Representative Henry Alexander Wise

Henry Alexander Wise served as a Representative from Virginia in the United States Congress from 1833 to 1845. A member of the Democratic Party, Henry Alexander Wise contributed to the legislative process during 6 terms in office.

Henry Alexander Wise’s service in Congress occurred during a significant period in American history. As a member of the House of Representatives, Henry Alexander Wise participated in the democratic process and represented the interests of constituents.

Henry Alexander Wise (December 3, 1806 – September 12, 1876) was an American attorney, diplomat, politician and slave owner from Virginia. As the 33rd Governor of Virginia, Wise served as a significant figure on the path to the American Civil War, becoming heavily involved in the 1859 trial of abolitionist John Brown. After leaving office in 1860, Wise also led the move toward Virginia’s secession from the Union in reaction to the election of Abraham Lincoln and the Battle of Fort Sumter. In addition to serving as governor, Wise represented Virginia in the United States House of Representatives from 1833 to 1844 and was the United States Minister to Brazil during the presidencies of John Tyler and James K. Polk. During the American Civil War, he was a general in the Confederate States Army. In politics, Wise was consecutively a Jacksonian Democrat, a Whig supporter of the National Bank, a dissident Whig supportive of President Tyler, a Democratic secessionist, and a Republican supporter of President Ulysses S. Grant during Reconstruction. His sons Richard Alsop Wise and John Sergeant Wise both also served in the Confederate Army and the post-war United States House as Republicans. After the Civil War ended, Wise accepted that slavery had been abolished and advocated a peaceful national reunification.