The Peace Conference of 1861

In February 1861, following the inauguration of Lincoln and the secession of seven states from the Union, a convention of 131 politicians from the remaining states met in Washington, D. C., at the Willard Hotel. They aimed to prevent civil war, and the secession of further states, by proposing an amendment to the Constitution that would protect the existence and practice of slavery, within certain parameters, by enshrining them in constitutional law. An amendment was eventually agreed and recommended to Congress, where it was not passed.

Daniel E. Somes

Quill platform ID: p15945.

(May 20, 1815 — February 13, 1888) Daniel Eton Somes, a Representative from Maine; born in Meredith (now Laconia), N.H., May 20, 1815; received an academic education; moved to Biddeford, Maine, in 1846; established the Eastern Journal, later known as the Union and Journal; engaged in the manufacture of loom harnesses, reed twine, and varnishes; mayor of Biddeford 1855-1857; president of the City Bank of Biddeford 1856-1858; elected as a Republican to the Thirty-sixth Congress (March 4, 1859-March 3, 1861); member of the peace convention of 1861 held in Washington, D.C., in an effort to devise means to prevent the impending war; engaged in the practice of patent law in Washington, D.C., until his death in that city on February 13, 1888; interment in Rock Creek Cemetery. [Source: “Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1774 - Present,” available at https://bioguide.congress.gov/search/bio/S000678]

Member of Maine Delegation—The Peace Conference of 1861, Maine Delegation—The Road to Civil War.

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