Editing Thomas A. Hendricks (section)

{{Short description|Vice President of the United States in 1885}}
{{redirect|Thomas Hendricks|his uncle, the state representative|Thomas Hendricks Sr.|the musician|Tom Hendricks}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2022}}
{{Use American English|date=June 2022}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name                = Thomas A. Hendricks
| image               = Thomas Andrews Hendricks (cropped 3x4).jpg
| office              = 21st [[Vice President of the United States]]
| president           = [[Grover Cleveland]]
| term_start          = March 4, 1885
| term_end            = November 25, 1885
| predecessor         = [[Chester A. Arthur]]
| successor           = [[Levi P. Morton]]
| order1              = 16th [[Governor of Indiana]]
| lieutenant1         = [[Leonidas Sexton]]
| term_start1         = January 13, 1873
| term_end1           = January 8, 1877
| predecessor1        = [[Conrad Baker]]
| successor1          = [[James D. Williams]]
| jr/sr2              = United States Senator
| state2              = [[Indiana]]
| term_start2         = March 4, 1863
| term_end2           = March 3, 1869
| predecessor2        = [[David Turpie]]
| successor2          = [[Daniel D. Pratt]]
| office3             = Member of the<br/>[[United States House of Representatives|U.S. House of Representatives]]<br/>from Indiana
| constituency3       = {{ushr|IN|5|5th district}} (1851–1853)<br/>{{ushr|IN|6|6th district}} (1853–1855)
| term_start3         = March 4, 1851
| term_end3           = March 3, 1855
| predecessor3        = [[William J. Brown (Indiana politician)|William Brown]]
| successor3          = [[Lucien Barbour]]
| birth_name          = Thomas Andrews Hendricks
| birth_date          = {{birth date|1819|9|7}}
| birth_place         = [[Fultonham, Ohio]], U.S.
| death_date          = {{death date and age|1885|11|25|1819|9|7}}
| death_place         = [[Indianapolis]], Indiana, U.S.
| restingplace        = [[Crown Hill Cemetery]]
| party               = [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]
| spouse              = [[Eliza Hendricks|Eliza Morgan]]
| children            = 1
| education           = [[Hanover College]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]])
| profession          = Attorney
| signature           = Thomas Andrews Hendricks Signature.svg
| signature_alt       = Cursive signature in ink
| caption             = Portrait, 1875
}}
'''Thomas Andrews Hendricks''' (September 7, 1819 – November 25, 1885) was an American politician and lawyer from [[Indiana]] who served as the 16th [[List of governors of Indiana|governor of Indiana]] from 1873 to 1877 and the 21st [[vice president of the United States]] from March until his death in November 1885. Hendricks represented Indiana in the [[United States House of Representatives|U.S. House of Representatives]] (1851–1855) and the [[United States Senate|U.S. Senate]] (1863–1869). He also represented [[Shelby County, Indiana]], in the [[Indiana General Assembly]] (1848–1850) and as a delegate to the [[Constitution of Indiana#Constitutional Convention 2|1851 Indiana constitutional convention]]. In addition, Hendricks served as commissioner of the [[United States General Land Office]] (1855–1859). Hendricks, a popular member of the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]], was a [[Fiscal conservatism|fiscal conservative]]. He defended the Democratic position in the U.S. Senate during the [[American Civil War]] and [[Reconstruction era]] and voted against the [[Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution|Thirteenth]], [[Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution|Fourteenth]], and [[Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution|Fifteenth]] Amendments to the U.S. Constitution. He also opposed [[Reconstruction Era|Radical Reconstruction]] and [[President of the United States|President]] [[Andrew Johnson]]'s removal from office following Johnson's impeachment in the U.S. House.

Born in [[Muskingum County, Ohio]], Hendricks moved to Indiana, with his parents in 1820; the family settled in Shelby County in 1822. After graduating from [[Hanover College]], class of 1841, Hendricks studied law in [[Shelbyville, Indiana]], and [[Chambersburg, Pennsylvania]]. He was admitted to the Indiana bar in 1843. Hendricks began his law practice in Shelbyville, moved to [[Indianapolis]] in 1860, and established a private law practice with [[Oscar B. Hord]] in 1862. The firm evolved into [[Baker & Daniels]], one of the state's leading law firms. Hendricks also ran for election as Indiana's governor three times, but won only once. In 1872, on his third and final attempt, Hendricks defeated General Thomas M. Brown by a margin of 1,148 votes. His term as governor of Indiana was marked by numerous challenges, including a strong Republican majority in the [[Indiana General Assembly]], the economic [[Panic of 1873]], and an economic depression. One of Hendricks's lasting legacies during his tenure as governor was initiating discussions to fund construction of the present-day [[Indiana State House|Indiana Statehouse]], which was completed after he left office. A memorial to Hendricks was installed on the southeast corner of its grounds in 1890.

Hendricks, a lifelong Democrat, was his party's nominee for vice president as the running mate of [[New York (state)|New York]] [[Governor of New York|governor]] [[Samuel Tilden]] in the controversial [[1876 United States presidential election|presidential election of 1876]]. Although they won the popular vote, Tilden and Hendricks lost the election by one vote in the Electoral College to the [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]]'s presidential nominee, [[Rutherford B. Hayes]], and his vice presidential running mate, [[William A. Wheeler]]. Despite his poor health, Hendricks accepted his party's nomination for vice president in the [[1884 United States presidential election|election of 1884]] as [[Grover Cleveland]]'s running mate. Cleveland and Hendricks won the election, but Hendricks only served as vice president for about eight months, from March 4, 1885, until his death on November 25, 1885, in Indianapolis. He is buried in Indianapolis's [[Crown Hill Cemetery]].