Biography of david wilmot
What was david wilmot known for...
Wilmot, David
As the author of the Wilmot Proviso, David Wilmot (1814-1868), U.S. congressman, initiated the legislative effort to prohibit the expansion of slavery.
David Wilmot, the son of a prosperous merchant, was born in Bethany, Pa., on Jan.
20, 1814.
Biography of david wilmot
He studied law, was admitted to the Pennsylvania bar in 1834, and opened a practice in Towanda, Pa., in 1836, shortly after his marriage. He became more interested in politics than in law. An active and ardent Jacksonian Democrat, noted for his extemporaneous oratorical skills, he played a major role in Pennsylvania's Democratic state convention in 1844 and won a congressional seat, which he held from 1845 to 1851.
Initially Wilmot loyally supported the measures of James K.
Polk's administration, although he had strongly supported Polk's opponent, Martin Van Buren, in the 1844 Democratic National Convention. During the Mexican War, however, Wilmot and other Northern and Western Democrats became convinced that Polk's polic