Alvin Peterson Hovey

Family and background Alvin Peterson Hovey was born in Mount Vernon, Indiana, on September 6, 1821, to Abiel and Francis Hovey. His father died while he was a young boy, and his mother died in 1836, when he was just fifteen, leaving him orphaned. His youth was spent in poverty, and after being sent to an orphanage following his mother's death, he received a basic education before being turned out at age eighteen. Hovey wanted to become a lawyer, and went work as a bricklayer by day, and studied law at night in the office of John Pitcher, a Mount Vernon attorney in 1840. After over three years of study in the office, he was admitted to bar in 1843 and opened his own law office. Hovey was propelled into the state spotlight in 1849 when he was appointed to oversee the estate of the deceased William Maclure. McClure was a wealthy idealist who was one of the co-founders of the failed utopian settlement of New Harmony, Indiana. In his will, he ordered that his estate be sold and the proceeds be used to fund the construction of libraries. His two siblings had already seized much of his estate, sold it, and made off with the funds. Hovey filed over sixty lawsuits to reclaim the assets of the estate, and use the proceeds for their intended purpose. The estate successfully funded the opening of 160 libraries in Indiana and Illinois. The case gained considerable press coverage around Indiana, and Hovey gained considerable popularity from his success. He met and married his wife Mary Ann in 1844, and the couple had five children. Only two of the children survived infancy. Constitutionalist Hovey was elected as a Democrat to serve as a delegate in 1850 to help create a new constitution for the state of Indiana. Hovey supported the educational and governmental reforms to the constitution, as well as being a driving force in some of the more controversial aspects of the constitution. He opposed the extension of suffrage to women and blacks, and proposed adding a section to the constitution to ban free blacks from Indiana. His proposal was accepted because it was viewed as a punishment to the southern states, who would be required to care for the free blacks. He also opposed the bankruptcy reforms, saying that it would grant too much protection from creditors, and encourage laziness. The constitution was approved by the public, but the anti-black portions were ruled unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court two years later. In 1854, Hovey was appointed by Governor Joseph A. Wright to fill a vacancy on the Indiana Supreme Court until an election could be held. At the time of his appointment, he was 34, making him the youngest justice in the history of the court. It also made him the only constitutional delegate to become the interpreter of a document which he himself had helped write. His most important decision was in voting to strike down taxing laws created by some townships to increase funding for their schools. His decision stated that the constitution required all state schools be funded uniformly. He campaigned to be elected to the Supreme Court, but was defeated having only served six months on the court. In 1855, Hovey was appointed by United States President Franklin Pierce to serve as US Attorney for Indiana. The state Democratic party had been going through a period of internal problems over the slavery issue. The pro-slavery faction, led by Jesse D. Bright, expelled many anti-slavery members of the party including Hovey during the 1858 state convention. Bright was able to influence President James Buchanan to remove Hovey from office because of his position. Hovey responded by running for Congress against Democrat William E. Niblack as an Independent, but was defeated by a large margin. Hovey then joined the Republican Party, along with many of the other expelled Democrats. ==American Civil War==

at Vicksburg National Military Park Front lines Immediately following the outbreak of the American Civil War in 1861, Hovey was commissioned as a colonel and organized the First Regiment of the Indiana Legion, a militia force that was used to defend the state during the war. Shortly thereafter, he was appointed colonel of the 24th Regiment Indiana Infantry. His regiment was quickly sent to the front-lines where he led it in the Battle of Shiloh in 1862. He remained with the advance elements of the main western Union army, and was promoted to brigadier general of United States Volunteers. During the siege of Corinth he commanded the 1st Brigade in Lew Wallace's 3rd Division. Hovey briefly commanded the District of Eastern Arkansas during the Fall of 1862 but returned to brigade command in the Army of the Tennessee in 1863. On December 17, 1862, General Ulysses S. Grant issued his infamous, rabidly antisemitic General Order #11, expelling all Jews as a class from his military district (parts of Tennessee, Mississippi, & Kentucky). General Hovey was one of General Grant's most fervent supporters of Grant's Jewish Expulsion Order. President Abraham Lincoln, upon learning of General Grant's order expelling all Jews, immediately rescinded it. In January Hovey was given command of the 12th Division in the XIII Corps. He led his division at the Battle of Champion Hill later that year earning the praise of General Ulysses S. Grant. For the remainder of the war he was in command of the military District of Indiana. He resigned from the Union Army on October 7, 1865. Sons of Liberty Back in Indiana, Governor Oliver P. Morton placed Hovey in command of the Regular army and Indiana Legions units in the state. His primary task was overseeing recruitment and keeping anti-government activities under control. To accomplish the task, Hovey raised a division of ten-thousand troops, but would only accept unmarried men. Because of the young age of most of his soldiers, his division was nicknamed "Hovey's Babies." His investigations uncovered a network of southern sympathizers known as the Sons of Liberty and the Knights of the Golden Circle. He alleged the group had secret plans for an uprising in Indianapolis in August 1864. To prevent the plot, he had dozens of suspects arrested and taken before military tribunals for judgment. Several were sentenced to hanging, but their terms were commuted to life in prison. After the war, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled the trials unconstitutional in the case of Ex parte Milligan. ==Governor==

Clash with General Assembly In 1872, the Republican party entered Hovey's name as a candidate to run for governor, but he declined, claiming he was finished with politics. For the next fourteen years he continued operating his private law practice until 1886, he was nominated to run for Congress and accepted. He defeated his Democratic opponent J. E. McCullough 18,258 to 16,907. Two years later, he was nominated to run for Governor of Indiana. Benjamin Harrison was running for president that year and was immensely popular in the state. Despite his party ticket's popularity, he barely won the election, defeating Democrat Courtland C. Matson by a plurality, 49%–48.6% of the vote, and Democrats retained majorities in both houses of the Indiana General Assembly. At age sixty-eight, Hovey became the oldest man ever elected governor, up until that time. Reforms The only agenda item which Hovey was able to pass through the General Assembly was voter reform. The state for several election cycles had been the victim of serious voter fraud, and had among the least restrictive voter regulations in the nation. Parties created their own ballots, and were responsible for including their opponents on their ballots. This led to considerable trickery on the part of the parties who would deliberately make their ballot in a manner to increase the likelihood voters would choose their candidate, even accidentally. Vote buying had also become commonplace; that had led to a national scandal in the election of Benjamin Harrison. The reforms enacted created the secret ballot, standardized ballots, provided more supervision at polling stations, and gave the responsibility of creating ballots to the state. Hovey had campaigned on dealing with the White Cap groups operating in southern Indiana. The vigilante groups had carried out several lynchings, including the Reno Gang, and had been carrying out other forms of vigilante justice, especially in Harrison and Crawford Counties. They often meted out corporal punishments to men who were believed to not be taking care of their family, local criminals, and alcoholics. Hovey launched investigations into the groups, and made known his intentions to put an end to their organizations. Although no arrests were made, the threat led to a significant decrease and eventual end to their activities. ==Death==

In 1891, Hovey fell ill and died on November 23, 1891, and was succeeded by his Lieutenant Governor Ira Joy Chase. Hovey's body lay in state in Indianapolis before his remains were removed to his hometown for a funeral. He is buried in the Bellefontaine Cemetery near Mount Vernon, Indiana. ==Electoral history==