representatives. He was identified with the American Party (the only major party with an anti-slavery plank) while serving in the Thirty-fourth Congress.
When the Republican Party was formed with an anti-slavery plank, Knapp joined it. He was again overwhelmingly elected to the Thirty-fifth Congress (March 4, 1857 – March 3, 1859).
During the heated slavery debates in Congress, Senator Charles Sumner of Massachusetts was severely beaten by Congressman Preston Brooks of South Carolina on May 22, 1856. In response, Congressmen Knapp delivered his first address on the floor of the House, a speech in which he said his constituents viewed the attack as an "audacious blow hurled at the great right of free opinion. . .the primal element and safeguard of constitutional liberty."[2]
Later career
In 1859, Knapp left Congress and became editor of the Lowell Daily Citizen from 1859-1882.
Death and burial
He died in Lowell on May 31, 1898, and is buried in the Lowell Cemetery.
Knapp Avenue leading from Rogers Street into the Lowell Cemetery is named for him.
References
- ^ National Endowment for the Humanities, Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers, Vermont State Journal, retrieved January 4, 2014
- ^ Appendix to the Congressional Globe, 34th Congress, 1st sess., Washington: John C. Rives, 1856, p. 910, July 12, 1856
External links
- United States Congress. "Chauncey L. Knapp (id: K000280)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
- Chauncey L. Knapp at Find a Grave
- Chauncey Langdon Knapp at The Political Graveyard
- Vermont Historical Society, Vermonters in Congress, 1921, pages 120-121
This article incorporates public domain material from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress