Alexander Stephens Biography

Quick Facts

NAME: Alexander Stephens
OCCUPATION: U.S. Representative, U.S. Governor, Government Official
BIRTH DATE: February 11, 1812
DEATH DATE: March 04, 1883
EDUCATION: Franklin College (now the University of Georgia)
PLACE OF BIRTH: Georgia
PLACE OF DEATH: Atlanta, Georgia
Full Name: Alexander Hamilton Stephens
AKA: Alexander H. Stephens

Best Known For

Alexander Stephens was the Confederate vice president during the American Civil War.

Quiz

Think you know about Biography?

Answer questions and see how you rank against other players.

Play Now

Print Cite This

Alexander Stephens

APA Style

Alexander Stephens. (2013). The Biography Channel website. Retrieved 04:42, May 23, 2013, from http://www.biography.com/people/alexander-stephens-21013555.

Harvard Style

Alexander Stephens. [Internet]. 2013. The Biography Channel website. Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/alexander-stephens-21013555 [Accessed 23 May 2013].

MLA Style

"Alexander Stephens." 2013. The Biography Channel website. May 23 2013, 04:42 http://www.biography.com/people/alexander-stephens-21013555.

MHRA Style

"Alexander Stephens," The Biography Channel website, 2013, http://www.biography.com/people/alexander-stephens-21013555 [accessed May 23, 2013].

Chicago Style

"Alexander Stephens," The Biography Channel website, http://www.biography.com/people/alexander-stephens-21013555 (accessed May 23, 2013).

CBE/CSE Style

Alexander Stephens [Internet]. The Biography Channel website; 2013 [cited 2013 May 23] Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/alexander-stephens-21013555.

Bluebook Style

Alexander Stephens, http://www.biography.com/people/alexander-stephens-21013555 (last visited May 23, 2013).

AMA Style

Alexander Stephens. The Biography Channel website. 2013. Available at: http://www.biography.com/people/alexander-stephens-21013555. Accessed May 23, 2013.

The meeting proved to be fruitless, with discussions coming to a standstill, and Stephens left with no progress made.

The Civil War ended in April 1865, when General Robert E. Lee surrendered his Confederate Army in Fort Sumter, South Carolina. A month later, Stephens was arrested for treason and imprisoned for five months in Fort Warren, Boston Harbor.

The 13th Amendment to abolish slavery,

proposed by Northern leaders such as U.S. Congressman James Mitchell Ashley, was implemented. Subsequently, 4 million African Americans gained their freedom.

After Stephens's release in 1866, he returned to Georgia, where voters elected him to the U.S. Senate. He served until his resignation in 1882. Georgians continued to support Stephens and elected him as governor that same year. Just 119 days after taking office, on March 4, 1883, Stephens died after suffering a sudden illness in Atlanta. He was buried near his home, called Liberty Hall, which he built in 1872, in Crawfordville, Georgia.

Personal Life

Throughout his life, Stephens fell ill easily—a trait carried from childhood to adulthood. He was confined to a wheelchair during much of his career, and rarely weighed more than 95 pounds. His physical limitations did not mar his intellect; those who worked with him viewed Stephens as a sharp thinker.

Stephens never married or had children. He lived at Liberty Hall with his slaves, many of whom remained loyal after gaining their freedom, choosing to stay with Stephens for little or no money. Many of those slaves were with Stevens until his death in 1883.

Stephens is still honored and remembered today in the state of Georgia. Both Stephens County and the A.H. Stephens Historic Park were named after him.